Why hide your nationality?
 

I am new to Fodor's, have a trip to Europe coming up next week and have found this site to be invaluable - there is just one thing I don't understand and wonder if anyone could expain to me -really explain to me - why I read things like,"How do I dress/act/appear/behave/, etc. so that one cannot tell that I am American? What is the matter with these people-and I can't believe it's a safety issue, I just don't buy that-as an American in Italy several years ago, I was treated with the same respect that I bestowed on the Europeans I encountered and never felt in danger - why would anyone want to pretend to be anything other than what they are? As a proud Americanm it seems ridiculous to me, maybe there is an explanation that I haven't thought of, if so, please, let me hear it.
Leslie

Because media plays on the "ugly American" theme a lot, and a lot of people buy into that, and they try to pretend they're not American.

They want to fit in, and not stand out as a tourist, and thus be targeted as a potential scam victim.

I think that's where it's coming from.

Leslie, this topic has been discussed many times; you may want to do a search.

It's a class thing. It's been going on for 200 years. Read "Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain. Americans have always collapsed in a puddle of not-worthiness when confronted with the grandeur of Europe, even if that grandeur is mostly kept there for tourists. We suffer from what Paul Fussell calls "rubeophobia" which is not the fear of rubes but the fear of being thought a rube.

Never mind that Europe is full of rubes as well, only you'll never meet them in the cafes of the 7th Arrondissement.

Americans think of Europeans as being sophisticated beyond belief. Jean-Paul Belmondo and David Niven walking arm in arm along the Corso, that sort of thing. They're afraid that they'll say or do something that will mark them out as a hick who doesn't understand the wine list.

It's nothing to do with politics, or danger or the perception of it.

Americans are also for similar reasons susceptible to the instantaneous conversion, the desire and belief that by holding their head a certain way they can reflect this fabulousness themselves, and be mistaken for a charming European rogue themselves. They think that maybe if they are sophisticated enough themselves, they can "pass".

I think this is related to the well-known phenomenon of American visitors to the Holy Land who become unhinged and run screaming out of the Garden of Gethsemane thinking they're the reincarnation of Jesus.

I mean, really, how silly is the question "how can I not look like a tourist at the Eiffel Tower"? The only way to do that is not go to the Eiffel Tower.

fnarf, I think you summed it quite well. I'm a Canadian and I think I felt some of what you described. The locals looked so sophisicated, worldly that I felt somewhat intimidated by them. Then I knocked myself silly - I'm actually here, wherever I am. I'm expanding my horizons, and I'm grateful for being able to go where I've been, be it Amsterdam, Paris, or Dubai, or even other parts of my own country. I know some many people who for some reason or another have never been out of their own suburbs...
Perhaps if we tourists change our mindset from "trying to fit in" to "expanding our horizons" when we go somewhere else, we wouldn't have this question.

I really don't like tourists trying to "fit in". I mean, I love diversity, I think it's important to see the people as they are (the way they look, the way they dress, they kind of things they enjoy) not only when you go as a tourist but also when you live in a place that tourists visit. There's some kind of interchange I like a lot. As lmlweb says, it helps to "expand your horizons" and also to realise that maybe we have a different "fashion" but we all are most the same when facing important things in life :)

Lesliemomof6, you answer your own question: "in Italy, I was treated with the same respect that I bestowed on the Europeans I encountered."

If everyone treated everyone with respect, there would never be a problem. The issue is that in our country, you know the difference between dressing for Denny's and dressing for, say, a nice restaurant. We don't always know the signs abroad. So some of us ask, some of us offer answers.

On my trip to Paris earlier this month, I was in a casual restaurant when a fellow American came in wearing shorts and a baseball cap. Even in a casual Parisian restaurant, no one else was dressed like that. Some people no doubt snickered, but he was genuinely interested in the food, good natured about his non-existent French, and he was treated with respect.

On a bus, later the same day, six well-dressed Americans spoke in English about French history and the upcoming election, unaware that virtually every middle class Parisian speaks enough English to know that their remarks were completely inappropriate. Everyone on the bus was cringing. It isn't how you dress but whether you treat other people and their culture with respect that makes the difference.

But you will be happier and make others happier if you are aware that people dress differently in New York, London, or Paris than they do in Miami or LA and try to give some thought to not assaulting the local norms.

There are two reasons to try to disguise oneself:
1. to try be something you aren't
2. to try NOT to be something you are

However I can't remember one of these threads that said,<<,"How do I dress/act/appear/behave/, etc. so that one cannot tell that I am American?>>

Learning the habits, dress, actions, behavior of another culture is one of the joys of travel resulting in more of an appreciation of the country you are visiting, and not just the sights.
Wanting to fit in is natural - how should I dress, act, etc at an opera, baseball game, wonderful restaurant. I see nothing wrong with attempting to be a good visitor.
The ones I feel sorry for are the ones who say " I am proud to be a ______ and I'll bloody well do what I like and behave as I like and say what I like and they can like me or not cause I am a _______.
They are the ones who look like fools and embarrass me.

Another reason is that, for those of us who are into clothes, it's fun to imagine how we could dress to "pass" as a local in another country. We never achieve it, at least not on a short trip, but for some of us it's fun to try. It's part of the whole experience of stepping outside our ordinary lives.

Thank you, Kate; that's a good point that usually gets overlooked. People who are trying to "dress European" are not necessarily moral reprobates who can't accept who they really are; they could just be enjoying themselves. One pitfall of European travel for Americans is that we sometimes forget to have fun when we're doing all that educational duty in the museums.

"Another reason is that, for those of us who are into clothes, it's fun to imagine how we could dress to "pass" as a local in another country. We never achieve it, at least not on a short trip, but for some of us it's fun to try. It's part of the whole experience of stepping outside our ordinary lives"

Well put!

That's OK but then I cannot have fun looking at how different people from different countries dress...because everybody wants to have fun dressing as an european ;)

I think there's a couple of reasons, and somehow, they are polar opposites..or are they?

Insecurity - some Americans seem to think that anything European is better and they are afraid to be looked down upon.

Exagerated sense of importance - Others think that the minute the poor, scheming locals see an American they will believe that they are carrying a lot of $ and of course will want to rip off the rich American.

In my experience, neither is true!

Though I've only been traveling abroad since 2003, individuals treat people different ways and react to the way tourists, American or others, act.

Having said the above, I admit that currently I wouldn't feel comfortable traveling to the Midlle East as an American, but it's not because of the day to day individuals I would meet on my travels.

If you are in a cournty you are not from your a f***ing tourist. It doesn't matter if you wear jeans or capris or whatever people know!!!! Embrace that your a tourist and ask people to teach you abot their culture. They see right through all the fodors (I blend in), I rent a villa in the hills crap.

I am american, i love my country, we do great things and we have done horrible things, but hey I'm american, and i love it.

Kate - nicely said.

Once at a weekend picnic, I wore a cute little sundress. Everyone wanted to know why I was dressed up. Everyone else was in shorts and tanks.

Sometimes, we just want to wear something cute and a bit more stylish than is customary at home - so we ask hoping folks will say "a cute little sundress will fit in perfectly in Paris". It's not so much trying to hide that we're tourists, as it is trying to put a little more style into our appearance than usual.

Terrorists target foreigners. Americans are a number one target! Wearing an American flag emblem in a crowded street demonstration is sure to bring a swift assault. Being easily identified as an American invites all sorts of pickpockets and muggers to try an easy mark.

I love that concept, Kate.

I recently went to a meeting with a coupla dozen people I've been working with over the last few years. At breaktime, no fewer than three of them came up to me and said variations on "jeez, every time I see you you look even more French than the last time!"

Now, granted, I buy a lot of my clothes in Europe, but the whole concept of no longer "fitting in" in my own country was good for a chuckle.

GSteed: I bet the Spaniards and the British (especially Londoners) have a different opinion on typical terrorist targets.

yeah brando
That's what I'm talking about!

"Terrorists target foreigners"...hmmm..how many "foreigners" were on that London bus that was targeted?

Have you ever heard of an American who wanted to "fit in" so much that they actually wore shorts, ankle-length dark socks, and sandals? And please, don't tell me you've never seen that particular mode of dress in Europe.