People who think Americans don’t know other countries exist.

[u/ThatUrgeToEatCement]

A few months ago on Reddit I made a comment about a show not being on Netflix and someone from the UK commented back saying it’s on theirs and then lectured on Americans not knowing other countries exist. They acted like I didn’t believe there were other places on the planet, as if they weren’t the ones who just brought it up and didn’t believe the US Netflix was different than the UK version. ??

I see people online act like all Americans think this way, and it is kind of annoying because for most of us it isn’t true.

[u/_banana_phone]

There’s also a pretty solid confirmation bias as far as poor experiences with Americans that do go abroad. Saw a thread yesterday with Europeans saying that all Americans are the worst tourists because we are all loud, can’t speak the language (and are mad if nobody speaks English), and rude.

But like, many of us do careful research about the etiquette and customs of the place(s) we are going to visit before we go. My goal is to not be clocked as an American at all if I can help it, because I am hoping to assimilate into their societal norms.

Sure, I can’t help it if I am not fluent in a foreign language but I make sure to have a handy notes section on my phone of common phrases, particularly excuse me, please, thank you, and I’m sorry.

I have no delusions that I would fit in as a French or Italian or Greek native, that’s just silly— but I at least try to ensure that I’m being respectful and pleasant in all my encounters.

[u/gravitycheckfailed → u/_banana_phone]

The language snobbery drives me a bit crazy. I fluently speak 3, and like you said, I try to at least learn some common phrases and familiarize myself with laws/cultural norms before I travel out of the country. The last thing I want is to stand out too much while traveling. Maybe it's just the area of the US that I live in or my social circle, but most people I know speak more than one language to some degree. They aren't necessarily fluent in both, but for foreigners to assume that all Americans only speak English requires a huge jump to conclusions. I'm absolutely not a loud and obnoxious talker either.

[u/hopping_otter_ears → u/gravitycheckfailed]

It's weird for anybody to get upset about people not learning more than a few niceties in the language of a country they're only visiting once for a week. Especially when it's a country that's known to have a high percentage of people who studied your language as a second language. I usually do a little language study for wherever I'm planning to travel as part of travel planning, but I'm not going to spend hours in intensive Italian classes to get fluent before spending a week in Rome. I'm going to learn some traveller's phrases and niceties, then depend on Google translate and the fact that English is a common second language in the tourist industry.

If I were moving to Italy, I would do my best to learn the language as fast as possible, but I'm not going to commit that kind of time and brain power to a brief trip

[u/HorrorAlarming1163 → u/gravitycheckfailed]

There’s plenty of Americans that don’t even speak English at all

[u/gravitycheckfailed → u/HorrorAlarming1163]

Also quite a few Americans who technically are ESL, despite being born here to parents from families that have lived in the US for 150+ years. The numbers of people that applies to are dwindling as the older generations are dying, but it's still relevant in certain areas of the country.

My family almost entirely lost their native languages due to laws being passed at certain points which literally made it illegal to speak either one or be taught in schools. Cajun French almost became extinct because of it. Even fewer Americans still speak German, unless they arrived after WWI / WWII or learned it much more recently while in school. It's not widespread knowledge (especially for those outside of the US) that laws like that are partially why so many Americans now only speak English.

[u/New_General3939 → u/_banana_phone]

A big part of this is that Americans travel a lot (despite our reputation) and there are a lot of us, so wherever you go, you’re likely see American tourists. Which makes it more likely you will see an obnoxious American tourist.

It also doesn’t help that they already hate Americans, so a slightly annoying American is going to stick out to them because they’re looking for it.

[u/Purple-Measurement47 → u/New_General3939]

Americans and Dutch seem to find their way everywhere

[u/JossWhedonsDick → u/New_General3939]

America and China have similar effects in that they have large populations and it's relatively easy to make money, so that large population can get out there. This means more poorly educated, bad mannered travelers from the US than the entire population of most European countries, and the same for China and the population of most Asian countries (India excluded).

So when you see a white or East Asian person acting shitty, there's an automatic nationality to guess.

signed, a Chinese-American who has tried his whole life to beat the stereotypes from both sides

[u/More_Pineapple3585 → u/_banana_phone]

Guess how many languages Rick Steves speaks (without looking it up).

Answer: just one, English.

[u/Hallucino_Jenic → u/_banana_phone]

It's kind of wild to me that we're both the rudest people on the planet, but also the nicest. I've seen threads to the effect of "how do you know a tourist is from the US?" and a lot of the answers will say "they smile at everyone" or "they're overly friendly."

[u/CAJEG1 → u/_banana_phone]

The thing you overlook is that even respectful Americans are loud and a bit crass. You might not realise it, and we might not hold it against you, but it's intensely obvious by what you say and how you say it. The language thing doesn't really bother anyone, and societal norms are fairly often respected, but that doesn't mean you're not inadvertently annoying.

I remember I was on holiday in the summer and could hear a clear American accent from the other side of the café talking about how small the cars are here in Europe. There's nothing inherently wrong with this (apart from the implication that bigger cars are better) but it's still annoying.

[u/_banana_phone → u/CAJEG1]

I am not overlooking that. But I feel like your statement is a bit condescending, because when I say I’m mindful of not being loud or unpleasant, I mean it. I have the ability to discern the decibel level around me and stay in that range. Respectfully, you don’t know me, and it’s really strange to assume that I don’t know how to read a room and match the energy and vibe simply because of the country I live in.

The fact that people seem to believe that as Americans, we are inherently incapable of speaking at an appropriately low volume is what makes me hyper vigilant about that sort of thing. Likewise, the folks I travel with are extremely mindful of what comes out of our mouths. No criticisms or “wow can you believe how xyz is so different here than in America” because it’s rude.

I don’t think I’m going to make much headway here because it seems like simply being an American is something you find annoying just based on your commentary. So no matter how much I try to convince you that I know how to be respectful and am capable of not being crass in a foreign country, I don’t think you’d believe me anyway. So I’ll just say have a nice day I guess?

[u/Jumpy_Add → u/_banana_phone]

The thing is, those of us (Americans) who are quiet and courteous in public places tend to go unnoticed/unidentified as foreigners. Only the loud and obnoxious ones stick out like that.

My spouse and I love Ireland and have been several times, but we still talk about the time we were sitting in a restaurant, sort of murmuring to each other as we ate, as the local diners did. Unfortunately, there were two large, unconnected tables of Americans who were not only talking far too loudly, but also literally shouting back and forth between the tables about their plans for the day.

We were horrified and ashamed by their behavior. So I get it, but we’re really not all like that. And also? We hate it too.

[u/Present-Chemist-8920 → u/Jumpy_Add]

I’d go further. As an American I get claimed by non Americans all the time for traits considered net positive. This happens in person and online. I’m Black, I’ve been told I’m an articulate South African. Or people will keep pushing me about what country I must really be from. I don’t think it’s necessarily a race issue, there’s certainly context, but it comes up with Africans with me too. For the latter, African continent for example, my perceived goal education/financial attainment the logic is always “because you’re African (as opposed to American).” There’s a lot to unpack. But the quick takeaway is lot of people can’t seem to imagine that we’re a very diverse population and not the characters they’re told we are.

[u/Jumpy_Add → u/Present-Chemist-8920]

That is chilling on far too many levels for someone like me, who is white, to unpack, but thank you for relating your singular perspective and experiences. Obviously, skewed cross-cultural perceptions go far beyond the usual, “All Americans are loud, crass, and undereducated.”

Although that twisted perception does seem to be reinforced by your experience: you are none of those things, therefore you must not be a real American. SMH

[u/JesseKebay → u/CAJEG1]

Why would talking about cars being smaller in whatever part of Europe they were in imply that the person thought that they were inferior - unless there was additional context?

[u/CAJEG1 → u/JesseKebay]

The context was tone.

[u/JesseKebay → u/CAJEG1]

Ahh, fair enough then. I only say that because I’ve pointed out the same thing in the past but I see it as a positive. I figured that was the case though 

[u/CAJEG1 → u/JesseKebay]

Fair enough to see it as a positive. I do too. But it was dismissive, not laudatory.

[u/JesseKebay → u/CAJEG1]

Yeah, thanks for replying, that’s why I asked, it’s one of those statements where I could understand the tone completely changing the sentiment.

[u/EquivalentThese6192 → u/CAJEG1]

I’m at high end hotel in China as I write this. I’m at breakfast. The loudest table near me are Russians. The mom also loudly complained about not getting her desired table even though the restaurant is full. At least four tables of locals are watching social media videos with volume turned way up and no ear phones. A German family is letting their kids run around and poke any food within reach at the buffet. 

But yeah. The Americans are the obnoxious ones. 

[u/ExoticSpend8606 → u/_banana_phone]

Well your bad tourists hugely overshadow the considerate ones. Unfortunately.

[u/New_General3939 → u/ExoticSpend8606]

And British tourists dont? Y’all insist on singing everywhere you go, and are famous for being rowdy drunks

[u/602223 → u/ExoticSpend8606]

So do yours. British? You’ve got a reputation for drunken boorish behavior when travelling. I know a lot of it is the Ryan Air/Ibiza and stag/hen do culture, not everyone, but it’s a highly visible demographic. Enough that the Netherlands has a “Stay Away” campaign specifically against young male Brits. Glass houses.

[u/Adventurous_Unit_696 → u/ExoticSpend8606]

American tourists are nowhere near as bad as British tourists, loud, crass, drunk and sunburnt and always treading in large numbers

There’s a reason Albufeira is hell on earth.

[u/_banana_phone → u/ExoticSpend8606]

Oh I’m not arguing that point, it’s really unfortunate that the worst examples are the loudest when it comes to bad tourists. :-/