amercer said:

---

Thankfully none of the happy foreigners have to visit F16 to see the World Cup

---

Not sure thankfully. How will they know how hateful hypocritical and racist leftist and Democrats are? You know they think we live in a fascist state. That it is just god awful horrible over here.

I'm sure the Democrats will start complaining about the fact that there is a lot of Scottish and Danish people and they're white so they're evil.

I am loving every bit of this.

I lived in Germany for 3 Years. Thought most people were great but I can see where they are getting all these reactions.

fc2112 said:

---

My experience in Europe is general disdain for Americans - BUT - when they learn I'm a Texan, they warm right up. Especially when they find out I've worked on horseback.

---

I've not had that experience at all. Once I had a lady in Paris, that was kind of a *****, but I've traveled all over Europe and everyone's been mostly lovely.

I will say in Russia, they were a little reserved and closed off, didn't trust Americans. They think it's weird that we smile so much and greet everyone. Especially the older people.

The younger people were nicer, more open though. Because most of them have never lived through the Cold War or before the fall.

And honestly, in the major cities and freeways/highways with the exception of everything being in Russian didn't look too different from our cities at this point.

When I was on my Band of Brothers trip a year and a half ago, we were coming out of a restaurant somewhere. I kind of think we were down closer to Austria can't remember exactly cause we were in several countries, but it was later in the trip and I was walking by and a man stopped me and he said are you American and I said yes and he asked me who are you voting for in the election because this was just a few months before and I said oh absolutely Trump and he did sort of a smile and thumbs up motion and said "OK good good. I like Trump, we need a Trump here."

I just smiled and walked on. It was very random, but they can usually spot Americans easily over there. Honestly, when I answered him with Trump, I wasn't sure what his reaction would be, but he was pleased.

And I swear on the life of my family and my pets that did actually happen exactly as I explained it. I'm sure there'll be some people on here that will claim it didn't, but it did.

Many times when I'm traveling in Europe as well I wear a lot of Aggie stuff and I get a lot of comments on that as well. Not only from other Aggies but other people. We are very well liked for the most part.

This is awesome!

USA!!!

The average Buc-ee's is larger than the grocery stores I've been to in Europe. In the grocery stores, they are not spoiled by the choices that we have in the US. Even when on a road trip, stopping for fuel and a drink/snack at the gas station, not many choices of anything.

Europe is nice to visit, but wouldn't want to live there.

Maybe I'm a brisket snob, but the brisket at places like Blacks is not the best. They must have real ****ty meat in Europe.

It's just cooked differently, different seasonings and spices. You've been around barbecue your entire life so you know what you think is good barbecue versus not a good barbecue we all have but to them these are completely different tastes. Barbecue sauce, things like that completely different.

IIIHorn said:

---

Sq 17 said:

---

doubledog said:

---

If you have ever traveled to Europe you will discover...

European locals often harbor negative feelings towards American tourists, particularly those from the East and West Coast of America ; however, it is worth noting that Americans tend to contribute significantly to the local economy through their spending.

---

And Coloradans hate Texans
Locals don't like tourists because the locals are having to share the natural beauty of home and getting paid helps but still the tourist is a pain in the a$$

---

I only visit Colorado in the winter and I have rarely experienced the dislike you described.

---

I've never had any issues in Colorado, but remember there's a lot of damn liberals there and they're pretty nasty, unhappy people.

malenurse said:

---

IIIHorn said:

---

Yesterday said:

---

100%. I always tell anyone, whether American or Foreign that I am from Texas.

---

How often did you get this follow up question?:

"Do you have a horse?"

---

Or, How many guns do you own?

---

Back in 1981 my high school band took a trip to Washington DC to march in the cherry blossom parade. It was actually only a few months after Reagan was shot.

There was one night where we had a big dance and dinner with all the other bands that were in the parade and it was pretty casual, but we had all worn button-down shirts, jeans, boots, and hats. Now mind you, I grew up in a very suburban area of West Houston so we didn't really have a lot of people that you know we're riding horses or on ranches or anything, we basically called them "kickers" back, then not a derogatory way, but not a lot of people dress like that at my school, but we all kind of adopted this outfit to wear there.

And this was also when the show Dallas was at its popularity. And we truly did get asked constantly if we rode horses to school if we all had, barns, guns, etc.

Now we did have a lot of kids that hunted at my school and at that time you could keep your rifle in the back of your truck just in a gun rack in the high school parking lot and no one worried about it at all. I don't believe you could bring them into the school, but no one cared that they were out in the parking lot.

And I remember we askrd the DJ to play Cotton-eyed Joe, but he didn't have the music and he just played some regular pop song at the time and we all got out there doing the Cotton-eyed Joe dance where you lock, arms and kick your legs and such and most of the bands just sat back and stared at us like we were massive weirdos initially, and then they all joined in and had a good time. It's just a common thing here.

malenurse said:

---

IIIHorn said:

---

Yesterday said:

---

100%. I always tell anyone, whether American or Foreign that I am from Texas.

---

How often did you get this follow up question?:

"Do you have a horse?"

---

Or, How many guns do you own?

---

What's really great about that question is seeing the looks on their faces when you visibly start mentally counting them up because you honestly can't remember how many offhand.

Do you have a horse? Yes

How many guns do you own? Let's just you can't count them with just your fingers.

Oh oh, I am a stereotype!

I've told this before, but seems appropriate here...

while in Spain last fall, I met a couple from the UK. They said they were afraid to come to the US because Trump was having ICE arrest foreigners. They were not joking!

Liberals in this country have spread so much disinformation its unreal what the rest of the world believes.

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Do you have a horse? Yes

How many guns do you own? Let's just you can't count them with just your fingers.

Oh oh, I am a stereotype!

---

The one I thought was interesting was Doug Hegdahl when he was captured by the North Vietnamese and sent to the Hanoi Hilton.

As I understand it, when he said that he grew up on a farm, the interrogators asked him how many water buffalo his family had. When he said that they didn't have any, the North Vietnamese thought he had to be from one of the poorest farms imaginable.

annie88 said:

---

IIIHorn said:

---

Sq 17 said:

---

doubledog said:

---

If you have ever traveled to Europe you will discover...

European locals often harbor negative feelings towards American tourists, particularly those from the East and West Coast of America ; however, it is worth noting that Americans tend to contribute significantly to the local economy through their spending.

---

And Coloradans hate Texans
Locals don't like tourists because the locals are having to share the natural beauty of home and getting paid helps but still the tourist is a pain in the a$$

---

I only visit Colorado in the winter and I have rarely experienced the dislike you described.

---

I've never had any issues in Colorado, but remember there's a lot of damn liberals there and they're pretty nasty, unhappy people.

---

They only get mad in the summer when all we Texans do in our Summer homes is play golf and grill at home. Not out spending $500/day to snow ski.

That's red ass

deddog said:

---

Took an English couple to the gun range this morning in Austin, TX.
They are headed to Dallas for their "match".

I did my part.

---

Please tell me they had an epiphany and said something along the lines of, "I now understand why y'all say this is a fun hobby."

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Do you have a horse? Yes

How many guns do you own? Let's just you can't count them with just your fingers.

Oh oh, I am a stereotype!

---

I ran out of fingers and toes. I may have a problem...

Slicer97 said:

---

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Do you have a horse? Yes

How many guns do you own? Let's just you can't count them with just your fingers.

Oh oh, I am a stereotype!

---

I ran out of fingers and toes. I may have a problem...

---

So did I but I don't have a problem, someone else may have a problem though!

Logos Stick said:

---

I've told this before, but seems appropriate here...

while in Spain last fall, I met a couple from the UK. They said they were afraid to come to the US because Trump was having ICE arrest foreigners. They were not joking!

Liberals in this country have spread so much disinformation its unreal what the rest of the world believes.

---

Well, Obama had illegals imported too. They didn't seem to worry about it then. And there's a big difference between people coming on vacation and/or having a travel, visa and coming here illegally to live the rest of their lives. I guess liberals are stupid over there too.

We have Democrats and liberals over here that truly think American citizens can be deported.

BadMoonRisin said:

---

AxelFoley85 said:

---

Personal anecdote but we received much different treatment in Europe when people would hear us speak Spanish as a family. My wife also speaks French and the treatment in Paris is night and day when she code switches on them.

---

I was in Italy 2 decades ago and they absolutely hated foreigners, especially American tourists. This was during GWB times and the GWOT. We still had a good time, though, because we had some coin and the Italians had no choice but to serve us.

The lie about Americans being the most racist country in existence is just that. Lies made up by the grievance class who always seems to want more. Interestingly enough, they want to somehow take credit for people acting kindly, in general, to most people from out of town. People that they actively hate and have zero connection to. Maybe they will finally wake up, but I doubt it.

It's almost palpable how much they hate "flyover" people, when they are so far showing to be the most generous and welcoming to our European and International guests.

---

Again, this was not my experience at all in Italy and I was there about 26 years ago. The rudest we got was a chef at one of the restaurants in Rome, who got offended when our friend asked for lemon for his fish and he told him "you do not need"

He was really offended about him, wanting the lemon and it was really funny. And no, he never brought the lemon.

I've been to Rome, Pisa and surrounding areas there, we came down from France and stopped at a lot of other little small towns, but I'm headed to Naples in November so I will see how they're acting when we're there. Get to go to Pompeii and Herculaneum as well and I cannot wait for that.

My point exactly. If you start letting Scots bring bagpipes through customs they could be even more dangerous than the vuvuzalas at the 2010 World Cup in Cape Town. Picture this but with pipes.



ETA: Too late

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18t2Vxh6PA/

annie88 said:

---

fc2112 said:

---

My experience in Europe is general disdain for Americans - BUT - when they learn I'm a Texan, they warm right up. Especially when they find out I've worked on horseback.

---

I've not had that experience at all. Once I had a lady in Paris, that was kind of a *****, but I've traveled all over Europe and everyone's been mostly lovely.

I will say in Russia, they were a little reserved and closed off, didn't trust Americans. They think it's weird that we smile so much and greet everyone. Especially the older people.

The younger people were nicer, more open though. Because most of them have never lived through the Cold War or before the fall.

And honestly, in the major cities and freeways/highways with the exception of everything being in Russian didn't look too different from our cities at this point.

When I was on my Band of Brothers trip a year and a half ago, we were coming out of a restaurant somewhere. I kind of think we were down closer to Austria can't remember exactly cause we were in several countries, but it was later in the trip and I was walking by and a man stopped me and he said are you American and I said yes and he asked me who are you voting for in the election because this was just a few months before and I said oh absolutely Trump and he did sort of a smile and thumbs up motion and said "OK good good. I like Trump, we need a Trump here."

I just smiled and walked on. It was very random, but they can usually spot Americans easily over there. Honestly, when I answered him with Trump, I wasn't sure what his reaction would be, but he was pleased.

And I swear on the life of my family and my pets that did actually happen exactly as I explained it. I'm sure there'll be some people on here that will claim it didn't, but it did.

Many times when I'm traveling in Europe as well I wear a lot of Aggie stuff and I get a lot of comments on that as well. Not only from other Aggies but other people. We are very well liked for the most part.

---

Eastern Europeans (Poland/Ukraine/Russian) call it the American Smile, and they think it's less trustworthy...like we smile to get things out of them, or that it's an insincere smile.

Those eastern europeans don't usually smile up front, but when you actually get a chance to know them they love to smile. They prefer stoic faces

maybe the difference between 'earning' a smile and being owed something for smiling.

pretty interesting stuff, cultures.

Slicer97 said:

---

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Do you have a horse? Yes

How many guns do you own? Let's just you can't count them with just your fingers.

Oh oh, I am a stereotype!

---

I ran out of fingers and toes. I may have a problem...

---

I can only count to 21 if I'm naked

annie88 said:

---

IIIHorn said:

---

Sq 17 said:

---

doubledog said:

---

If you have ever traveled to Europe you will discover...

European locals often harbor negative feelings towards American tourists, particularly those from the East and West Coast of America ; however, it is worth noting that Americans tend to contribute significantly to the local economy through their spending.

---

And Coloradans hate Texans
Locals don't like tourists because the locals are having to share the natural beauty of home and getting paid helps but still the tourist is a pain in the a$$

---

I only visit Colorado in the winter and I have rarely experienced the dislike you described.

---

I've never had any issues in Colorado, but remember there's a lot of damn liberals there and they're pretty nasty, unhappy people.

---

living in CO for 12 years now, I'd say any 'hate' levied is due to the "takeover" of mountain towns and slopes, which once every local could afford.

Also the BOOM of seasonal travel and expectations of excessive service when most are short-staffed in many service industries (especially food service) due to the high cost of living (due to the high amount of 2nd/3rd homes that go vacant most of the year), and the speculators that AirBnB what could be an affordable home to a local.

It's an interesting conundrum.

I guarantee they don't hate Texans as much as we do Californians.

annie88 said:

---

BadMoonRisin said:

---

AxelFoley85 said:

---

Personal anecdote but we received much different treatment in Europe when people would hear us speak Spanish as a family. My wife also speaks French and the treatment in Paris is night and day when she code switches on them.

---

I was in Italy 2 decades ago and they absolutely hated foreigners, especially American tourists. This was during GWB times and the GWOT. We still had a good time, though, because we had some coin and the Italians had no choice but to serve us.

The lie about Americans being the most racist country in existence is just that. Lies made up by the grievance class who always seems to want more. Interestingly enough, they want to somehow take credit for people acting kindly, in general, to most people from out of town. People that they actively hate and have zero connection to. Maybe they will finally wake up, but I doubt it.

It's almost palpable how much they hate "flyover" people, when they are so far showing to be the most generous and welcoming to our European and International guests.

---

Again, this was not my experience at all in Italy and I was there about 26 years ago. The rudest we got was a chef at one of the restaurants in Rome, who got offended when our friend asked for lemon for his fish and he told him "you do not need"

He was really offended about him, wanting the lemon and it was really funny. And no, he never brought the lemon.

I've been to Rome, Pisa and surrounding areas there, we came down from France and stopped at a lot of other little small towns, but I'm headed to Naples in November so I will see how they're acting when we're there. Get to go to Pompeii and Herculaneum as well and I cannot wait for that.

---

Off-topic, but have you watched the 2014 movie Pompeii on Netflix? Predictable plot, but the Rome vs Pompeii angle is amusing.

Backyard Gator said:

---

annie88 said:

---

BadMoonRisin said:

---

AxelFoley85 said:

---

Personal anecdote but we received much different treatment in Europe when people would hear us speak Spanish as a family. My wife also speaks French and the treatment in Paris is night and day when she code switches on them.

---

I was in Italy 2 decades ago and they absolutely hated foreigners, especially American tourists. This was during GWB times and the GWOT. We still had a good time, though, because we had some coin and the Italians had no choice but to serve us.

The lie about Americans being the most racist country in existence is just that. Lies made up by the grievance class who always seems to want more. Interestingly enough, they want to somehow take credit for people acting kindly, in general, to most people from out of town. People that they actively hate and have zero connection to. Maybe they will finally wake up, but I doubt it.

It's almost palpable how much they hate "flyover" people, when they are so far showing to be the most generous and welcoming to our European and International guests.

---

Again, this was not my experience at all in Italy and I was there about 26 years ago. The rudest we got was a chef at one of the restaurants in Rome, who got offended when our friend asked for lemon for his fish and he told him "you do not need"

He was really offended about him, wanting the lemon and it was really funny. And no, he never brought the lemon.

I've been to Rome, Pisa and surrounding areas there, we came down from France and stopped at a lot of other little small towns, but I'm headed to Naples in November so I will see how they're acting when we're there. Get to go to Pompeii and Herculaneum as well and I cannot wait for that.

---

Off-topic, but have you watched the 2014 movie Pompeii on Netflix? Predictable plot, but the Rome vs Pompeii angle is amusing.

---

I have. It's the one with Kit Harrington you know Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. It wasn't bad. Interesting storyline around it.

Quote:

---

Eastern Europeans (Poland/Ukraine/Russian) call it the American Smile, and they think it's less trustworthy...like we smile to get things out of them, or that it's an insincere smile.

Those eastern europeans don't usually smile up front, but when you actually get a chance to know them they love to smile. They prefer stoic faces

maybe the difference between 'earning' a smile and being owed something for smiling.

pretty interesting stuff, cultures.

---

Yes. We didn't get a lot of smiles unless they were younger people or trying to sell you something. It did take some getting used to. When we came back through France on the way back and they were smiley and happy again. It was like oh awesome. But it's not that it was bad. It was just different.

Three quick stories. One day when I was in Saint Petersburg, I had gotten off track around this big park to get back to the bus taking us back to the ship, it wasn't a big cruise ship. It was a river ship. But very nice. And I have this little map that looked like those maps you used to get at AstroWorld with the cartoon looking buildings but I just was confused as to where I was. This is 2012 and I did have an iPhone, but it was harder to get Service over there at that time. It was more spotty, not like the plans they have now. When I traveled to Finland and other things in the last few years, I've had no problem using my phone.

But anyway, I was walking down the street and I tried to stop this very pretty typically blonde Russian woman walking down the street and I raised my finger to say excuse me and she pulled up her hand and said in English mind you, "no English". I was like OK. I walked a little bit more down the street and I saw a guy in about his 30s and I started to say the same thing and he just waved me off. He wouldn't even talk to me.

So then I came upon a hotel and I thought well maybe someone in there will speak English. Russia is not like Germany. Obviously there's not a lot of people speaking English unless they're in some of the service areas or if they do they don't really want you to know. You're not going to see English signs in addition to the Russian ones.

And when I walked in, I asked the guy at the desk if he spoke English and he said he did and I put the map down on the desk and I said OK I'm very confused. Where exactly can I get to the Pushkin statue which is where I kinda needed to be close to and he pointed way off the whole entire map on the desk so I was in a complete wrong area, but he told me how to get back to where I was. I had missed the bus back, but we were in town for a few days so I ended up figuring out the subway system and just took it down to where the water was. I literally had no idea if that would get me there, but it did.

Second little story is I had lunch on Red Square in Moscow one day. Yes, sitting out there at an outdoor caf, right where you see all those old black-and-white films of the Russians with Stalin and such marching down with their tanks and flags. It was kind of surreal. But when I got there, no one ever really spoke to me or smiled. I put my finger up for one for a table and the guy grabbed a menu, took me over there, put the menu down didn't say a word to me or smile. A few minutes later another guy came over to me and just stared at me and I was trying to talk to him a little bit, this is before the translation apps were really popular. And again he just looked at me and did not smile. He wasn't very old. I could tell that one of the items was a Caesar salad so I pointed to that and then I pointed to some drink that ended up being really weird.

When I was finished eating, I raised my hand. He came over. I did a little signal with the scribble finger on your hand, and he walked back and got the check put it down still had not smiled or spoke to me and then I paid him. It's just a very different experience.

Third story, we had different guides in different cities along the way that would tell you about things and we had a lady that was a Russian guide, but she spoke very clear English. She was telling us about the smiling thing and how people are very untrusting of Americans like you said as well. She said she does tours for American groups, British groups, even some Russian groups. And one time after she had done a tour for a Russian group, her boss called her in and said she had a complaint about her. And this woman was very friendly and very nice. She said one of the wives of one of the men on the last tour said she was acting inappropriately because she kept smiling at her husband. She said that she had just gotten used to being around more Americans and others that enjoy that and just was trying to be friendly. So it's all about what they expect but she said it is true that they don't know why Americans are always smiling. They do think it's very untrustworthy.

Backyard Gator said:

---

annie88 said:

---

BadMoonRisin said:

---

AxelFoley85 said:

---

Personal anecdote but we received much different treatment in Europe when people would hear us speak Spanish as a family. My wife also speaks French and the treatment in Paris is night and day when she code switches on them.

---

I was in Italy 2 decades ago and they absolutely hated foreigners, especially American tourists. This was during GWB times and the GWOT. We still had a good time, though, because we had some coin and the Italians had no choice but to serve us.

The lie about Americans being the most racist country in existence is just that. Lies made up by the grievance class who always seems to want more. Interestingly enough, they want to somehow take credit for people acting kindly, in general, to most people from out of town. People that they actively hate and have zero connection to. Maybe they will finally wake up, but I doubt it.

It's almost palpable how much they hate "flyover" people, when they are so far showing to be the most generous and welcoming to our European and International guests.

---

Again, this was not my experience at all in Italy and I was there about 26 years ago. The rudest we got was a chef at one of the restaurants in Rome, who got offended when our friend asked for lemon for his fish and he told him "you do not need"

He was really offended about him, wanting the lemon and it was really funny. And no, he never brought the lemon.

I've been to Rome, Pisa and surrounding areas there, we came down from France and stopped at a lot of other little small towns, but I'm headed to Naples in November so I will see how they're acting when we're there. Get to go to Pompeii and Herculaneum as well and I cannot wait for that.

---

Off-topic, but have you watched the 2014 movie Pompeii on Netflix? Predictable plot, but the Rome vs Pompeii angle is amusing.

---

Smithsonian has a good 90 minute documentary on it.

doubledog said:

---

If you have ever traveled to Europe you will discover...

European locals often harbor negative feelings towards American tourists, particularly those from the East and West Coast of America ; however, it is worth noting that Americans tend to contribute significantly to the local economy through their spending.

German tourists are similarly viewed unfavorably in various European nations due to their perceived annoying behavior, as well as their tendency to bring their own food and minimize their expenditures.

Travelers from the U.K. also face disapproval in other European countries, as they are often seen as bothersome and are known to introduce their own cultural elements, such as the prevalence of English pubs along the beaches of Spain.

I could go on, but there is a common theme here.

---

This was not my experience at all when I traveled through Europe least summer. Everyone was extremely nice, especially the French, which really surprised me.

In Italy, we met a guy who invited us to eat at his family's restaurant. At another dinner, the man at the table next to us heard me tell my son about the F1 race earlier that day. We ended up combining tables and talking F1 the rest of the night. In France, I had a long conversation with a guy who hated Macron and all the taxes they have (he was jealous we get to buy what whatever car we want. In France they have special taxes for cars that aren't fuel efficient). On a packed train, one young could got up so my wife and daughter could have a seat

Really, in my travels to virtually any country, I've found that if you're polite to people they will be polite to you.

Also, I think just doing a basic attempt at using their language goes a long way. I would Google simple phrases and how to pronounce. Obviously, I would do a terrible job at actually speaking it. Probably 70% of the time, the person would say, "I speak English." I think of it as if a foreigner is here in the US, and they just come up to me speaking Italian and expect me to understand, I'm probably going to be less helpful than if they try English, even if it does have a heavy accent.

No trip to the States is legit w/out a trip to Las Vegas. Hey @FreddyLA7 how does this sound?

I’ll send the @CircaLasVegas jet to pick you & friends up in OKC to attend our @USMNT Watch Party @stadiumswim

🇺🇸 vs 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/4XohlHP4o4

— Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) June 15, 2026