Frequent flyer smiles

I was commenting on one of the Appalachian Gun Trash's posts over at his site when I realized this ought to be a post in and of itself. Since I wrote it I don't guess it's stealing. And if it is, aren't I stealing from myself? And if I am...well, what if I am? I think I'm a decent enough fellow (bloke, to those of you across the pond) to overlook it. Once.

So Gunner, thanks for getting me started. Lord knows I can use all the help I can get. And say hi to Ashley Judd for me. She's hot.

This may or may not be embellished as I go along. My mind is revving but I don't know yet if it's actually in gear. Although by the length of this pre-ramble, I'm betting it is.

I live overseas and have for years. With the exception of a few (stress on few) German and French tourists, and one drunk Englishman (and I believe in his case it was more the Guiness Stout talking), I have had predominantly pleasant encounters in my travels.

Contrary to what many people would have you believe, my experience has been that being an American is most definately a plus. I get asked all the time if I'm American. I never hide it. I say yes and they usually respond with a smile. Now, I'm not loud and overbearing, I don't dress outlandishly, and the only reason people home in on my nationality is becuase of my accent. It's southern twang a little bit of coon ass thrown in for flavor.

People seem to want to have American friends. I don't know why, but I think it has a lot to do with us, for the most part, being more friendly and humble as a people than gets reported. We love to laugh and often have a self-deprieciating style of humor. We say please and we say thank you. Usually we mean it, and people pick up on that. Trust me, a smile is usually repaid with just as big a smile.

Also, we respect others more than we get credit for. Especially women. While we have our share of neandrethal wife beaters and trash talkers, the average American male has not grown up believing that a woman is inherently inferior, unworthy of education, and definately was disabused early on of any notion that she might be his property. That is not true everywhere else. I travel in a lot of male dominated societies and I tell you this...it's no mystery to me why an American man abroad has a fairly easy time of finding a girlfriend. They know we treat them nicer. We can't help it.

And we're a pretty inclusive people. After all, we are basically a nation made up of "others". My foreign born wife noticed it on her first trip stateside. She got her ideas of the US from TV. Americans are white or black. Occasionally, we're Hispanic, but not very often. I tried to tell her different but she had no experience other than TV and US tourists in Thailand (mostly young, mostly white, mostly back packers).

She was worried that everybody would stare or treat her different because she was Asian. Then she got to Florida and saw that NO ONE CARES about your nationality. Really. Her comment to me, once she realized why she felt comfortable here was that it seemed that everybody was different, which made everybody the same. (OK, that actually does make sense, you just gotta think about it.)

Want an example? Break down in anyplace other than downtown in a big city and ask for help. It'll come by the truckload. Maybe you haven't noticed it lately. But we're good people. I can't help it. I like me. And I like you, too.

OK, I'm off the soap box now.

Suslik, out
Travelin' Ed