Traveling the globe as an American

The United States of America is my home country and will always have a place in my heart as my true home. There are so many amazing things about this country from the enormous size and natural beauty, to the immense blend of cultures that we have from coast to coast. Because of all the blending of cultures, the reality is, being an “American” is not something that you can always pinpoint from looking at someone. The U.S. has people of all different races and religions. There are Americans from cities with hundreds of people in one apartment building and others from places with less than a hundred people in their whole city. This mix of perspectives can lead to the occasional misunderstanding, but the freedom to believe and to be whatever and whomever you want, is the foundation of a free country. So when someone calls me an “American” I'm proud to own that fact and let the world know that I am lucky enough to have been born in the good 'ol US of A!

But guess what, in case you were unaware, not everyone in this world feels the same way about Americans. Believe it or not, some people don't like us. Contrary to popular belief, Americans are not as welcome across the globe as we once were. Obviously in countries that we have recently invaded, or countries that we have had conflicts with in the past, discontent will run rampant. But even in countries that have excellent relations with the United States, American travelers can be less than revered.

There are quite a few people in this world that don't like Americans and this discontent can be attributed to a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons are justified, but so many others are not. One of the reasons that I wanted to create this blog is to begin a discussion among travelers and locals. By talking about it, we can clear up the disillusions on both sides of the argument. The more we understand why people feel the way that they do, the better chances we have at clearing up any misunderstandings. At the same time, the less we irritate the residents of the countries we visit, the more welcoming they will be as a whole. This dialogue can help us to bridge the gap and hopefully even change an opinion or two. Open minds make for a better world.

One cultural difference to note, is this soccer or football? I call it soccer, but "foot"ball sure makes a lot of sense!

So what are some of the reasons that people living in foreign countries might have, that lead to them developing a distaste for Americans? Well throughout my travels I've asked this question time and time again to people from Barcelona to Budapest and everywhere in between. One of the most common responses is that Americans tend to be a bit cocky and demanding. I do understand how this might happen, because as most people know, confidence is a highly sought after quality in the United States. Most children are taught to be confident in themselves from a young age and often times people will demonstrate that belief in themselves on a daily basis. Whether it be gloating after a big win or claiming they're amazing at something, Americans are no stranger to confidence. If you take that a bit too far, especially in a culture that may not value confidence as much as we do, it may seem as if Americans are cocky and arrogant simply by expressing that they believe in themselves.

The characterization that Americans are demanding can come from a variety of situations and misunderstandings that I believe are part of a vast set of cultural differences. It is common to expect prompt service in the States because often times our servers earn money according to how well they serve their customers, that is the basic concept of tipping. In many European countries, tipping is not a common practice and often times the service to the customer suffers. Those that live with this lack of service wouldn't be expecting special treatment anytime they go somewhere. However, in the U.S., we're accustomed to good service and generally expect it whenever we are purchasing anything. So when Americans are expecting something like prompt delivery of food, or service with a smile, they may be in for a rude awakening. This can lead to the customers getting upset and possibly loud, which does no favors to help with peoples' opinions of Americans. At the same time, this expectation of good service may be seen differently by the local population. In a country where people are not inclined to give great service, it would be easy to view Americans with expectations as being demanding.

Another common gripe that I hear is the complaint that Americans are loud and can be quite obnoxious at times. Albeit more often than not, I'm told that it's the Brits and Australians that are the loudest and most obnoxious, but the American reputation for yelling in the streets at all hours is widely mentioned as an annoying trait. Now as a person that has visited a variety of different countries and spent many nights walking home from a bar. I can attest to the fact that whenever you hear shouting, there is about a 95% chance that it will be in English. I realize that doesn't immediately implicate the American traveler, but often times, the voice I hear has an American accent. This is something that I think can be attributed to the fact that most travelers are there to enjoy themselves. People tend to get louder when they are enjoying themselves. That is true for every nationality that I know of. So when you have a lot of people enjoying themselves, especially when they're well lubricated from a night of drinking, you will have plenty of loud people. Why is it that the Americans tend to be heard more clearly? I guess that remains a mystery.

As you might expect, there were plenty of common answers that dealt with simple disrespectful actions that give Americans a bad name. I believe that most people would understand and empathize. These actions include urinating in public places, climbing on statues and monuments, and drinking too much. But what I find interesting are some of the less common answers that I heard. According to one Spanish college student that I spent a long train ride with, “Americans always give me money for doing my job.”

I believe she was referring to Americans' expectation that they need to tip everywhere they go, and she did not like it. I spent plenty of time in Spain and tipped at most of the places that I went without ever hearing someone complain about the money I left them. But this woman was entirely convinced that someone tipping her was a subtle way of telling her that she needs the money more than they do. Another odd complaint from an older Hungarian woman was that Americans “smile all the time.” This may have been due to her age or her Eastern European disposition, that often times values a stoic poker face in all situations, but whatever it was, I found the idea of someone smiling too much amusing enough to smile myself.

“There it is!” she exclaimed, as she pointed at the smile that had crept across my face. “You Americans smile all the time, what is so funny?” she asked.

Instead of mentioning that her odd frustration with my excessive smiling was actually what I was laughing at, I simply mentioned my own opinion on the matter. I told her that I think Americans smile so much because we have been taught from an early age to enjoy life as much as we can. From the young kids yelling “yolo” before everything they do, to grandparents reiterating the age old phrase “take some time to stop and smell the roses,” Americans are no stranger to enjoying themselves, and in turn, smiling often. On top of that, I was taught that smiling is a polite thing to do when you introduce yourself to someone, as well as being useful in a variety of other social contexts. So count me as surprised when someone told me that smiling too much can be an annoying American trait. The idea that this excessive smiling could in some way irritate other people around the globe is an odd concept, but something to take into consideration. I don't think it will change my natural tendency to smile, but it does bring up a good topic of discussion.

What are your thoughts on American travelers when they come to visit your country? Can you think of any odd grievances you might have with them? Do you enjoy the mixing of cultural norms, or are you offended when someone smiles too much or tries to give you a tip for you services? And for the Americans reading this, what odd customs do you notice that people living in other countries have? Do any of them annoy you, or are they just something that you aren't accustomed to? We want to hear from everyone and see every angle, so let us know what you think!

Perhaps it's not uncommon for residents of Prague, but statues of babies crawling up a retired communist tower is something I found odd!