Before coming to Florence, there were some generalizations I expected people from other countries to make about Americans-- we're fat, rich, really embarrass ourselves drinking while on vacation or studying abroad-- but some took me off-guard. So, some negative stereotypes of Americans:
We expect everyone to speak English. Several people of different nationalities have told me how lucky I am that English is my first language. The global nature of the language does make life easier while traveling and probably also in finding a job, but it also gives Americans an excuse to never need to learn other languages but still get around foreign places. One Brazilian guy approached two others and me in a bar in Brussels and, after trying to tell us that Brazilians were the ones to invent the first airplane, not the Americans, continued unsolicited into a story that began with a French phrase. He started to translate it, saying 'I know that since you're American you don't speak anything but English,' at which point I cut him off and left. I suppose I was especially sensitive since I'm a resident of the First in Flight state and he began by taking a shot at the credibility of our Wright Brothers, but his presumptuous statement does hit truth about the presumptuousness of Americans. Yes, English is the international language of business and yes, if you don't know the mother language of an area it's probably the best alternative, but especially for smaller countries who want to preserve their cultural identity and language, they appreciate when visitors respect them for hosting us and make a little effort.
American girls are easy. Probably heard this one before. Eleonora's husband, Stefano, was explaining to me that Italian men will go to this specific club in Florence because there are so many American girls, and he said 'it's weird talking to you about this since, you know..' but implied that we're easy. And there's truth to this for the same reasons that we can't handle our alcohol. American girls are especially carefree abroad, both with guys and with alcohol that propels less discretion with men. The American entertainment exported to different countries paint a slutty picture of American girls as well, making the Italian men even more forward than they quite naturally are.
We're flaky. Nil and other people I've met who did exchange programs in the U.S. said that some Americans were very friendly at first, but it was all talk. 'We should do something' was thrown around nonchalantly without any follow-through.
We're 'closed.' I've heard this many times from many people, some citing their experiences in the U.S., some experiences with American tourists. It's not a city versus town, home versus vacation trend. For example, Stefano spent time in Los Angeles, Nil in the more rural Minnesota, they've seen Americans out of their homeland as well. Both used the word 'closed' to describe us. They said that the Americans weren't interested in meeting foreigners, that we only want to spend time with other Americans. One theory of mine is that because the U.S. is possibly the largest area in which the majority of people speak the same language and in the same dialect that more or less everyone can understand, other languages are especially foreign for us. Americans are much more out of their comfort zones with people who speak foreign languages or even English with an accent than, for instance, the Europeans. Because we feel so out of place, we keep to ourselves, which backfires when we seem uninterested. I'm sure there are plenty of closed Americans who genuinely aren't interested in meeting people from other countries or cultures, but I've seen unintentional cold shoulders more than purposeful ones.
This isn't to say that all Europeans or foreigners don't like Americans. Plenty have said very nice things about us Murkins. In fact, probably more good than bad (to my face). Just interesting judgments that may or may not be running through the heads of non-Americans.
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