I don’t have as much experience abroad as you so I will take your word for it.

In conclusion, I do love America and Americans and I think we’re a great bunch. Just in case that wasn’t clear.

Actually, if I had to pick the worst nationality to ever be abroad with, it’s the Brits. There are some unbelievably cool Brits, but unfortunately, there’s something incredibly degenerate and base about their culture in general. Australia is like a Mecca for every British backpacker who wants to drink and shag his way across a continent (not to mention South East Asia en route). Likewise, having spent a fair amount of time in Eastern Europe, I also had to endure wave after wave of Lads’ Nights each weekend descending on whichever city I found myself in courtesy of cheap flights out of Britain. Brits have a horrible reputation in Europe. While I was living in Bratislava (Slovakia), the European Cup was on in Portugal. 2,600 passports of known soccer hooligans were seized by British authorities to prevent them from hitting Portugal and tearing the place up. The whole situation was best summed up by a banner draped from a Portuguese bridge: “English: if you can’t behave yourselves, go home!”

Okay, so obviously not every Brit is that bad. However, after having been through 34 countries on five continents, I can easily, and I do mean EASILY, rate them as far, far worse than Americans on the whole. Americans can be loud and rude, but Brits tear stuff up too.

Anyhow, regarding breaking the stereotype of Americans abroad, go for it. Too many cool Americans skulk in the shadows (or worse, pretend they’re Canadian). As such, people only tend to notice the bad Americans. Make it your mission to single-handedly prove how cool many Americans are.

Caleb

P.S. During my travels in the U.S., I found Americans to be some of the most friendly and helpful people I’ve met.

Also, you singled the fellow out because he was American, but what was specifically American about his behavior? Nothing. I’ve been in plenty of places with Taiwanese yelling at owners about music and trying to impress g/fs with their behavior. That’s a human failing, not an American one. What you really did was use him as a justification for a false stereotype that you used to find common ground with the British person….shame on you for sucking up to the snooty Brits!

The language issue is a complex one, and it is not necessarily right to always speak Chinese. I tend to demonstrate that I can speak it and then let the other side decide how they want to go. Frequently Taiwanese enjoy the opportunity to practice English with a real live foreigner. Plus there are certain situations where one is MUCH better off speaking Anglais (like with cops).

Besides, everyone knows the real problem are those &@*&@^#$ Canadians…..

Michael

Heidi’s response: I was hardly sucking up to a Brit. I was just seeing his point that Americans can tend to be rude. But I don’t agree that Americans are rude and arrogant on a whole. Especially being that I am American and most of my family, friends, and those that I love dearly are American.

The man in question was very American by his references to American pop culture. He was rude simply by the fact that he was rude. He serves only as an anecdote to a much larger question or issue that I have no yet come to terms with. This is definitely not a definitive post on the matter and should not be perceived as such. It is merely my thoughts on a small moment of my day.

And actually, he was a veteran of Asia and Taiwan and had lived here upwards of a decade. I didn’t include this in my post because I found it irrelevant and still do.