Europeans veiw Americans?

Question

I recently went to Sao Miguel, Azores an island off the coast of portugal. While i was there the people were amazed that i was an american. specifically the men! they had no problem yelling profaine things to me as i walked by, grabbing at me and approaching me in public places. They told me they knew i was an American from far away because the portugeses people dont look like me! (although i am full blooded portugeese). Many of the girls my age there gave me dirty looks and would talk about what was wearing as if i couldnt hear them. I was very dissapointed in their reaction to American girls. I was just wondering if anyone else had any experiences like this?

oh and did i mention i was with my grandma the whole time!

Answer 1

You know, Katrinpk, a LOT of American girls have lost their "niceness factor" by a factor of 10 or more and it's frequently reflected in modern American dress.

But, that aside, we Amis carry ourselves differently.  There are other ways of looking like an obnoxious American tourist besides wearing loud flowered shirts, shorts, socks and sandals with a camera around your neck.

However, what happened to you is inexcusable.  I only wish we Americans treated our European guests with commensurate contempt-it's something we're simply constitutionally unable to do.

Answer 2

Yeah, I've had similar happenings in Italy, but I however look very American.  It sucks that they look down on us and treat us like c**p sometimes, but it won't stop by my doing anything, so I'll just let it be... enough guys in America have done similar things to me as well... the other night I had a guy say stuff about me that were derogatory statements about a woman and ran his hand across my waist... ugh!