Travelers: Which countries have treated you the best and which have treated you the worst? (credit, hotels)
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Isn't just me, I just thought the French were rude towards people who looked different (Asians, Arabs, etc.) but man they are some of the most bigoted and hateful people in the world, would never want to live there in my life or stay there. Even the ones in the US are rude towards everyone.
If you don't speak excellent French or dare to say that France isn't the best at something, they almost put you in the guillotine.
If you don't speak excellent French or dare to say that France isn't the best at something, they almost put you in the guillotine.
True, or if you look different. I don't know what it is but out of all Europeans I have met, the French hate anyone that looks slightly Arabic. I used to have a Venezuelan friend that looked somewhat Middle Eastern and was even experimenting with some facial hair. He went there, spoke fluent French and everything, and was just ignored or treated like trash by people. I saw some of it first hand too, so sad.
Then he went to Sweden and said people there were somehow really nice to him. I don't recall meeting many Swedes who were bad people, a lot of them are kind and respectful.
The French will hate anyone that isn't French, so being Arabic or not is irrelevant.
Eh I wouldn't say that, for some reason they tend to like other Europeans and even Australians and Canadians. Also, the French seem to have a huge love for African American culture and African American people. So I think their hatred is just focused towards Arabic and Asian people.
Of course even in this politically correct society it is perfectly okay to hate an Arabic or Asian person, sadly enough.
Isn't just me, I just thought the French were rude towards people who looked different (Asians, Arabs, etc.) but man they are some of the most bigoted and hateful people in the world, would never want to live there in my life or stay there. Even the ones in the US are rude towards everyone.
What does means looking different? I have the impression that you imagine France as an homogeonous country like Japan.
There are million of people of Arabic or Asian descent in France. It is not like the country was all white and even the white french come from different background. France is one of most racially diverse european country.
I will not say that there is no racism in France, there are but most people don't care of your skin colors.
They care of your attitude or dress.
In Paris, the different is the White (or Asian or anything elese) tourist with camera, not the Asian dressed like an office workers (because he could be an office worker like thousands of others).
In Paris, the different is the guy walking slowly and asking its way to Eiffel tower, the similar is the guy who walks fast and ignores the traffic lights.
There is just one fact, Parisians don't really like tourists who are perceived as an obstacle on the way.
It doesn't matter what is your skin colors or your nationality or even the fact that you speak french or not.
Parisians are busy and hurried people (this busy working city, not disneyland). They have what we call the big city attitude.
There are very few city as big as Paris in Europe, so there are very few city with the similar attitude (only London but unlike Paris, you understand the language).
It is also true that the service in Paris is not the best, the customer is not really the king here.
Service people tend to treat people in the same way that you treat them.
If you are rude with a cashier, he will be rude with you.
The big generalisation of ScriptedWords (or whatever is his new pseudo) about an area where he never set a foot and people that he never met are very annoying.
1. What is your nationality?
2. What is your ethnicity/heritage?
3. Which countries have made you feel welcome and treated you well?
4. Which countries have treated you poorly?
1. American
2. Mostly French/French Canadian
3. Spain, Mexico, German-speaking Switzerland
4. Francophone Switzerland
I recall one experience in Neuchatel where I was buying a sandwich at a convenience store inside the train station and didn't know how to use the credit card machine because they are very different from those in the US. The cashier looked at me like I was crazy when I asked in English and tried to gesture for him to help me. He then told me, IN ENGLISH, that I needed to either pay or step out of the line. The people behind me were just glaring at me and refused to help when I asked. So I walked away without being able to purchase anything. The whole ordeal was extremely embarrassing.
I just found the whole thing very distasteful. That would never happen in the US. I get that I don't speak French but it's just about being a decent human being. It didn't help that I was totally starving as well. On another note, I absolutely loved the French-speaking area of Switzerland in terms of the cities and the natural beauty and the food.
People on the German-speaking side, however, were extremely polite, if not a bit reserved. However, I appreciated that as I am a fairly reserved person myself.
What does means looking different? I have the impression that you imagine France as an homogeonous country like Japan.
There are million of people of Arabic or Asian descent in France. It is not like the country was all white and even the white french come from different background. France is one of most racially diverse european country.
I will not say that there is no racism in France, there are but most people don't care of your skin colors.
They care of your attitude or dress.
In Paris, the different is the White (or Asian or anything elese) tourist with camera, not the Asian dressed like an office workers (because he could be an office worker like thousands of others).
In Paris, the different is the guy walking slowly and asking its way to Eiffel tower, the similar is the guy who walks fast and ignores the traffic lights.
There is just one fact, Parisians don't really like tourists who are perceived as an obstacle on the way.
It doesn't matter what is your skin colors or your nationality or even the fact that you speak french or not.
Parisians are busy and hurried people (this busy working city, not disneyland). They have what we call the big city attitude.
There are very few city as big as Paris in Europe, so there are very few city with the similar attitude (only London but unlike Paris, you understand the language).
It is also true that the service in Paris is not the best, the customer is not really the king here.
Service people tend to treat people in the same way that you treat them.
If you are rude with a cashier, he will be rude with you.
The big generalisation of ScriptedWords (or whatever is his new pseudo) about an area where he never set a foot and people that he never met are very annoying.
I have met many French people and lived there before, just because I am not on here telling you how great France is and how everyone including sources and other posters are wrong does not mean I am some guy with no experience in the place.
Don't discredit another person's experience because it fails to match your reality.
It has been my experience that the French are not only the most rude and inconsiderate people in Europe but also the most bigoted and racist of all European groups. Sure there are a lot of Arabs and Asians there, and I know how a lot of those Arabs and Asians are treated by the local White population in France.
I post this because I don't want some Asian American to go to France and be shocked by the racist treatment he gets from the White French population. Just want to give him a heads up! Maybe tell him to go to Sweden or Denmark instead of France.
See, I find that it is important for people to know this. This is the stuff the fancy travel guides won't tell you.
Treated best in Scotland. And this is before I really realized that my Scotch heritage runs thick and deep on my moms side the Lindsay clan & Coat of Arms traceable back to the days of Wallace.
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