If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
R.T.E. America-basher #2 checks in...
WTF is with your brainless knee-jerk obsession with top-post 'correction' BTW...? Tim K "David Horne" wrote in message news:1gg1s3w.1k2g9b51pcmnbzN%this_address_is_for_s ... [top-post fixed] Tim Kroesen wrote: "Sjoerd" wrote in message ... I am not so sure. These soldiers don't seem to be the most intelligent that America has to offer. It is probably more like "if this is Tuesday's war it must be Iraq". If it's any day of the week you can expect anti-American crap from Sjoerd too... Good grief then, what are you saying- that they _were_ the most intelligent America has to offer? David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.net usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
Tim Kroesen wrote:
R.T.E. America-basher #2 checks in... I'm not calling anyone an American-basher in this thread, but I'm certainly anything _but_. I lived there for 11 years and loved it. My partner not only agrees with every criticism I'd make about US policies etc., but is probably even more against them in some respects. He's a US citizen. I note you didn't answer the question. WTF is with your brainless knee-jerk obsession with top-post 'correction' BTW...? I had to physically move your post below his (as both were pertinent to my follow-up) for it to make any sense. Look, I'm not interested in teaching _you_ how to post properly when you play on usenet. Don't take my word for it- read up on the subject- but you're not going to win many admirers for posting the wrong way up. David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.net usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:19:40 +0000, Tim Kroesen wrote:
Then of course where the Two ladies at Keukenhof whom I ID'd as American Mennonites (Amish) via their garb; while everyone else there thought them local workers 'in costume'...g I don't think Amish and Mennonites are the same thing? BTW, how could you tell they were American? |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
I guess you could say I've interviewed a few Canadians on the topic - since
I am one, and I have travelled to Europe 11 times, 5 as a backpacker in my "youth" - ahem. Of course Europeans can tell and Aussie or Kiwi from a North American, but unless you have a pronounced Southern drawl, a Canadian will almost always be presumed to be an American at first glance. I'm quite good at sourcing accents but many of my friends and family can't source an Aussie from a Kiwi, forma South African, nor can they differentiate different UK accents, so I assume there are a number of Europeans who can't tell any North American accent from another. If population tends translate into travels Europeans will see 10 times as many Americans as Canadians. It is only natural to generalize based on those kinds of real life encounters. You can count a far greater number of truly generous encounters in Europe, as a Canadian, if the people you are interacting with know you are a Canadian. It's not absolute, nothing is, but I have had dozens of encounters where initial aloofness dissipated once the individual I was interacting with asked, or figured out that I was a Canadian. If you would like some examples; - A trucker in the Netherlands turned around to pick me up after he saw the flag on my backpack. - I have never had to answer a single question crossing a border when displaying my passport - American backpackers I have been travelling with had to empty their backpacks and were questioned privately on several occasions. It even extends beyond Europeans -once when I hooked up with some Kiwis in Ireland and was invited back to their London flat for a few days, one of their flat mates was particularly cold towards me. He wouldn't even look at, or speak to me as we piled in the VW to head to a pub the first night I was there. 10 minutes after we arrived at the pub one of the other folks asks me something about Canada and this distant guy gets a quizzical look on his face, comes over, has me confirm I am Canadian and then apologizes for his behaviour because he thought I was a Yank. After that we drank and snag for days - ah Europe and youth!. The fallout from American foreign policy and cultural myopia is a fact. It affects some people more than others, and may not at all dictate the way some people react to tourists. It is enough of a factor, overall to be noticed by those who are most likely to get mistaken for an American, eh? "Pete" wrote in message link.net... No, it's the distinction from the American thing. Really? Have you interviewed a significant number of them to verify your claim? Australians do not need a flag to separate themselves from Americans as their accent is quite different. Pete |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
Yoo doon't knoow woot yoor tooking aboot Mikey!
I don't get that distinction either; I hear canadians say "abowt" (as in "bow" to the Queen - heheh theres the Colonial in me coming out) and Americans "abawt" (as in baa baa black sheep, os something just a little less severe than that) "Mike O'sullivan" wrote in message ... "Pete" wrote in message link.net... Why do they insist on putting their flags onto their backpacks and I assure you that almost no European will be able to distinguish between the accents of Canadians & Americans. Lots of Canadians sound just like Midwestern Americans except for the occasional difference in "out" ("oot") as in "about." ?? That vowel sound is nothing like that! |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
Aramis wrote:
I guess you could say I've interviewed a few Canadians on the topic - since I am one, and I have travelled to Europe 11 times, 5 as a backpacker in my "youth" - ahem. Of course Europeans can tell and Aussie or Kiwi from a North American, but unless you have a pronounced Southern drawl, a Canadian will almost always be presumed to be an American at first glance. I'm quite good at sourcing accents but many of my friends and family can't source an Aussie from a Kiwi, forma South African, nor can they differentiate different UK accents, so I assume there are a number of Europeans who can't tell any North American accent from another. If population tends translate into travels Europeans will see 10 times as many Americans as Canadians. It is only natural to generalize based on those kinds of real life encounters. You can count a far greater number of truly generous encounters in Europe, as a Canadian, if the people you are interacting with know you are a Canadian. It's not absolute, nothing is, but I have had dozens of encounters where initial aloofness dissipated once the individual I was interacting with asked, or figured out that I was a Canadian. If you would like some examples; - A trucker in the Netherlands turned around to pick me up after he saw the flag on my backpack. - I have never had to answer a single question crossing a border when displaying my passport - American backpackers I have been travelling with had to empty their backpacks and were questioned privately on several occasions. It even extends beyond Europeans -once when I hooked up with some Kiwis in Ireland and was invited back to their London flat for a few days, one of their flat mates was particularly cold towards me. He wouldn't even look at, or speak to me as we piled in the VW to head to a pub the first night I was there. 10 minutes after we arrived at the pub one of the other folks asks me something about Canada and this distant guy gets a quizzical look on his face, comes over, has me confirm I am Canadian and then apologizes for his behaviour because he thought I was a Yank. After that we drank and snag for days - ah Europe and youth!. The fallout from American foreign policy and cultural myopia is a fact. It affects some people more than others, and may not at all dictate the way some people react to tourists. It is enough of a factor, overall to be noticed by those who are most likely to get mistaken for an American, eh? Well, my wife and I have traveled fairly extensively since 1959 (actually, she started as a bicycle leader for American Youth Hostels in Europe in 1954 (or was it '53?)). We have been in Europe a fair number of times, including during the past few years, as well as in Japan, Argentina, Jamaica, Russia, Mongolia, Viet Nam, Australia and New Zealand, just to name a few of our recent trips. We have never hidden our country of origin (although we tend to be mistaken for Canadians until we disabuse people of that idea -- nothing against Canadian, we love traveling in Canada too). And we have had many, many special things happen, and few if any negative ones. For example, we were in Japan last month, and took a day trip to a town (Mikawa, near Kanazawa) for a Shinto festival. I was invited to pull one of the floats for a couple of blocks, and then we were invited into someones house, where he was entertaining dozens of relatives, friends and associates. They even put on an impromptu tea ceremony for us, and tried to talk us into staying the night. We have been dragged to a governor's tea in Simla, invited into a home in Istafahan (pre revolution, admittedly), given brandy "on the house" in a small restaurant in France, and gotten all sorts of help in Oz and Kiwi-land, etc. I could go on, but I'm not sure that being from the States keeps you from having nice things happen. Cyril Alberga |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
Interesting thread. Being Canadian, there is only one place where I wore a
Canadian pin a nd that was Japan and I might wear one again when I go to China this fall. I do not like to advertise my nationality as I like to pretend I am one of the people. I have been asked directions in various languages from Flemish to Russian for various things which I find most amusing. It is important to me to speak at least a few words of the language where I go and hope I do not look to much like a tourist. If someone thought I was American I would say I was Canadian in the language of the place I was in. Wonder what that is in Chinese? I do not think you should advertise where you come from. I walked by this guy going to the train station in Cannes with a Columbia ( as in university shirt) and a USA cap and yes he did look very American. Yes I have been mistaken for American too. However even I find that after all this Iraq stuff that maybe it is time for myself to defend my neighbours to the south not the Bush government but the spirit of the American people as individuals. They are a great people but all of us in this world need to know that our values and institutions may just not work in other countries. Alas perhaps that is why Tim Hortons has not expanded to Peru :-) Happy travels to all and may we find ourselves in a more peaceful world some day. Joe Canuck "devil" wrote in message news On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 22:35:07 -0400, zzyyxx wrote: Why do they insist on putting their flags onto their backpacks and whatnot? I'm an American who's done quite a bit of traveling in Europe in the last couple years and haven't experienced any problems with people disliking or being rude to me. So why do they feel the need to proclaim that they're not American? Like you wouldn't be able to tell from their accents! It's kind of insulting to me too, because they don't want to be mistaken for an American, like there's something wrong with being American. Isn't there? :-) |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
Doors opened, all manner of consumables poured, etc for this American...
The only comments I heard on my nationality was heard several times; 'you speak such wonderful English' surprisingly was it; as compared to the heavy accent many English speaking Europeans find difficult to understand of those from England, Australia, Southern US, etc. People then became downright friendly and engaging whence they learned I was there for family history perusal. So clearly a Midwestern American with a 'European' (Dutch) name is as well regarded as his own attitude... Tim K "Cyril & Sandy Alberga" wrote in message ... Aramis wrote: I guess you could say I've interviewed a few Canadians on the topic - since I am one, and I have travelled to Europe 11 times, 5 as a backpacker in my "youth" - ahem. Of course Europeans can tell and Aussie or Kiwi from a North American, but unless you have a pronounced Southern drawl, a Canadian will almost always be presumed to be an American at first glance. I'm quite good at sourcing accents but many of my friends and family can't source an Aussie from a Kiwi, forma South African, nor can they differentiate different UK accents, so I assume there are a number of Europeans who can't tell any North American accent from another. If population tends translate into travels Europeans will see 10 times as many Americans as Canadians. It is only natural to generalize based on those kinds of real life encounters. You can count a far greater number of truly generous encounters in Europe, as a Canadian, if the people you are interacting with know you are a Canadian. It's not absolute, nothing is, but I have had dozens of encounters where initial aloofness dissipated once the individual I was interacting with asked, or figured out that I was a Canadian. If you would like some examples; - A trucker in the Netherlands turned around to pick me up after he saw the flag on my backpack. - I have never had to answer a single question crossing a border when displaying my passport - American backpackers I have been travelling with had to empty their backpacks and were questioned privately on several occasions. It even extends beyond Europeans -once when I hooked up with some Kiwis in Ireland and was invited back to their London flat for a few days, one of their flat mates was particularly cold towards me. He wouldn't even look at, or speak to me as we piled in the VW to head to a pub the first night I was there. 10 minutes after we arrived at the pub one of the other folks asks me something about Canada and this distant guy gets a quizzical look on his face, comes over, has me confirm I am Canadian and then apologizes for his behaviour because he thought I was a Yank. After that we drank and snag for days - ah Europe and youth!. The fallout from American foreign policy and cultural myopia is a fact. It affects some people more than others, and may not at all dictate the way some people react to tourists. It is enough of a factor, overall to be noticed by those who are most likely to get mistaken for an American, eh? Well, my wife and I have traveled fairly extensively since 1959 (actually, she started as a bicycle leader for American Youth Hostels in Europe in 1954 (or was it '53?)). We have been in Europe a fair number of times, including during the past few years, as well as in Japan, Argentina, Jamaica, Russia, Mongolia, Viet Nam, Australia and New Zealand, just to name a few of our recent trips. We have never hidden our country of origin (although we tend to be mistaken for Canadians until we disabuse people of that idea -- nothing against Canadian, we love traveling in Canada too). And we have had many, many special things happen, and few if any negative ones. For example, we were in Japan last month, and took a day trip to a town (Mikawa, near Kanazawa) for a Shinto festival. I was invited to pull one of the floats for a couple of blocks, and then we were invited into someones house, where he was entertaining dozens of relatives, friends and associates. They even put on an impromptu tea ceremony for us, and tried to talk us into staying the night. We have been dragged to a governor's tea in Simla, invited into a home in Istafahan (pre revolution, admittedly), given brandy "on the house" in a small restaurant in France, and gotten all sorts of help in Oz and Kiwi-land, etc. I could go on, but I'm not sure that being from the States keeps you from having nice things happen. Cyril Alberga |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
I post on Usenet for "admirers"...? g
Appears I got a dedicated one...G Tim K "David Horne" wrote in message news:1gg1syv.5il1joao8h5sN%this_address_is_for_spa ... Tim Kroesen wrote: R.T.E. America-basher #2 checks in... I'm not calling anyone an American-basher in this thread, but I'm certainly anything _but_. I lived there for 11 years and loved it. My partner not only agrees with every criticism I'd make about US policies etc., but is probably even more against them in some respects. He's a US citizen. I note you didn't answer the question. WTF is with your brainless knee-jerk obsession with top-post 'correction' BTW...? I had to physically move your post below his (as both were pertinent to my follow-up) for it to make any sense. Look, I'm not interested in teaching _you_ how to post properly when you play on usenet. Don't take my word for it- read up on the subject- but you're not going to win many admirers for posting the wrong way up. David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.net usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags
Funny; the guy in the Chicago Bulls sweatshirt I approached to asked
directions of in Roma was actually a native that spoke no English... He lit right up when I said 'Cleveland, Ohio USA' though, responding with ' Ohh, Labron James!'...g Tim K "Ian Phillips" wrote in message news:lsDDc.875855$Pk3.482899@pd7tw1no... Interesting thread. Being Canadian, there is only one place where I wore a Canadian pin a nd that was Japan and I might wear one again when I go to China this fall. I do not like to advertise my nationality as I like to pretend I am one of the people. I have been asked directions in various languages from Flemish to Russian for various things which I find most amusing. It is important to me to speak at least a few words of the language where I go and hope I do not look to much like a tourist. If someone thought I was American I would say I was Canadian in the language of the place I was in. Wonder what that is in Chinese? I do not think you should advertise where you come from. I walked by this guy going to the train station in Cannes with a Columbia ( as in university shirt) and a USA cap and yes he did look very American. Yes I have been mistaken for American too. However even I find that after all this Iraq stuff that maybe it is time for myself to defend my neighbours to the south not the Bush government but the spirit of the American people as individuals. They are a great people but all of us in this world need to know that our values and institutions may just not work in other countries. Alas perhaps that is why Tim Hortons has not expanded to Peru :-) Happy travels to all and may we find ourselves in a more peaceful world some day. Joe Canuck "devil" wrote in message news On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 22:35:07 -0400, zzyyxx wrote: Why do they insist on putting their flags onto their backpacks and whatnot? I'm an American who's done quite a bit of traveling in Europe in the last couple years and haven't experienced any problems with people disliking or being rude to me. So why do they feel the need to proclaim that they're not American? Like you wouldn't be able to tell from their accents! It's kind of insulting to me too, because they don't want to be mistaken for an American, like there's something wrong with being American. Isn't there? :-) |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|