Recently I been thinking how poorly I have acted when I first started traveling abroad. I am not the typical American but I did make loads of them. I can blame this on not being tuned into the fact that the country I was visiting is not only a difference country but not what we learn back home or movies. Italy, France, UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Greece are only 50% of what you think. Here are examples: Did you know Spain is not 1 country really and they speak more then 5 different langauges? Did you know Italy is a pretty new nation, younger then the US? Did you know most people in France didn’t speak the french we know till the last 100-years? Did you know “Coffeeshops” in the Netherlands are for tourists and not for the locals? Did you know Portugal is Not Spain? These are just a few misconceptions and I decided to put together a list of definite mistakes Americans make while traveling in Europe.
- Speak English vs just learning the easiest native words (like Hello)
- Dressing in khakis and shorts
- Learning a bit about what’s going on in the country.
- Talking incredibly loud in Public
- Using American Express Cards
- Expecting closets in apartments
- Asking for a Bud at a restaurant
- Bring American appliances to Europe
- Eating with your hands
- Not using a bidet
- Asking for a kids meal
- Asking people “What do you do for a living” immediately
- Hitting on locals without doing the properly being introduced
- Begging in Tourist places
- Tipping everywhere
- Dressing in American Flag
- Not Interacting with Locals
- Asking What the wifi code is everywhere
- Not going to the doctor because you heard XYZ “health care sucks”
- Bragging the Donat Trump is Great