To you International Ladies

[foxykita143]

I love love LOVE people from overseas. Whenever I meet someone from overseas I am immediately drawn to them and I love learning just the simplest bits of information about where they are from, whether it be England, Germany, China, Egypt, you name it. I hate to sound rude towards my country but I truly feel that people from overseas have a way of thinking that some Americans could really benefit from, especially issues pertaining things like self image and self esteem, hard work, and life in general. Just like another poster who said she saw some tourists walking around with Dooney and Burke bags and iPods, I totally agree with what she meant, because in America, we really are materialistic (I admit, I am too, but only when it comes to purses and make up--but I'm not a bitch about it, its only about my own personal belongings, which I work so I can purchase it with my own money

). And yes, we generally are louder. And us walking in huge groups? Thats what tourists do. When your in a country you know nothing about, it's a natural reaction to stay with who and what you know, and it may be rude, but I guarantee if you would walk by and say "excuse me" everyone would have been embarrassed and moved out of the way, and they would probably be excited that a native spoke to them. When we go overseas, we dont want to be tourists, we come so we can see how beautiful your country is, and to appreciate all of the normal things you do daily. It's like trying to live your life in a weeks time so yes, we are excited, and yes, we stay in groups, but you better believe if you befriended a tourist, they would much rather hang out with you and your friends and see the city/country how you see it than be stuck in boring tour groups and see the "fake" side of things. You dont know how many stories I've heard about people having the best time of their life in England because they met some people at the bar, and they ended up showing them "the real London", or how they went to France and met some people who took them out and "helped them avoid all of those horrible tourist traps". Most Americans are nice people, and usually if they are doing something wrong, they would rather hear the correct way to behave or act, than look like an asshole and give Americans a bad name. If you see some "obnoxious Americans", go up to them and just say "Hey you know how the real *insert here* do this?" or "Excuse me, you guys are blocking this path, could you move over a little please?" I can't speak for everyone, because as another poster stated, there are assholes everywhere, but generally, your typical American will be happy to oblige. Better to say something and see what happens than to let us piss off the whole country or ruin some strangers day. And I bet if you do say something, the American will talk to you for a little and then you'll see that they aren't some crazy wanker stampeding through your town with a water bottle and a digital camera.

 

[msmack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger9 Canadian's do the socks with sandals too!

Shhhhh! lol

 

[Le-Saboteur]

New Zealand women tend to "dress down", we'll say, so I can't really tell a difference between the typical female American tourist and a local lady. I can only really tell Americans when they talk, and even then I confuse them with Canadians (like captodometer said), unless they've got a hard core New York or southern accent or something. Most of the tourists I've run into here in Christchurch are elderly people that come in on cruise ships, and they're usually pretty reserved and polite. So many of them catch my bus and I get asked all the time about local stuff to see and all that... Yeah, they've all been really nice. It could be different elsewhere here, this city isn't exactly a hub of activity

 

[red]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrissyclass I consider myself very well traveled and I just came from Hong Kong and they are the loudest people I've ever come across. I'm talking yelling and screaming is a normal conversation. Their kinda loud talkers in S.Korea too.

Some Asian languages have a higher pitch

 

[foxykita143]

Quote:

Originally Posted by msmack Shhhhh! lol

lol

i lived in MI and have been to Canada a few times but uhm...I didnt see anything..

 

[red]

I live in NY, my boyfriend lives in Rome. I have often asked him how can people tell I'm American. He says I SCREAM RED WHITE AND BLUE

It's in the mannerism, the way we speak, gesticulate, not so much what we wear, but how we wear it. I don't think we're loud as a group, we're just mellow, laid back and like to have fun.

He also said that since knowing me, he has completely changed his ideas of what Americans are .. which is a good thing ;-) .. perception is not always reality baby!

p.s. You really can't judge someone while they're on vacation, you see another side of them, more relaxed, at ease. Listen, when I was down in South Beach, listening to that latin beat with a margarita in my hand, I was a bit loud too :-D

 

[jasminbarley]

*****

 

[RaynelleM]

This is how I spot an American: They are usually the ones standing infront of a vending machine with a bunch of change in their hands saying "what the heck is a loonie and a toonie??"

LOL!!

 

[msmack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaynelleM This is how I spot an American: They are usually the ones standing infront of a vending machine with a bunch of change in their hands saying "what the heck is a loonie and a toonie??" LOL!!

haha *high five* - thats awesome (I love being Canadian!)

 

[Mizz.Yasmine]

i don't think it's an american thing its just a tourist thing. i mean i live in miami n can spot a tourist EASY. they just have that ''im on vacation'' look.

 

[stella89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxykita143 I'm from the South too, (South Carolina to be exact) but originally from Detroit, MI. When I lived in Michigan, there were actually a couple of British people that lived around me, some Germans, and tons of Arabs, Asians, Russians, you name it. Anyway, I work at a golf course, and during Masters Week, we had people from all over, but mainly Britain, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, and Japan. I found the Scottish and Irish people to be the nicest group overall, and they were pretty talkative and very complimentary about South Carolina, the country club, and the way we treated them. They said that over where they live the people aren't as nice or outgoing and it was refreshing. The next best group would be the Australian WOMEN. They were such sweet ladies, and very polite. The next best group was probably the people from Britain, however they tended to have a stuck up attitude about them, which regretfully I've noticed in a lot of Brits (none of you ladies/gents on Specktra though!). I also have to say I have a thing for British accents and there was a very very cute boy who kept talking to me and asking me to go on a date but I had to decline (I have a boyfriend lol). After that would be the Japanese. Some of my co workers thought they were rude, but I knew that they have different customs and thats just they way the culture is so it didn't bother me (not rude, just quiet). The last group would definitely be the Australian men. A few of the older men were very nice, but the rest of them were straight up pigs. They were trying to play grab ass with every female employee there and about 5 of them complained to my boss about them sexually harassing them verbally and physically. One of them grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him and told me to give him a "girlie show" and then tried to get my phone number but I got away from him quickly. I dont know if this is just this particular group of men, but they didn't leave the best impression. Besides all of that, I would say the negative opinions most Americans have of Brits is that they are a little rude, they somewhat give off a know-it-all impression, they are pessimistic, and they are judgmental. The positive ones I have however, is that they are good conversationalists, they are funny (I like sarcastic sense of humor and I've found this in a lot of my British friends), and they have a unique fashion sense. I also have found that they are a little more accepting of different kinds of people, and there is not as much hate concerning race or sexual orientation over there as there is in America. I may be wrong, but this is just what I'm assuming based off of what I've seen first hand. Either way, I think if any country gets to know another and understand the culture and why it is the way it is, people would be a whole lot more understandable. I'm not easily offended and I adapt easily so none of it really bothers me, I actually have respect for people who appreciate and represent where they are from.

couldn't agree more with statement in bold. as much as i notice americans are loud (and seemingly obnoxious) they are 90% of the time very friendly and easy to talk to. australian men however (especially those in their 20s-40s) are just plain rude, obviously not all of them, but that's what ive noticed when travelling and i often feel embarrassed to be aussie if there's a group like that nearby! they're worse than americans in that sense. im sorry you had such a bad experience, at least the aussie women were nice

 

[jayleelah]

lol that's exactly like that in Brussels.
You were in Brussels right ?

I'm from a little city and we respect queues everywhere, we never push people etc. So when I'm in Brussels, I know I have to do the opposite lol
Especially when I'm in a bus with friends or family, I tell them : "if you wanna get off the bus, push people! this excuse me thing doesn't work here"

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustDivine However, the courteous British nature is not common across Europe. Having spent the last year living in Belgium where.....people do not respect queues (esp at bus stops), people spread themselves across the pavement and do not feel that they should move to let you pass. At times I have had to barge people and not look back because they can see you coming but will not move. I find it disgraceful

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nek0 well, something I sometimes see in American tourists (not all, of course), is the socks with sandals thing

We Americans can't take all the credit for that now!

I lived/worked in Europe for 4 years and wow...dress socks with shorts. I saw that more than a few times on the older men.

I will also say that when DH and I travelled (Europe, Asia and Africa), a lot of people would ask DH and I if we were English, Irish or Australian. I guess some locals just plug you into the closest english-speaking, mostly white area they can think off. That being said, I think sometimes Americans get the blame for rowdy Brits or Aussies abroad. Not to say that we don't do our fair share of partying, but I definitely witnessed some displays of "loud" behaviour from Brits and Aussies whilst travelling.

DH and I are great at picking out where people are from, whether in the US or abroad. We used to make a game of it. Name the nationality, then subtly side up to them to eavesdrop on their conversation to use their language as confirmation of our guess. I know, totally dorky, but fun.

 

[JustDivine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayleelah lol that's exactly like that in Brussels. You were in Brussels right ? I'm from a little city and we respect queues everywhere, we never push people etc. So when I'm in Brussels, I know I have to do the opposite lol Especially when I'm in a bus with friends or family, I tell them : "if you wanna get off the bus, push people! this : excuse me thing doesn't work here"

Most certainly Brussels! But it was like that in Gent too where I lived for a while.

 

[foxykita143]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stella89 couldn't agree more with statement in bold. as much as i notice americans are loud (and seemingly obnoxious) they are 90% of the time very friendly and easy to talk to. australian men however (especially those in their 20s-40s) are just plain rude, obviously not all of them, but that's what ive noticed when travelling and i often feel embarrassed to be aussie if there's a group like that nearby! they're worse than americans in that sense. im sorry you had such a bad experience, at least the aussie women were nice

yes, the men were definitely in their 20s-40s! i'm glad i didn't offend you by saying that, and it's too bad that it is like that! but as i said, the aussie women were very very sweet and i wouldn't mind if they came back, they just need to keep those bad boys on a shorter leash!

 

[Rennah]

Ah, tourists.

I can't really tell where the tourists who come here are from, but I guess the majority of them are American. They do dress funny, especially the older ones - Hawaiian shirts, socks with velcro sandals...lol. And those visors.

I haven't ever encountered any rude or obnoxious tourists... they all seem very nice. Bermudians like to be helpful, & I always help tourists out with directions. We need tourists here to support our economy... so we treat them well!

btw, MAC_Whore said something about dress socks with shorts... that's normal business attire here! Ever hear of... Bermuda shorts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ?

 

[aleksis210]

That's funny that everyone is saying they can spot an american by how they dress(bad) because it's the same for me when spotting a european, so I'm just going to assume that most people just dress bad when they are on vacation...lol...Maybe no one wants to take their good clothes, because they are afraid they will get ruined? Who knows....Also about the English having "bad" teeth, it isn't that, it's just that they aren't 'fake' looking(braces,bleach, etc.)

 

[user79]

I was recently on vacation in Italy and I thought about this thread. The Americans being very loud with their voices, I had never noticed it before but it was really true. Even in throngs of tourists, with everyone around us was speaking in a normal tone, American tourists always spoke unusually loud. You could follow entire conversations even being quite far away from them - in museums, restaurants, at hotels, or even just walking down the street. I think because Americans speak in more animated tones, but a lot of European people got annoyed with it.

BTW the socks with sandals isn't just an American thing. I see a lot of older German people wearing this as well. SO HIDEOUS! It seems to be universally ugly, lol.

 

[Willa]

I'm from Montreal and I can spot Americans right away
I don't know how, but I do. I guess it's the look

And just as MissChievous said, they tend to talk very loud all the time... But as a francophone, I can tell you that it's generaly all the anglophones who speak loud (americans, english speaking canadians etc...)

 

[laperle]

I'm brazilian and I have to be honest and say I can tell when a tourist is american (in general, ok?). The european tourists are more discreet in the clothing and the asian (mostly japanese) are always taking pics of everything and forget to enjoy the place.

American tourists are louder (some german too) and dress vibrant colors only american do.

When I lived in Paris, the american tourists were the easiest to identify and they always took me by a french and asked me for directions everywhere. Oh, and in Paris there were lots of large groups of americans and they are louder than the other groups.

And japanese are loud with their cameras

Anyway, brazilian groups of tourists are HELL, so... but I don't travel in groups, so I feel like saying that.

Paris and Rio are cities so full of tourists we just get used to identify.