Kat, did you ever stop to consider that you don't recognize silly
things that, say, Japanese tourists do because you don't speak
Japanese? If you are overseas, of course you are going to pay more
attention to people who speak your language. This is selective bias.
"All the American tourists I notice are loud and obnoxious". Well,
those are the ones you NOTICE. You don't notice the quiet ones, for
crying out loud!
Now, about "learning the culture before you visit". To some extent
this is true. Yes, you should learn a bit about a place before you
visit. But nobody is going to chance their personal comfort zone
simply because the country they are visiting has a different comfort
zone unless they are planning an extended stay. What, Americans
spending 3 days in Amersterdam before they go to Paris should be told,
"Talk quietly! Don't wear tennis shoes!"
This kind of thing also happens within countries too. For instance, in
America black people often speak more loudly than whites do, and have
different body language, dress styles, etc. I'm sure every country has
similar things.
How about we stop getting upset when other people don't act just like
us? How about a little cultural sensitivity? I don't expect Belgians
to act just like Americans, why should the Belgians expect Americans to
act just like them?
=====
Darryl
Think Galactically -- Act Terrestrially
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