Americans are funny people.
I don't mean they are funny in a funny way, they are funny because of their universal behaviors and expectations.
They want the whole world to be like them. I don't mean they want the world to like them because nobody really like them but they expect the world to be like the Americans are.
They expect the same morals, the same laws, the same foods and the same customs regardless where they are.
If an American breaks the law in a foreign country he is stunned that the local customs don't give the same benefit of doubt as it is done in the US. And, also that the local court systems are different than the ones in the US.
If they see topless women sunning themselves on the beach they get upset because it hurts their morals. It is irrelevant that in that particular country this might be an accepted behavior.
When an American traveler goes into a restaurant in a foreign country he expects to see steaks, baked potatoes and french fries. If he can not find them he gets upset.
Why is it that if an Albanian travels and can not find "Tirana Fërgesë" on the menu he takes it in stride?
No wonder Americans are disliked around the world. They expect the world to kneel front of them because they are all convinced that the Americans are God's gift to human kind.
It is not very beneficial to brag that one is an American when traveling abroad. Europe is not known for their liking towards us. It is not only the French that dislike us but there are several countries agreeing with them.
Caribbean islands are different. They make their living from the Americans. There are islands that belong to other countries or independent where restaurants are more Americans than the ones in the Mainland.
There are Dutch islands in the Caribbean where they request the female guests not to go topless because it might hurt the morals of the American families. This is a perfect example where we expect others in their own homeland to conform to our standards.
So, why should they like us?
I love when they are trying to transplant American style football into Europe. If my memory serves me right they tried it before and it didn't work. Now it is on again.
There is a single sport that is more popular in the world than all others combined. And that is soccer. But, there is one standalone country where it never found a fertile soil regardless of all the immigrants and all the money. That country is the US.
But now again they are trying to popularize the American style football in Europe. It is a dumb sport and those people will never go for it. Actually it is not even a sport. It is a business.
I'm so relieved though that our influence still accounts for something. Curling is now an internationally accepted sport.
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On the subjest of Americans expectation of their popular food to be available everywhere in the world.A very longstanding friend from Canada, we met in Italy. To give the couple a taste and view of the real Italy, we drove up to one of the Tuscan Hills with a nice view to the tipical restaurant, called Olio Rosso. My friend looking at the menu with great disappointment, sayes, There is no roast chicken? I nearly died. I said this restaurant has genuine Tuscan cuisine, the best cuisine in I. otherwise known as cucina povere. Mind you we are still friends. Just about.
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