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On occasion, I've even stopped at red lights in the middle of the night only to drive through them after noticing noone was around. I even break the speed limit routinely. Ready to hang me from the gallows yet?
The hypocrisy of the left and right apparently knows no bounds.
As you can tell they are all perfect, open minded, well rounded human beings. They know everything about every government, culture and society. Just listen to their diatribes and fall in line or you are a bad person!
Hmm yeah, I must never have gone anywhere and my 'baseless stereotypes' are probably imaginary ideas considering I spend over 650,000 flight miles a year on travels.
Trust me, americans need to shape up on their behavior when they travel. They should especially try to avoid being so loud, aggressive, and condescending when they are abroad. They may be the only tourists who tip well since tip is generally included in the bill, but I think people would appreciate less aggression and derision then tip. It is true however, that americans do indeed try to order in the local language which is very impressive. And many americans today, seem to be learning a second language. Its a big change in the past 20 years. Being number 9 on the list of 10 nations shows it could be better. Instead of relying on expedia, why don't you do some traveling yourself and speak to the locals? Maybe you'll find there is less stereotypes than truth to these points.
I've seen so many incidents but right now I recall one in a piazza (square) in Florence (Italy) where this woman plonked down in the table next to me. American. She talked to the waiter like he was a stupid idiot. It was uncalled for; he didn't say or do anything to offend her and he came to take her order right away. Maybe she was not aware how she came across but he got a bit annoyed with her condescending attitude so when she asked him "where exactly am I?" he said "You're in Florence, madam"...
I burst out laughing and he laughed too. She was not amused being the butt of someone's joke, but I ended up talking to her over a coffee.
This is the main problems with americans: they don't mind condescending others and freely do, but voe if anything remotely similar is done to them! Then they get hostile and spiteful.
I'm not going into full details of the ultra-naive couple from Kentucky who I bumped into in Venice during the carnival. They didn't fully know what the carnival was and had ended there unplanned. These were experienced travelers who returned twice a year to Europe, following the Tour de France. In the course of the conversation they asked me; have you heard of something called n-i-n-e e-l-e-v-e-n? Have you heard of something called h-u-m-i-d-i-t-y?
I told her I had never heard of either, because my relatives are from Kentucky so I am completely ignorant. Because I've spent such huge portions of my life here, I felt embarrassed for their behavior and for them.
Most Europeans actually hold very high degrees. They will be well aware of most topics. Its much harder to 'work your way up' in Europe and you really need a degree for nearly every kind of job.
I have done quite a bit of traveling myself and have found there are bores of every nationality Americans are no worse and are in fact better than most.
My country is so great but yet I have been in another one for seven years...
^^^^^
I was looking for an answer to that.
I guess you missed the part where I said he was married to me, and this is where I live.
And guess what -- this isn't my "home town", either. I'm originally from St. Louis, which I also happen to love. So are you going to grill me as to why I live in California now, as if there were something hypocritical about that?
Ehm - not that I feel that I really owe anyone an explanation, but I moved to marry my wife. I ran out of work where I was at the time, so it was logical for me to join her and not the other way around.
And yes, my country is doing some things pretty well, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the good points about other countries. (I'm on my third one as long-time residence goes, anyway. Changes your perspective on the entire nation-state thing.)
Anyway, I like living in California for now. Seeing as I can't vote (Green Card means taxation without representation - bleh), I try to make my voice heard in politics in other ways.
I guess you missed the part where I said he was married to me, and this is where I live.
And guess what -- this isn't my "home town", either. I'm originally from St. Louis, which I also happen to love. So are you going to grill me as to why I live in California now, as if there were something hypocritical about that?
It was a ligit question, sorry you didn't like it... But that's life now isn't it? And why don't you move there? Those planes fly in both directions.
I'm not the one that came in and talked about how great my country is over America yet I have chosen to live in America for the last seven years. Now there is... "something hypocritical about that?"
On occasion, I've even stopped at red lights in the middle of the night only to drive through them after noticing noone was around. I even break the speed limit routinely. Ready to hang me from the gallows yet?
The hypocrisy of the left and right apparently knows no bounds.
You're the one making your bad behavior political.
No one else did.
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