writes:
Rudeness crosses national boundaries, and,
as you mention below, is especially prevalent in some tourists. I'm sure
that the quiet tourists tend to fade into the background, while the jerky
ones stick in the mind.
Not only do quiet tourists fade into the background but they are not
recognized as tourists or even as americans. Over the past two years we have
taken family vacations in London and Paris. We are not a loud family and we
tend to be somewhat reticent in unfamiliar environments. I observed the same
behavior in most american tourists. The only bad thing that happened to my
family is that some Italian school kids thought it was funny to make the
Eiffel Tower elevator rock on its way to the top. I ascribe that to
adolescence not nationality. I really doubt frankly that the majority of
american tourist behave the way Jereon and Sonja describe.
