I apparently do not exude american-ness.
Which I have to say is a good thing while travelling. I'm not sure why this is, but I have not really been correctly mistaken as an American traveller.
Case in point, the other day as I was walking through the park to the Louvre, I encountered some unwanted attention from a French person of the male genre. I didn't even make eye contact with this guy and he still cornered me and started speaking to me in french... of which I did not understand (it was probably the french verson of che bella)so I replied, no no. He replys..oh english, you are Dutch?.....
Dutch, granted I had just come from Holland, I don't personally think that I look Dutch, for one thing I am about a foot too short (even for some of the women)and I in no way have a Dutch/English accent. I thought this was odd. Later that evening some french guy automatically assumed I was an Aussie, in the Hostel I stayed at in Paris a CANADIAN dude thought I was an Aussie because I was reading a book by Bill Bryson and apparently he's seen many an Australian reading it. Go Figure.
In the Netherlands over New Years, Sander (my cousin Colleen's boyfriend Arjan's friend we were staying with)who is Dutch saw a picture of me, didn't recognise me and goes "hey that girl looks portugese".
In Portugal I was mistaken for Canadian, although that was probably because I was with 3 other Canadians and just kept my mouth shut when someone commented, "oh you're Canadian".
In Italy and Spain if I even tried to speak the language, no matter how bad I was, someone always assumed that I was completely fluent and prattled back to me at breakneck speed. Granted, I suppose my physical features could reasonably pass for any number of north-mediterranian type countries. The morrocans all assumed I was spanish.
I don't get it. Not that I'm the steriotypical American or anything, but lately I've had to TELL people I was from the US and not some other place. Which is bad when you are trying to dispell the americans are assholes rumors. But then again, I'm not going to complain too much.
cheers!
Case in point, the other day as I was walking through the park to the Louvre, I encountered some unwanted attention from a French person of the male genre. I didn't even make eye contact with this guy and he still cornered me and started speaking to me in french... of which I did not understand (it was probably the french verson of che bella)so I replied, no no. He replys..oh english, you are Dutch?.....
Dutch, granted I had just come from Holland, I don't personally think that I look Dutch, for one thing I am about a foot too short (even for some of the women)and I in no way have a Dutch/English accent. I thought this was odd. Later that evening some french guy automatically assumed I was an Aussie, in the Hostel I stayed at in Paris a CANADIAN dude thought I was an Aussie because I was reading a book by Bill Bryson and apparently he's seen many an Australian reading it. Go Figure.
In the Netherlands over New Years, Sander (my cousin Colleen's boyfriend Arjan's friend we were staying with)who is Dutch saw a picture of me, didn't recognise me and goes "hey that girl looks portugese".
In Portugal I was mistaken for Canadian, although that was probably because I was with 3 other Canadians and just kept my mouth shut when someone commented, "oh you're Canadian".
In Italy and Spain if I even tried to speak the language, no matter how bad I was, someone always assumed that I was completely fluent and prattled back to me at breakneck speed. Granted, I suppose my physical features could reasonably pass for any number of north-mediterranian type countries. The morrocans all assumed I was spanish.
I don't get it. Not that I'm the steriotypical American or anything, but lately I've had to TELL people I was from the US and not some other place. Which is bad when you are trying to dispell the americans are assholes rumors. But then again, I'm not going to complain too much.
cheers!
posted by laur @ 12:23 PM
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