The BEST things about the USA (page 4)

JanH

What first struck me when landing on American soil (O'Hare Airport, in fact, but alas just for a connecting flight) was how easy it was to find your way about. I was tired after a long flight, and I was not looking forward to having to find my way through customs, immigration and -- worst of all -- finding the gate to the connecting flight. The immigration officer was extremely nice and friendly. Customs was no sweat. One of the first things I saw was a smiling guy with a huge "Ask me!" sign on his chest. He didn't wait for that, though. He came over "may I help you sir?", took a look at my ticket and told me in very clear terms where I had to go. All the way, there were friendly people guiding me through the hoops.

This impression stayed all through my vacation. Service in supermarkets, banks and particularly restaurants was excellent. And the food was brilliant, and abundant, and very cheap.

In short, Americans are generally very friendly and service minded. And prices and taxes are very comfortable. I bet that'll surprise the Americans here

(Yes, Imbue, there are some things you can criticize about Norway that'll get the support of almost every native here: prices, alcohol policies and the &%#$ weather)

- Jan

City Fan

Things I love about America:

Freedom of speech.

Oliver Hardy

The writer Julian May from Seattle who wrote the finest books I've ever read.

Most American music.

Woody Allen

All the waitresses I met in a restaurant in Mineapolis.

finnrot

Speaking of ice cubes. I had no idea how bass ackwards those jamokes in Europe were, until I took my family to Euro Disney.

What a nightmare. Don't let the movies fool you, those dopes are about 100 years behind us in technology and convenience. One of the first things I do when I check into my hotel room, is to get the ice bucket and get a nice refreshing bucket of ice cubes from the machine in the hall. Well, when I got my family settled into our room in our western themed hotel, the first thing I did was to grab my bucket and head to the ice machine. The machine was humming proudly and loudly, yet when I opened the top, there was no ice, and no evidence that there was ice ever in there. I called the front desk and informed him that the ice machine wasn't working, and the Frog at the front dest told me that yes the ice machine was working and proceeded to hang up on me. Technically he was correct, it was making a humming sound, so I guess it was working.

There wasn't a single place we visited in France that had air conditioning or ice cubes, must be reserved for the rich and famous. And if you didn't attempt to speak to them in French, they treated you very rudely. Like I'm going to learn French for a one week vacation.....not. We'll talk about the smelly hairy French women later.

JanH

For all their sensitivity to America-bashing, you certainly don't restrain yourself from French-bashing. And over ice-cubes. LOL

Joke aside: tourists are a special class. Don't judge a nation by its tourists.

My ex worked in a hotel for a long time. There is general agreement among hotel staff about who are the worst guests imaginable: Israelis. They steal everything that isn't nailed down, and occasionally some that is (i wish this was just a stereotype, but it isn't, as you'll find out if you ask any employee on any tourist hotel in Europe). On which group comes second, there seems to be more disagreement. The Korean (men) comes very, very high; I can't understand how Korean women survive that constant harassment. Americans are near the top of any list of worst tourists. It's odd how people can be so nice at home, and yet so obnoxious abroad. Or perhaps American tourists coming here are people you paid to get out of the country for a while, so they would annoy someone else?

But if you get treated like shit in Europe for being American, blame those who came here before you. Stereotyping is sad, but it is human nature.

Personally, I try to avoid owing up to being Norwegian abroad. Watching the typical Norwegian vodka tourist in e.g. Spain makes me cringe. Nobody can say where I am from based on accent or looks anyway. For some weird reason, Norwegians are always treated very well abroad, much better than e.g. Swedes and Germans. Go figure. I guess it's because we always seem to have a great time and leave a serious tip as we get drunk, scream silly songs, harass the female staff, tear down the place, fight with the cops, puke and finally pass out in the drunk tank.

- Jan

funkyderek

finnrott, you seem to be the kind of American the stereotypes are based on:

Speaking of ice cubes. I had no idea how bass ackwards those jamokes in Europe were, until I took my family to Euro Disney.

Is that everyone in Europe, just the "frogs" or just those working at an American-owned theme park?

Perhaps if you didn't expect everything to be exactly as it is in the US, you wouldn't have a problem. But you were in a western-themed hotel in Disneyland. Why the hell did you even bother coming to Europe? America does much better American-style theme parks than we ever will. I realise there's very little else in Europe of any cultural interest, but you could have just gone to Florida and knocked yourself out with big buckets of ice and air-conditioning and staff who speak your language.

There wasn't a single place we visited in France that had air conditioning or ice cubes, must be reserved for the rich and famous.

The French are used to their climate. They don't have the same mentality as Americans who have to live in a temperature-controlled environment. Acclimatising to different weather conditions is not that difficult if you give it a chance. Ice is available on request

And if you didn't attempt to speak to them in French, they treated you very rudely.

Unlike the USA, where all workers dealing with the public are trained in a variety of languages? Possibly - and this may stretch your tiny mind so try to keep up - they weren't being rude so much as not fluent in your language. Or maybe, through some cultural oddity, they thought you were being rude by not even attempting to speak their language when you were a guest in their country.

We'll talk about the smelly hairy French women later

Fuck you, you ignorant racist turd. You are the reason Celtic made such inflammatory comments. You and the other pig-ignorant blinkered loud American tourists who are unable to understand or appreciate anything outside the crass, commercialised bubble of stupidity they choose to live in. Go back to your Magic Kingdom and your Big Macs. Europe doesn't want you.

outnfree

Or perhaps American tourists coming here are people you paid to get out of the country for a while, so they would annoy someone else?

ROFLMAO --

No, but that's a very interesting idea! BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Jan

outnfree

P.S. Moi, j'adore les francais! FinnRot is American!!!????? [:|]

Edited by - outnfree on 3 July 2002 7:9:2

Edited by - outnfree on 3 July 2002 7:12:42

Farkel

Jan,

Your comments about how some Americans behave while traveling abroad brought up this experience I had about 15 years ago. A good friend of mine came from Hawaii to visit me and his brother in San Diego. It was a holiday weekend and we drove down to Ensenada, Mexico for food and fun. The downtown (tourist) area of Ensenada was jam-packed with American tourists. There were kids stumbling all over drunk, puking on the sidewalks and relieving themselves in the alleyways. I was disgusted and said, "They wouldn't think of acting like that at home, so why-in-the-hell do they think they have the right to act that way as guests in another Country? No WONDER we get the moniker 'Ugly Americans.'" I expressed hope that the Mexican police would round them up and let them smoke it out a few days in jail.

When I travel, I attempt to "be local", that is dress, eat and act in the local custom. I won't divulge that I'm a Southern Californian unless pressed, either. They all think we are gays or whoremongers or surfer-dudes. Since I bat two-out-of-three in those categories, I'm sure you can see why I keep my mouth shut!

Farkel

Englishman

American steaks and burgers,mmm, excellent.

Root beer though, urgh, Germoline..and maple syrup, my God now that is an aquired taste. On the other hand I just lurv French escargots and English liver & kidneys, so perhaps it 's just what my taste buds are used to.

Englishman.

TheStar

But if you get treated like shit in Europe for being American, blame those who came here before you. Stereotyping is sad, but it is human nature.

It may be human nature but it is also a question of being intelligent enough to think outside the box!

I say this because I've traveled to a few foreign countries and it never fails, as soon as they know I'm from the U.S. I get treated like crap. I even lived in a foreign country for almost 2 years and I find that generally Americans are treated badly regardless. This is my own experience as a whole. While I did find many nice people along the way (as you would in any country) on the whole, this is what I find is the general attitude.

After living in a foreign country I was not only more appreciative of my country because of the conveniences and comforts already mentioned by others on this board but because my country it seem is the only place I'm treated fairly and if not treated fairly, I have rights in this country that allow me to do something about it.

While I was born in the U.S. my family origins are hispanic and heck, I can't even go to a latin american country without being treated unfairly or crappy because I'm from the U.S., as if I had any say so as to what country I would be born in!!!

I think as a whole the U.S. treats foreigners with much more respect and kindness than visa versa and that is why I love my country and why it is the best damn country in the whole world!!!

NewWay

* Cheap vehicle fuel - expensive in the UK, and rising all the time
* Many excellent movies, and comedy shows
* Star Trek
* Diverse reading matter
* Most Americans live there and not in the UK - sorry couldn't resist!

The BEST things about the USA

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