Americans? (nightlife, friendly, Wal-mart)

[Audrey Ann]

Originally Posted by XodoX

I'from Germany and trust me... I can tell if I see Americans You all just look different. I am being told all the time that I "do not look American".

Do you wear sox with your sandals?

[Audrey Ann]

Originally Posted by littleandoften

In London, most Americans under 40 don't stand out that much and look like Europeans/western standard fashions etc. It's your seniors that are most instantly recognisable. The stereotype is clashing clothing, such as an egg-yolk yellow shirt and red pants and new, brandless sneakers and a green baseball cap.

Um, I live in the US and I don't think I've ever seen a senior dressed like that! LOL

[Audrey Ann]

Originally Posted by Scotslass

In Glasgow and Edinburgh the obvious ones are the well the ones with the big cameras over their shoulder, poor dress sense, socks and sandals. Of course not all dress like that but that is indeed the obvious ones that you can pick out a mile away or the loud accent. Just depends i guess.

I don't know about the socks with sandals ... when I was in Germany during the summer time I saw a lot of that and they weren't tourists.

[clongirl]

I used to be able to tell the American tourists by the very white/clean sneakers and baseball caps. Also the younger Americans tend to wear hooded sweatshirts with a college name/logo...I also have to admit that the American voices were generally more noticeable (i.e. louder) at least where I was living. (no offense to anyone btw

[hurley89]

I live in a beach resort area on the US east coast and i can always tell who's a local and who's a tourists, even if they're american! In the summer we get a bunch of europeans (usually russians) who work the minimum wage jobs during the summer. I can always tell a european from an american even when i havent heard them speak. It's almost like europeans carry themselves differently than americans now that i think about it.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by clongirl

I used to be able to tell the American tourists by the very white/clean sneakers and baseball caps. Also the younger Americans tend to wear hooded sweatshirts with a college name/logo...I also have to admit that the American voices were generally more noticeable (i.e. louder) at least where I was living. (no offense to anyone btw

When I was in Ireland I could have identified American tourists even had I been blind. So often loud (I mean brayingly loud) and/or complaining, whether it was about bathrooms labeled 'Fir' and 'Mna' or the bland food or their travails with B&B shower mechanisms.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

When I was in Ireland I could have identified American tourists even had I been blind. So often loud (I mean brayingly loud) and/or complaining, whether it was about bathrooms labeled 'Fir' and 'Mna' or the bland food or their travails with B&B shower mechanisms.

well -- if you guys had decent food, used proper English and so on, we wouldn't have to bit*h so loudly.

Few years ago, wife and I sat on Ponte Vecchio in Florence and took a rest to play a game of "spot the American." In the 10 minutes we looked, we identified roughly 40-50 Americans, about 15 percent of total. I had a schematic and a regression chart on it, but the file has since been corrupted (I think I saved it in some stupid ass English coding in Excel). Anyway, some Americans are easy to spot, i.e. the "Kiwanis Club of Saginaw" t-shirt, blue blockers, the blank white running shoes and fanny packs are dead giveways.

By the same token, I can spot a European -- from 20 paces-- walking down Michigan Ave. They're often the ones dazed and confused by the big buildings, bright lights, looking up and bumping into passerby. They're always flustering about with their maps and gibbering nonsense ("What doo de mean 'men' and 'women' on the toilet doors. It is a water clooset! I nearly sheeeet my pants!"). I love them, sheeeet notwithstanding. Sometimes we confuse these people with Iowans.

On summer Saturday's, the rate of foreigners on Michigan Ave. easily matches the ratio of Americans on the Ponte Vecchio. Of course, their tourist dollars are more than welcome.

[orangeapple]

Maybe it is those midwest people ....in California people generally just don't dress like that...unless they are all traveling in Europe & we never see them.

I notice that British, German & Australian tourists dress frumpy when traveling here too. That's why I suggest it's comfy traveling attire (although I wouldn't be caught dead in it).

No one has discussed women though....it's all been male clothing....

I could see that even well-dressed Americans probably have a different "look". I can spot someone foreign here also, and it's not because they look stupid or bad. They simply have a different way of putting things together, carrying themselves, moving even.

[JaasNYC]

It's interesting to read about the other side because I live in NYC and of course, a lot of tourists visit and most times I can spot a European from a mile away. But I can also spot the tourists from other parts of the US. I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that most people behave differently when they are on vacation and we observers pick up on that "vacation energy."

[Chadro77]

Well if I ever visit Europe I'll make sure to wear my Larry's, Wranglers, a Cinch Shirt and a stetson. That way I won't have to worry about sticking out as your average American .