Way to encourage a stereotype

[smileyeagle1021]

See, I have met quite a few people from many different places. So far, I think it's the entire North American continent that has horrible people...uh...everywhere It's people...people are the downfall of society

hey, not all people everywhere are bad...

though I must say that I like our very few Russian visitors... they have cool accents and Russians are strangely attractive (yes, I am that shallow sometimes, leave me alone). People from north america don't have cool accents... ok, a lot of them are attractive though.

[Sharsarannon]

Well said!

If I ever get the chance to travel outside the USA, I promise I will be on my best behavior, polite and interested in the local color, and not be a self-centered boor.

Heck, that behavior here at home will get you a lot of smiles too, as I'm sure you've already found!

[edible_hat]

Cafe o latte is what you should ask for


...right?

Yeah, somehting like that. Latte means milk, cafe means coffee. So cafe latte is coffee with milk.

[crazylegs]

2. (brace yourselves) The Amerrykin Toorist who is here ta see the castles and stuff,

...and who exclaims at Windsor Castle "Gee, its a lovely Castle, but why'd they build it so close to the airport..."

[Samaliel]

2. (brace yourselves) The Amerrykin Toorist who is here ta see the castles and stuff, and wants more ketchup and mayo, and talks and points and swears LOUDLY everywhere, and yells about why nobody will "talk english" to them.

My best worst Amerrykin Toorist moment was one day, when I was chatting with a friend, walking down an avenue in Paris, a guy asked "Excuse me, are you French ?"

I answered, "Why, yes, I am."

And then, out of the blue : "Fuck you ! Fuck you people and fuck this country !"

My friend and I were struck speechless. As he strode away, I yelled : "If you don't like our country, please, feel free to leave !"

I don't know for sure he was an US citizen, but he didn't sound like a Brit and his attitude and attire screamed American. From the part of the US that don't usually get outside their home county.

[Becks]

A mother asked me (I spoke German) why the Germans didn't act 'more grateful' to us. I looked puzzled and she explained they should be grateful to Americans for saving them from the Nazis in WWII. I couldn't help nut laugh in her face

:deep breath:



OK, got that out of my system. I wonder who it is, because I'd like to hear her other musings and observations...and then

[AdminAssistant]

Cafe o latte is what you should ask for

Well, in French it would be "cafe au lait" so..yeah, I think so.

I am personally dreaming of the day I can afford to go to Europe and embarrass myself by speaking terribly broken French and getting lost in Lyon.

And before I go, I will make sure I know how to say basic phrases in every language I may encounter. (Nothing like not knowing how to ask, "where is the bathroom?" in a moment of crisis.)

[protege]

oh, Utah gets the Toorist on VeeKayShun too...

We get plenty of toorists (or Tourons) here in Pennsylvania too. They're usually passing through on the way to Ohio or New Jersey though. It's gotten to the point that I can usually spot them pretty easily. The vast majority can't drive for shit, and they tend to mispronounce things. As soon as they ask for North Versai (North Versailles...pronounced Ver-Sails) or Doo-Kwesni (Duquense...Du-Kane), I know that they're not local The best though, have to be the people looking for our massive steel mills. Many European magazines still claim that Pittsburgh is still home to a booming steel industry. It's rather depressing to see the looks on their faces when we tell them that the mills are gone

[Elspeth]

My question has always been:

If they call it tourist season, why can't we shoot them?


Worked in Seattle and rode the ferry for about 5 years. You could always tell the tourists because they couldn't walk straight on the boat. Communters could walk a straight line in some of the worst storms. We would all laugh at them.

[smileyeagle1021]

We get plenty of toorists (or Tourons) here in Pennsylvania too. They're usually passing through on the way to Ohio or New Jersey though. It's gotten to the point that I can usually spot them pretty easily. The vast majority can't drive for shit, and they tend to mispronounce things. As soon as they ask for North Versai (North Versailles...pronounced Ver-Sails) or Doo-Kwesni (Duquense...Du-Kane), I know that they're not local The best though, have to be the people looking for our massive steel mills. Many European magazines still claim that Pittsburgh is still home to a booming steel industry. It's rather depressing to see the looks on their faces when we tell them that the mills are gone

oh I can also tell people who aren't local, when they ask where the nearest (insert business) you give them an address or intersection (I'll use the closest movie theatre as an example), you tell them that it is at the southern end of the gateway mall, you'll want to use the parking entrance on 200 south just west of 400 west... they will give you a blank stare... or worse, give them an exact address, like that is 450 west 200 south... and their eyes will glaze over. My other favorite is the person who will ask at 15:55 where they can get alcohol and you have to explain to them that they can't because alcohol can't be sold after 1am and the closest place that sells alcohol is at least a 7 minute drive, so you're SOL until the morning friend.

[Jester]

I really do beleive that the 'rude american' is an undeserved stereotype that is placed upon most of the populace.

I am American, and I have to disagree. We produce plenty of true Ugly Americans, and I deal with them often, working in this tourist town of mine. Yes, there are tons of wonderful Americans, and I truly believe that this IS the greatest country on Earth....but the Ugly Americans are a good portion of the reason so many people around the world HATE us. And frankly, as many Ugly Americans as I deal with, I am tempted to hate us too. But I know the other side, and that most Americans are pretty awesome.

By the way, it is my firm belief that anyone who goes on vacation and only wants to know where the nearest McDonald's is should be shot dead where they stand. Let the cleaning crew pick up their carcass in the morning.

Yes, I am deadly serious about that last part. Fucking idiots. Experience some local cuisine, you fucking moron.

Brazilians are perhaps more expressive, but by the same math there are less than a million of the Brazilian DA's out there disgracing their country.

Brazilians can be as obnoxious and rude as they want, just as long as they keep producing those GORGEOUS Brazilian woman. Good lord, but they are hot. Nothing against anyone else, but I firmly believe that Brazilian women, as a group, are the hottest on the planet, by leaps and bounds.

[Boozy]

I think it's safe to say that there is no country in this world with a monopoly on sucky customers or bad tourists. They're everywhere.

We're beating a dead horse now. There's no need to agree or disagree with stereotypes, and any discussions about the image of Americans abroad is best left to Fratching.

Let's just stick to the sucky tourist stories, please. I find them amusing.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Rudeness while visiting a foreign country is not exclusive to Americans. I saw a pretty good example of this in Las Vegas last week.

We were visiting The Venetian. For those unfamiliar with this hotel/casino/shopping mall/really honkin' big building, there is a series of moving walkways that takes you up from the sidewalk, past Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, up to doors you can enter to access the shops or there's an escalator down to the casino. The other way to get inside the building is to cut through the driveways, which I do not recommend unless you want to be scraped out of the grille of a taxi or limousine (in Las Vegas, they move fast, even in the driveways)

As we're riding the walkways up, some noisy Europeans (I won't specifically name where they seemed to be from) started barging up the walkway, nudging people out of the way. One woman got shoved into the handrail and just about fell as they passed.

Finally, they reached the doors. But they didn't open them for themselves, Instead they sat around chatting until somebody behind them made it to the doors and opened them. Then they shoved their way inside and "graciously" let somebody else open the second set of doors for them.

Behind me, I overheard somebody say "And not a 'thank you' out of any of them."

[Pagan]

I can't believe the best variety of ugly tourista....

The one's that think they've left the US when they come to New Mexico. I remember one time in a shop in Mesilla (small town thisclose to Las Cruces) some damntourist was asking if there was anything like a 7-11 or a grocery store anywhere around. I looked at the poor clerk, she looked and me, and I said (since she couldn't), "Sir, if you drive a couple miles that way, you'll find a city of about 75000." I really think he thought he was in Old Mexico!

that reminds me of living in Reno, when tourists would complain about how high gas prices are and residents should be ashamed of their city for taking advantage of tourists by having high prices... it's like, hello asshole, guess what you will pay those prices for a week, we will pay those prices every week of every month of the year. Or do they think that all we have to do is walk into the station and tell the clerk "bob johnson" and the price magically goes down 30cents.

Oh yeah! It's especially bad in Santa Fé. Because of the tourists and the minimum wage law. *grumble, made one of my favorite restaurants up there close, grumble*. But that's another rant for another time on another website!

And before I go, I will make sure I know how to say basic phrases in every language I may encounter. (Nothing like not knowing how to ask, "where is the bathroom?" in a moment of crisis.)

¿Dónde esta el baño?

Oh, right, you need French....con permiso, un memento....

Ca bhfuil an leithreas? - Crap, Irish

NuqDaq' oh' puccpa' 'e'? - Oh, that's really not helpful, unless your going to Kronos to hear Wagner in the original Klingon.

Ah, here we go -
Où sont les toilettes?
-or-
Où est la salle de bain?

I firmly believe that's the absolutely most important phrase to learn in as many languages as possible!

[Evil Queen]

I firmly believe that's the absolutely most important phrase to learn in as many languages as possible!

Yes. Yes it is. Most people say the best phrase is "I'd like to order a beer" But I think it's "Where's the bathroom?"