Joe Raphael

I hope you all realize how foolish you appear to the civilized world. By the way April, don't call those people..Orientals. Please refer to them properly and call them, Asians....Enough is enough, bring something new to the table that we can appreciate.

Mike

Hey Joe: <BR> <BR>This is "Yankee Free Zone" thread has been funny. Spare us your politically correct B.S. "Orientals" or "Asians": Who cares? April's point is well taken...whatever you call them, they're loud, plus they don't know what it means to wait their turn in lines either! (I know these generalizations must really upset you, Joe) But I love 'em anyway. Hell, if everyone were the same it would really be a boring world. <BR> <BR>Lighten up and continue your crusade somewhere else...I'm sure you can find another site to defend the downtrodden or do a communal tree hug elsewhere.

April

I didn't realize that the word Oriental was a faux pas. (Enlighten me on that.) However, Asia covers a lot of territory. I was not referring, for instance, to people from India. We have many of them here too and they're generally not loud. So perhaps I should have said, "people who appear to be from China and Japan". <BR> <BR>Anyway, my point was only to say that I don't know why so many people are always harping on about the Americans. <BR> <BR>Surely Joe, you must realize that any thread including comments about Krispy Kreme donuts is a little tongue in cheek. I don't know what those donuts are but I'm dying to try one. <BR>

michelle

perhaps you should visit the mountains of the western United States. You may become less apt to generalize with regards to your perspective on all Americans. There, you will meet some of the warmest, most wonderful people on this lovely planet. Whwerever you go, have fun, and keep an open mind. <BR>

JOE

Helga, come to the British Virgin Islands and visit Norman Island. We'll take you to the Willie T floating bar/restaurant. And get you drunk, put you up on the bar, make you do some naval shots, and . . . . shave your doughnut.

Cheri

ROTFLMAO!! Good one Joe!

Ginny

Better yet Helga baby... stay at home, don't travel the world and spread your poison....and sure as hell, DON'T come to America.

Laura

While there is probably no need for another opinion here ... If shaved armpits turn you off, don't go to Cuba! We Canadians love Cuba! And, unfortunately, most Canadian women shave as well! When in Cuba, the Germans seemed to be the most unhappy people at our resort. Everyone was having a wonderful vacation except them. All the Canadians were remarking on how anyone could appear so miserable in such a paradise! If you want to avoid Americans, best to avoid Canadians too! Also, whether it be Americans, Asians, Germans, etc., every group has a few bad apples that tend to give the rest a bad name. Instead of just labelling fellow vacationers as "those bloody shaved yanks, get to know a few! It may change your general impression of an entire nation!

Mark

Just my two cents worth. We have been to europe aruba and antugua and are going to st lucia this january and we have enjoyed meeting and interacting with people from other countries. The dutch tourists in aruba and the english in antigua lend extra intrest to the trips. <BR>Conversing with them and learning about <BR>how things are run in there countries was always a enjoyable experience. Anyway I think meeting other cultures <BR>is one of the most interesting things about travel. <BR>

Mark

Oh yea I just remebered! I nominate the <BR>russians as the loudest most obnoxtious <BR>tourists. I realize they are a rare breed but there were 4 of them in Antigua and they had no concept of manners dress codes or common sense. <BR>One of them even wore a swastika t shirt <BR>to the pool. They yelled at dinner berated the servers and then got falling down drunk. My wife and I took it as "comic relief"

Anne

Wow! That's funny! Try the Dominican Republic. I was one of a very few Americans on the north side in January. A ton of Germans who were loud, obnoxious, drunk and the women had hairy armpits and legs, were topless on the beach, and several of the men undressed on the beach to change out of wet suits. Give me a donut smell any day; at least it's a sweet smell, not a sweat smell!

Ann

This thread is really a stitch! It has inspired me to create the "World's Most Obnoxious" list, WMO for short. It's a little more specific than just nationality. Here are my top five: <BR> #5: An Italian operating a toll booth on the Italian autoroute <BR> #4: A lower middle class German on vacation anywhere near a case of beer <BR> #3: A bunch of French on vacation on a no-smoking transoceanic flight <BR> #2: An American with his wife screaming at their chubby children on an otherwise serene trail in the Swiss alps. <BR> #1: A Brit public school grad without a gag over his mouth. <BR>"Special Merit" category: A French grande ecole graduate.

Anne

I saw several posts regarding the lack of Americans at Playa del Carmen. I spend a lot of time there and on Cozumel and everytime I've been there the place was loaded with Americans. Seeing the women in bathing suits, it didn't look like most of them ever ate a donut, and they definitely shave their armpits and legs - great looking bunch of athletic Americans.

Brenda

I have never met anyone as rude as the italians that seem to have taken over the east coast of the D.R. We stepped aside and gave up our seats one to many times. Not that I am a prude, but I think that pulling ones self out of your to small suit to releave ones self on the beach crossing the line. Love the D.R and it's people , maybe they should pick-up manners at the airport... <BR>Oh to get off the subject I found a web. site that everyone should check out.www.ontape.com <BR>videos of many islands and resorts to buy for the reasonable price of $7.00 each or five for $28.00. <BR>

Rob

Helga, <BR>I see you are using an American ISP. This American thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most <BR>generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out <BR>of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and <BR>forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying <BR>even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. <BR> <BR>When the Franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the <BR>Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled <BR>on the streets of Paris. <BR> <BR>When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States <BR>that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were <BR>flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped. <BR> <BR>The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans. <BR> <BR>I bet you even take an American Airline in your travels to the Carribean! <BR> <BR>Why does no other land on earth even <BR>consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon - - not once, but several times - - and safely home again. <BR> <BR>You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the <BR>store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not <BR>pursued and hounded. They are in Canada, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend there. <BR> <BR>When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through <BR>age, it was the American who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. <BR> <BR>I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other <BR>people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced <BR>to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even <BR>during the San Francisco earthquake. <BR> <BR>I'm tired of hearing aout how bad we are and hearing about American travellers getting kicked around. <BR> <BR>I can also tell you I'm proud to be an American, and we will probably help your country out again when it gets into trouble, whether we smell like donuts or not!

jackie

American embassy in Tehran, Canada was there. Get off your soapbox; it's this kind of ranting that gives a warm and generous people a bad name!

ilisa

I'm a proud American, but it's people like Rob who embarrass me. While I don't like people like Helga who feel the need to tear apart Americans, I also can't stand people who misinterpret history to build us up. Oh, and Rob, other countries have considered putting people on the moon. The Soviet Union for example, which was the first in space, the first to orbit the earth, the first woman in space, the first spacewalk and the first craft, though unmanned, on the moon.

m

...and the Soviet Union is now non-existent, Ilisa. Because they lacked "Yankee" ingenuity, and "the drive" that made America great", Ilisa. <BR> <BR>Give 'em Hell, Rob. You were right on the money!

linda

Well - once more into the fray...... <BR> <BR>Back to the original question. Barbados - just returned and saw a nice mixture of nationalities. (maybe a little heavy on the Brits and Canucks). Unfortunately (depending on your point of view), all the women shaved, even the Europeans. Not a hairy armpit to be seen. Great place! <BR> <BR>Point of interest though: Although Barbados is an island with 'British sensibilities' and deplores 'improper' attire and behavior, we did see 1 woman who insisted on getting topless (standing up and stretching) in the 20 yards of beach in fromt of our beach front breakfast restaurant (with an empty 1/4 mile either side) - nationality unknown. Another got completely nude on the beach in the afternoon (beach crowded), but did it so discreetly that almost no-one noticed. (I got the sun reflecting off the buns while floating in the water). She was American. The first lady was asked immediately to don her top. The second was never reprimanded over the course of 2 days. Message - Bajans value discretion and manners far higher than rules!

Joel

This thread seems to have a life of its own! I've read it over and over to try to figure out what is behind everyone getting so excited. <BR>Obviously, a lot of sterotypes are at work, moreso among the men than the women. Deep-felt beliefs and a nugget of truth at the bottom of most postings. <BR>My wife and I had the opportunity to live and work in France for some years. I suppose that there is no greater, generally friendly, push and shove between two western nations than between America and France. For their part, the French have a great respect for living life in balance, for a very well-defined set of manners, and for family. All in all, to me, they respect life more and use moderation as a means to extract the most out of it. They truly stop to "smell the roses". The American version of living life has to do with exuberance; we're louder, we're more daring, we're always on the move, our family systems are very flexible, we don't believe that there's anything we can't do because sooner or later we do it, and we're a bit in-your-face overseas. <BR>So in France I greatly admired the French for their maturity and measured approach. The French admire us for our "can do" attitude, and in personal discussion they very much acknowledge what America did for them in World War II (although I personally feel that America was simply acting in its own best interests). <BR>On the other hand, I've watched Americans make total asses out of themselves in situations they didn't/wouldn't understand in France, I've seen them brag to the French about how they did something that no Frenchman in his right mind would ever want to do. Conversely, I have seen the French time and again miss business opportunities simply because they think a problem to death (from an Americans point of view). <BR>So what? It really comes down to cultures. Any person who is thrust into a different culture almost immediately sees things (practices, rules, behaviors) that make no sense in his or her own culture. The tendency is to therefore label them as "bad" once their quaintness wears off. In fact, all that has happened is that you've picked up a piece of someone else's jigsaw puzzle that doesn't fit in your jigsaw puzzle and made a value judgment about it. <BR>My personal experience is this: live there 6 months and you'll begin to see how their jigsaw puzzle fits together and makes a nice picture, live their a year and you'll be quite comfortable, live there two years and you will have misgivings about returning to the US. <BR>A friend of mine just returned after more than two years. His wife, I think, was anxious to return. Now that they are back she is most unhappy. <BR>I think that we, as Americans, (less true of Canadians who appear to me to be a very optimistic and flexible people) are sheltered by a mythology about ourselves that we created. Just like how we "saved the French". Mythology aside, we were very late coming into the war. If saving the French or the English or any other country was high on our agenda, we would've been there earlier. I don't criticize our actions, however. We looked out for our own interests and acted where we saw the advantage. Every country does this and should. <BR>In closing, however, I do believe that nude women on beaches should be allowed everywhere! It is a good addition to any civilized nation's culture!