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If you've ever traveled abroad as an American, the chances are you know how it feels to be detected as one. It’s not that we hide it (in fact, we are prouder than anything else!) but sometimes you just wish you could blend in with the rest of the crowd and feel what it’s like to be treated as a local.

And all it takes is to step foot inside, for example, a “bar” in Italy and order a beer on tap, or worse, a cappuccino after 12, and here you've earned a bunch of eyerolls with a solid “where in America are you from?” But in order to find out what really gives Americans away in an instant, we have to look at what non-Americans have to say about their radars themselves.

So below we collected some of the most interesting responses to “How do you spot an American tourist ‘from a mile away’?” on “AskReddit” and wow, this is kinda weirdly specific.

#1

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away Americans are very loud, I swear you have loudhailers hidden in your clothes somewhere.

Over 40, the tourists tend to be more on the very overweight side, but the women still wear yoga pants and the men always have a combination of button up shirts and loose fitting cargo shorts. And both men and women wear baseball caps and Oakley's or sunglasses similar to that style; with white trainers.

Under 40, you're very friendly, in a way that's both endearing and creepy. When we chat I feel like I'm being indoctrinated into a cult.

Sco0bySnax , unsplash Report

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Leah Person
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m American and I really cannot stand how loud most people are here. I have a quiet voice and it’s considered some kind of a fault by some. It’s actually really stressful.

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#2

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away The way they dress. For some reason Americans abroad dress like they're doing some hard core exploring in the Amazon...even when they're just visiting a European city.

jackofharts94 , pexels Report

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Pixie
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah yes, the thrilling and dangerous urban jungle of an European metropolis - beware of the bike lane

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#3

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away "Hey oh you're [Irish/Scottish/Italian/etc]! I'm [same] too!"

"Oh really? Whereabouts you from?"

"California. My great great great grandpappy was from here though!"

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Sarcastic Cow
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you are so proud of your country, why do you still mention the origins of your ancestors?Sounds like a European saying he's a Celtic, a Roman or a Viking... (even if it was cool, tho)

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Tenacious Squirrel
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is also somewhat true in Australia. Lots of people say they’re Irish, Greek or Italian for example. They’re actually just Australian with e.g. Greek relatives that emigrated. I think in Europe, at least where I’ve lived, we just say where we are actually from/our nationality (passport or citizenship!). If it’s complicated, such as spending half our lives living somewhere else, we may mention it very briefly. But having relatives originally from overseas? I wouldn’t even think to mention it, nevermind identify myself by it. Some people haven’t even stepped foot on e.g. Greek soil and go round telling people they’re Greek. It’s strange to me! I do have grandparents from a different country and I would feel like a complete fraud telling people their nationality was mine.

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Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Greeks usually are very very proud for their nationality! This is why we mention it! As a Greek(see? Couldn't hide it either) I can reassure you that no Greek will hide their Greek identity even though they might not even speak Greek!

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RedMarbles
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How about Americans try to remember that, when outside the US, when one says "I'm xyz," it will be interpreted as stating you are from the country named. And how about non-Americans try to keep in mind that when Americans say "I'm xyz" they're likely referring to their ancestry, as is customary in the US.

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Christopher Brenna
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, in the case of Ireland, there are 36 million people of Irish descent in America. Many millions of them can and have become Irish citizens because Ireland allows citizenship by descent for anyone who has one grandparent who was born in Ireland. My grandmother came from Norway in the early 20th century. I'm a Norwegian American and I would absolutely tell someone from Norway that my family is from Trondheim. Just like someone who immigrates to any European country doesn't stop being the ethnicity of the place they are from, people in America do continue to identify with the country their ancestors came from.

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Charmwashere
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a cultural thing that we do. It maybe weird to others but it's how we roll. Making fun of that is kinda odd of ppl. Why do we do this? It's a lil too much to explain with the space given but it's because everyone came from somewhere else. When they got to the USA they often went to villages, towns, neighborhoods that were associated with thier mother country. That's where terms like Lil Italy, Chinatown, Greek town ect came about. Or whole swaths of states we're almost all German or Swiss ect. They kept thier own cultures, languages, and mother country pride and envolped it into what would become USA culture. Many of us can go back generations and tell you what "they were" . Until maybe 120 years ago it would be uncommon for different neighborhoods/areas to intermarry. A Scottish American will marry another Scottish American in thier Scottish village in Arkansas for ex. Ppl are proud of that. You all may not understand it but it's who we are. If you have any questions pls ask!

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Gary Davidson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This originates from America being a "melting pot" of different cultures. Americans are proud of their ancestry.

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Tenacious Squirrel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are many countries that are a melting pot/have high rates of immigration/have historical areas that were settled by certain groups or nationalities. It's not a complex idea nor something specific to the USA. I have mixed ancestry from different countries from my grandparents, as do many people I know, but it's rarely mentioned/relevant. It's just the 'newer' countries (such as the USA and Australia) who seem to need another identity outside of their own country. There's a difference between saying something like "My grandparents moved to the US from France" versus "I'm French". Perhaps only in these specific 'new' countries are those concepts the same. I should also point out that these 'new' countries have Indigenous history dating back beyond the newness.

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Martin Jakubik
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, it's either Americans (aka citizens of USA) says they are Irish, Scottish, Italian, Greek origin. Somehow very few states origin from other European countries. Also when citizens of USA states they are "American" - does it apply to Bolivia, Peru, Honduras - because those are American countries. Of continent named America.

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Tenacious Squirrel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, it's strange you rarely hear people from the US or Australia say "I'm English" despite all of these rules they have about their ancestors isn't it?! I know a couple in Australia, one of them tells everyone she is Greek, the other tells everyone he is Australian. In fact, one set of her grandparents emigrated from Greece and one set of his grandparents emigrated from England. So they both have the same type of relatives originally from overseas (mixed with whatever other ancestry). He's very adamant that he's not English, but that his partner is Greek.

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Kelly Hartle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of it is because we're a younger country, and it is comforting to know our roots go back further. I'm lucky enough to know I'm descended from a Portuguese fisherman who landed in Britain with the Romans.

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Fester Sixonesixonethree
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always say something along the lines of "American - but my people came over from France in the 1640s..."

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Jean Petit
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No melting pot? What about being American that's is all there is to it.

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Tenacious Squirrel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On this subject where people feel there is a need to identify with ancestry rather than with their current 'melting pot' country, it can be very divisive and quite frankly, racist. An example of this was when I was overseas and there was a British guy there (I'm also originally from the UK). We'd all introduced ourselves along with a bit about ourselves. Someone asked me one day where the British guy was from. I was confused as she already knew, so just repeated that he was British. She asked me a couple more times and I repeated myself, getting more specific as I thought maybe she wanted to know *exactly* where in the UK he was from. Eventually she said "But he isn't really British is he? I know he said he is, but he can't actually be from the UK! What is he really? Something African?". It finally twigged for me that she had been asking because he was not white. I was just totally gob-smacked by this.

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Walt Grogan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a cultural difference. Because America is a melting pot of diaspora from many other countries, Americans are especially proud of their cultural heritage. In America, when someone is questioned about their ethnic background, Americans will answer with the country or ethnicity where their parent, grandparents, or great-grandparents came from. It's cultural shorthand. When going abroad, many Americans maintain this shorthand. It's not meant as a sign of disrespect but rather a sign of fondness and connection to their ancestral homeland. The last time I was in Ireland, I was greeted with "Welcome, home!" when I landed.

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EEF🤓
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to work in an irish music shop. I heard every clinchéd expression and a few new ones.

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Ryan Lekan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guarantee you would do the same if you w were born in somewhere like China and your parents were from a European country. This is a normal sociological trait

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

By that logic, my being born in England would suggest that I identify as Roman? How far back are we gonna go? Are we all African?

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Aria Whitaker
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? That does not make sense. Many Americans have grandparents from those "old countries"...we are not talking 8 generations...but their father's MOTHER. Have you forgotten most of our immigrants JUST came over here in the 1920-1950's? We are a very young country, and if identifying with where your parents or grandparents came from is somehow "weird" to you all, it would seem you are just looking for things to be "weird" or wrong, as usual.

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Ellen Ranks
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ha! I found out through DNA testing that I am 40% Norwegian/Danish. Next time someone asks me my nationality I'm gonna say Viking. LOL

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Jennifer Casey
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I found through mine that I am actually 6% Nigerian. I wasn't that surprised. Out of 10 children there's only 3 of us that are blond. I knew that I was different. LOL

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Eleni Aggeliki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So essentially, Americans are proud to be immigrants but are intolerant of other immigrants?

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Valeria McCloud
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We did not immigrate. Our ancestors immigrated to the continent, not the country. They built the country. Americans love immigrants that is why we have a legal immigration system. What we don’t like is foreign national entering our country illegally.

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Kantami Blossom
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i've always found the funny. their ancestor emigrates to America in the late 1700's but they're still Scottish, but if your father was American you're not because you weren't born there.

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#4

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away Amazed by things which are more than 200 years old, presumably because they don't have many things that old in the USA.

Dusepo , pexels Report

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Tenacious Squirrel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same in Australia. We once went to a “historic” attraction that people were really fawning over. It was from the 1950s, my mum is older than it 😆

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#5

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away Saying “hi, how are you?” to the barista, servers, retail workers. My country doesn’t quite have that culture so I find it really sweet.

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Ba Loeloe
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seems like Americans don't expect a answer when they say "Hi, how are you?

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#6

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away when they cross the street, they expect cars to stop for them. in my country, the cars will run you down without thinking twice.

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the Netherlands pedestrians are legally protected into the extreme. If a driver collides with a pedestrians, the driver is always 100% at fault and liable. But even here pedestrians wait till it's safe to cross the street.

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#7

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away When they introduce themselves they never say they're from America: mostly the state/city they're from.

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#8

I remember I was a small kid in Tijuana. They were typically a lot more good looking than the local population. The girls were hot as hell. The Marines that would come around from San Diego looked like superheroes and made these other guys look like sh*t.

We'd get European tourists as well but the American ones looked bigger and kind of stronger. Especially the military guys, like something out of these Marvel comics, at least the ones in their twenties.

All buff, tall, etc.

The military tourists were always very friendly to me and made me want to be like them when I grew up, which is why I'm going to enlist in the USMC a few years after college, haha.

Very friendly, generous people, very funny too.

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#9

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They complain that the portions at restaurants are too small.

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#10

You can hear them in museums when everyone else is extra silent.

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#11

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away In my experience, any combination of the following:

white socks
wearing a sun visor
Talking incredibly loud
Their phone will be on a belt loop
American teenagers are usually better at blending in however, so the trick with these guys is to wait until you're in a restaurant, at which point they'll make their presence known by complaining about the local food.

In terms of positives however, I find most American tourists are incredibly friendly and sociable, they usually have no problem talking to strangers and striking up a pleasant conversation, something we Europeans never do with each other (this is also another "tell", but it's one we should adopt).

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eirini
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In South Europe we do have pleasant conversations with total strangers. Not all Europeans behave the same way.

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#12

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away The absolute fearlessness of asking anyone on the street about anything

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#13

Expecting everyone to speak English and/or not wanting to learn the local language.

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Caro Caro
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember I was at the French border (Back when we had to stop and show our passport) and a car in front of us was at the checkpoint. A woman yeeted herself out of the car screaming "I don't need a passport, I'm American".

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#14

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They always look cheerful and are constantly smiling and seeming happy. Tourists from other places look more neutral or even unhappy.

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troufaki13
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How can you travel to another place and not be happy??? I'm with the Americans on this one!

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#15

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They get over-excited over very ordinary events and say things like “OMG look that grass how green it is!

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troufaki13
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find this very endearing to be honest. It's how children react and how we should all react in my opinion :)

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#16

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They wear white socks pulled all the way up.

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#17

I always felt embarrassingly underdressed when traveling in Europe.

On the flip side, as a native Arizonan I can always spot the European/English tourist because they will be bright red.

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#18

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away Many of the things we say loudly, includes many irrelevant details. In Israel, no one gives a f*ck about irrelevant details. “Yes” or “no” answers are of high value in middle eastern culture; but in American culture we like to tell you all about why something is or that our daughter got married last year or our cat has diabetes.

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Tenacious Squirrel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn’t know yes/no answers had high value in Middle Eastern culture. Interesting!

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#19

They’re looking for a store open at like 11pm. Even if in most European countries stores close at like 7-8 pm

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

American: "Can you imagine not being able to buy a microwave at 3 AM?" European: "Yes."

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#20

Americans think the world impressed by their city. No one cares that you’re from Las Vegas

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#21

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away Tipping. Americans will try to tip everyone, even in countries where tipping isn't a thing/is considered a serious insult.

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Caro Caro
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the other way around tourists from outside the USA forget to tip or don't tip enough.

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#22

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They're always asking for extra ice in their drinks.

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September Meadows
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I prefer my drinks at room temperature unless they're supposed to be hot.

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#23

Quite often on the heavy side weight-wise (sorry!)

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#24

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They ask for ketchup no matter what they're eating.

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#25

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away They have impeccable facial hair. Maybe Americans get a trim before they go on holiday, but I'm always impressed by the tidy beards and mustaches.

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#26

dollars. God damn it, people - hit a money exchange before you hit the market. Especially in a country where hard currency was still illegal.

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Al Cook
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be fair, most vendors in third world countries are happy to receive dollars because they're worth so much more than the local currency. In first world countries though, you'd have to be pretty stupid to think they'd be legal tender.

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#27

They’re the first to kick off when it’s a hot day and the Grade II listed hotel I work in doesn’t have air-conditioning.

Then they leave a bad review :( believe me, I would LOVE air con but we’re not allowed to change the building.

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why would you leave a 900 year old historical building intact, when you clearly can ruin the façade with air conditioners?

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#28

30 Non-Americans Share How They Spot American Tourists From A Mile Away Their college t shirt, sweater or cap

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#29

We are morons about diet. Another American moved to where I lived. He preached about high protein diets, b*tched about how he couldn’t find fat free milk or pasteurized egg whites, in a country that specializes in high-fat cuisine.

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#30

fanny pack.

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Al Cook
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

F***y usually means something completely different in other English speaking parts of the world!

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