What makes Americans so obvious to be detected?
Dec 6th, 2004, 07:25 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 587
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What makes Americans so obvious to be detected?
In your opinion, what are Americans doing to be so obvious, see comments all the time in the European and Latin American forums. I am an American of Hispanic descent, Spanish - Arab blood so i do not count as a truly American.
Dec 6th, 2004, 07:32 AM
#2
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 773
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You best believe you count. We are all Americans, period.
Get your head up and be proud of the old red, white and blue. Its not where you came from, but where you are now and where you are going in the future.
Get your head up and be proud of the old red, white and blue. Its not where you came from, but where you are now and where you are going in the future.
Dec 6th, 2004, 07:48 AM
#10
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 22,987
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I suspect that German, Dutch or English tourist is just as identifiable in France, Italy, etc. However, because this forum appears to be heavily oriented toward American participants, it's their identity that is raised as an issue.
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:07 AM
#14
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
miguelgcuadra,
One thing I learned (and have confirmed with personal observation)is that we Americans tend to breathe through our mouths. Watch sometime: Europeans around you will walk with mouths closed while Americans (or those I thought were Americans) walk with mouths open.
s
One thing I learned (and have confirmed with personal observation)is that we Americans tend to breathe through our mouths. Watch sometime: Europeans around you will walk with mouths closed while Americans (or those I thought were Americans) walk with mouths open.
s
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:13 AM
#15
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Maybe miguel means that he "does not count" as one of the Americans judged to be "so obvious" when traveling in Europe (and especially in Latin America, perhaps?)
I would not be surprised that an Hispanic American - - unless "burdened" by a particularly "Yanqui" (or especially <i>Texan</i
"accent" - - might not stand out as much as a Pat Buchanan or a Ted Kennedy, for example. They would jump to mind as prototypes - - not necessarily because of Irish descent - - but they are both White, Anglo-Saxon (split on the Protestant part), and in particular both fairly "big mouth" individuals. It's not just our Amerian language (and lack of any other language attempts), but "we Americans" are unquestionably more LOUD and demonstrative, in public conversations, than many other nationalities. While i have never seen or heard anyone else ention this, IU think this is especially true when we are walking down the sidewalk - - as opposed to, for example, in a cafe or beerhall. Europeans and Americans alike can get a little rowdy and loud, after a few rounds, later in the evening, when everyone is having fun.
Best wishes,
Rex
I would not be surprised that an Hispanic American - - unless "burdened" by a particularly "Yanqui" (or especially <i>Texan</i
"accent" - - might not stand out as much as a Pat Buchanan or a Ted Kennedy, for example. They would jump to mind as prototypes - - not necessarily because of Irish descent - - but they are both White, Anglo-Saxon (split on the Protestant part), and in particular both fairly "big mouth" individuals. It's not just our Amerian language (and lack of any other language attempts), but "we Americans" are unquestionably more LOUD and demonstrative, in public conversations, than many other nationalities. While i have never seen or heard anyone else ention this, IU think this is especially true when we are walking down the sidewalk - - as opposed to, for example, in a cafe or beerhall. Europeans and Americans alike can get a little rowdy and loud, after a few rounds, later in the evening, when everyone is having fun.Best wishes,
Rex
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:16 AM
#16
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 13,323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Americans are: cheerful, impatient, brave, prone to being sloppy, clean, hard to please, loyal, hard working, out spoken, loud, kind, prone to wearing bright clothes and baseball hats, known to save friends and allies from defeat, rich, often pick up the tab for disasters, drink too much coke, not afraid to go it alone.... .
They might not be your first choice to take to a fancy ball, but real good folks to have around when things get rough.
They might not be your first choice to take to a fancy ball, but real good folks to have around when things get rough.
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:29 AM
#17
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Let's face it, every nationality has its quirks, and whilst many of you lot may squirm with embarrassment when one of your compatriots struts down the Strand, mouth wide open and ill-fitting chinos straining at the belt, it's NOTHING compared to the horror I experience when I see one of MY compatriots burnt as a lobster on the beach, their tattooed beer bellies hanging over the top of their union jack swimming trunks, demanding egg and chips because they don't want to eat any of that 'foreign muck'.
As for volume levels, it's true that SOME Americans may stand out simply because you can hear every word they say, but believe me, Americans are not the only culprits. I was on a train from Brighton to London yesterday and my-oh-my the volume control was severely broken on a group of well-dressed middle-aged italian tourists.
As for volume levels, it's true that SOME Americans may stand out simply because you can hear every word they say, but believe me, Americans are not the only culprits. I was on a train from Brighton to London yesterday and my-oh-my the volume control was severely broken on a group of well-dressed middle-aged italian tourists.
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:30 AM
#18
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 569
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We Americans are more overweight than the average European though your average American tourist won't be as overweight as Americans who do not tour Europe. Americans, tourist or not, are terrible at learning other nations' languages. Americans are used to eating supper a little earlier and carry a little more baggage and other gear. Depending on time of year, the average American is more tanned than their European counterparts.
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:33 AM
#19
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,655
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When I am at home (in America) people ask, "What are you". I say "German" because I am German decent.
When I am in Europe people ask, "What are you" and I say "American".
Try to tell a German that you are "German" when you hold a passport that is "American". They don't care that your parents came over on a ship 50 years ago...
What make an American stand out? I will say its not the jeans or sneakers, plenty of people wear those in Europe. It's usually acting like a idiot, misbehaving or being overly demanding.
When I am in Europe people ask, "What are you" and I say "American".
Try to tell a German that you are "German" when you hold a passport that is "American". They don't care that your parents came over on a ship 50 years ago...
What make an American stand out? I will say its not the jeans or sneakers, plenty of people wear those in Europe. It's usually acting like a idiot, misbehaving or being overly demanding.
Dec 6th, 2004, 08:34 AM
#20
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,501
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't think it's all that easy to spot that people are Americans as opposed to folks of another nationality.
What is fairly easy to spot is the fact that a person is a tourist. When I'm on my lunch break in downtown Calgary and I see a person dressed in shorts, peering at a map, with a camera hanging from his/her shoulder, it's pretty obvious he/she is a tourist. Where he/she may be from is less obvious.
I find that North Americans are more inclined to wear shorts than members of many other nationalities. It seems to be especially true that European women are less inclined to wear shorts than their NA counterparts.
In Heathrow, on our way to Hungary in September 2004, my husband and I saw a man wearing a T-shirt with a really garish version of the American eagle emblazoned on it and a cowboy belt with a massive buckle. He and his wife surprised us by conversing with each other in Hungarian!
Tourists of all nationalities can be insensitive to the feelings and needs of local people. We also were in Karlskirke in Vienna during that September trip. There were signs all over the place asking visitors to behave respectfully in deference to the people who were using the church for prayer and meditation. I was most unimpressed when I saw a woman walking around munching on a sandwich. Then she turned around and said something to her husband -- in German.
What is fairly easy to spot is the fact that a person is a tourist. When I'm on my lunch break in downtown Calgary and I see a person dressed in shorts, peering at a map, with a camera hanging from his/her shoulder, it's pretty obvious he/she is a tourist. Where he/she may be from is less obvious.
I find that North Americans are more inclined to wear shorts than members of many other nationalities. It seems to be especially true that European women are less inclined to wear shorts than their NA counterparts.
In Heathrow, on our way to Hungary in September 2004, my husband and I saw a man wearing a T-shirt with a really garish version of the American eagle emblazoned on it and a cowboy belt with a massive buckle. He and his wife surprised us by conversing with each other in Hungarian!
Tourists of all nationalities can be insensitive to the feelings and needs of local people. We also were in Karlskirke in Vienna during that September trip. There were signs all over the place asking visitors to behave respectfully in deference to the people who were using the church for prayer and meditation. I was most unimpressed when I saw a woman walking around munching on a sandwich. Then she turned around and said something to her husband -- in German.
