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Many foreigners but specially americans prefer things to have a positive spin. This is a contrast from Japanese-style modesty, which often requires self-depreciation. It will be mis-understood by some foreigners if you say negative things about your-self, your family members or others. example;"we are poor", "I'm too old" "Japan is a small country", "my brother is not good at"," my wife is a bad cook", "I'm ugly","I can't speak english", and so other very common self-depreciation expressions usually said by Japanese, even if you say it in Japanese, it won't make much difference if you're talking with a foreigner living in Japan or someone who have little knowledge of Japanese language. Anyhow in time we'll get to know what the true is, if we want.. but at the time there's no need to be negative.
Keep in mind the rule told to many American children by their mothers:
"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
