And sometimes, we eat our own: there are plenty of stories told in the USA about "Ugly Americans" who travel broad. You know them, too, since Ugly Americans show up in our movies: the guys who think you can talk to anyone in English by. Speaking. Mooorrree. Sloooowwwwwly. Or with a stereotypical accent. Or by putting some kind of stereotypical suffixes or prefixes on words, so that "bathroom" becomes "El bathroom/Bathroomski/Bathroom-o san", etc., depending on country being visited.
I think that's largely a myth - you think it about yourselves more than anyone else thinks it about you. I've certainly never experienced it except once in Rome, and when it happened it was
soooo comical (Sharon and I were pissing ourselves with laughter) that that speaks to its actual rarity.
It was amusing though. We were in Rome and for some godawful reason decided to hook up with one of those horrific touristy "tours". No, I don't know why, either. Anyhow, it was a mix of nationalities, mainly European, and one American middle-aged couple. The man was wearing the silly costume (the beige shorts, trainers, baseball cap, sunglasses) so he stood out anyway. The tour guide, an Italian lady, gave a short speech in English in an Italian accent, and the American tourist said loudly to his wife so everyone could hear, "Is SHE talking AMERICAN? Cuz I can't understand her!" He got some dirty looks, but everyone ignored him, including most of the English people there who don't recognise "American" as a language. So the tour continues, this guy grumbling loudly to the point where I'm sure someone's going to punch him. It gets crowded, so the Italian lady uses an umbrella (as tour guides often do all over the world) to show where she is. The American guy asks "
Is that supposed to be an American flag?"
No, dude. It's not. It's that lady's umbrella. You
.
We were bent double with laughter the whole time. We entertained ourselves following that couple and just listening to them. It was seriously like a cartoon or something.
Fortunately, that's my only experience of this. I don't think it's at all typical. Americans in my experience have been very considerate and polite travelers - and I've hosted a few. They shout everything, that's for sure, but they can't help that.
