Non-Americans Share 30 Annoying Things Most American Tourists Do But Shouldn’t When Visiting Their Countries
In order to get those lasting memories, broaden your horizons and grow as a person in many ways, when traveling, you will have to get out of your comfort zone. It’s part of the deal, really.
New customs, different lifestyles, and never-before-seen societal norms may indeed feel challenging for you as a visitor, but it’s all worth the stories you will make when traveling abroad. Some cultural differences when traveling are more testing than others, so you want to gather as much information about the country you’re visiting as possible.
Or, ask the locals! This illuminating Ask Reddit thread may also help, as it has non-Americans sharing things they “wish Americans knew before visiting their country.” From not patting koalas in Australia to not buying bottled water in Iceland, there’s a lot to learn from!
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Don't make selfies in front of the memorial of murdered jews in Berlin.
If you're outside of your home country, YOU are the one with the accent.
We don't tip here. You are making it worse for all of us. The servers get payed according to their skill level, many above the minium wage. But they are startign to get pissy when lockals don't tip them for their mediocre service.
Be careful what you're saying in a public place. We all speak English. We all understand you.
Ha. I'm an American in a foreign country, and I'm the one reminding the "locals" who speak to me in English that many of their own people speak English. Besides, gossip just isn't cool in any language.
Africa is a *continent*, made up of 54 *different* countries.
Americans have been contacted by enough Nigerian Princes soliciting money that they know Nigeria is a country within the continent of Africa. Also, from age 8+, a standard test question involves naming the continents. If someone wants to claim otherwise, they should provide real data and a source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Downvoted in 60 seconds! Wow. Somebody really hates credible sources and data -- or they hate people who they think are Americans (or maybe there are a lot of angry Nigerians).
I’m from Kazakhstan.
Eating horse is part of our culture. The same way you do not offend people in France when they eat frogs, they same way please don’t offend Kazakhs when they eat meat. We led a nomadic lifestyle and since in the steppes you could not farm, cattle was the main source of food. During the Great Purge in Kazakhstan cattle was taken away from us , in Russian’s attempt to progress our agriculture. It didn’t work and many tried to migrate, but failed due to dehydration and starvation. Over a million Kazakhs died during that period. That’s 40% of the population, it made as a minority group in our own country up until 1990’s.
You do not have to eat it nor is anyone forcing you to, but making rude remarks on it is uncalled for especially since now the majority of youth understand Russian, Kazakh and English.
Don't buy bottled water. Well, maybe buy one and then just refill it at literally every bathroom sink you come across and the quality will be just as good. (Iceland)
Don't ask why we use the Russian alphabet in Bulgaria - we don't! If anything, the Russians use the Bulgarian alphabet - Cyrillic was invented in medieval Bulgaria centuries before Russia was even on the map.
Here, the customer is not always king.
It’s a faulty saying anyway. Isn’t it more along the lines of “The customer is always right in matters of taste”? Meaning… If I have customer that loves something, I’m not going to disagree with them. But if they call me stupid and expect me to agree with their demand then I’m sorry, but I will not tolerate bad manners and behaviour. I’ve loved being in service for 27 years but no, the customer is not always right.
if you are visiting East Europe and you are black don't mind the weird looks. People are not racist. They are suprised because some of them haven't ever seen a non-white person
As a black person who lives in Eurasia, I do get weird looks from people, and brush it off as "some people have never seen somebody who looks like me before." The country is former Soviet, so it makes sense. I just get the ick when people start taking photos of me. True story: I had somebody come up to me, take a selfie without my consent, and leave. Like, no.
To answer for any fellow study abroad kids going to New Zealand, them calling you a "c**t" is endearing, not offensive. I'm tiny so not one to pick a fight with a giant Maori guy calling me a good c**t, but some of my a*****e college cohorts apparently took offense to it and didn't understand the context at all. NZ is the coolest place in the world, to the point where you have to fight to get citizenship there. If a Kiwi is saying "g'daye ya c**t" you're in good standing. I remember having old ladies at gas stations calling me a cheeky c**t, it's a totally different word out in the middle of nowhere.
How the metric system works. We dont sell beer in ounces ffs...
Paris isn't France, France isn't Paris. Don't think you know France if you only went to Paris. Most of the country is really different.
It's Ed-in-BRUH, not "Ed-in-Burrow"
Also, it's sweet that you are coming to Scotland to 'connect with your ancestors' and stuff, well, I think it is, but a lot of Scots you'll speak to will be thinking *"here we go again"* if you talk about it to them, *especially* if you actually describe yourself as "Scottish". And your "clan tartan" is not really...well, real. Tartans being associated with specific families and clans is a Victorian fabrication, since they loved Romanticising about that era. Don't buy into it that much.
"My auntie's uncle's twice removed 2nd cousin's parakeet was Scottish, so so am I!" That right aye?
"Y'alright, pal? Ya really think it's a good idea tae be wearin' that Rangers shirt 'round 'ere, ya wee c**t?"
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I get sarky comment coz I have an Irish flag striped lanyard on my keys. A lanyard my Irish father gave me. Yes he grew up there. Ugh gatekeeping
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Aye, and you weren't the laird either. You where workers on his land who took the last name. Your family was probably hounded out by the English, in one of many disgraceful acts, the clearances.
Dude, I sort of get how it can be annoying, strangely one side of my family tree traces back to a lot of royalty. This includes James IV/I among others. Many of whom were lairds. So much family oral history was lost between the late 1800s to mid 1990s in the USA that's it can be wonderful to learn abroad and want to explore one's newfound knowledge (if carefully obtained and accurate).
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Relax. We're just trying to find a way to connect on a friendship level. You know... find something mildly in common? "You like wine? Really? Me too....well, actually, no, I hate it, but I saw some listed on a menu once...."
Find another way to do it then cus you just make everyone hate you with that method.
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I am indigenous to Canada (Mom is full Ojbway) and also Scottish (dad is 100% Scottish and he is 3rd generation Canadian). In Canada, we love when our relations come back and regain that connection. I was raised with a world view thorough an indigenous lense. I would hope one day to walk the lands my ancestors did in Scotland to feel that connection and love as I do when I'm in my ancestral territory in Canada. It feels like home.
to me, saying to those trying to regain the connection to the land of their ancestors and not allowing that, it's such a colonized concept. Allow them to come home and reconnect. It's such a beautiful. It's their blood right to connect with ancestral lands and areas. You can't deny them that.
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My late wife was born in Greenock, and I met her in Edinburgh, she quickly taught me the right way to pronounce names, and how to not act like an American tourist when we met.
Like a stereotypical American tourist. Sorry that you’ve met idiots before but we are not all like that.
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I don’t think this applies just to American tourists. I’ve heard plenty of tourists from around the world pronounce it Eden-burrow or Ed-in-bruh when visiting during the Fringe Festival
And you don’t get to wear a kilt. Or a two handed claymore.
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It's odd how so many Americans want to be Scottish or Irish, but never Welsh.
They don't know it exists. It's not on the American map, it's just western England
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I just love Scotland for being Scotland. There’s apparently some Scottish ancestors somewhere, but that’s not why I went.
And Shire is not pronounced as they tought us in English classes. It is pronounced something like shr.
It's pronounced differently depending on whether it's a word by itself or part of the name of a county. The shire in "Shire Horse" is different from the shire in "Herefordshire".
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Here in NZ we love connecting with Scots too. If we have a scottish bloodline we know the clan, the tartan and the location. Take it as a compliment!!
They were very happy to ask my family name and sell me a very pricey custom ladies' kilt in the "correct" tartan though. My money was acceptable, but not my interest in my family history?
Honestly, most people here are a bit more understanding than OP. When I was in the USA, many people told me they were “Scottish “. I get what they were saying and I think it’s lovely to explore your ancestry. We’re a’ Jock Tamsons bairns!
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I'm afraid I was guilty of this very thing when I visited the UK way back in 1997. I traveled up to Sutherland and, because my maternal grandmother was a Sutherland, I blabbered on about that fact in the gift shop at Sutherland Castle. Gotta say, the very patient sales woman eventually got thoroughly ticked off with my idiocy. Can't blame her one bit - I cringe now thinking about it. Then again, I was only 19, so maybe there's a bit of slack in there for me? 😄
Do they really speak English in Scotland? It doesn’t sound like it..
Well I've always pronounced it as Edin-burrra. (Australain brought up by a fussy English Dad)
This is another super anoying thing about Americans. If their great great grandpa came over from Italy. They will tell you with a whole heart, they are full blood Italian and live and breath Italy. Talk with their hands. "Baba da boopi biba da tortellini." It's really really cringey. There's even a commercial on TV with this family who think they are french, whole house decked out like Paris, kid dressed as a mime. Wife's guzzling wine and eating snails. , does a DNA test, finds out they are german and all of a sudden they are in lederhosen yodelling. It's infuriating. No you stupid Guido you aren't Italian your god dam American and Id tell you to stop acting like a pretentious douche but that would just be pissing into the wind wouldn't it.
Good to know about the tartans, but what if I have the audacity to call it plaid?
My father constantly goes off on how my family is descended from “Scottish kings.” I’m not going there and saying any of that.
My family, the Fauver's served under a general by the name of Milroy during the revolution. Milroy has been a family name for us Fauver's ever since
Thank you for giving the correct pronunciation. I'll never be able to visit Scotland, but I have many books that refer to that city and was not sure how to pronounce it. Kinda like Louisville. It's not Louie-ville, or Louis-ville. It's Luahvul!
My family and my neighbors in the USA are all "Murray's", plus a few other families in my town, but we aren't related at all. The Conneelys in my hometown, on the other hand, are all Irish, and we know them all very well because of their eyes and hair. It's not racist as my hometown is small and you're either Sicilian, Lithuanian, a DAR or a Conneely. 😁
Ffs, I understand the rest of this but don't police how people pronounce words. Accents play a huge part in that. I get it if you are from said place but someone from another country isn't going to pronounce things the same way as you.
It’s a name, which should be the same in whatever language
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Amsterdam =/= Holland =/= the Netherlands.
Get out of Amsterdam, there are many places that are much nicer than that touristic hellhole.
Don't call the country Holland, it's called the Netherlands.
It's nothing personal, but Norwegians aren't as into hugging as you guys. Sometimes you come off a bit molesty to us, clearly without meaning to in any way. We like you. We'll like you better if you vaguely shrug in our general direction, rather than go for actual physical contact. High fives are fine.
Germany is more than just Bratwurst and Lederhosen. That's just f*****g Bavaria.
German culture is so much more...
German/Brit in Germany here, assuming that it doesn't just have to be one thing, based on personal experience with Americans here:
1. No, the Second World War is not the first and foremost thing on our minds. Yes, we're grateful for the sacrifice that American soldiers made in WWII. No, we are not grateful to you personally for being vaguely related to one of these soldiers (or just being American), Our gratitude is limited to those who participated in the Omaha Beach raids (anyone old enough to have done that is probably not fit enough to make the trip to Germany these days).
2. Not everyone here speaks English, and of those that do, not everyone speaks enough English to tell you what you what. Speaking slower might help, shouting won't. You'll make a lot of friends simply by making an effort to speak German, even if your pronunication is a bit laughable.
3. We do have freedom of speech for the most part. The only major prior restraint is against public advocacy of National Socialism. If you're going to do that, we don't want you here anyway. We also have a flag code, and it's largely the same as the American one. Freedom of speech doesn't mean that we tolerate assholes. Don't be one.
4. Bielefeld doesn't exist. Don't let anyone else convince you otherwise. If you believe that you happen to be in Bielefeld, you have been subjected to hallucinatory mind control.
You can’t do Scottish accents. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen Braveheart, no American has ever been able to do a convincing Scottish accent.
Mel Gibson couldn't even do a Scottish accent. Also, that's a film, not a feckin' documentary.
Canadians don’t apologize all the time because we’re afraid of you. We apologize all the time because we’re polite.
Also not all of us say *’aboot’ becuz weer kenaydien, eh*? The people on the East coast only *kind of* sound like that, and only on the East coast. Literally no one here talks like Cheech & Chong.
Asking for bull fighting or flamenco dances in Barcelona is like expecting every citizen of Texas to wear Eskimo robes. Yes, same country, but we have no f*****g clue about those things.
Good for Barcelona! Bull fighting is disgusting and cruel, disguised as "culture"
I'm from Sweden, please take your shoes off before you enter someones home.
Edit: I've gotten a lot of comments saying that not all Americans do this. I know, but enough do it for me to notice, it doesn't seem all that uncommon.
It's custom also in Eastern Europe. It's actually logical too, you will bring dirt and who knows what other sh*t with you if you step inside my home with your walking shoes. Plus, consider indoor pets, who then lick their cute feets and might get sick...
Don't invite someone over / for drinks / for dinner and then expect them not to come. If you make an invitation, it's a promise to keep it as well
Edit: what I mean is that when someone says for example 'let's have drinks on Friday' without actually meaning it.
Where I come from (Finland) if I would say this to someone, we would actually get in touch again later that week or latest on Friday and decide on the time & place. From American perspective, it seems to be just something that is said out of courtesy, without meaning the plan will actually take place
I've never encountered this. Born and raised in US. There's a difference between "Let's get together sometime" and "Let's have lunch on Saturday". The former expresses interest in a future meeting, leaving the planning for a later, more convenient time. The latter is a solid plan that I would definitely show up for.
I’m from Taiwan and I once met a student from the University of Miami. He’s come here as an exchange student for one year and I took him sightseeing around Taipei. Our first stop was Taipei 101 (one of the tallest buildings in the world) and when we passed by a supermarket, he saw some electric toothbrushes and he said to me: “I didn’t know you’d brush your teeth here.”
I almost forgot, he also gave another Taiwanese student an English name since he didn’t have one. Reminded me of Robinson Crusoe and Friday...
Bali is not the only one that is worth to visit in Indonesia.
Bali was actually the least interesting place to us. I did like the locals trying to maintain their culture, but tourisme is getting too much. We adored Yogyakarta, eastern Java, Bromo. Lombok took some time to appreciate, we happened to visit during Ramadan, and after Hinduism in Bali, it took some time to adjust. I'm reeally hoping Bali is not becoming, the next Pai (Thailand) or Tulum (Mexico) filled with smoothie bars, coffee shops and 'retreats'...
MADAGASCAR IS AN INHABITED ISLAND WITH ACTUAL HUMANS...not just fricken lemurs. We're kinda like the opposite of Australia in the sense we still have very unique animals but most of them are not deadly.
Edit: can't English despite it being my first language
Edit: my bad for making the stigma about Australia. Just like Madagascar, there's a lot more to it than its animals, who btw aren't all dangerous.
In fact, the parts of Madagascar with all the wildlife has been reduced to a tiny fraction of the island, specifically because of humans. People going there expecting it to be a jungle will be terribly disappointed.
Portugal is NOT Spain
Edit: Thank you, kind stranger, for the silver!
Switzerland is expensive and you should know that. Don't make that surprised face when you have to pay 14.90.- for that sweet Chicken Teriyaki Footlong... Smh
It was expensive when I was working there 20 years ago, but I was surprised to see an Armani suit in a shop window on Bahnhofstrasse (expensive shopping street in Zurich) for less that the suit I was wearing. Though that might have been because it was truly hideous (the one in the window - not mine!).
Do not come to Japan expecting anime in real life. Too many people come over expecting that and are annoyed because they didn't research Japanese behavior and culture beforehand. Some don't even attempt to learn the language.
Edit: I feel like I should clear this up. I am born in America but my family is from Japan, so everything I know I learned from my parents and the handful of visits we've taken to visit Japan. And nearly every time I've seen tourists, some are respectful and knowledgeable. Others are the people you expect to Naruto run and scoff openly/over dramatically.
Learning the customs and basic phrases (Hello, bye, thank you, sorry, etc.) of a foreign culture is essential for traveling anywhere. I had an quite good time during my trip to Japan following that advice
India: Majority of us dont worship cows. First day- Orientation program for exchange scholars, a co-scholar says me, ‘Oh, you worship cows- so cool!’
That our country is called Belgium and not Brussels (The capital of Belgium)
& The fact that we love our beer.
If you‘re in Austria, especially outside of tourist-heavy areas, people often times are ~~cautiously racist~~ not fond of strangers(nobody will stab you for being brown, but people want their distance), quiet, and distrustful. However, we will open up(mostly), if you show honest interest in what we‘re doing.
If you want to have the real Austria-Experience, try to get an austrian buddy, who can show you some nice places and who can translate the local dialect for you.(your _I can understand german!_ is useless in most of Austria)
And always remember: the schnitzel is sacred, you do not request any changes to the schnitzel you order.
EDIT: tried to clear some poor wording, hope it‘s clearer now!
Unfortunately some unscrupolous profit seekers have started to make "Wiener Schnitzel" out of beef or even - god beware! - pork. Do not fall into this trap! The original "Wiener Schnitzel" is a braided veal schnitzel thin enough to read a newspaper through, served with potatoe salad and a splash of cranberry sauce.
The further you go south in Mexico, you need to be more aware that a quesadilla may not come with cheese, despite sounding like it should.
If you die in Canada you die for real, don’t be an idiot
why is this targeted against americans? seems to me most are international issues.
I’m from Scotland and think this thread is bizarre with just targeting Americans. (BoredPanda has a really odd thing against Americans.) There are ignorant tourists all around the world. I feel like most if not all of these tips and comments can be applied to ignorant tourists globally l.
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Yes, there are plenty of ignorant American tourists... but there are ignorant tourists from around the world. I'm American and while I despise where our country is going politically, it's getting pretty old how BP is constantly coming up with ways to bash Americans. Being from Boston, I see people from around the world and other parts of the country visit and display ignorance. Why the constant divisiveness BP? Pretty much everything in this post suggests that we are all just a bunch of completely ignorant morons. This is starting to get a little old... do better BP!
You know what the problem here really is? The activity that these articles always stir up. There are a large number of Americans on BP (which is good, I love how international BP is) and so this kind of article will generate a lot of clicks and comments from them (hardly surprisingly) and that's exactly what Bored Panda wants. It's how they sell their advertising. Doesn't matter if the comments are full of outrage or love sadly. If we really wanted BP to stop we'd have to ignore every single anti-American article. I'd be up for it but realistically that's not going to happen. Too many new people joining daily who'd not know we were ignoring these posts on top of the fact that everyone, quite rightly, wants to push back against it and stand up for themselves. All I can do, as a Brit, is say I KNOW this is not a true depiction of the majority of Americans and I KNOW that ignorant tourists come from any country and be supportive of our friends abroad.
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Kind of an ironic list. A bunch of people from other countries making negative or ignorant assumptions about “Americans” being ignorant. Right back atcha!
What's sad is most of the posts showed their own ignorance, while attempting to put down others. The "eskimo" comment, for example. A lot of these people like to s**t talk Americans, but their own naivety about the world definitely shows.
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The only power we have is to ignore these posts completely and make them unsuccessful as a subject matter. That won't happen as it stirs up too much feeling. If no one read or ever commented every time BP came up with 'wish Americans did or didn't do XYZ' they'd soon stop.
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BP can we please stop with the Americans are dumb and stupid posts. There are many tourists out there that make mistakes or are just plain rude but they aren't all American.
This is more like a guide for complete idiots. As an American, I know these things. I'm not a total moron. I do read and watch documentaries and generally keep my head out of my a*s.
You know, I wonder how BP would felt about anti-Lithuanian posts from non-Lithuanians? To post Americans are the only tourists that act inappropriately is not only false, but insulting. I've not been to Lithuania, but I'm sure not all of them are arrogant narrow minded individuals, like they paint all Americans to be. I like this site a lot, posted countless top comments here but the unjustified anti-American threads that are baseless are becoming tiresome. I hope a BP staff member sees this and takes note. I know I'm not the only member who feels this way.
I feel like a lot of these comments and tips can apply to tourists all over the world. Having traveled fairly extensively and currently living and working abroad, there are ignorant and poorly informed tourists from ALL around the world. When traveling please please please be respectful of your host country’s rules, culture, and customs. Please be open minded and try to do a bit of research about your host country. It will not be like home, but that’s half the fun! Being a respectful tourist and traveler opens you to new experiences and ways of seeing the world.
Yes, american tourists or tourists in general should have open minds, but the host countries should also do the sAme and not be offended by non-intentioned mistakes.
Nea, totally agree with you, however, I would take "American tourists" and just leave "tourists in general" because it still implies all American tourists not a few or some.
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London is not England. I've spoken to people from all over who claimed to have travelled through England but didn't leave London. By all means visit London, but England has a lot more going on outside of it as well. Check out the peak district, the Yorkshire dales, the beaches of Cornwall and Devon, and if you like medieval history check out Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Castle. The nightlife in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle is arguably better than in London as well. Also, we can moan about our NHS but you can't.
Frankly, I'd live in the dales of Yorkshire if I could :-) I'ts amazing.
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Many of these are poor choices of post. There is no context without including the country you are referring to in the post.
Just read a freaking *tourists' guide* to any given nation before visiting. Applies to everyone on earth. And I say that b/c if one more person from Germany comes to my area as a tourist and complains about the lack of people who *speak German*? Ich werde sie schlagen. (I will slap them, roughly. Still working for my B-level.)
I'm from the Midwest USA and I read a freaking *tourists' guide* before I went to Washington DC. (Actually a YouTube video) The thing I remember these years later - if you're visiting during the week always stay on the right of the subway station escalators. Leave the left open for a working person who may be in a hurry. More than once I saw a well dressed person carrying a briefcase with a look of impatience on his/her face standing on the left behind a gaggle of oblivious, yakking tourists.
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Hey BP -- stop bashing Americans and posting anti _U.S. stuff just to get page views. This is sowing the social divisiveness, hate, hurt feelings, wrong assessments, shallow opinion and lack of talking to each other that BP claims it doesn't like. If you have to use a part of your readership to mock and belittle a few times a week to get user stats up, perhaps you should start posting happier, nicer content we can all relate to instead of things from Reddit and FB. I am not American but I live here and am sick of the bashing. I can post 300 stories of how - name a country, name a people - name how people lived according to where they live - to rip to shreads any of the 7 countries I've lived in. I never see that here nor would i. I am on BP less and less because it saddens me that so many of my fellow Pands seem so full of hate I happen to live right now. Sadly, all the comments from Americans saying ENOUGH dont register- only the hateful "say anything you want" posts
Adding: in Britain, we do not talk like this "well, jeeves, polo is indubiatibly elegant", or like this "how jolly smashing! Those were some wizard cream cakes!"
Upvoted to cancel the downs. Why on earth would anyone downvote you when you are stating an honest truth? The trolls are out? 🤔
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this will apply to a lot of people who aren’t american too but firstly the uk is a lot larger than many people seem to think - it took less time to go from south wales to holland than south wales to the scottish border. secondly, no one’s expecting you to understand everything about the culture of different nations and cities but please understand that scotland, northern ireland, republic of ireland and wales are not in england, are not english and do exist :] it’s a bit like assuming the whole of america is new york
England equals United Kingdom versus British Isles? Nobody gets it right. Even those who live there. 😉
Load More Replies... It would be very helpful when the authors of these "helpful tips" add where they live, what's okay in the EU doesn't automatically fit to african culture and vice versa.
please stop wearing bérets in France, event my grand father does not do that anymore and "Emily in Paris" is not exactly a fairy tale. Grow up. Stop wearing "university of paris" hoodies it's a tourist trap . Merci beaucoup et bonne journée :))
Oui, je suis d'accord. "I heart NY" is our equivalent in the US. That and any given "Hard Rock Cafe" merch.
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This guy shouting at his kid wasn't doing this because he was an American, he was doing it because he was an a**hole. My wife worked at a bar in NYC in the 90s and was "stunned into silence" by the behavior of people (from around the world)... because they were a**holes, not because they were German, New Yorkers, French, etc.
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I don't think that there is an epidemic of Americans going around saying this. It's just not happening.
Load More Replies... why is this targeted against americans? seems to me most are international issues.
I’m from Scotland and think this thread is bizarre with just targeting Americans. (BoredPanda has a really odd thing against Americans.) There are ignorant tourists all around the world. I feel like most if not all of these tips and comments can be applied to ignorant tourists globally l.
Load More Replies... Yes, there are plenty of ignorant American tourists... but there are ignorant tourists from around the world. I'm American and while I despise where our country is going politically, it's getting pretty old how BP is constantly coming up with ways to bash Americans. Being from Boston, I see people from around the world and other parts of the country visit and display ignorance. Why the constant divisiveness BP? Pretty much everything in this post suggests that we are all just a bunch of completely ignorant morons. This is starting to get a little old... do better BP!
You know what the problem here really is? The activity that these articles always stir up. There are a large number of Americans on BP (which is good, I love how international BP is) and so this kind of article will generate a lot of clicks and comments from them (hardly surprisingly) and that's exactly what Bored Panda wants. It's how they sell their advertising. Doesn't matter if the comments are full of outrage or love sadly. If we really wanted BP to stop we'd have to ignore every single anti-American article. I'd be up for it but realistically that's not going to happen. Too many new people joining daily who'd not know we were ignoring these posts on top of the fact that everyone, quite rightly, wants to push back against it and stand up for themselves. All I can do, as a Brit, is say I KNOW this is not a true depiction of the majority of Americans and I KNOW that ignorant tourists come from any country and be supportive of our friends abroad.
Load More Replies... Kind of an ironic list. A bunch of people from other countries making negative or ignorant assumptions about “Americans” being ignorant. Right back atcha!
What's sad is most of the posts showed their own ignorance, while attempting to put down others. The "eskimo" comment, for example. A lot of these people like to s**t talk Americans, but their own naivety about the world definitely shows.
Load More Replies... The only power we have is to ignore these posts completely and make them unsuccessful as a subject matter. That won't happen as it stirs up too much feeling. If no one read or ever commented every time BP came up with 'wish Americans did or didn't do XYZ' they'd soon stop.
Load More Replies... BP can we please stop with the Americans are dumb and stupid posts. There are many tourists out there that make mistakes or are just plain rude but they aren't all American.
This is more like a guide for complete idiots. As an American, I know these things. I'm not a total moron. I do read and watch documentaries and generally keep my head out of my a*s.
You know, I wonder how BP would felt about anti-Lithuanian posts from non-Lithuanians? To post Americans are the only tourists that act inappropriately is not only false, but insulting. I've not been to Lithuania, but I'm sure not all of them are arrogant narrow minded individuals, like they paint all Americans to be. I like this site a lot, posted countless top comments here but the unjustified anti-American threads that are baseless are becoming tiresome. I hope a BP staff member sees this and takes note. I know I'm not the only member who feels this way.
I feel like a lot of these comments and tips can apply to tourists all over the world. Having traveled fairly extensively and currently living and working abroad, there are ignorant and poorly informed tourists from ALL around the world. When traveling please please please be respectful of your host country’s rules, culture, and customs. Please be open minded and try to do a bit of research about your host country. It will not be like home, but that’s half the fun! Being a respectful tourist and traveler opens you to new experiences and ways of seeing the world.
Yes, american tourists or tourists in general should have open minds, but the host countries should also do the sAme and not be offended by non-intentioned mistakes.
Nea, totally agree with you, however, I would take "American tourists" and just leave "tourists in general" because it still implies all American tourists not a few or some.
Load More Replies... London is not England. I've spoken to people from all over who claimed to have travelled through England but didn't leave London. By all means visit London, but England has a lot more going on outside of it as well. Check out the peak district, the Yorkshire dales, the beaches of Cornwall and Devon, and if you like medieval history check out Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Castle. The nightlife in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle is arguably better than in London as well. Also, we can moan about our NHS but you can't.
Frankly, I'd live in the dales of Yorkshire if I could :-) I'ts amazing.
Load More Replies... Many of these are poor choices of post. There is no context without including the country you are referring to in the post.
Just read a freaking *tourists' guide* to any given nation before visiting. Applies to everyone on earth. And I say that b/c if one more person from Germany comes to my area as a tourist and complains about the lack of people who *speak German*? Ich werde sie schlagen. (I will slap them, roughly. Still working for my B-level.)
I'm from the Midwest USA and I read a freaking *tourists' guide* before I went to Washington DC. (Actually a YouTube video) The thing I remember these years later - if you're visiting during the week always stay on the right of the subway station escalators. Leave the left open for a working person who may be in a hurry. More than once I saw a well dressed person carrying a briefcase with a look of impatience on his/her face standing on the left behind a gaggle of oblivious, yakking tourists.
Load More Replies... Hey BP -- stop bashing Americans and posting anti _U.S. stuff just to get page views. This is sowing the social divisiveness, hate, hurt feelings, wrong assessments, shallow opinion and lack of talking to each other that BP claims it doesn't like. If you have to use a part of your readership to mock and belittle a few times a week to get user stats up, perhaps you should start posting happier, nicer content we can all relate to instead of things from Reddit and FB. I am not American but I live here and am sick of the bashing. I can post 300 stories of how - name a country, name a people - name how people lived according to where they live - to rip to shreads any of the 7 countries I've lived in. I never see that here nor would i. I am on BP less and less because it saddens me that so many of my fellow Pands seem so full of hate I happen to live right now. Sadly, all the comments from Americans saying ENOUGH dont register- only the hateful "say anything you want" posts
Adding: in Britain, we do not talk like this "well, jeeves, polo is indubiatibly elegant", or like this "how jolly smashing! Those were some wizard cream cakes!"
Upvoted to cancel the downs. Why on earth would anyone downvote you when you are stating an honest truth? The trolls are out? 🤔
Load More Replies... this will apply to a lot of people who aren’t american too but firstly the uk is a lot larger than many people seem to think - it took less time to go from south wales to holland than south wales to the scottish border. secondly, no one’s expecting you to understand everything about the culture of different nations and cities but please understand that scotland, northern ireland, republic of ireland and wales are not in england, are not english and do exist :] it’s a bit like assuming the whole of america is new york
England equals United Kingdom versus British Isles? Nobody gets it right. Even those who live there. 😉
Load More Replies... It would be very helpful when the authors of these "helpful tips" add where they live, what's okay in the EU doesn't automatically fit to african culture and vice versa.
please stop wearing bérets in France, event my grand father does not do that anymore and "Emily in Paris" is not exactly a fairy tale. Grow up. Stop wearing "university of paris" hoodies it's a tourist trap . Merci beaucoup et bonne journée :))
Oui, je suis d'accord. "I heart NY" is our equivalent in the US. That and any given "Hard Rock Cafe" merch.
Load More Replies... This guy shouting at his kid wasn't doing this because he was an American, he was doing it because he was an a**hole. My wife worked at a bar in NYC in the 90s and was "stunned into silence" by the behavior of people (from around the world)... because they were a**holes, not because they were German, New Yorkers, French, etc.
Load More Replies... I don't think that there is an epidemic of Americans going around saying this. It's just not happening.
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