Stereotypes foreigners have of Americans as a whole, hostel conversations

¨How did you know I was from the US?¨ I asked the man when he checked me into the hostel.

He looked down, a bit embarrassed, not wanting to answer me. I said ¨come on, trust me, I have heard it all. You won’t offend me¨.

He said ¨how you are dressed¨.

Let’s be honest; this is almost always a dead giveaway for most people.

It was funny because almost everything I own has been bought in other countries. I told him that, and he just said I don’t know.

Yet I do have a style that is very ¨American¨, I guess. I wear dresses, shorts, or jeans outside depending on the heat.

So naturally, I pushed and questioned others about American stereotypes since I haven’t heard any updated ones recently, it gives me a bit of a laugh.

I like to see how the rest of the world perceives us.

We throw money at any problem and expect it to be fixed.

Well, this one I completely agree with. In the past, I would have said I do the same; however, after living abroad for the past five years, I no longer find this fix applicable.

The geography of the rest of the world is horrible.

Again very true. However, if you ask someone about the geography of our country, they won’t know the capital of Kentucky, just as I might not know the capital of their country.

I learn about a country once I have visited, making it more fun. But I also have a good grip on history and geography since it was always a passion of mine. Yet again, not all of us, as I have always loved geography, but it is also why I travel, to learn.

Many then will say those who travel seem fine alone, but you can be loud and annoying in groups.

I must add I have noticed this in almost every country; any group of their people are the same way, not just us from the US; I said almost!

We either think we can drink a lot or we can not.

An English man informed me that most Americans believe they can drink a lot and fail. Or they are the opposite and do not drink at all, as me and another girl in the hostel does not drink.

I said yes, that is also true, plus we do not have the same culture around drinking as other cultures do. We did not grow up drinking wine with lunch and developing a healthy relationship with alcohol; we learned to binge drink to cover up our feelings.

I am sure we are not the only ones, as I have witnessed a lot of alcohol worldwide, not all used for good.

Fun fact, Japan has a Twitter page for drunk Japanese, a Japanese girl shared this tidbit with me.

Everyone carries a gun in the US.

We all know this is not true, as I do not. However, a lot of people do.

We are all energetic about everything and feel the need to be the cheerleaders in the group when traveling; typically, we are smiling and happy.

I agree; I am not a cheerleader, but I often smile and am happy. I understand if you are fake happy, fake nice, and this is how it comes off to some people when they meet an American.

They think, how can they all be that happy and smiley all the time?

We are not; many of us have been brainwashed from a young age to be polite, smile, and not cause drama. So it is something that has carried over into becoming a stereotype; however, it is not all true or false as with all stereotypes.

Yet just like anything, this I have seen in other countries, not just the US, but it is more common for an American to be the cheerleader than an English person, as I learned this week.

In my travels, I realized authenticity goes beyond a fake friendly smile.

America likes to be involved in everyone’s business; we often want to stir the pot where it is unnecessary.

So this is one that you hear a lot while traveling, especially in recent years; I do agree.

American women are known for being easy because of the movies, TV series, and music.

I had this conversation the other day, and Hollywood as an industry has definitely caused many of these stereotypes, obviously, we are not all the same, and we are not all like you see on TV.

I was talking with a German, and he said he went into the sauna and then told you to take off all your clothes and go in. I was with an American girl, and she said, naked?

He said ¨Yeah, that’s how you get into a sauna¨.

She said no, it’s not, well, not where I come from; we either wear our bathing suits or stay wrapped in a towel.

I said yea, pretty much when I went into the onsen in Japan, it was weird that everyone, including myself, had to be naked.

He said, are you serious? Because we have this image of Americans just running around naked without a worry. We both laughed and said nope.

You can do this game for almost any country; we all have our perceptions and stereotypes. I find it interesting to see what others think of us; of course, we share stories back and forth.

It is not to be offensive; it is to learn about the culture and the person and then get to know the real people from that country.

I try to be a good representative of my country, and have often been told ¨you are not what I expected when I meet an American¨.

I take that as a compliment, or they would assume I am an airheaded, uneducated, smiling cheerleader carrying an AK-47.

We as individuals are like anyone else, unique and our own person; you can not group an entire country anywhere to be the same.

XOXO

S