ednkris
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Post by ednkris on Mar 6, 2020 10:46:48 GMT -5
I have travelled enough (especially lately) for me to say we have it good. There are some very beautiful places around Italy, country side in Ireland but i still think we have it best. Of course my travels were primarily business so i only had very limited exposure. I do find it ironic that people will think others have it so well but look at how many people who want to come here.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Mar 6, 2020 10:48:02 GMT -5
I have travelled enough (especially lately) for me to say we have it good. There are some very beautiful places around Italy, country side in Ireland but i still think we have it best. Of course my travels were primarily business so i only had very limited exposure. I do find it ironic that people will think others have it so well but look at how many people who want to come here. How many of those people are from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand?
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Mar 7, 2020 0:03:39 GMT -5
Makes me wonder what educated people in other countries think of us. We certainly have our share of uneducated, marginally employed/unemployed citizens, who live in poverty and squalor, a hand-to-mouth existence with little hope for their futures or the futures of their children. weltschmerz something I miss about living in the UP is that every night at 9 we'd watch Peter Mansbridge on The National and often get a glimpse of what Canadians thought about the US and our politics. It happened more than once that we had the *smug* smacked right out of us. It was also jarring to watch the news when I lived abroad. From time to time, I still watch Al Jazeera (shhhh!). I'll be seen as a heretic. I've been told the American tourist stereotype exists for a reason. My German boss did say to be fair tourists from his country are just as rude. You can tell which is which before anyone speaks by looking at the socks they wear. He said Americans tend to wear white socks and sandals. Germans wear black socks. No he does not wear sandals and socks. He answered that because he could see he set himself up for me to ask. Lol. Reading up on “ugly” tourists, Germans seem to be generally regarded in many countries as the worst. But, from my experience, Asian tourists are the rudest. They push others out of the way so they can get the best view at crowded tourist attractions, step in front of others trying to take pictures (and proceed to take the shot you have been working for 10 minutes to position yourself to take). Even trying to consider cultural differences, it can get to the point where it becomes a bit of a struggle to keep from beating hyper aggressive female Asian tour guides with their umbrellas. let’s face it, ugly tourists come in all stripes. I just hope that as we travel, we all demonstrate that we are class acts and represent ourselves and our homeland well. After all, isn’t one of the big reasons we travel is to learn about other people and other countries, not to act self-righteous and arrogant?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2020 8:24:31 GMT -5
I can still fake my way through the French I learned in HS and the German I learned in college. It's helped in many ways; first of all, I have empathy for people speaking English as a second (or third) language, especially Asians. I tried to learn Japanese. I gave up. It was pure memorization, unlike the European languages which have many words in common. It also means I can watch/listen to news podcasts in French and German and get a much wider view of the world. Even sticking to English, BBC documentaries are very enlightening. I know about the conditions in countries people are fleeing, and what people leave behind to emigrate, and the pressure on children of immigrants to succeed because of all their parents gave up.
There's more to the news than FaceBook memes.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 7, 2020 8:59:00 GMT -5
I've been told the American tourist stereotype exists for a reason. My German boss did say to be fair tourists from his country are just as rude. You can tell which is which before anyone speaks by looking at the socks they wear. He said Americans tend to wear white socks and sandals. Germans wear black socks. No he does not wear sandals and socks. He answered that because he could see he set himself up for me to ask. Lol. Reading up on “ugly” tourists, Germans seem to be generally regarded in many countries as the worst. But, from my experience, Asian tourists are the rudest. They push others out of the way so they can get the best view at crowded tourist attractions, step in front of others trying to take pictures (and proceed to take the shot you have been working for 10 minutes to position yourself to take). Even trying to consider cultural differences, it can get to the point where it becomes a bit of a struggle to keep from beating hyper aggressive female Asian tour guides with their umbrellas. let’s face it, ugly tourists come in all stripes. I just hope that as we travel, we all demonstrate that we are class acts and represent ourselves and our homeland well. After all, isn’t one of the big reasons we travel is to learn about other people and other countries, not to act self-righteous and arrogant? Japanese tourists are some of the worst I agree. Funniest story I have of them is at Boulder Falls. My mom had bad vertigo so was practically crawling back down the ridge when this huge crowd of Japanese tourists showed up and started taking her picture. To this day I'm in trouble because instead of helping I was laughing my ass off.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Mar 7, 2020 14:46:41 GMT -5
Well, I'm an immigrant and I can tell you it's not easy.
Why I came here? Like most people, financial circumstances and a very unclear future if I were to stay back home.
Would I have come here if I had other options? Honestly, no. I would prefer to live in the country where I was born or move to a different type of society; like Norway, Denmark, etc But the world does not have open borders and you can only move to places where you have a right to be. So this was it.
I have been a productive member of society, always holding a job, getting an education, paying taxes, never getting in any legal problems, etc.
I don't think I've been able to fully adapt, although I have tried and I would love to feel that I belong. I am very sociable and always try to make friends. I have never been able to go past the causal acquaintance stage with Americans. There are many cultural differences, I guess I come across as odd or different. This country doesn't feel like home to me and I will move back as soon as I can retire in 2027.
I've never felt openly discriminated but, at the same time, I didn't have that many opportunities and I had to claw my way to the middle class. My ethnic name may have held me back more than I would ever know but it's part of my identity and I would never give it up or change it.
Overall I have come to terms with being here but I'm really looking forward to moving back to where I came from.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Mar 7, 2020 17:23:43 GMT -5
I get real damn testy when I hear people make sweeping generalizations about other cultures and especially when they're made about places they haven't been, people they don't know, cultures they know nothing about. Assumptions about how people in other countries live.
I belong to another board, where most Americans assume Canada is a backward country with nothing but moose and maple syrup. Truth is, Montreal is the biggest Artificial Intelligence and Deep Hub Learning Center in all of North America. It hosts the largest concentration of academic researchers in all the world. We're more than maple syrup and hockey. I've had your maple syrup. It rocks! I would order more, but Canada Post is a little pricey. Seriously, your stuff is way better than ours; I bought a few tins of it when I was there and I am still kicking myself for not buying about a ton of it.
And I like Canada for other things. Nothing at all backward from what I saw. Very open, accepting people who also allow those known as pedestrians to actually walk across busy streets without honking at them.
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sesfw
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Post by sesfw on Mar 7, 2020 20:52:37 GMT -5
Ava ....... I'm so sorry this has been difficult for you.
I wish nothing but the best for you.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 8, 2020 8:39:17 GMT -5
My grandson will not be racist and I'm thankful for that. I am so glad we got our kids out of here. these people think anyone with a tan is lazy and illegal I guess. Fools that they are. You never know what your grandson will think. There are groups out there targeting young men, and getting them riled up about all kinds of things. They are being targeted using social media algorithms and pull them down into more extreme positions over time. It is frightening. My son has said some very weird crap recently. I am trying to figure out how to back off the damage.
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bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Mar 8, 2020 8:54:19 GMT -5
I lived in Germany for almost 8 years. I had the support of the US military so there were lots of things made 100 times easier for me to be there. But I do not understand folks in the US who want to be insistent that signs only be in English. It's really a matter of public safety, and there are lots of places with enough visitors or immigrants that speak a language where it helps everyone to do this. When people complain of banks and businesses offering a spanish language option, these places are just being smart. They gain or keep their spanish speaking customers this way.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Mar 8, 2020 12:06:27 GMT -5
I lived in Germany for almost 8 years. I had the support of the US military so there were lots of things made 100 times easier for me to be there. But I do not understand folks in the US who want to be insistent that signs only be in English. It's really a matter of public safety, and there are lots of places with enough visitors or immigrants that speak a language where it helps everyone to do this. When people complain of banks and businesses offering a spanish language option, these places are just being smart. They gain or keep their spanish speaking customers this way. THIS! We were just in Buenos Aires, and a few times hit up ATMs for cash that had no English translation. Neither TD nor I speak any Spanish, so it was a wild assed guess as to which buttons we needed to push. Luckily, we had access to 2 accounts and when he made too many attempts (we think he was asking for too much money), his card shut down. I figured that the ATM had a fairly low limit (only about $30 USD) and just did multiple transactions on mine. We were in Turkey last summer. The guest house we were staying at had a restaurant, but the menu had no English translation. My friends were out, it was just TD and I for dinner that night. We pointed at items on the menu and crossed our fingers!
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lurkyloo
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Post by lurkyloo on Mar 8, 2020 12:26:43 GMT -5
I often feel embarrassed to be an American, not superior. Especially with the country’s current leadership. Of course, I also tear up every time I talk to my kid about slavery, every damn time. (He’s on an American history kick right now, so between that and black history month it comes up more than you would think.) I lived in Germany for a year; oddly enough I speak German with a French accent. Some people still picked me out as a North American bc of my white socks I remember one guy asking me if I was French, saying no I was American, the he looked puzzled and asked „Canadian?“.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Mar 8, 2020 12:43:06 GMT -5
I often feel embarrassed to be an American, not superior. Especially with the country’s current leadership. Of course, I also tear up every time I talk to my kid about slavery, every damn time. (He’s on an American history kick right now, so between that and black history month it comes up more than you would think.) I lived in Germany for a year; oddly enough I speak German with a French accent. Some people still picked me out as a North American bc of my white socks I remember one guy asking me if I was French, saying no I was American, the he looked puzzled and asked „Canadian?“. I speak French with a Russian accent.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Mar 9, 2020 12:07:54 GMT -5
I get real damn testy when I hear people make sweeping generalizations about other cultures and especially when they're made about places they haven't been, people they don't know, cultures they know nothing about. Assumptions about how people in other countries live.
I belong to another board, where most Americans assume Canada is a backward country with nothing but moose and maple syrup. Truth is, Montreal is the biggest Artificial Intelligence and Deep Hub Learning Center in all of North America. It hosts the largest concentration of academic researchers in all the world. We're more than maple syrup and hockey. I've had your maple syrup. It rocks! I would order more, but Canada Post is a little pricey. Seriously, your stuff is way better than ours; I bought a few tins of it when I was there and I am still kicking myself for not buying about a ton of it.
And I like Canada for other things. Nothing at all backward from what I saw. Very open, accepting people who also allow those known as pedestrians to actually walk across busy streets without honking at them.
Speaking of maple syrup:
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 9, 2020 12:13:15 GMT -5
I lived in Germany for almost 8 years. I had the support of the US military so there were lots of things made 100 times easier for me to be there. But I do not understand folks in the US who want to be insistent that signs only be in English. It's really a matter of public safety, and there are lots of places with enough visitors or immigrants that speak a language where it helps everyone to do this. When people complain of banks and businesses offering a spanish language option, these places are just being smart. They gain or keep their spanish speaking customers this way. And...who cares. So a business spends their money maximizing their profit by offering a service that their customers are asking for. How is that not a Republican sanctioned principle? Do these people want to ADD a regulation that a business can pollute water but not speak to a whole group of customers? They want to add a rule that will cost them profit? No, they just want to be racist, xenophobic jerks.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Mar 10, 2020 19:17:22 GMT -5
Rant ahead. I get real damn testy when I hear people make sweeping generalizations about other cultures and especially when they're made about places they haven't been, people they don't know, cultures they know nothing about. Assumptions about how people in other countries live. Criticism of their ability or inability to speak English, to do things the "American way." Criticism of immigrants' English...what? Most of those immigrants speak their native tongue and speak English, too, some more fluently than others, but those immigrants are bi-lingual. Not all of us can say the same. And they're also brave. After all, they left hearth and home and came here, left their families and everything familiar to them. How many of us would do that, especially if we didn't speak the language or didn't speak it well and try to navigate the ins and outs of everyday life in the US? I did that once, moved to a foreign country. It was beyond hard. Beyond frustrating. Like being born full-grown without the ability to speak. And...I spoke the language. I get tired of so many Americans assuming that people in other countries all live in mud huts, have the morals of alley cats, and eat out of cans. Flame away. Speaking of sweeping generalizations. Hearing something like this is the exception, I can't remember the last time I heard something like what you're describing. You haven't been around my 84 year father. He has no filter and thinks he's funny. More than once I've had to apologize to people.
And I love the irony of how he complains about all the "Mexicans" are taking advantage of the system while he hired them to work in his yard.
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