Stupid Americans
Our ski group was not exactly America's finest... the kids spent significant portions of the trip trying to get to McDonald's or a pizza joint instead of eating in the 5-star hotel. But really, their inability to cope with the language barrier was much more annoying.
Scenario 1: Using Public Transportation
"Don't just get on any ski bus, make sure you find out where it's going first!"
"How do I get to the Stubai Glacier?"
"Just take a map with you and keep pointing to where you want to go."
"Actually, you don't need a map, they understand the word Stubai."
Of course they understand the word Stubai! It's a PROPER NAME that THEY gave to the glacier! And "glacier" in German is "gletscher." Pronounced almost exactly the same. Not highly challenging.
Scenario 2: Talking To People
"I asked this woman on the train to switch seats with me and at first I thought she was really rude, but she just didn't speak English."
Americans should be fined for saying "But (s)he didn't speak English" when in a foreign country. Correct wording: "But I don't speak German."
Scenario 3: General Stupidity
"Those little green mushy things in the shrimp avocado salad were disgusting."
For the purpose of this example, we will assume that "avocado" was a foreign word to this girl.
posted by karenlikescereal @ 6:05 a. m.
2 Comments:
Americans get a lot of flack from cosmopolitans like ourselves for being culturally disabled. But if living in Europe has taught me anything, it's that the culturally disabled are everywhere. They wonder why no one understands them when they're speaking in a perfectly clear and loud voice, and they long to see a foreign country's take on their own national delicacy (pizza in France, tacos in Ireland, etc.). In the end, though, they do give you some great stories.
Yeah, I´m sure we/they´re not alone, but I think Americans are particularly bad on the issue of expecting everyone to speak English. Not that foreign countries are doing their part to discourage it- Munich has English stop announcements in the U-Bahn?!
P.S. I´m "glad" your cosmopolitanity hasn´t kept you from enjoying bodily humor jokes.
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