Traveling to Europe (airline, old, allowed, driving)
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Not American bashing at all, but I lived in Europe for a few years and I did get sick and tired of them. Many come in, act like complete idiots, are demanding, not happy with the customs and ways of the country (they expect and desire for everything to be like in America)
Exactly...there's "one in every crowd" it seems, even when the majority of visiting Americans are perfectly nice people and fun to chat with; sadly people do fall back on stereotypes sometimes.
I've seen a few of that demanding species you mention come through here, remote and rural as we are:
An American tourist asked for coffee in our local restaurant, and then started shouting (stunned everyone else in the place) because it had been made from instant coffee. Well, that's what we drink here in the rural wilderness; we're tea drinkers, and the demand for coffee is so low that any restaurant here wouldn't bother to invest in a coffeemaker or ground coffee. So Crazy American Man launches into a booming tirade about our local ignorance of the hospitality trade and general backwardness, etc., excuse me, while surrounded by local families ! His last words before he went back to his meal were "If you want any tourists coming here at all, you'd serve some decent goddam coffee." The owner turned to his wife and said in Irish (just loudly enough for us closest to hear) "Does he really think I WANT to attract any more like him?" We nearly choked laughing.
Then there's having to wait at the bank about ten or fifteen minutes behind the American tourist who can't understand, really can't understand, why when she turns in 500 dollars, the clerk only gives her 300 euros for it, no matter how hard the poor clerk tries to explain the concept of currency exchange. Then the tourist will inevitably ask why these silly people in the shops won't take her perfectly good dollars in the first place. Honestly, that happens to me several times each summer.
It's not just Americans; we get a few British people with an imperial "Out of my way, Johnny Foreigner" attitude, and Germans who drive their bloody bicycles down the middle of the road so you can't get 'round them, even when you're late getting your kids to school. ARGH! Pull over!!! Buy a mountain bike and go cross-country! Visit Portugal instead! Argh!
So it's a matter of a very few bad apples/tourists spoiling things for everything else, I'd guess. I'd say 90% of American tourists, or any other tourists, are perfectly friendly and knowledgeable and a delight to meet--in my experience anyhow-- but it's the lunatic 10% that we all REMEMBER, sadly.
And I'm perfectly aware (before anyone tells me ) how famous my own countrymen are for getting drunk and streetfighting and puking on innocent bystanders, in other countries. I know, I know.
We're all in this together you know....
Last edited by LilyLaLa; 06-21-2008 at 06:20 AM..
Reason: clarification
Exactly...there's "one in every crowd" it seems........
We're all in this together you know....
You "hit the nail right on the head" with your statement, my dear!
I've seen my fair share of fellow Germans visiting the US...and being totally obnoxious, and totally out of line.
And, I've seen Americans visiting, or being stationed in Germany, thinking they have to proof how much German beer they can drink....and ending up in a totally drunken stupor, making a fool out of themselves.
Here, there and everywhere....there's just always those bad apples in the bunch, giving the locals a reason to end up stereotyping as a whole.
When I travel, I always live by that golden rule of mine on "act like I would act in my own country and at home"...and since I am a visiting guest, respect traditions, and the customs of the country.
It really seems to work and help to live by this rule, and I've never, ever had a bad experience anywhere, but quiet the opposite.
*Do your homework on the country you are visiting, and learn about the in's and out's.
*Act like you normally would act...so, don't "act up and out".
*Be your own person, and don't follow the crowd. (That is directed at a group travel, especially!)
Just because some people of the group want to "do their own thing" and get in some adventure and excitement, that doesn't mean, one has to follow....especially, if it is against the set rules of the travel group. (It can bring more trouble, then it is worth !)
some of you sound like ignorant americans--how sad for all americans! you make us look like morons to the rest of the world. all you think about is how there is no age limit for drinking and how they will "drag you from museum to monument".
a trip to europe or anywhere outside your own country should be a learning experience on how others live, build, cook and create art.
The subject of drinking just came up on the sidelines, I still find it funny and sad how much Americans demonize alcohol along with other social norms.
My experience from meeting person upon person is yes, many of these school trips and porganized tours do nothing other than drag people from musuem to museum, tourist shop to tourist shop and leave little time for individual exploration and freedom.
I lived in Europe for a few years, ran into many of these people, as mentioned, even had a few "escape" from their tours and hang out with me and stay at my house, they were tired of it and had enough.
It was brought up because the op is only 17! Hello?? A 17 year old should not be encouraged to drink. Good grief.....
A 17 year old is NOT mature enough to know anything about alcohol. When to stop and how important it is for them to NOT get behind the wheel. They're brain is still "growing" at that age.
I'm shocked that this is considered ok with some of the posters here. If the drinking age was 11 you people would encourage 11 year olds to go drink.
Old enough to go and invade another country but not allowed to have a beer?
Able to hurtle down an interstate at 65mph in a ton or more of deadly metal without being able to gain an appreciation of the effects of alcohol on the body?
Making American kids wait 21 years for a drink leads to the twattish behaviour seen in and around many an American bar on a Saturday night.*
* America by no means has the monopoly on this, to be sure - but it sure as hell doesn't help.
Not intended as a personal insult, more a curious biology question, seeing as you seem to know all about this.
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! His last words before he went back to his meal were "If you want any tourists coming here at all, you'd serve some decent goddam coffee." The owner turned to his wife and said in Irish (just loudly enough for us closest to hear) "Does he really think I WANT to attract any more like him?" We nearly choked laughing.
) how famous my own countrymen are for getting drunk and streetfighting and puking on innocent bystanders, in other countries. I know, I know.
