What to Wear So I Don't Stand Out
Dec 19th, 2005, 08:06 PM
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(first off, sorry about the length, it's a -huge- failing of mine)
While I find the posts about what Americans look like extremely amusing, I think the descriptions are more than a bit stereotyped. Regarding spotting a tourist from a mile away, I think what you're _actually_ doing is spotting the tourists who stand out. When I was in Italy in 2000, in Rome, riding the bus one day, there was a massive accident on the road as the bus was driving by. An apparently hard-working (older, worn) woman on the bus was speaking to me in Italian about it, and I could make some of it out but not all of it (knowing Spanish, and a little French -- you know, one romance language makes the rest easier). She completely thought I was Italian (luckily I didn't have to say much in response, and I found it interesting and fun to see if I could keep up the ruse). This happened several times, including an Italian who didn't know Rome very well asking me on another occasion on the bus, in Italian if he was on the right one to get where he was going. He was, and I told him so, in Italian, and he didn't seem to notice a thing amiss (but then, I seem to be very good at imitating accents). The funniest time, I think, was on the subway there, as two Americans were standing next to me, and talking about Italians and Italy, not really in a rude way, but of the vast differences. They never once thought I was not Italian. I could swear they said something about my coat, but I can't remember. I found it fun to do what others on the train were doing -- look at them occasionally, with a slightly askance peer, like I didn't understand what they were saying.
In Venice, the ruse finally caved, as I was in a shop there, looking to buy some drawings/prints, and the shopkeeper saw one I was looking at, and started talking to me about it's beauties and significance, in Italian. I understood a decent bit of it, but not enough -- I just couldn't keep up, and I could not respond to him adequately enough in Italian; I had to speak English after a moment. When he discovered I wasn't Italian, he looked considerably miffed over it. 
Perhaps he was annoyed that he hadn't spotted me as the garish tourist a mile away, and that he'd thought I was a fellow countrywoman? 
During that holiday/vacation, I also didn't stay in hotels, but instead stayed at privately-owned flats. I looked like I was just going home each day. But then, I also didn't have "freeze-dried" hair or white tennis shoes on with jeans (I haven't done that since I was a child). Nor did I wear a jogging suit or ballcap, nor was I in a Chanel suit (I do think for men American suits are too blocky). In fact, as far as hair goes, I've found the nicest, easily worn hair is when I just wash it, condition it, pick/comb it, let it dry naturally, and brush it out a bit, but only once. Of all the silly things I've tried in the past, not putting anything extra in it like mousse or gel, works out better. And I don't think everyone I see around me here in the States has freeze-dried hair, either. I see it, but that's not all that's here. And as for men, most of the men I know do NOT have what I would term "MTV" hair. I know a couple of guys who do, but they are privately teased about it.
In Britain, I would just go around with relatives, and would start speaking in a British accent when they weren't right by me. It always seemed to work. I did feel embarrassed about doing it in front of them, though. And the lingo, I picked up from my relatives. No one caught me offguard telling me they liked my jumper. Granted, there was always more to learn, though. As for clothes, I haven't been there in awhile, but I wore the same basic type of clothing my British cousins were wearing (the same age as me, we were teenagers the last time I was there) back then.
China was the hardest place to give this a try; impossible, really, as I am not Chinese. I am however very short, petite, and with dark hair, so from the backside I would pass. New's Year Eve, '98, was fun in Shanghai, just walking on the streets trying to communicate, earnestly back and forth (gathered a crowd that way). I ended up walking down the street with a Chinese fellow, he trying to teach me some Chinese, me trying the same for English. Another fellow walking toward us went bug-eyed when he thought I was comprehending the Mandarin being spewed vigorously at me. As for blending in in Beijing, again, not doing it the "tourist" way as much as possible seems better -- I knew a family in Beijing, and only the mother and her son (who I knew from the States) spoke English. Dad smiled and nodded a lot. "Mom" insisted that I bundle up to see the Great Wall and took me to a clothing shop to get the appropriate clothing, before heading off to the Great Wall in their Audi stationwagon. The antithesis of stereotypes was in that department store -- the two tallest men I've ever seen, Chinese, and probably 7 feet, looking like athletes. At Tianmen Square next to the Forbidden City, the son, Rob, taught me some Mandarin to ward off the throngs of souvenir sellers, so I gave a hearty, "Xie Xie bu yao" with the proper tones, and got some disgruntled replies but the proper response of being left alone by the souvenir hawkers. One man in Beijing did babble on to me in Chinese, but I can only assume he knew I didn't understand. I walked away from that trip knowing a few symbols/characters (human and writing) and a tiny bit of Mandarin, and enjoyed every bit of it.
Personally, I like trying to blend in to most places I go. Some places are much harder than others. I guess I want to understand the people, and what life is really like there, as much as possible. Getting into the mindset as much as is possible inwardly and outwardly is fun to me. Also, just being observant can show you what gestures/body language are the norm wherever you might be. It IS possible to pick that sort of thing up, if you're the observant/adaptable type. I do agree with the loud thing, but for myself, I am usually naturally quiet and polite in public. Loud gaffawing should be reserved for football games (American or non-American).
I guess my lengthy digress comes to this -- you CAN fit in, in a lot of places, if you really give it a try, even if it may only be on the surface. I guess it depends on how hard of a try you give it and what type of person you are -- being someone, like me, who likes to watch and observe people, probably would help. And I guess the other point is, there are at least a few tourists, American or otherwise, who have probably passed you by on the street without you ever knowing it. Unless of course you're stopping everyone on the streets and giving them the "third degree"!
While I find the posts about what Americans look like extremely amusing, I think the descriptions are more than a bit stereotyped. Regarding spotting a tourist from a mile away, I think what you're _actually_ doing is spotting the tourists who stand out. When I was in Italy in 2000, in Rome, riding the bus one day, there was a massive accident on the road as the bus was driving by. An apparently hard-working (older, worn) woman on the bus was speaking to me in Italian about it, and I could make some of it out but not all of it (knowing Spanish, and a little French -- you know, one romance language makes the rest easier). She completely thought I was Italian (luckily I didn't have to say much in response, and I found it interesting and fun to see if I could keep up the ruse). This happened several times, including an Italian who didn't know Rome very well asking me on another occasion on the bus, in Italian if he was on the right one to get where he was going. He was, and I told him so, in Italian, and he didn't seem to notice a thing amiss (but then, I seem to be very good at imitating accents). The funniest time, I think, was on the subway there, as two Americans were standing next to me, and talking about Italians and Italy, not really in a rude way, but of the vast differences. They never once thought I was not Italian. I could swear they said something about my coat, but I can't remember. I found it fun to do what others on the train were doing -- look at them occasionally, with a slightly askance peer, like I didn't understand what they were saying.
In Venice, the ruse finally caved, as I was in a shop there, looking to buy some drawings/prints, and the shopkeeper saw one I was looking at, and started talking to me about it's beauties and significance, in Italian. I understood a decent bit of it, but not enough -- I just couldn't keep up, and I could not respond to him adequately enough in Italian; I had to speak English after a moment. When he discovered I wasn't Italian, he looked considerably miffed over it. Perhaps he was annoyed that he hadn't spotted me as the garish tourist a mile away, and that he'd thought I was a fellow countrywoman? During that holiday/vacation, I also didn't stay in hotels, but instead stayed at privately-owned flats. I looked like I was just going home each day. But then, I also didn't have "freeze-dried" hair or white tennis shoes on with jeans (I haven't done that since I was a child). Nor did I wear a jogging suit or ballcap, nor was I in a Chanel suit (I do think for men American suits are too blocky). In fact, as far as hair goes, I've found the nicest, easily worn hair is when I just wash it, condition it, pick/comb it, let it dry naturally, and brush it out a bit, but only once. Of all the silly things I've tried in the past, not putting anything extra in it like mousse or gel, works out better. And I don't think everyone I see around me here in the States has freeze-dried hair, either. I see it, but that's not all that's here. And as for men, most of the men I know do NOT have what I would term "MTV" hair. I know a couple of guys who do, but they are privately teased about it.
In Britain, I would just go around with relatives, and would start speaking in a British accent when they weren't right by me. It always seemed to work. I did feel embarrassed about doing it in front of them, though.
And the lingo, I picked up from my relatives. No one caught me offguard telling me they liked my jumper. Granted, there was always more to learn, though. As for clothes, I haven't been there in awhile, but I wore the same basic type of clothing my British cousins were wearing (the same age as me, we were teenagers the last time I was there) back then.China was the hardest place to give this a try; impossible, really, as I am not Chinese. I am however very short, petite, and with dark hair, so from the backside I would pass.
New's Year Eve, '98, was fun in Shanghai, just walking on the streets trying to communicate, earnestly back and forth (gathered a crowd that way). I ended up walking down the street with a Chinese fellow, he trying to teach me some Chinese, me trying the same for English. Another fellow walking toward us went bug-eyed when he thought I was comprehending the Mandarin being spewed vigorously at me. As for blending in in Beijing, again, not doing it the "tourist" way as much as possible seems better -- I knew a family in Beijing, and only the mother and her son (who I knew from the States) spoke English. Dad smiled and nodded a lot. "Mom" insisted that I bundle up to see the Great Wall and took me to a clothing shop to get the appropriate clothing, before heading off to the Great Wall in their Audi stationwagon. The antithesis of stereotypes was in that department store -- the two tallest men I've ever seen, Chinese, and probably 7 feet, looking like athletes. At Tianmen Square next to the Forbidden City, the son, Rob, taught me some Mandarin to ward off the throngs of souvenir sellers, so I gave a hearty, "Xie Xie bu yao" with the proper tones, and got some disgruntled replies but the proper response of being left alone by the souvenir hawkers. One man in Beijing did babble on to me in Chinese, but I can only assume he knew I didn't understand. I walked away from that trip knowing a few symbols/characters (human and writing) and a tiny bit of Mandarin, and enjoyed every bit of it. Personally, I like trying to blend in to most places I go. Some places are much harder than others. I guess I want to understand the people, and what life is really like there, as much as possible. Getting into the mindset as much as is possible inwardly and outwardly is fun to me. Also, just being observant can show you what gestures/body language are the norm wherever you might be. It IS possible to pick that sort of thing up, if you're the observant/adaptable type. I do agree with the loud thing, but for myself, I am usually naturally quiet and polite in public. Loud gaffawing should be reserved for football games (American or non-American).
I guess my lengthy digress comes to this -- you CAN fit in, in a lot of places, if you really give it a try, even if it may only be on the surface. I guess it depends on how hard of a try you give it and what type of person you are -- being someone, like me, who likes to watch and observe people, probably would help. And I guess the other point is, there are at least a few tourists, American or otherwise, who have probably passed you by on the street without you ever knowing it. Unless of course you're stopping everyone on the streets and giving them the "third degree"!
Dec 20th, 2005, 06:55 AM
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--American "Boxy" Suits--
It is an intergral part of the American character. The desire to roam the wide open spaces; the endless (well, more or less endless) frontier.
The urge to spread out (and not only spreading out the width of our spacious rear ends as we gobble down our Big Macs, Freedom Fries, and Giant 64 oz. Gulps) and to be able to move and breathe freely! Mmmmmm, even if the air is a bit polluted here and there.
Big, boxy suits and big, boxy SUVs! And big, boxy gasoline prices! Give me some elbow room, pardner.
It is an intergral part of the American character. The desire to roam the wide open spaces; the endless (well, more or less endless) frontier.
The urge to spread out (and not only spreading out the width of our spacious rear ends as we gobble down our Big Macs, Freedom Fries, and Giant 64 oz. Gulps) and to be able to move and breathe freely! Mmmmmm, even if the air is a bit polluted here and there.
Big, boxy suits and big, boxy SUVs! And big, boxy gasoline prices! Give me some elbow room, pardner.
Dec 20th, 2005, 07:08 AM
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David--Americans tend to be thirsty people (too many salty snacks).
I can remember when Pepsi Cola revolutionized the soft drink industry by increasing the size of the standard bottle from the usual 6 ounces to an astounding SEVEN OUNCES.
Over the past few decades we began to see ounce-creep, with every soft drink manufacturer and retailers trying to close the ounce-gap with their competitors.
The largest drink I've seen around now is a 64-ouncer put out by one of the convenience store chains (I don't drink that stuff anymore so I don't remember which one). It's all part of a humanitarian effort to help the Latin American countries' sugar cane industry.
It takes a real man (or woman with man-hands) to handle one of those puppies! I don't think that even a Hummer's cup holder can handle one.
I can remember when Pepsi Cola revolutionized the soft drink industry by increasing the size of the standard bottle from the usual 6 ounces to an astounding SEVEN OUNCES.
Over the past few decades we began to see ounce-creep, with every soft drink manufacturer and retailers trying to close the ounce-gap with their competitors.
The largest drink I've seen around now is a 64-ouncer put out by one of the convenience store chains (I don't drink that stuff anymore so I don't remember which one). It's all part of a humanitarian effort to help the Latin American countries' sugar cane industry.
It takes a real man (or woman with man-hands) to handle one of those puppies! I don't think that even a Hummer's cup holder can handle one.
Dec 20th, 2005, 07:10 AM
#65
david_west, it only means that is how large a soda pop is from a fast food joint. picture it... a gigantic cup with a logo on it packed with crushed ice and coke-cola or whatever, 64 oz. of it!
Dec 20th, 2005, 07:16 AM
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That's over three pints (proper pints not those puny yankee pints).
Does anyone actually drink three pints of pop?
I think I can safely say that if you walk* down a Paris street with a 64oz gulp - people will suspect that you are an american.
*If you are drinking 64oz gulps, that verb is more likely to be waddle.
Does anyone actually drink three pints of pop?
I think I can safely say that if you walk* down a Paris street with a 64oz gulp - people will suspect that you are an american.
*If you are drinking 64oz gulps, that verb is more likely to be waddle.
Dec 20th, 2005, 10:17 AM
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I agree, 64 oz big gulps are generally ridiculous, -but-...
I don't think they're helping the Latin American sugar cane industry considering they're all made with high fructose corn syrup (which I think is a scourge upon this country). The last time I had a Coke that was made with actual sugar was either outside of the USA or in Hawai'i, and I'm not sure if the Coca-Cola in Hawai'i uses sugarcane anymore. Sodas definitely taste better using actual sugar, though. *sigh*
Although it wouldn't be the healthiest choice in a thirsty situation (although you -can- fill those giant cups with water), here's a somewhat valid reason for giant-sized thirstbusters (that is actually the name of one brand of those hefty cups here where I am):
Where I live, although it's certainly not the hottest place in the world (the Iraqi desert, for instance, is hotter, so I am told, as well as Coober Pedy in Australia), it's aah..up there. In the summer, the highest temperature since I've lived here was 50.5 C, or 123 F. No, that is not a typo. Although that's the highest since I've lived here (which is a bit more than a decade), the normal summer temps are often 46.1 C or 115 F, and easily reach a few degrees higher. To put this into perspective, I've seen nights when it does not go -below- 38.8 C, or 102 F (yes, this happens), and frequently nights where it doesn't go below 37.7 C, or 100 F. Winter, on the otherhand, is much more pleasant. Although, this year, we didn't get below the 100's F until the very end of September or the beginning of October (I think), and didn't get below the 90's F until close to the end of October. Ridiculous. "Coolness" (subjective) really didn't start happening until November. But right now, for instance, here close to the end of December, it's been unusually "cool" for us here -- today, right now at noon local time, it's 22.2 C or 72 F (it will get a little warmer before it cools down tonight). By the way, I live in the low/sub-tropical desert of Arizona (as opposed to the high desert, which is cooler).
Now that being said, a big gulp might take on new-found meaning here. Although, honestly, I don't get them because as RufusTFirefly said, they really don't fit into any cupholder known to man, or woman.
P.S. -- David, what was that skin comment about in your American-spotting list? I'm uber-curious.
Oh, and P.P.S -- RufusTFirefly, the Brits started that roaming thing. *blink*
I don't think they're helping the Latin American sugar cane industry considering they're all made with high fructose corn syrup (which I think is a scourge upon this country). The last time I had a Coke that was made with actual sugar was either outside of the USA or in Hawai'i, and I'm not sure if the Coca-Cola in Hawai'i uses sugarcane anymore. Sodas definitely taste better using actual sugar, though. *sigh*
Although it wouldn't be the healthiest choice in a thirsty situation (although you -can- fill those giant cups with water), here's a somewhat valid reason for giant-sized thirstbusters (that is actually the name of one brand of those hefty cups here where I am):
Where I live, although it's certainly not the hottest place in the world (the Iraqi desert, for instance, is hotter, so I am told, as well as Coober Pedy in Australia), it's aah..up there. In the summer, the highest temperature since I've lived here was 50.5 C, or 123 F. No, that is not a typo. Although that's the highest since I've lived here (which is a bit more than a decade), the normal summer temps are often 46.1 C or 115 F, and easily reach a few degrees higher. To put this into perspective, I've seen nights when it does not go -below- 38.8 C, or 102 F (yes, this happens), and frequently nights where it doesn't go below 37.7 C, or 100 F. Winter, on the otherhand, is much more pleasant. Although, this year, we didn't get below the 100's F until the very end of September or the beginning of October (I think), and didn't get below the 90's F until close to the end of October. Ridiculous. "Coolness" (subjective) really didn't start happening until November. But right now, for instance, here close to the end of December, it's been unusually "cool" for us here -- today, right now at noon local time, it's 22.2 C or 72 F (it will get a little warmer before it cools down tonight). By the way, I live in the low/sub-tropical desert of Arizona (as opposed to the high desert, which is cooler).
Now that being said, a big gulp might take on new-found meaning here. Although, honestly, I don't get them because as RufusTFirefly said, they really don't fit into any cupholder known to man, or woman.
P.S. -- David, what was that skin comment about in your American-spotting list? I'm uber-curious.
Oh, and P.P.S -- RufusTFirefly, the Brits started that roaming thing.
*blink*
Dec 20th, 2005, 10:28 AM
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Someone mentioned that you can tell an American because we walk around carrying water bottles! I guess that is true and I am guilty of it. I think it may be a West Coast thing?
In our defense, I don't think Europeans drink enough water. I have been told that you should drink half your weight in ounces of water every day. Everyone I know does just that and our kidneys are soooo perky!!
I always thought British men's hair tends to me dry and parted on the side. I could be mistaken.
In our defense, I don't think Europeans drink enough water. I have been told that you should drink half your weight in ounces of water every day. Everyone I know does just that and our kidneys are soooo perky!!
I always thought British men's hair tends to me dry and parted on the side. I could be mistaken.
Dec 20th, 2005, 10:50 AM
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I don't know that it's half your weight in ounces of water everyday. That seems like a LOT. Officially, I believe, the US suggests 7 to 8 glasses of water every day, though this seems like a lot, too (actually, going by your statement, 8 glasses of water, at 8 oz each, would be more than half my weight, if you uses oz/ounces for pounds, and 7 would be right on the mark for me, hmm).
Keep in mind, that too much of -anything- can be a bad thing. Even water, at excessive levels, can over-work your kidneys, and even lead to kidney failure, seriously, if you were to drink too much water. On the other hand, drinking water is good for the kidneys. But guzzle down a gallon of it frequently and on a regular basis, and you are actually asking for kidney problems!
Keep in mind, that too much of -anything- can be a bad thing. Even water, at excessive levels, can over-work your kidneys, and even lead to kidney failure, seriously, if you were to drink too much water. On the other hand, drinking water is good for the kidneys. But guzzle down a gallon of it frequently and on a regular basis, and you are actually asking for kidney problems!
Dec 20th, 2005, 12:34 PM
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The water-bottle scourge has taken off in Australia too. The entertainer Barry Humphries, in his "Dame Edna Everage" persona, has developed a neat way of drawing withering attention to audience members who can't get through his show without swigging from a bottle: "Keeping ourselves moist for tonight, are we, dear?" A Sydney doctor recently expressed puzzlement about patients who, he said, "Are so terrified by the possibility of imminent renal failure that they've even produced them during a 10-minute consultation". Bizarre.
I can't help wondering how my grandparents' generation would have reacted if they'd been told that one day companies would be making millions by selling bottled water.
Personally, apart from trying to respect local norms of behaviour and making garbled assaults on the language, I don't see much point in trying to not look like what you are - which is a tourist (or in the case of some Fodorites, a "traveller"
.
In this country the term "cultural cringe" is used to describe Australians who on contact with the imagined sophistication of older cultures develop a pronounced national inferiority complex, and I can't help feeling that this is an element of many Americans' responses to Europe. Relax, is my advice - over the years millions of Europeans have fled to your (and our) unsophisticated shores in search of human dignity, a quality in decidedly short supply amid the slaughter, poverty and chaos generated by their own terribly chic societies. What's to apologise for? (Apart from 64-oz soft drinks, McDonalds burgers and "fanny packs", that is.)
I can't help wondering how my grandparents' generation would have reacted if they'd been told that one day companies would be making millions by selling bottled water.
Personally, apart from trying to respect local norms of behaviour and making garbled assaults on the language, I don't see much point in trying to not look like what you are - which is a tourist (or in the case of some Fodorites, a "traveller"
. In this country the term "cultural cringe" is used to describe Australians who on contact with the imagined sophistication of older cultures develop a pronounced national inferiority complex, and I can't help feeling that this is an element of many Americans' responses to Europe. Relax, is my advice - over the years millions of Europeans have fled to your (and our) unsophisticated shores in search of human dignity, a quality in decidedly short supply amid the slaughter, poverty and chaos generated by their own terribly chic societies. What's to apologise for? (Apart from 64-oz soft drinks, McDonalds burgers and "fanny packs", that is.)
Dec 20th, 2005, 05:28 PM
#75
Neil knows how it is. I speak little French and am just myself yet I have made so many friends coast to coast in France and alot speak as little English as my French. It really has to do with being polite to their customs, happy to meet them, and come with not an attitude.
Dec 21st, 2005, 07:55 AM
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Buy a small collapsible umbrella. My wife and I found it invaluable on a recent European trip. Also, if you can afford to go to Paris from the States, you can afford to buy a warm coat and then give it to the Salvation Army if you will not need it again. If you can find an umbrella that says "Merde. Il pleut" on it, you will not be thought of as American.
Dec 21st, 2005, 09:25 AM
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Find an Army surplus store and ask to be shown a gillie suit. They're made of burlap and old carpet bits. Put on some black and green face paint. Lie down on the ground, preferably in bushes. You will look just like a sniper and you will never stand out.
Oi vey! Wear denim and black, and they will think you are a local in Paris.
Oi vey! Wear denim and black, and they will think you are a local in Paris.
Dec 21st, 2005, 11:28 AM
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I believe that the latest revolutionary advice is that people should drink when they are thirsty.
There have been a few cases of runners collapsing because of drinking too much water.
Of course, you only notice the American tourists who do stand out and one way is that they have something either going to or in their mouth. They graze rather than have proper meals at set times.
That's why they want to share meals.
One piece of advice I'd give about clothes is to take a travelling iron with you.
There have been a few cases of runners collapsing because of drinking too much water.
Of course, you only notice the American tourists who do stand out and one way is that they have something either going to or in their mouth. They graze rather than have proper meals at set times.
That's why they want to share meals.
One piece of advice I'd give about clothes is to take a travelling iron with you.
