The "Ugly" American

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by lionlove
Cream, LOL at the Mona Lisa! Doesn't it seem really small and unimpressive in that large room?

Some gems that I overheard while I was in Europe.

On a train from Cannes to Marseille:
"I hate this f***ing language, they should speak English like the rest of the world"

In Barcelona:
"The KFC here is not as good as the KFC in (name of American city), they need better food here"

In a cheese shop in France
"Your nacho cheese here sucks"

Luckily, the majority of Americans I met in Europe were not like this.

Those are good. Years ago, my sister was in Mexico and heard this gem from a fellow American tourist:

"I'm sick of that stanky white cheese that's always on our food! I can hardly wait to get home and get some good ol' Velveeta!"

[justamom]

Even now as we plan a trip to Santa Fe, I am reading up on the Indian culture and how toursts are expected to behave.

It's a lack of polish and not being well traveled that make most people behave boorishly. The others, well there will always be
a segment of society that is uncouth.

"The Ugly American"- GREAT book BTW!

[tinydancer]

I, too, was surprised by how small the Mona Lisa is. Some of us stood on a bench on the other side of the room so we could see it over the heads of the crowd.

[AlphaSigOU]

What really gets me more than a little annoyed is when people look at me and my darker than average skin and automatically assume I'm a Mexican (or other Hispanic) and attempt to try their awful Spanish on me. they wind up earning the ASS part of 'assume' when I turn around and speak to them in perfect Noo Yawk-accented English.

Don't get me wrong, though -- I'm proud of my Hispanic heritage and am perfectly fluent in Spanish. (As long as I think in Spanish and not in English -- it makes for some horrendous grammatical barbarisms when you mix them up!)

A Mexican speaking Spanish to me would have me pegged for a 'Puertorro' (Puerto Rican) or Cuban really quickly because of the accent and idioms I use compared to their Spanish. Actually it's Venezuelan Spanish, which sounds similar to Spanish spoken in the Caribbean but with its own slang and idioms that are distinct to that country.

Having spent two years in Germany courtesy of Uncle Sam, I did take advantage of the local culture. Yes... I also had to try out a Big Mac and a beer at the SuckDonald's in the Trier Marktplatz! No Booger King unless you were on base. Most times I chowed down on the famous schnitzel at Mom's Place (what everyone called the local restaurant in Spangdahlem town). Even ate pizza European style -- with a knife and fork. And I knew quite a few people who pretty much became 'barracks rats', never setting foot outside the base for their entire tour.

[ZTAngel]

When I was in Puerto Rico during winter break, this man who was on our cruise ship started harrassing one of the women who worked in one of the stores in San Juan. He started questioning on her on why the Puerto Ricans don't want to become part of the United States. The woman explained that it was so the Puerto Ricans could maintain their own culture and their own values. The guy just didn't get it. He kept saying stuff like, "I don't get why you wouldn't want to be an American?" and "I think it sounds better say 'I'm an American' than 'I'm a Puerto Rican'". I didn't even know the guy and I was still embarrassed that a fellow American would harrass this poor woman and tell her that basically America is better than her country.

[Sistermadly]

Originally posted by ktsnake

I'm sometimes embarassed to call myself American when I travel abroad because of these people ... We don't always exactly put our best foot forward.

ktsnake, you totally read my mind. I was telling my husband about this last night that sometimes I don't like telling people that I'm American because of the conclusions they'll leap to once they find out. I get tired of having to defend myself, or saying "but I'm not like them!" These days, if someone asks me if I'm Canadian, I'm likely to say yes.

[bcdphie]

I always try to speak the country's native tongue when I am travelling - however I had a bit of a traumatic experience (I was only ten) when visiting the south of france. I started to learn french at the age of 5, however I have learned to speak Canadian French which is different from Parisian french and different from the dialects in the south of france. Anyways I asked for a dinner menu - wouldn't have had any problems in Quebec - the lady told me she would find someone who spoke english - I was so crushed and frustrated because I knew I had asked correctly for the menu, but Quebecois is different so I refused to speak anymore french the rest of my vacation and made my dad do all the talking .

[Munchkin03]

Reading this, I am reminded of that Ace character from RW-Paris. I want to take him by the ear and throw him on a plane that will take him to whatever rock that one crawled under. Gross.

I lived in Rome for six months last year, and I was amazed by the number of Americans who were completely clueless. Most of the major tourist and shopping areas are bilingual, but I thought it was amazing how many people would compliment me on my excellent English, never stopping to think that I could actually be an American, too!

By far the "ugliest" ones are in the bars. The only drunken people I ever saw walking down the street talking loudly in that fresh from the frat house way were other Americans.

[swissmiss04]

I'm in summer school now taking French. Half the class (4 or 5 people) have actually travelled to France. However, I cringe, because I'm sure their butchering of "la langue sacrée" and their crude manners (even by American standards) was a "great" representation of America. I'm sickened by people who make it a point to keep things "just like home" when they go abroad. Ok, sure maybe drinking water straight out of the tap isn't always such a great idea, but will it kill you to respect their culture? Some of the best food out there is in the hole in wall places where they don't speak English. But no, they have to go seek out a McDonalds (which frankly sucks in any part of the world). And we wonder why the rest of the world laughs at us.

[Cloud9]

OOh, actually, this is something I've been worrying about. I'll be going to Italy for ten days(near Naples) in August, and it's the third foreign country I'll have visited besides Brittain and Canada, and the first one where English is not generally spoken. I've taken spanish, but no Italian in my academic career, but I'm trying to learn enough to survive over the next few months. Does anyone know what the Italian sentiment towards Americans is right now, and what sort of important etiquette and culture tips I should follow? Also, how should I dress to be inconspicuous(avoiding things like those damn "fanny" packs, hawaiin shirts and baseball caps are of course obvious whether traveling or not!)?

[Jill1228]

Which is why my husband has NO desire to EVER go back to Quebec!!!!!!! (with the exception of seeing some family members and visiting his father's grave)

He grew up in Montreal

Originally posted by bcdphie
I always try to speak the country's native tongue when I am travelling - however I had a bit of a traumatic experience (I was only ten) when visiting the south of france. I started to learn french at the age of 5, however I have learned to speak Canadian French which is different from Parisian french and different from the dialects in the south of france. Anyways I asked for a dinner menu - wouldn't have had any problems in Quebec - the lady told me she would find someone who spoke english - I was so crushed and frustrated because I knew I had asked correctly for the menu, but Quebecois is different so I refused to speak anymore french the rest of my vacation and made my dad do all the talking .

[lifesaver]

Originally posted by lionlove
Cream, LOL at the Mona Lisa! Doesn't it seem really small and unimpressive in that large room?

Some gems that I overheard while I was in Europe.

On a train from Cannes to Marseille:
"I hate this f***ing language, they should speak English like the rest of the world"

In Barcelona:
"The KFC here is not as good as the KFC in (name of American city), they need better food here"

In a cheese shop in France
"Your nacho cheese here sucks"

Luckily, the majority of Americans I met in Europe were not like this.

Oh, I have two:

On a tour group outside of Monterrey Mexico,
"These are the nastiest enchiladas we have ever had. This sint what they are supposed to taste like. We lived in Waco, Texas for 10 years. We KNOW What Mexican food is supposed to taste like."

I couldda died of embarrassment. I was hoping that the tour woudl leave them behind.

2) One of my fraternity brothers over lunch discussing the English Only movement in Texas at the time (Requiring all business and such in Texas to be done in english to be considered legal - Currently, many state documents and ballots are bi-lingual)

He said, "By god, if English was good enough for Jesus to speak, its good enough for the peoples of Texas."

Silence. Nothing but silence. I wanted him to give up his letters right there. lol.

I used to office with a woman from Bangladesh. She was awesoem and remains one of my good friends to this day. Becasue her english wasnt 100% perfect, people always assumed she was stupid, and had NO patience with her. When in fact, she was cool, giving and CRAZY smart. Yeah, her english wasnt perfect, but ya knwo what? She was far from stupid. English was the 8th language she had learned, and had only been speaking it for 2 years when I met her. In her native country, she ran a shool for girls that had 1200 pupils. Stupid? Hardly.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by lifesaver

He said, "By god, if English was good enough for Jesus to speak, its good enough for the peoples of Texas."

I would have died laughing.

Unfortunately (or probably fortunately) I have no ugly American stories. I've been to Mexico, Spain, Austria and Germany and I've found that as long as you make an attempt to speak the language, the people are super-friendly. In Germany (a high school trip) all we knew of the language was "Danke," plus the words for "Please" and "Good morning/evening" (which I have since forgotten), but everyone was really nice even so. (Maybe this is because we were 15 and 16 at the time and they didn't expect much of us?)

[justamom]

I am SO impressed with all of you guys that can speak other languages!!! I just never had the ear for it! Several posts back someone stated they should start our children out learning another language. I couldn't agree more. We do that here with French and those children are really fortunate. It's just too bad the number who can participate in the program is so limited.

[aephi alum]

I'm also impressed with those of you who can speak more than one language. I never had the gift I agree, they should start kids in kindergarten; 6th grade (the youngest that you could start learning a foreign language in my school system) is far too late.

How's this for an ugly American story:

I was in Singapore, and decided to take a day trip into Malaysia. The tour description was very clear - we were going to a fishing village, taking a tour, and having lunch. Most people, myself included, wore jeans and sneakers - good, sturdy, practical clothes.

A woman and her ~15 year old son joined the tour group (definitely American by their accent), and I almost fell over seeing how they were dressed.

The boy was wearing a lime green jumpsuit. He was probably visible from space.

She was wearing a top, miniskirt, and stiletto heels. Umm, real practical. Was she planning on hooking up?? We took a tour of the fishing village by boat, and while climbing a ladder to get out of the boat, she broke a heel (big shock!) - and spent the rest of the tour hobbling about and sulking.

Naturally, they complained loudly about the food.

*sigh*