What is an American?

In a cast in Skypeland, a young man from Poland who is studying and working in England came in. We were talking about the US, and he asked me what my background was. I told him, and as we were discussing things, I realized his vision of the US was very strange. I asked him what he thought the ethnic background of most Americans is. He guessed "Jewish". I was stunned, and I told him that only about 3.5 percent of all Americans are Jews. He found that incredibly hard to believe.

I told him that the largest ethnic group in the US is of German descent, and maybe the 2nd or third largest ethnic group in the US is of English ancestry. The next largest ethnic group is the Hispanics, who in a few short years will overtake the other ethnic groups as the largest group in the US. He found this hard to believe as well.

It is interesting to me the image of the US that people from other countries have. Amazing...