What I loved about England! (home, airport, train)
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My thoughts exactly! I can't stand the snobbery and self righteousness some (not all) residents of big cities have, as if they own the city. "How dare people come into MY city and stand on MY sidewalk and get in MY way!" Well done, you've just defined the stereotype of New Yorkers as rude, angry, unwelcoming, self-centered jerks.
Manchester isn't even one of the biggest tourist destinations in the UK and yet while I was showing my brother and his wife around one day, this bratty little teenage girl passed us and snapped "Stupid tourists, get out of my city!" I felt like telling her that she better not have ever gone on holiday (vacation) anywhere in her past or future because it would just make her a massive hypocrite. But then, she probably would have needed a dictionary to know what a hypocrite is so I didn't bother.
I agree too! You should see how (some) Londoners tut at tourists just for not knowing which side of the escalator to stand! Its as if they own the escalator just because they live in a 20 mile radius of it!!! Personally if I find a tourist blocking the way I will politely ask them to move aside with a smile, I then usually find out that they just didn't realise there is a 'stand on the right' thing - and why should they know this anyway!
I agree too! You should see how (some) Londoners tut at tourists just for not knowing which side of the escalator to stand! Its as if they own the escalator just because they live in a 20 mile radius of it!!! Personally if I find a tourist blocking the way I will politely ask them to move aside with a smile, I then usually find out that they just didn't realise there is a 'stand on the right' thing - and why should they know this anyway!
For us those of us enough spent time in big cities, the stand on the right is given, I thought almost everyone knew. It gets irritating to blocked by people on vacation standing around on an escalator or sidewalk all the time when you're trying to get somewhere.
For us those of us enough spent time in big cities, the stand on the right is given, I thought almost everyone knew. It gets irritating to blocked by people on vacation standing around on an escalator or sidewalk all the time when you're trying to get somewhere.
The thing is though, they are doing it unintentionally. If/when you are rude to them for getting in your way, you are doing it intentionally. I can understand why you find it irritating but there's no need to be rude. A polite "Excuse me, thanks" should do the trick. I've lived in a big city for 8 years and I've managed to never be rude to someone just for unintentionally getting in my way.
The thing is though, they are doing it unintentionally. If/when you are rude to them for getting in your way, you are doing it intentionally. I can understand why you find it irritating but there's no need to be rude. A polite "Excuse me, thanks" should do the trick. I've lived in a big city for 8 years and I've managed to never be rude to someone just for unintentionally getting in my way.
There isn't time for politeness in big cities. It's just how it is. Don't like it? Live in a town or village. You can't expect that from a city of millions of people rushing to get from A to B.
There isn't time for politeness in big cities. It's just how it is. Don't like it? Live in a town or village. You can't expect that from a city of millions of people rushing to get from A to B.
Oh please.
First of all, we're talking about tourists. They probably do live in a town or a village and are visiting the city.
And why are they in "your" city (a city that has invested a considerable amount of effort and money into enticing tourists to come see the sights)? To see the sights. To look at things in other words. And they've come to do that at CONSIDERABLE expense on their part. I'd say they've paid dearly for the opportunity to look closely at things that interest them. They have just as much a right to stop and look at things as you have to rush past them.
Add to the this that in the UK, people drive on a different side of the road than places many of these tourists come from, and you can see the bit of added confusion about which side of an elevator or a sidewalk to stand on. Also, they're often a bit confused about directions, because as you pointed out so clearly, there are millions of people rushing about.
And finally - why would anyone want to give someone a bad impression of their city?
Cut them some slack. It doesn't take any more time to be pleasant than it does to be unpleasant. "'S'cuse me," isn't any harder to say with a smile than "Get out of my effing way!" or "Go home!" is with a frown. In fact, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.
Now, if they're being intentionally rude, that's another story - I'm not talking about those sorts of people. I'm just talking about tourists who are "standing in your way" by looking at exactly what they came to look at, or who are on the "wrong" side of the elevator, or who are slowly walking down the street trying to figure out where the heck they are while you're pushing past them because you're late for work again.
There isn't time for politeness in big cities. It's just how it is. Don't like it? Live in a town or village. You can't expect that from a city of millions of people rushing to get from A to B.
I am sorry but there is ALWAYS time for politeness and politeness takes no effort whatsoever, I am sure that they are not intentionally getting in the way. I suppose we could all save further time and not bother to ever use the words please and thank you!?
There isn't time for politeness in big cities. It's just how it is. Don't like it? Live in a town or village. You can't expect that from a city of millions of people rushing to get from A to B.
Like I say, I've lived in a big city for 8 years now and I still manage to not be rude without it making me late or otherwise interrupting my day. If I can do it, so can everyone else. If you really struggle to take a few seconds out of your day to say a polite "Excuse me" and "thank you", perhaps the problem has more to do with a lack of good time manage skills.
Ok time to put in a really big plug plug for the fellows in London who run the Underground. They made the big city pretty personal to us! Got lost in the Tubes... er my wife too..and at the same time. ;-)..But those guys were on it. They pulled out the stops to get us back together. But I have to say it's kind of weird to tell the police that your wife kind of disappeared from you in the Tubes man. I think they looked at me funny. Unfortunately I will never live down getting lost as tourist down there...but hey I am indebted to London forevah!..
The London Underground is no place for wimps, it has always been the same my advise to tourists is to stay out of there in rush hours, you could be tripped up, poked in the eye with an umbrella, trampled on and left for dead.
Ok time to put in a really big plug plug for the fellows in London who run the Underground. They made the big city pretty personal to us! Got lost in the Tubes... er my wife too..and at the same time. ;-)..But those guys were on it. They pulled out the stops to get us back together. But I have to say it's kind of weird to tell the police that your wife kind of disappeared from you in the Tubes man. I think they looked at me funny. Unfortunately I will never live down getting lost as tourist down there...but hey I am indebted to London forevah!..
Nice story, both the fact that the guys down there were a big help and also the fact that you made an effort to find your wife again (I reckon some men wouldn't have bothered! :-) )
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