How To Be A Worldly American
In his post on How To Be A Less Ugly American, Paul Holmes refers to Business for Diplomatic Action, Inc.’s guidelines for Americans outside the United States.
In the abridged version of its World Citizens Guide, BDA offers these suggestions (see the PDF for elaborations on the suggestions) for making a favorable impression when traveling abroad:
- Look. Listen. Learn.
- Smile. Genuinely.
- Think big. Act Small. be Humble.
- Live, eat and play local.
- Be patient.
- Celebrate our diversity.
- Become a student again.
- Try the language.
- Refrain from lecturing.
- Dialog instead of monologue.
- Use your hands. Watch your feet.
- Leave the cliches at home.
- Be proud, not arrogant.
- Keep religion private.
- Be quiet.
- Check the atlas.
- Agree to disagree respectfully.
- Talk about something besides politics.
- Be safety conscious, not fearful.
- Dress for respect.
- Know some global sports trivia.
- Keep your word.
- Show your best side.
- Be a traveler, not a tourist.
Paul offers his own suggestion as well:
"Personally, though, the best way to connect with overseas audiences is to explain that you didn’t vote for the current U.S. administration and that you agree that it current policies are, to be as diplomatic as possible about it, misguided."
Meanwhile, Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm and the new A Death in Belmont, gives these impressions in the article Welcome Stranger in this month’s National Geographic Adventure (print edition):
"An old friend of mine once observed that the arrival of a stranger in a rough town often presents locals with two options: Feed him or kill him. He was referring to some ancient time when the dilemma was literally that stark, but his larger point was that all societies must choose whom they let in and whom they keep out, and letting someone in entails more than just opening the city gates. Once you do that you become to some degree responsible for the stranger’s welfare. Travel, then, at its crudest, is the art of convincing people to take care of you rather than spurn you — or worse. It’s a knife-edge that makes a life spent at home feel not fully lived….
You had to be wary when you traveled, I realized, but you also had to be open. You had to protect yourself, but you couldn’t be so suspicious that you’d lie to avoid giving food to a stranger. These were lessons from the harsher parts of the world, but I started to think that maybe they were applicable anywhere. The starting point was respect; if you didn’t lead with that, even with street-corner thugs, nothing was going to turn out well. So you start with respect and see where that goes; if it doesn’t work, you switch to something else…. things pretty much come down to how you treat one another. There’s a certain liberty in that; there’s a certain justice."
Writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper American Tim Dowling supports the advice: “There are undoubtedly some Americans who will look at the tips and decide against travelling at all - if they can’t bore on about the Superbowl or walk around Paris recommending the Bible to people, what’s the point? But it doesn’t go far enough for American visitors to Britain. If you want to avoid being openly hated, by all means take the State Department’s advice, but if you wish to escape being secretly loathed, you need to take the following extra precautions…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1755709,00.html
Philip,
Thanks for the link. My favorite line from the article is this: “In the UK overt displays of friendliness are taken as a sign of brain damage.”
It’s interesting to note that many Americans already observe these points; what is disturbing is that there are enough who need a list like this. (Though, I should say, no country is immune from tourists who do their own nations a disservice.)
¶ As to politics, I would just stay away from it. Here in New Zealand, a Democratic friend of mine travelling here said no one brought it up with her. I would refrain from making a pro- or anti-Bush statement, considering this country’s election results last time saw a swing to the right. Mutual respect will work in everyone’s favour.
Once foreign citizens find out you’re American, forget it. I don’t know how much respect can overcome the sterotypical views most have of us.
Jack,
Your comment reminded me that, like it or not, we represent our home nations and are regarded as ambassadors of sorts by the citizens whose countries we visit. Better not to draw unfavorable attention to ourselves, in my view.
MTLB,
Yes, there are some not-too-great stereotypical views of Americans (and, by the way, of pretty much any country I can think of), but as long as I don’t intentionally exacerbate them, I feel I’ve done at least my small part.
I was also reminded of something a writer once said to me. He had traveled extensively as part of his duties and noted that it wasn’t the politics of a person that gave Americans away, rather, their day-to-day habits did.
Two things which stood out to him was the first time he ordered a cold beer in an older European tavern (I believe it was in Germany), and they looked at him in an odd way because typically, the beer was served room temperature over there.
The other thing that tipped off people were the style of his, as one would imagine most fashion from a different country might do.
After reading this thread, it made me think that based on the latter situation, it’s easy to be judged from a distance without you even getting close enough to have a chance at changing their opinion of ‘the ugly Americans.’
(Should have been: “…were the style of his shoes…”)
Your comment is so right, Andrea. When I travel, I always feel my role is partly ambassadorial. Especially from a small country like New Zealand, where I have been the only, or the rst, person they have encountered from that part of the world.
Don’t worry too much about this. Once we get to know you guys, we usually come around. Besides, the English, The Germans and the Dutch are just as bad as you lot… (before anybody freaks out: just kidding). Seriously: my guess is that a lot of countries should do the same. When I’m abroad, I am often embarrassed for my fellow countrymen too (and perhaps they are as well, vice versa :-)). I suppose Americans are just a more popular people to pick on because of their country’s position in world politics. But it would be equally stupid to blame every American you come across as it would be for any American to actually think they are superior in any way. It’s just about plain old respect, I guess (gosh, I’m sounding more and more old(-fashioned)…).
MTLB: Actually, I agree that shoes (and the famous socks-with-sandals German look) are often a dead giveaway; I can usually spot Americans and Germans that way.
Serge: Thanks for your thoughts, especially in light of your frequent ribbings about us Americans
Being a New Zealander living in Toronto but have lived in 5 countries including the US, and visited over 20 countries, I have to say that being quiet and respectful of your hosts is good advice for any travel. Be genuinely interested in where you are and people will appreciate it.