How Are Americans Looked Upon As Tourists?

[Koh_Falang]

The top tip i have heard about all of this is being polite..

No matter what happens to you in Thailand... Do not raise your voice, Do not give angry expressions or negative vibes. It will only make, whatever is making you angry, worse.

I also suggest that you try to learn a bit of Thai... It will do atleast 1 of 2 things...First, if you know a bit of Thai it may save you getting overcharged, giving the average Thai the impression that you have been around a bit and know when ur getting a fair deal or being charged 3 times the price.... The second thing it will do for you is put you on a different level with all the other tourists that dont speak Thai... Tells them that you took the effort to learn something about their country and that you are interested in them. They will have alot more respect for you.

As for that horrible reputation that Americans unfortunantly have... Prove everyone wrong. The fact that you are asking about this tells people that you are concerned about it and are willing to take advice. That enough has got you respect with me at least

[kat]

As has been mentioned before on other threads the main sticking point that Americans have here is that they are used to complaining long and loud until they get what they want and as some aspects of life here may not be up to their expectations/standards they will be tempted to raise the issue, just chill and ask nicely it probably won't make any difference so you might as well stay calm and quiet as moaning loudly will just make sure that nothing goes your way

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I think this is very well-stated and analyzed. I am American, and am not the usual stereotype that many Western Europeans and Brits seem to favor about Americans.

I think almost all nationalities have their positive and negative stereotypes, which are true for some of those nationals if not many, but definitely not all. I think it has been mostly easy and convienent for Brits and Europeans to bad-mouth all Americans for a very long time. However, there are plenty of bad stereotypes to be had for all

But I'm honest, and definitely not perfect. I educate myself about other countries and their histories, I've travelled widely, and I respect the norms of other countries. I don't think of the united states as a baseball team ("we're number 1"), and tend to shrink from nationalism in general.

However, being a tourist and living in a country are two completely different experiences. From my perspective, many travellers fail to grasp that point. So what does this mean? For me, it means that sometimes: I may talk to loud, I may externalise my disappointment a little too much, and I may revert to my Puerto-Rican American ethnicity to vocalize when a truck, car, and several motorbikes almost mow me down in the middle of a crosswalk before the light turns green. If it is a matter of months, it is easy to suppress your instincts or cultural response. When we are talking years, I think you almost need an identity transplant to say that everything that happens and everything you do here is perfect.

Yes, I'm guilty: there are times when I may be an ugly American. It is much different to live in a place and hear co-workers and children that you teach lie to you and talk about you right in front of your face in Thai, than it is when you are a visitor on a limited visa and have no clue. And of course, here in Thailand you're not supposed to confront. The flip side of that is here lying, control, and manipulation are more popular. So, it's all a matter of HOW your culture is both good and ugly, not whether or not it is.

Sometimes a well of frustration builds for months, and I tend to revert to who I am culturally and vocalise, rather than remain the polite, proper, sanitized "guest" that I am most of the time. At those moments, I'm sure some of you culturally and morally superior people will pronounce me "American". I do tend to externalize what I'm feeling at times, and then it's over.

So yeah, that's my ugliness. What's yours?

edited for clarity

Edited February 9, 2005 by kat