How easy is it to distinguish Americans from people from other countries while abroad?

Depends a lot on the country, and the season.

Most countries however, some style of yankee sticks out. But hardly all.

Sweatpants, loud, stingy, eat pizza & play drinking games.... sounds about right.

There are no distinguished Americans.

R2 drinking games? Only if they are college kids.

Someone on the video said drinking games, R4.

Invade them ALL!!!!

Those German girls saying Americans eat lots of burgers, if you asked other people about Germans they'd say they eat lots of sausages.

And they are into scat and really kinky shit R7.

R8 Yeah, but you don't see them doing that when they're out and about.

Sunglasses. Even when it's not sunny. Then: "Wow!", "Oh wow!", "Hilarious!!" (the Americans' go-to word for everything funny. Especially the fraus'.). Also, women: Too much makeup; wearing bling (necklaces etc.) with tourist wear. Pants on fraus, but this is some kind of a fashion for the middle-aged around the modern world.

Older gentlemen wearing short shorts (cutoff above knee). Tho I _completely_ understand, when young and fit guys are like that :9

A rucksack that contains everything and the kitchen sink. All that is held on a stomach and not the back (to avoid pickpockets).

People gather in groups, but no-one seems to be enjoying their time, since there's too little of it, because it's a cruise. A photo is required to be made of everything for a show and tell for poor relatives back home.

Cruise tourists should probably be more intelligent, because cruises are expensive ($5K a pop, give or take). I think the intelligent ones usually take the plane.

IMHO.

R4 these are primarily young travelers. Anyone under 30 was indoctrinated with drinking games while in college, beer pong is a like a national sport.

You knew the most common thing would be fat.

I can't tell someone is an american even when they speak. So many different europeans speak english without any identifiable accent, it's virtually impossible. There have been times when I assumed a person couldn't be american because they spoke english grammatically correct. Most often I determined a person was united statesian american by the content of their conversation. I have been folded most often by dutch and scandinavian young people, particularly in Finland. . Fortunately, most americans that can manage a trip to europe use fairly decent grammar. It's not like the gibberish that is common within the US. I find the average u.s. american has no concept of english grammar. Most come from schools that simply gave up and rationalized grammar to the point, if one can get their idea understood by another, it's ok ingwish, or ingish or just glish. You can axe anyone.

The lower class ones: loud, fat, cheaply dressed in poorly fitted clothes, pugnacious

The ones with a few cents: loud, plastic, arrogant, no taste, pugnacious

The precious few: interesting, experienced, well-mannered, friendly, open

Americans: loud, fat, generous (definitely not stingy), optimistic, open, gregarious, overly confident. I had to laugh at the arrogant German girls. German women have big, wide, child-bearing hips.

Wrong - RICH American men are easy to spot in Gstaad, Courchevel, St.Tropez, Sardinia... They aren't any more "interesting" then other rich folks and they can be quite boorish. Billionaires are better though, I agree. Wait, are you talking about billionaires or millionaires, dear?

bump

OMG.

After not being able to write comments for 2 years due to location i can finally comment thanks to the new design!

hello americans:-)

[quote]Sweatpants, loud, stingy, eat pizza & play drinking games.... sounds about right.

Chav trash.

They seem to wear impractically light clothes for British or Irish weather. Light stone coloured Burberrys for example. Soon gets coloured with little spots of sooty rain.

Americans don't smell like the local garbage dump, unlike many around the world.

[quote]A photo is required to be made of everything for a show and tell for poor relatives back home.

Ever seen Asians?

Are stone coloured Burberrys like khakis? Sooty rain? Yikes, how dirty is the air? I confess, I've never dirty rain drops.

Hi back R17.

Sorry. Should be "I've never seen dirty rain drops".

This "Ugly American" thing is so fucking old. The overwhelming majority of americans are polite and obsequious tourists. Seriously. Europeans reflexively equate their innate happiness and enthusiasm as simple obnoxiousness. Plus americans are generous to fault (feel weird/guilty about not tipping), respect personal boundaries and, most importantly, don't smell like fucking shit.

Americans have a great sense of humor. They like to say "awesome!"

But what about those fucking Europeans males who LOVE to wear orange, yellow, red, jeans of all kinds of shit colors. Fucking ugly!

R24 I've never said "Awesome" in my life. Not that it's any different than the British "Brilliant".

generous not adventurous eaters, and often very picky eaters exaggeratedly enthusiastic talk as if everyone is eavesdropping, very staged, uproarious conversations little decorum curious, complimentary continuously snacking and drinking random shrieking

in terms of clothing: sneakers and long cargo shorts for me overstuffed backpacks women wear those awful ballet flats or flipflops and don't pick up their feet if a woman wears heels and can't walk in them --> American

[quote]and don't pick up their feet if a woman wears heels and can't walk in them

Huh? Every woman I know manages to walk in heels just fine and pick up their feet. I do see some folks who'd I would term "shufflers" but it's hardly the norm. I certainly don't see a lot of difference in the way people walk anywhere in the world though the Japanese tend to be extremely bow-legged.

Those German cows need to look in the mirror

When I went on a walking safari in a national park in Ghana the Americans in the group kept yapping LOUDLY about some private shit, scaring all the animals away. The poor local guide didn't know how to tell them to knock it off. Don't know if Americans generally behave like that though.

I was waiting for a train at a London station. A woman put her bag down and sat on an opposite bench. Another woman asked her "Are you American? The first woman smiled and said "Yes. How did you know?" The first woman said "I thought so. No manners" and turned her back on her. Seemed to me that that woman was shamefully rude. There is no need to be nasty to people just because they can afford a holiday

I don't even understand that R30. What is rude about putting a bag down and sitting on a bench?

The dead giveaways are khaki trousers and baseball caps.

The English can be a very nasty lot.

Bump

Audio only, but this song gets it, and it's sung by an American.

When I traveled in Europe the worst Americans I saw were stationed in front of the Mona Lisa taking pictures of it, but so were the worst of pretty much anyone else there. The ones elsewhere seemed okay. The idea that Americans abroad are stingy or pugnacious is absurd and it's definitively shorts and not sweatpants, so perhaps some people were confusing them with the British, as they might not be able to place the accent. I don't understand the excessive fondness for sweatpants or "track suits" in the UK. They;re practically formal wear.

Americans are sort of blithely and unconcernedly ignorant about most things, so that can be unsettling to the European sentiment - which is to be smugly and offensively ignorant about most things.

We take your poor, you’re tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and this is the thanks we get? Ungrateful xenophobic scum! America is not a white country, so Anti-Americanism is just another form of racism. The entire history of Europe was written in bloodshed by abusive white heterosexual Christian males, and your pathetic attempts to make your outright racism against a mixed-race nation seem sophisticated are as transparent as Saran Wrap.

Why are American gays so desperate to be accepted by Eurotrash who would gladly stab us in the back given half the chance? Don’t make the same mistake the Jews of Europe did of being too trusting.

Your tired

I've traveled a lot in the US and never noticed any particular loudness on their own turf. Having said that.....

We get a lot of American tourists from cruise ships, and I observed one elderly American male becoming extremely agitated because he did not get change from his payment at a gift shop in American currency.

The only instance where I observed unnecessarily loud Americans was at an upscale restaurant in Toronto. My partner and I were enjoying lunch and the restaurant was very quiet, with a low hum of conversation. Six young American tourists walk in, three men, three women. From that moment, all the other diners were treated to an uber-loud description of every single moment they experienced since they arrived in Toronto, accompanied by loud guffaws of laughter. Being half American myself, I was actually embarrassed for them.

Funny because I'm American and can distinguish non-Americans in bar or restraurant before I even hear them. Mannerisms, clothing, even facial structure are cues for me. I've even correctly picked out what country or region they are from.

Whenever I go on trip, people are amazed that I'm American. I always hear, "You're so nice. All the Americans I meet are man and obnoxious."

I wonder if Americans become obnoxious because so many sales people bother tourists Americans and, as a reaction, we become quickly dismissive.

[quote] We take your poor, you’re tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and this is the thanks we get

Those countries are happy to get rid of their poor and think when the poor come back in the form of "an American," they don't deserve much welcome

Kmart clothes.

[quote]Sweatpants, loud, stingy, eat pizza & play drinking games.... sounds about right.

Sounds like British tourists. Unless they are college frat boys on Spring Break, Americans don't play drinking games.

[quote]Japanese tend to be extremely bow-legged.

Yes. I have noticed this too. I'd say 95% of the Japanese are bow-legged.

[quote]The first woman said "I thought so. No manners" and turned her back on her.

Are you supposed to ask so sit on public transport? Otherwise, I don't get this. Sounds like someone has no manners and it's not the American.

I'm fairly well-travelled and a lot of Europeans come across as rude, entitled and arrogant to everyone, even their own countrymen. They are a bit of a sour lot.

oops I hate my phone...

I was shocked to find out Steves is married with kids. Is he one of those suppressed "christian" types?

Mostly it's the way they dress. English people dress worse (the English are the fucking WORST) but American clothes are all cheap and ill-fitting. Even the chain shops in Europe sell clothes of a superior quality.

It used to be that if you saw a guy walking around with black socks and tennis shoes or sandals, it was inevitably a German guy.

Whenever you see women with hair colored a shade of red not found in nature, she's inevitably eastern European, often Polish.

American tourists have this kind of uniform of beige tailored shorts, a bright short-sleeved shirt, white socks and the biggest trainers you've ever seen.

They don't cram themselves into elevators. They don't trample you and you kids to get to the front of the counter. They don't scream at the top of their lungs in normal conversation. They don't toss their uneaten food on the floor. They don't flash mob every museum while belching, farting, spiting on the exhibited art.

Years ago, in Paris, we were called “Les Hamburgers”. Future DataLounger. I thought he was witty. He didn’t know one of us spoke French. One of us was Japanese looking, hence the confusion.

I was in Europe not too long ago (UK, Germany, France) and I saw A LOT of overweight people in the UK and it wasn't uncommon in Germany R28. You are right.

In most cases spotting the Americans is not difficult.

They dress as if en route to buy tube socks at a swap meet in the parking lot of a disused K-Mart. Ugly shorts and jorts and giant puffy white sneakers. Bottles and canisters and thermoses and big containers of drinks - all sized as big as possible as if "hydration" were the biggest problem of these hippos. Sunglasses when least needed. Ball caps all around. Even people who might dress otherwise in the U.S. often tend to dress down when traveling. The dowdy fanny-packer Rick Steves look passes for "smart casual," and there seems to be no upper limit on the number of pockets and flaps and compartments they will sport.

The biggest clue, though, is auditory: the fact that you can see hear them before they come into visual focus. Something about Americans makes them adopt a defensive pose of an even louder than normal voice combined with the need to give voice to every thought (as a declarative or as a question posed in the form of disappointment ("Why are all the...? Why don't they...?") It is as if the extra added volume is meant to at once announce their Americanness and to shield them from insult or interaction with their foreign hosts. It's a nervous thing that American kids do on school trips but they seem to carry it with them on holiday as adults: look at me, no don't look at me.

Americans will compare the shit out of everything, and almost never in a neutral, observational tone but as judgment against foreign ways.

R53 Spot on with the sippy cups, and how loud they are. Americans seem to laugh the loudest, even when not drinking.

Interesting - my Irish cousins always comment on Americans “confidence”. I say it’s more “fake it til you make it”. But a necessary trait required by our work environments. It’s assumed everyone is an extroverted, confident, outgoing person. It would be difficult to function in an American work environment with the meekness (humility?) of the Irish. Assertiveness is require to survive. Not as passive- aggressive as Chinese. More pseudo-open directness is required.

I’m guessing she felt the woman was taking up a vacant seat with her bag.

I don’t know how they do it in other countries, but the woman probably would have moved the bag if more people came in, without being asked. Only a few very rude people would not.

Being offended over something that hasn’t happened yet is like the movie Minority Report.

They sit like this...

Germans are hardly renowned for their petite, svelte bodies themselves.

Nor are the English. In fact, they're know as a gang of fat, red-faced, bellowing monsters.

Fuck I'd rather be stuck on a crowded bus with a bunch of Americans than a horde of Germans, Brit or Chinese.

Americans are quite disliked in most of the world due to being typically loud, brash and trashy. Similar to common Brits who are typically loud and drunk.

I'm Canadian and don't really see trashy American tourists. The ones I meet are usually very polite. Europeans are the real assholes along with the Chinese.

I find Americans to be loud and R53 is right, they compare everything to what they're accustomed to in America. As loud and sometimes annoying as they can be, I also find them to be friendly.

The more popular the tourist spot (Louvre, London Bridge) the more stereotypical American tourists you encounter, especially in summer.

But every country has their stereotypical tourists who are easily spotted.

Nothing new

I want to thank all them foreigners for being brave enough to stand in front of a phone camera to share what they find repulsive about 'mericans.

(You are all on the Terrorist Watch List now.)

[quote] This "Ugly American" thing is so fucking old.

And from the very start it was an ignorant misstatement of its own message.

The ugly American was I believe of Irish descent, and for those features was good naturedly called ugly by the South East Asians he lived with, learned to understand, befriended, and trained. Meanwhile the whiz kids at the American embassy were too busy in their self contained smug world to give a damn about the common native people or their needs.

German tourists are the worst. Dour, stubborn, cheap, know-it-all.

It's funny how they run these stories every once in a while but no one ever does one on how fucking terrible Europeans are in America. They don't tip. They forget how to walk in a public place. They only want to see the fucking 9/11 museum and think America is just like the movies.

I don't think European tourists are as noticeable as American ones because they tend to limit themselves to high-overall-tourist areas like NYC, Vegas and Disneyland. When was the last time you saw a German in Chicago? And even in those places they are less likely to pose any kind of issue because the streets in those cities are not 16 inches wide.

When was the last time you saw an American tourist in Birmingham or Toulon? Americans restrict themselves to high-tourist areas too. Fucking Swedish people never bus their tables at Starbucks. They always leave their garbage there, expecting someone else to clean it up.

So they are unaware that more than 1/3 of Americans are non-white or Hispanic. That’s plain ignorance & bigotry. They’re racists.

[quote]It's funny how they run these stories every once in a while but no one ever does one on how fucking terrible Europeans are in America. They don't tip. They forget how to walk in a public place. They only want to see the fucking 9/11 museum and think America is just like the movies.

Exactly.

[quote]Americans will compare the shit out of everything, and almost never in a neutral, observational tone but as judgment against foreign ways.

I used to work with a bunch of Brit ex-pats. They are terrible about this. "why isn't your bacon like English bacon?", "why do drive on this side of the road?"

Uh, maybe, because you're not in England, asshole.

I can sometimes spot them by body language: confident stride, maintaining more distance from companions.

I remember a quote from a spy/crime novel set in Germany just after WWII: the English walk around as though they own the world; the Germans walk around as though they're angry they don't own the world; and Americans walk around as though they don't care who owns the world.

I like that quote. W&W for you