How the World Sees the US - Trump Version

regdog said:

Yay we're pariahs.

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We're number one!
We're number one!
We're number one!
Take that, North Korea! Our leader is crazier!

/s, sort of

I was lucky enough to travel to Europe in early 2009, right after Obama was elected. It was a great time to be an American in Europe--people would ask if where we were from, or if we were Americans, then they wanted to talk about Obama. They were excited to talk about him. It was awesome.

We've been considering another trip to Europe, but this hardly seems like great timing for it. I'm pretty sure people won't be so happily eager to talk to Americans again.

Come to that, travel to the US has declined, too.

JJ Litke said:

I was lucky enough to travel to Europe in early 2009, right after Obama was elected. It was a great time to be an American in Europe--people would ask if where we were from, or if we were Americans, then they wanted to talk about Obama. They were excited to talk about him. It was awesome.

We've been considering another trip to Europe, but this hardly seems like great timing for it. I'm pretty sure people won't be so happily eager to talk to Americans again.

Come to that, travel to the US has declined, too.

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When I was in Kenya in December of 2009, traveling with several Americans, Kenyans literally celebrated with song when they came upon us. When they discovered Americans in their midst, they sang Obama's name. SANG IT. Beautifully, too. When they discovered some of us were Canadian, they sang a different song. "K'Naan, K'Naan, K'Naan!" Sometimes the song went like, "Obama, K'Naan, Obama, K'Naan" and they danced. They LOVED America.

Wonder what they're singing now?

JJ Litke said:

I was lucky enough to travel to Europe in early 2009, right after Obama was elected. It was a great time to be an American in Europe--people would ask if where we were from, or if we were Americans, then they wanted to talk about Obama. They were excited to talk about him. It was awesome.

We've been considering another trip to Europe, but this hardly seems like great timing for it. I'm pretty sure people won't be so happily eager to talk to Americans again.

Come to that, travel to the US has declined, too.

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But your $ will go so much further

JJ Litke said:

Come to that, travel to the US has declined, too.

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In my little corner of the planet there is _zero_ demand for leisure travel to the US. This is what my travel agent is reporting.

The hot spot this summer is - wait for it - Iceland.

-cb

cbenoi1 said:

In my little corner of the planet there is _zero_ demand for leisure travel to the US. This is what my travel agent is reporting.

The hot spot this summer is - wait for it - Iceland.

-cb

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Ha, a coworker's daughter and her family just got back from a trip to Iceland. One of my daughter's friends was talking about going, too.

JJ Litke said:

We've been considering another trip to Europe, but this hardly seems like great timing for it. I'm pretty sure people won't be so happily eager to talk to Americans again.

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It's always been common knowledge here in Canada that when you travel to Europe, you wear a maple-leaf pin or patch so people don't mistake you for an American (but now maybe it's best to opt for a maple-leaf forehead tatt, just to be on the safe side). So, yeah, maybe try impersonating a Canadian. It's not that hard. Just apologize a lot. Sorry to all my American friends for your troubles.(<--see what I did there?)

PastyAlien said:

It's always been common knowledge here in Canada that when you travel to Europe, you wear a maple-leaf pin or patch so people don't mistake you for an American (but now maybe it's best to opt for a maple-leaf forehead tatt, just to be on the safe side). So, yeah, maybe try impersonating a Canadian. It's not that hard. Just apologize a lot. Sorry to all my American friends for your troubles.(<--see what I did there?)

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*whisper* There is a subset of Americans that travel internationally with a Maple Leaf or Cdn flag on a backpack or jacket, a Roots scarf, etc., and who will only ever cop to being anything but Canadian at an airport, when forced to show a passport. Such has been the case more than once in history, like when 43 was in office; such is even more the case now.

Most of Australia seems to be just so bewildered by him. And maybe a little sympathetic to the Canadians. At least we don't have similar accents like they do

RightHoJeeves said:

Most of Australia seems to be just so bewildered by him. And maybe a little sympathetic to the Canadians. At least we don't have similar accents like they do

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That's why we try to be so polite to non-Canadians, so it's easier to tell the difference.

And, if you think that the 'Canadian' you're talking to is secretly an American - ask them to name any Prime Minister except the current one.

frimble3 said:

And, if you think that the 'Canadian' you're talking to is secretly an American - ask them to name any Prime Minister except the current one.

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See, I'd be a smartarse and say 'Trudeau'.

JJ Litke said:

We've been considering another trip to Europe, but this hardly seems like great timing for it. I'm pretty sure people won't be so happily eager to talk to Americans again.

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We still want to hear from you, here in Europe! More than ever, in fact, to try to understand what's going on.
We have basically the same problem here in the UK - the divisive 50/50 split.
I would say that 90% of my many American friends are saying to me, "please believe me, Trump-followers are the minority..."

cbenoi1 said:

The hot spot this summer is - wait for it - Iceland.

-cb

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Oof.

Not that I dislike tourists, actually. They're interesting, and funny to watch. But there are so many of them these days, and our infrastructure isn't really designed for it. To name an example, there's a neologism for a mixture of feces and toilet paper left by the side of the country roads by tourists: They're called road flowers.

Also, so many people are turning available space into airbnb locations that apartment prices are skyrocketing and putting young people in a tight spot.

efreysson said:

Oof.

Not that I dislike tourists, actually. They're interesting, and funny to watch. But there are so many of them these days, and our infrastructure isn't really designed for it. To name an example, there's a neologism for a mixture of feces and toilet paper left by the side of the country roads by tourists: They're called road flowers.

Also, so many people are turning available space into airbnb locations that apartment prices are skyrocketing and putting young people in a tight spot.

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First of all, gross.

Second of all, the Airbnb thing isn’t only happening to Iceland. It’s happening in America also. I listened to an Adam Ruins Everything podcast about it. Here’s the Youtube video of the bit on his television show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGLe0Wgfbyk

efreysson said:

Oof.

Not that I dislike tourists, actually. They're interesting, and funny to watch. But there are so many of them these days, and our infrastructure isn't really designed for it. To name an example, there's a neologism for a mixture of feces and toilet paper left by the side of the country roads by tourists: They're called road flowers.

Also, so many people are turning available space into airbnb locations that apartment prices are skyrocketing and putting young people in a tight spot.

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I swear, over the course of the last year and a half or so I have seen scores of my Facebook friends posting vacation shots from Iceland. Probably between 10 and 20 friends.

It's so remarkably affordable, though. I have looked at a few packages myself. One was $600 CDN for 4 days...and it included airfare. You can't really beat that.

Ew to road flowers. We have road apples here in Canada's rural areas. Not left by humans, but by horses. (-;

Before anyone gets the idea that I'm living in the world's largest toilet, let me clarify that the road flowers (vegablóm, since I was asked to translate) aren't a constant sight. But they are a sign of what happens when almost two million people annually visit an infrastructure designed for 300.000 people.

As for the topic... well, I won't lie: The foul-mouthed pumpkin isn't doing you any favours. Nor are the constant horror stories of the TSA.

I believe Air Iceland offers very good deals from Europe and New York? I had an ex girlfriend going from London back to New York, and they apparently put her up at a hotel in Iceland for a day or two so she could see the place.

PastyAlien said:

It's always been common knowledge here in Canada that when you travel to Europe, you wear a maple-leaf pin or patch so people don't mistake you for an American {...}

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Seconded. Although I once had a cold reception in the UK. "You're from the colonies. Marvelous."

-cb

efreysson said:

Not that I dislike tourists, actually. They're interesting, and funny to watch. But there are so many of them these days, and our infrastructure isn't really designed for it.

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We were told to visit Iceland within the next two years before large hotels clutter the tourist spots.

Oh, we were told Iceland was "drone-friendly". Maybe you'd want to revise that before long.

-cb

PastyAlien said:

It's always been common knowledge here in Canada that when you travel to Europe, you wear a maple-leaf pin or patch so people don't mistake you for an American (but now maybe it's best to opt for a maple-leaf forehead tatt, just to be on the safe side). So, yeah, maybe try impersonating a Canadian. It's not that hard. Just apologize a lot. Sorry to all my American friends for your troubles.(<--see what I did there?)

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This has ALWAYS been my practice. I travel extensively, and on every piece of luggage, every backpack, every bag...CANADA. I have actually been treated poorly prior to people realizing I am Canadian. It's sad that this happens...I have traveled in groups WITH Americans who were absolutely lovely. A few bad apples spoil the perception. A few bad loud apples. Almost every time I've traveled with Americans, the experience was good. I've seen a couple instances of American outrage, though. It's a shame these people are who the host nations choose as representatives of the country. All the same, I wear my Canadian flags/patches/luggage tags/clothes prominently.

frimble3 said:

And, if you think that the 'Canadian' you're talking to is secretly an American - ask them to name any Prime Minister except the current one.

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Besides the vulture's hilarious reply -- you had a pm used to go around choking members of the public, in public! C'mon!

I have a nice west coast accent; I can talk about MR and kits, and Granville Island (the Okanagan cherries in the summer... ). I'd get you.. I would.

efreysson said:

To name an example, there's a neologism for a mixture of feces and toilet paper left by the side of the country roads by tourists: They're called road flowers.

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KTC said:

Ew to road flowers. We have road apples here in Canada's rural areas. Not left by humans, but by horses. (-;

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Ooh, I have one! Halifax used to dump raw sewage into the ocean. We were on vacation there, walking along the harbour, and I was all: Jeez, the stench here would knock a maggot off a gutwagon at twenty metres, and WTF are all these things floating in the water? They were used flushed condoms the locals called "whitefish."