Quote:
Originally Posted by The Germanator
It's weird, I feel like I was never quite looked down upon for being an American while in Europe. Maybe because we were playing music people assumed we weren't jerks. But even on my days off walking around I never quite got the vibe that people hated me. The only times I felt like a dick was when I couldn't speak German or French to people when I needed to buy something. Luckily, many more Europeans speak English and most were pretty nice about it.
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The "Europeans hate America" thing was definitely overblown in my experience, too. Even in Egypt and Tunisia, most people you run into don't give a shit. In fact, at all the markets they're happy to see you, because they know you have money. Even talking to one Egyptian working at a booth in a market, he said he envied us because we have the freedom to speak as we wish and he does not. (Of course, I doubt that sentiment is universal.) And I agree, the only time I hated myself was when I was trying to buy something and couldn't speak the language or, worse, just butchered it.
One time in Sicily, I asked a hotel worker whether he would like some of the orange I just bought. Then he all of a sudden took it from my hand, pulled out a knife, and started peeling it for me. I was utterly confused, but I figured, "wow, what a nice guy!" Then when he was done peeling it he handed it back, and I gestured to him offering him some. He shook his head and then left, leaving me even more confused. What I had said was the closest word I knew to "would you like some." I said "Vorrei?" -- literally "I would like?" He must have thought I was demanding him to peel my orange for me since I was a hotel guest and he worked there. I still feel like a jerk for that.