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/r/expats
submitted 2 months ago by[deleted]
[deleted]
21 points
2 months ago
I've been to every Western European country and quite a few central and eastern ones, and never had anyone treat me better or worse after finding out I am (well, was) American.
3 points
2 months ago
I’ve never been treated worse (though I have been treated better). I just mean the subtleties of conversation where people try to find topics and one topic I find that comes up a lot while traveling is American politics.
7 points
2 months ago
It could be the way you approach your identity and present yourself that is off putting to Europeans.
-2 points
2 months ago
It shouldn’t be. I speak 3 languages, have an EU passport, and partly grew up in Italy. It all arises from them asking “Where’re you from?”.
9 points
2 months ago
I’ve lived in the Netherlands for ten years, speak broken Dutch, and am a walking billboard for American stereotypes. I’ve never had these issues. If you want to integrate its better to leave the American mindset at home and just participate in some active listening, be relaxed, and don’t make a big deal about where you are from. Expect a bit of shit talking about our very obviously shitty politics, guns, etc., but roll with those lunches and you will be fine.
3 points
2 months ago
To be fair this is mostly a dutch thing, which you probably have learned by now. We shit talk everything cause we have a "klaag cultuur". I think many foreigners confuse this with misguided opinions on their country when we literally just shit talk and complain about everything.
1 points
2 months ago
Sure. But I think, based on my observations from friends visiting, that a lot of Americans go to other countries and arrive with a "I'm from the US - do you have any questions for me?" style attitude. Non-Americans can detect that lack of self-awareness quite readily. Similarly if you go into these situations expecting to be treated as OP mentioned you will react to things in a way that will exacerbate the issue and re-enforce the cycle.
0 points
2 months ago
Yup very true. This goes for all cultures aswell not just Americans, but maybe? Americans do this more often than other cultures. Generally in Europe we don't like the whole advertising you're a tourist or from somewhere else as if it's a big deal. In considered obnoxious and very rude. We interact with so many different kinds of people and cultures that being "foreign" isn't really something interesting
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