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I used to live in Italy. The first thing other Americans in my group taught me was to automatically assume that anyone and everyone around you is trying to scam

I used to live in Italy. The first thing other Americans in my group taught me was to automatically assume that anyone and everyone around you is trying to scam or pickpocket you. Did some 11-year-old kid just get on the bus? Is he wearing a fluffy jacket? That little shit is gonna try to pickpocket you, guaranteed. He likely has a razor blade and will slice open the bottom of your backpack while people are jostling each other around on the bus. Have nothing in your pockets, keep your back to the wall, and hold your backpack in your hands in front of you. Did a well-dressed stranger smile and strike up a conversation? They're a Jehovah's Witness, and they're going to try to manipulate you into letting them come into your house and indoctrinate you. Don't acknowledge their existence. Don't smile back, don't make eye contact. Zero engagement. Is some friendly guy at the Trevi Fountain offer you a fun-looking squishy balloon? It's the cheapest possible thing you can imagine, and he's going to start demanding 50x the value of the thing once you were naive enough to actually grab it when he shoved it at you. Is there a transient woman in the train station with a young child lurching at you while shoving the kid into your arms? She's going to start screaming that you're a kidnapper and then demand 50 euros from you to make your new "problem" go away. Did the ticket checker claim that your bus ticket wasn't stamped correctly? Nothing a 20-euro "fine," paid in cash directly to the ticket-checker, won't fix. By the way, any and all of the above happened to an American in my group at one point or another -- sometimes several times -- in our years there.

robocat 4y ago
One weird trick: try not to appear American. American tourists are targeted because they tend to have valuables, also many cultures have a low opinion of the USA (anyone from the USA deserves behaviour X in response). I wish it weren’t like that, but it is hard to change stereotypes. When travelling I might make out I am a hippy traveller type (low value target), or act like I’m from another country (e.g. Spanish tourists are known to be tight/tacaño in Morocco), and I try to avoid carrying or wearing anything that makes me stand out as a target (bumbag, camera, expensive accessories, high value branded clothes). As a broad rule, you need to be most safety conscious in high density tourist areas. The only places I have been where I really knew I was unsafe were Rio (dangerous to locals too), and Nha Trang. In areas with very few tourists, I have usually been able to be fairly trusting, which leads to better experiences. Travelling as a hypersensitive victim is not fun: people sense your distrust and react poorly to it. I am a New Zealander, and we tend to have a reputation for friendliness, which I try to project and maintain our reputation. I have been obnoxiously drunk a few times when I have pretended to be Australian or American, sorry guys.
- andrew_ 4y ago
  You seem to have a real issue with Americans in general. It'd be just as wrong to say that all New Zealanders are mocked because of their accent, and they should try not to sound so silly. Do some people in other countries have beef with Americans? Sure, and I've run into plenty in Europe. But I've far and away run into more folks that simply don't care and are friendly, or are keen to talk about the U.S. Might be worth taking a hard look at your prejudice.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 4y ago
  >> One weird trick: try not to appear American. That would mean losing a hundred pounds. Easier said than done.

robocat 4y ago

One weird trick: try not to appear American. American tourists are targeted because they tend to have valuables, also many cultures have a low opinion of the USA (anyone from the USA deserves behaviour X in response). I wish it weren’t like that, but it is hard to change stereotypes. When travelling I might make out I am a hippy traveller type (low value target), or act like I’m from another country (e.g. Spanish tourists are known to be tight/tacaño in Morocco), and I try to avoid carrying or wearing anything that makes me stand out as a target (bumbag, camera, expensive accessories, high value branded clothes). As a broad rule, you need to be most safety conscious in high density tourist areas. The only places I have been where I really knew I was unsafe were Rio (dangerous to locals too), and Nha Trang. In areas with very few tourists, I have usually been able to be fairly trusting, which leads to better experiences. Travelling as a hypersensitive victim is not fun: people sense your distrust and react poorly to it. I am a New Zealander, and we tend to have a reputation for friendliness, which I try to project and maintain our reputation. I have been obnoxiously drunk a few times when I have pretended to be Australian or American, sorry guys.

andrew_ 4y ago
You seem to have a real issue with Americans in general. It'd be just as wrong to say that all New Zealanders are mocked because of their accent, and they should try not to sound so silly. Do some people in other countries have beef with Americans? Sure, and I've run into plenty in Europe. But I've far and away run into more folks that simply don't care and are friendly, or are keen to talk about the U.S. Might be worth taking a hard look at your prejudice.
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 4y ago
>> One weird trick: try not to appear American. That would mean losing a hundred pounds. Easier said than done.