Enough Already!!!

Being an American living abroad poses a problem. Most people hate us and they let you know that at every possible opportunity.
I always try to be very careful when meeting new people. I'm aware of how Americans are generalized and perceived and the majority of it is warranted. If someone actually gets to the point of asking me where I'm from I try to tell them quietly and calmly; Americans are perceived as loud and in-your-face. I also try to say I'm from the U.S., rather than America. I think saying I'm from "America" is kind of pompous because there's also Central and South America, not just North America.
I only have a couple of friends from the U.S. in Korea, most of my friends are from South Africa and Ireland. I get crap ALL the time for being a "Yank" (a term I completely despise and doesn't even make any sense. I'm from Montana for God's sake, not the East Coast!!) Whenever I'm with my friends they tease me relentlessly and incessantly about being from the U.S. It's getting quite old.
"Oh Erika," they say. "We're just teasing you. We love you. We know not all American's are assholes."
But, honestly, I get crap ALL THE TIME from them and it's really starting to irritate me. I know the U.S. has A LOT of problems and the country's leaders and many of its citizens are pompous, arrogant, bullying assholes. I know this. The U.S. has many faults and it's done many bad things and will continue to do many bad things motivated by power, money and greed. But not all of us are bad people.
One of my friends told me I was "the least American American" he'd ever met. Ummm, thanks? I know he meant it as a compliment, but I wasn't entirely sure how to take it.
I've had a couple other friends tell me that when they first heard I was from the U.S. they weren't too excited about meeting me, but they said they actually really like me, which I just think is funny. It's so unfortunate that there are so many U.S. assholes out there giving the rest of us a bad name.
I love my country. I know it's not always a great place, but it's still my home and I don't want to hear how terrible it is, and how terrible I am because I happened to be born there, seven days a week.