At 13:33 10-6-01 -0400, Bob Zimmerman wrote:
>As a New Yorker, let me add a few things that all European tourists do.
>
>They smoke too much and in places where we americans have done the right
>thing, and banned smoking.
You do realize of course that it takes only one non-smoking European
tourist to prove you wrong?
> Why you would want to smoke between courses of a meal is beyond me; and you
>call yourselves food experts?
Well, let's see. Europe's culinary pride is the fine French cuisine.
America's culinary pride is a Big Mac. Yeah, I think we are food experts,
compared to you. :)
>Europeans (especially student travelers) always have a look of boredom and
>contempt for all things around them.
That must be because America is too dull and boring for Europeans with
their highly developed taste for culture and the arts. :)
>They may not speak loudly but they are speaking this obviously alien tongue
>with all of its intonations that rises above the din of american english by
>simply having a different rhythm than the speech pattern of those around us.
You mean, our intonations are more varied than that monotone speech you
Americans have. :)
>Europeans dress funny.
Ever seen how an American tourist dresses when "doing Europe"? :)
>Europeans never smile at you when you smile at them on the street.
Of course not. We have been tought to never trust a smiling stranger. Maybe
the stranger is just being friendly -- or maybe he's some kind of creep... :)
>Hey this game is fun and actually quite easy to play. Think of all the
>legitimate ways that you can determine that people at the next table in a
>restaurant are not native to your country. Make every one of these traits a
>heinous defect. Describe them as arrogant for possessing these trait. Now
>you are THINKING LIKE A EUROPEAN.
I considered most of your post to be not serious. As an European, I do find
this last paragraph somewhat insulting though.
Jeroen
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