European alleyways are not your late night toilet!

No matter how intoxicated you may be, this is not a picture of a toilet!

Have you found yourself planning a trip? Did you decided to search the internet for tips about traveling in another country? Are you wondering what not to do? Well, here's a tip to get you started....Don't pee in alleys! As I've mentioned in other posts, American travelers occasionally get a bad name. Sometimes it's for the wrong reasons, but in many of those cases, it's entirely warranted. There are some things that Americans do that can be attributed to cultural differences. But there are also some things that are entirely disrespectful and just plain obnoxious. Needless to say, when I ask people how they feel about American travelers, one of the topics that seems to always come up is the issue of urinating in public places. Peeing in alleys, on the side of buildings, basically peeing anywhere other than in the toilet is simply something you should not do while traveling. Honestly, you shouldn't do it while you're in America either, but anyone who has visited the bigger cities in the U.S. knows that a drunk person peeing in an alley behind a bar is not an uncommon sight.

That being said, while you're in another country, you are a guest of the residents of that country. Just a little bit of respect goes a long way. Not peeing on the side of someone's building...well that should be the minimum amount of respect that you show. Also, for those of you who are not accustomed to living in a larger city and may have grown up in the suburbs, I feel like I need to explain something to you. A building that may be a bar on the ground floor, can also be a home to people living on the floors above it. So if you're peeing on the side of that building, it's basically the same thing as someone walking up your driveway and peeing on the front of your garage door. Sure, they're not peeing directly next to your room, but they're still peeing on your house. It would probably irritate you if every morning you woke up and walked out of your garage only to smell the not-so-sweet aroma of a puddle left behind from someone that doesn't live there. That's something

many people, living in tourist hot spots, are forced to see every day when they wake up. And they have taken notice that Americans are often times the culprits. So how about next time you feel the urge to pee, hold it, and find a toilet. Let's make a better name for American travelers, one less puddle at a time!