EgonSpengler
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- Jun 26, 2014
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From another forum: "How do you spot an American tourist 'from a mile away'?"
Let's see how I stack up...
"They act so amazed by things that are more than 200 years old, presumably because they don't have many things that old in the USA.":
I'm a history nerd, so I seek that stuff out when I'm traveling. But still, I bet a lot of Americans go to places like Europe in part to see old stuff.
"You can hear them in museums when everyone else is extra silent."
I'm pretty good when I'm in museums and cathedrals and so on.
"They're constantly wearing their college t-shirt, sweater or cap." Don't even own one.
"Tipping. Americans will try to tip everyone, even in countries where tipping isn't a thing and can even be considered insulting." Is it considered insulting in some places? I'll have to be more careful to research the customs about tipping, I guess.
"Asking for the bathroom in a restaurant or public place. Do you need to take a shower? No. What you're really looking for is the toilet." One of the things I noticed when visiting someone in France for the first time was the separate toilet and shower. I wish American homes had that.
"They are the first to take their shoes off at airport security...even when there is a sign blatantly saying not to remove your shoes." That's weird.
"When Americans introduce themselves they never say they're from the US. They always start with the state or city they are from." I've noticed people around the world don't quite understand how we view ourselves. In certain ways, people from other places might be better off thinking of the United States as a union of nations. When Europeans are asked where they're from, do they say "Europe"? There's a really sinister scene in Civil War (2024) that plays on this a little bit. Jesse Plemons' line delivery is super-creepy. "Okay. But what kind of American are you?"
"They say 'hi, how are you?' and make conversation with the barista, restaurant servers, retail workers, etc..." Just trying to be friendly, I guess. And I'm from the Northeast, where we're notoriously aloof.
and
"They are absolutely fearless when it comes to asking any random person on the street about anything. I've watched Americans approach people in my home country and abroad starting conversations with strangers that I wouldn't dream of." And we're not afraid to ask a rando on the street whether they speak English. I've had Americans come up to me in other countries, asking whether I speak English and trying to get directions somewhere.
"They're always asking for extra ice in their drinks." American tourists actually have to be specifically warned about this, because the tap water in some countries isn't always safe. You can ask for bottled water, but ice usually isn't made from bottled water.
"They ask for cheese on everything." Well, maybe not everything...
"They ask for to-go coffee cups. Everyone else in Europe sits and drinks their coffee, but Americans always seem to be in a rush so they take their coffee to go." I own five 'travel mugs.'
"They assume stores stay open late or 24/7, even in European countries where most stores close by 7 pm." I don't expect places to be open 24/7, but yeah, the business hours in some places have caught me off-guard before.
"They have impeccable facial hair. Maybe Americans get a trim before they go on holiday, but I'm always impressed by the tidy beards and mustaches." I do try not to dress 'like an American tourist' when I'm traveling, but this comment made me laugh. One stereotype of foreign visitors here is that they always seem over-dressed, over-coiffed, and they wear too much cologne. It's commonly said in my city that you can spot the European and Middle-Eastern college students on campus, because they look like they're dressed to go out clubbing later, at 9:00am on a Wednesday.
"For some reason Americans abroad dress like they're doing some hard core exploring in the Amazon...even when they're just visiting a European city." I'm not sure what this means, so I guess I can't rule out that I meet this stereotype, but when I'm traveling, I dress like I always dress.
"They wear white socks pulled all the way up." [Heck], no.
"When they cross the street, they expect cars to stop for them. In my country, a car will run you down without the driver thinking twice." I almost got hit by a car in London.The light changed when I was halfway across the street, and the guy started moving. Brushed my legs with the front of his car, made me jump out of the way. If he'd indulged me, I'd have happily started a fist-fight with him. Conversely, I remember seeing a French tourist hustling his family across a street here, saying "vite, vite" like they were under fire and thinking, "dude, relax, you're on vacation."
"They ask for ketchup no matter what they're eating." I'm not a maniac for ketchup, but if this can be extended to condiments more broadly... I'm a big hot sauce guy, myself.
"Everyone else is freezing outside and then there's that American walking around in shorts as if it's nothing." 45F/7C is my 'comfort zone.' I don't say 'it's cold out there' until it's down to about 20F/-6C. Canadians know what I'm talkin' 'bout. Everybody else is a wimp.
"They pronounce things horribly and make zero attempt to say it correctly." I made a good-faith effort when I was in France, but I definitely heard Americans who made me want to hide my face. I remember a guy ordering "juice duh orange" in a cafe. I almost died. Of course it said jus d'orange on the menu, so I guess he was just trying to pronounce it phonetically, in his American accent. Don't get me wrong, my pronunciation wasn't good either, but I was still leagues ahead of some of the Americans I met in France.
"They complain that the portions at restaurants are too small." I actually think the rest of the world is much more sane, in this regard. I hate being left with a quarter-plate of food at a restaurant, not wanting to throw it away, but not wanting to take it with me, either.
"Quite often on the heavy side weight-wise (sorry!)" When I was in Europe, I was suddenly fat. When I was in Asia, I was suddenly tall & fat.
---
How do you spot tourists in your country, American or otherwise? Amusing? Endearing? Aggravating? Do you live up or down to any of the stereotypes when you're traveling? I hear the residents of Amsterdam are about ready to declare war on English lads. Perhaps a home-and-away is in order, loser leaves town for 90 days. (I'd watch that.)
Let's see how I stack up...
"They act so amazed by things that are more than 200 years old, presumably because they don't have many things that old in the USA.":
I'm a history nerd, so I seek that stuff out when I'm traveling. But still, I bet a lot of Americans go to places like Europe in part to see old stuff."You can hear them in museums when everyone else is extra silent."
I'm pretty good when I'm in museums and cathedrals and so on."They're constantly wearing their college t-shirt, sweater or cap."
Don't even own one."Tipping. Americans will try to tip everyone, even in countries where tipping isn't a thing and can even be considered insulting."
Is it considered insulting in some places? I'll have to be more careful to research the customs about tipping, I guess."Asking for the bathroom in a restaurant or public place. Do you need to take a shower? No. What you're really looking for is the toilet."
One of the things I noticed when visiting someone in France for the first time was the separate toilet and shower. I wish American homes had that."They are the first to take their shoes off at airport security...even when there is a sign blatantly saying not to remove your shoes."
That's weird."When Americans introduce themselves they never say they're from the US. They always start with the state or city they are from."
I've noticed people around the world don't quite understand how we view ourselves. In certain ways, people from other places might be better off thinking of the United States as a union of nations. When Europeans are asked where they're from, do they say "Europe"? There's a really sinister scene in Civil War (2024) that plays on this a little bit. Jesse Plemons' line delivery is super-creepy. "Okay. But what kind of American are you?""They say 'hi, how are you?' and make conversation with the barista, restaurant servers, retail workers, etc..."
Just trying to be friendly, I guess. And I'm from the Northeast, where we're notoriously aloof.and
"They are absolutely fearless when it comes to asking any random person on the street about anything. I've watched Americans approach people in my home country and abroad starting conversations with strangers that I wouldn't dream of."
And we're not afraid to ask a rando on the street whether they speak English. I've had Americans come up to me in other countries, asking whether I speak English and trying to get directions somewhere."They're always asking for extra ice in their drinks."
American tourists actually have to be specifically warned about this, because the tap water in some countries isn't always safe. You can ask for bottled water, but ice usually isn't made from bottled water."They ask for cheese on everything."
Well, maybe not everything..."They ask for to-go coffee cups. Everyone else in Europe sits and drinks their coffee, but Americans always seem to be in a rush so they take their coffee to go."
I own five 'travel mugs.'"They assume stores stay open late or 24/7, even in European countries where most stores close by 7 pm."
I don't expect places to be open 24/7, but yeah, the business hours in some places have caught me off-guard before."They have impeccable facial hair. Maybe Americans get a trim before they go on holiday, but I'm always impressed by the tidy beards and mustaches."
I do try not to dress 'like an American tourist' when I'm traveling, but this comment made me laugh. One stereotype of foreign visitors here is that they always seem over-dressed, over-coiffed, and they wear too much cologne. It's commonly said in my city that you can spot the European and Middle-Eastern college students on campus, because they look like they're dressed to go out clubbing later, at 9:00am on a Wednesday."For some reason Americans abroad dress like they're doing some hard core exploring in the Amazon...even when they're just visiting a European city."
I'm not sure what this means, so I guess I can't rule out that I meet this stereotype, but when I'm traveling, I dress like I always dress."They wear white socks pulled all the way up."
[Heck], no."When they cross the street, they expect cars to stop for them. In my country, a car will run you down without the driver thinking twice."
I almost got hit by a car in London.The light changed when I was halfway across the street, and the guy started moving. Brushed my legs with the front of his car, made me jump out of the way. If he'd indulged me, I'd have happily started a fist-fight with him. Conversely, I remember seeing a French tourist hustling his family across a street here, saying "vite, vite" like they were under fire and thinking, "dude, relax, you're on vacation.""They ask for ketchup no matter what they're eating."
I'm not a maniac for ketchup, but if this can be extended to condiments more broadly... I'm a big hot sauce guy, myself."Everyone else is freezing outside and then there's that American walking around in shorts as if it's nothing."
45F/7C is my 'comfort zone.' I don't say 'it's cold out there' until it's down to about 20F/-6C. Canadians know what I'm talkin' 'bout. Everybody else is a wimp."They pronounce things horribly and make zero attempt to say it correctly."
I made a good-faith effort when I was in France, but I definitely heard Americans who made me want to hide my face. I remember a guy ordering "juice duh orange" in a cafe. I almost died. Of course it said jus d'orange on the menu, so I guess he was just trying to pronounce it phonetically, in his American accent. Don't get me wrong, my pronunciation wasn't good either, but I was still leagues ahead of some of the Americans I met in France."They complain that the portions at restaurants are too small."
I actually think the rest of the world is much more sane, in this regard. I hate being left with a quarter-plate of food at a restaurant, not wanting to throw it away, but not wanting to take it with me, either."Quite often on the heavy side weight-wise (sorry!)"
When I was in Europe, I was suddenly fat. When I was in Asia, I was suddenly tall & fat.---
How do you spot tourists in your country, American or otherwise? Amusing? Endearing? Aggravating? Do you live up or down to any of the stereotypes when you're traveling? I hear the residents of Amsterdam are about ready to declare war on English lads. Perhaps a home-and-away is in order, loser leaves town for 90 days. (I'd watch that.)
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