Author Topic: I had lunch with two Yanks today. :) (Read 4999 times)

Habu · « **Reply #45 on:** January 05, 2003, 11:59:26 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Mark Luper
Habu,
I am not rich, monetarialy that is, I also have just a little more than a high school education. I am a "blue-collar" worker in a large facility.

You would not recognize me for what I am because I do enjoy experiencing new things, new foods, different cultures.

If you base your knowledge about someone only on a select few person's habits then you will probably be wrong most of the time.

Now perhaps the fact that I did grow up in a culture other than Texan may have broadened my appreciation for other peoples, but one common vein I have seen in people from other countries is thier seeming readiness to try to demean Americans.

Mark not all blue collar types are ignorant and not all educated types are smart.

I also had the pleasure to live and work in Texas a few years ago (Midland and Odessa and Alice). I loved Texas, loved the food and loved the beer. I also loved the people (literally I had a girlfriend while in Odessa). The type of people I met there are not the types I am talking about. I am talking about the type who comes into a store in Canada and complains out loud to the staff that the items should be priced in American dollars because Canadian dollars are monopoly money (true story). Or the guy who goes to a pub in Scotland and refuses to taste any of the single malts there but orders a bottle of Jack Daniels and tells the locals "Now this is real booze". My test works with both of them.

These guys exist. And they are idiots. And unfortunately they give Americans a bad name.

Kelly[KGN] · « **Reply #46 on:** January 05, 2003, 12:05:49 PM »

Hi,

Habu, did the guy ordering Jack Daniels survive?

beet1e · « **Reply #47 on:** January 05, 2003, 01:05:15 PM »

Habu! Thank for joining this discussion. I read what you said twice, and you are quite right - I agree 100% with what you say. There are some smart Americans who are keen to discover new cultures. I know a guy from the Denver area who I used to work with, and he came over to Britain to work at the UK office. I organised a couple of foreign trips with him - to Antwerp, and to Amsterdam. He couldn't get enough of those places, and wanted to explore different kinds of food in different restaurants. He was also keen to visit various museums, including Amsterdam's famed Rijks Museum. On food, this was the guy who introduced ME to Lebanese Shoarmas!

Surprising though it may seem to kieran, I have many American friends, and that's because Habu is right - there really is a class of intelligent Americans. Well of course there is! It's unfortunate that some of the others are so insular. I used to know an American Air Force man (he was actually from Guam) who was stationed at USAF Upper Heyford near Oxford before it closed (peace dividend). And he knew guys (low ranking military types?) who served there for three years, and never set foot off that base.

I was incredulous about that. All the food was flown in, and everything was sold priced in US$. Some servicemen probably didn't even know that Britain had its own currency.

All of my American friends fall into the intelligent variety, and that's probably why none of the Americans I know owns a gun. I do not rub shoulders with blue collar workers and low ranking military types, so I can't comment on why they are so insular and uninterested/unaware of the world around them.

Quote

Or the guy who goes to a pub in Scotland and refuses to taste any of the single malts there but orders a bottle of Jack Daniels and tells the locals "Now this is real booze".

Classic example, Habu - exactly the kind of thing I had in mind.

As to the whining Yank from yesterday, she is highly intelligent and was educated at an English school in Oxford. I think she had been tired (west to east jetlag) and was having a bad hair day.

Will the low ranking military/blue collar types ever discover the world? Maybe they are too busy cleaning their collection of guns...

Toad · « **Reply #48 on:** January 05, 2003, 01:08:40 PM »

Gotta love the inflammatory jabs he slips in, don't ya?

Oh, Beeeeeeeeeeeetle..... you are so VERY clever!

Best read today, for sure.

Gunthr · « **Reply #49 on:** January 05, 2003, 01:39:22 PM »

I'm not impressed.

While you two are busy swooning over, and tinkling on each other, you forget the things that are really important about America. Shame on you.

Kieran · « **Reply #50 on:** January 05, 2003, 02:07:30 PM »

Yup, he sure does, Toad.

He also turned "I don't like to travel" into "I am not intelligent". He turned "I am not interested in your country's politics" into "I don't care about your pissant country". He is equating a desire to travel with intelligence. It's a very narrow-minded definition of culture, wouldn't you say?

As to Habu's point on traveling and eating, I can understand and respect that point of view. However I differ in a couple of ways:

1. I am unlikely to ever travel to Europe, and if ever only once. I would likely pick a few places to visit, and that's it. Germany and Italy have always interested me (more Germany than Italy). UK doesn't make the list, no offense intended.

2. I enjoy exactly the kind of experiences he speaks of here in America. No need to travel to Europe to get the same.

3. Food really isn't a big issue with me. I eat to live, period.

All that said, I wouldn't deprive anyone of enjoying their leisure time as they see fit.

Beetle, you have a seriously big chip on your shoulder, and you keep putting it back up there for people to knock off. Wonder why that is?

Airhead · « **Reply #51 on:** January 05, 2003, 02:26:47 PM »

That's it Beatle!!!! I've had quite a bit of you putting down American culture and American people!!

You have called me a fat assed ignorant redneck for the very last time!! I'd fly to London right now and kick your bellybutton but the airlines make me buy two seats... so I'm driving over instead! C'mon Lazs, we'll take your Elky and blow the doors off a few Brit taxis!

Toad · « **Reply #52 on:** January 05, 2003, 03:03:53 PM »

Whoever mentioned it before, he does remind me more and more of the old Flying Duck Sitting Swan persona.

Yeah, Kieran... I sorta got that "the only reason to travel is to eat different food" feeling out of Habu's post too. To each their own eh?

lord dolf vader · « **Reply #53 on:** January 05, 2003, 03:14:57 PM »

tex-mex is texas mexican food. really texan food.
completley different than mexican food. in existance before we joined the union so ,no not american food.

and Yankee is a insult here also. ( texas)

lord dolf vader · « **Reply #54 on:** January 05, 2003, 03:22:22 PM »

in our defense if you grew up on our burbon scotch ( what we call all other whiskey) tastes like a cold dog turd mixed up in a glass. upper class wannabes drink it here pretty much only. its fun watching um make faces drinking the stuff.

i tried and tried and it still tastes like utter crap. i mean indescribably bad. ill go aginst americans on many subjects but european whisky is CEEEEEERRAAAAAAPPP.

go get some Makers Mark (jack is for emergencys and export) you will be much happyer.

still shuddering to think of scotch.

Mark Luper · « **Reply #55 on:** January 05, 2003, 03:35:05 PM »

beetle,
Being a blue collar worker myself I find your views quite snobish, but that is certainly your perogative.

Actually what people do for a living never enters my mind until I find out if they are interesting enough to talk to anyway. Then I may take the step of trying to find out more about them. I don't really think I want to know anymore about you though...at least not at this time.

straffo · « **Reply #56 on:** January 05, 2003, 03:55:10 PM »

@Kieran : food is a part of the culture of a country.
German don't eat/drink like French ,Italian and so on ...

Why would you ignore this part of their culture it's a part of the experience when you are travelling (sometime an hard part ... especially in China

)

It's not likely that you will eat/drink like them in your own country (and local food is in general less expensive than exotic one

)

About the American in foreign country there is 2 styles :
uber-amazinhunk with Hawaian short + loud voices
and fine peoples but when you are a native you will often spot the bellybutton hole first ...

Kieran · « **Reply #57 on:** January 05, 2003, 04:42:00 PM »

Straffo, Habu, et al-

I think you guys are getting the completely wrong point out of what I am saying. I think it is silly to judge someone on the food they eat, the beer they drink, or the amount they travel. I might eat some Brats in Germany, I might not. In the end does it really matter?

I have this "friend" that does everything he can to live up to the personna of your typical wine commercial. You know, the elegant sophisitication of upper-class success, lying around in designer clothing with beautiful friends, taking token sips from half-filled wine glasses. Trouble is, he really isn't a very pleasant person at all, and tends to be harshly critical of everyone around him. He isn't any more sophisticated than those he holds in lower esteem. He's just another attention-seeking wannabe social climber. I finally had to can my friendship with this fellow, his utterly boorish behavior was beyond my ability to ignore. I feel the same way about anyone that drops names or otherwise displays contempt for others based on an elitist mentality.

Totally with you on loud tourists, but... I avoid loud people in general. I don't really care what country you are from. I'm with Mark. I look at the individual, not what class they are in.

funkedup · « **Reply #58 on:** January 05, 2003, 05:02:53 PM »

Kieran I can totally relate to that. I have known a lot of Eurosnob type people (Americans) who go blah blah blah about how this and that and the other is superior in Europe. They idealize the culture over there to the point that it is ridiculous. And sure enough I have found that most of them are the same kind of people who think all blue collar workers are stupid, all southerners are stupid, etc. Basically I have found a high correlation between Eurosnob Americans and amazinhunks/squeakes. I realized that if somebody like those (superficial, arrogant) people thinks it's so great over there, it's probably not so great at all.

Hence my travels have been limited to the US and Canada. Maybe if I run out things to do here I'll start blowing tons of change flying all over the world. But for now there's plenty of fun to be had over here.

I have met some great people from other countries online, and in my work and school, and I will travel to visit them. But to spend thousands of bucks just to go drink pretentious beers or eat raw fish and feel elite, no thanks.

Habu · « **Reply #59 on:** January 05, 2003, 05:22:12 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by funkedup
They idealize the culture over there to the point that it is ridiculous. And sure enough I have found that most of them are the same kind of people who think all blue collar workers are stupid, all southerners are stupid, etc. Basically I have found a high correlation between Eurosnob Americans and amazinhunks/squeakes. I realized that if somebody like those (superficial, arrogant) people thinks it's so great over there, it's probably not so great at all.

Hence my travels have been limited to the US and Canada. Maybe if I run out things to do here I'll start blowing tons of change flying all over the world. But for now there's plenty of fun to be had over here.

I have met some great people from other countries online, and in my work and school, and I will travel to visit them. But to spend thousands of bucks just to go drink pretentious beers or eat raw fish and feel elite, no thanks.

Actually the food and drink I am talking about it whatever the locals make and is good. Nothing snobby about it. In Indonesia I learned to like fresh seafood and spicy relishs (sambal) rice and tempe. Steaks in Indonesia are crap unless they are imported and then they are expensive. Thus I tended to avoid red meat. (Although the steak on the stone at the Hyatt Adriaduta in Jakarta was some of the best I have ever had and the Top Gun in Blok M had a pretty decent hamburger). In Texas I liked tex mex and Texas barbeque and Denny's and buritos for breakfast with 24 ounce coffees.

Imagine how much I would have impressed everyone in Texas when they picked me up for work early in the morning and we stopped at a truckstop type diner and I told my local friend "Eating beans for breakfast is something poor people do in where I am from" and "this Coffee tastes like toejam" (actually the local water tasted like toejam and once you learned who used bottled water to make coffee you made sure you went there).

It is all about realizing your culture and food and drink is different but not necessarly better or worse. You make enemies and piss them off when you start to tell them how your's is better, and the stupid American traveller does not realize this. He takes it as them being anti American when if fact they probably just hate him.