Canadians, Kiwis, Aussies and their flags

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 13:48:14 GMT, Miguel Cruz wrote:

Alan wrote:
Incidentally, very few of the Americans, when we travelled there last
March, were even aware we were in Iraq, but then most of them were
confused as to our location

The Americans you ran into in Iraq were with the government and probably
just being parsimonious with details. I'm sure they knew they were in iraq.

Okay, okay, I know. But the way you wrote it...

miguel

Okay, okay, fair enough, but then us Aussies don't talk proper, grammar
and syntax are for academics :-)

Hi Miguel. I did eventually go on that rtw odyssey, but I hang out on
the "home" ng nowadays. I may go again in a couple of years, and wander
back over to r.t.e.


Cheers, Alan
--

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 16:21:52 +0200, "Sjoerd"
wrote:


"Miguel Cruz" schreef in bericht
...
Alan wrote:
Incidentally, very few of the Americans, when we travelled there last
March, were even aware we were in Iraq, but then most of them were
confused as to our location

The Americans you ran into in Iraq were with the government and probably
just being parsimonious with details. I'm sure they knew they were in
iraq.

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".

Sjoerd


Um, Sjoerd, Miguel was attempting a little humour with my poor use of
written English. I didn't actually go to Iraq; nor am I ever likely to
in this lifetime.

And some soldiers, from all nations, can literally be frighteningly
intelligent. Military intelligence is not always a contradiction in
teems, just rarely used.


Cheers, Alan
--

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:47:44 +1000, Alan wrote:


And some soldiers, from all nations, can literally be frighteningly
intelligent.

Sure.
Military intelligence is not always a contradiction in
teems, just rarely used.

An entirely different thing. That there may be people in the milatary
that are not stupid does not necessarily imply that "military
intelligence" is not an oxymoron. (OK, I know, too many negatives... Oh
well.)

Latter refers to organizations, not people.

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.

As a general rule, Australians and Kiwis don't put flags on their
bags. Canadians, on the other hand...

Alan wrote:
Hi Miguel. I did eventually go on that rtw odyssey, but I hang out on
the "home" ng nowadays. I may go again in a couple of years, and wander
back over to r.t.e.

I'm busily shopping for a ticket to Australia (my weak justification for the
expense: Living in Asia I can't find any shoes my size so I need to go down
there to go shopping) so I may see you in r.t.a+nz soon enough... Glad you
survived the rtw in any case.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Aramis wrote:
- A trucker in the Netherlands turned around to pick me up after he saw the
flag on my backpack.

You think that driving by at 120 km/h he had marked you as an American?

- 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.

I have never had to empty my backpack crossing a border (except into the UK,
but they're special) when displaying my American passport - Canadians I have
been traveling 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!.

Sounds to me like the guy was an idiot. If someone was treating Canadians
that way I wouldn't drink with him.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

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.

FOAD troll...

120 km/h? Who hitchhikes on the side of a highway where traffic is passing
at 120 km/h? It was a ramp on a secondary, or tertiary road and he was
travelling, oh, maybe 30 km hr when he passed. Don't pick scenarios that
support your argument.

Simply claiming exactly the opposite of what my experiences have been proves
nothing -especially since you have shown your willingness to bend
information your way. I clearly stated these situations were not absolute

Clearly you have chip on your shoulder. I'm sure my Kiwi acquaintance would
share your aversion to drinking with him.



"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
...
Aramis wrote:
- A trucker in the Netherlands turned around to pick me up after he saw
the
flag on my backpack.

You think that driving by at 120 km/h he had marked you as an American?

- 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.

I have never had to empty my backpack crossing a border (except into the
UK,
but they're special) when displaying my American passport - Canadians I
have
been traveling 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!.

Sounds to me like the guy was an idiot. If someone was treating Canadians
that way I wouldn't drink with him.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
news
Alan wrote:
Hi Miguel. I did eventually go on that rtw odyssey, but I hang out on
the "home" ng nowadays. I may go again in a couple of years, and wander
back over to r.t.e.

I'm busily shopping for a ticket to Australia (my weak justification for
the
expense: Living in Asia I can't find any shoes my size so I need to go
down
there to go shopping) so I may see you in r.t.a+nz soon enough... Glad you
survived the rtw in any case.

http://www.redback.net.au/home.html
~$100 and up, very comfortable steel caps

http://www.rmwilliams.com.au/home.asp
~$250 and up

both good for the price
just remember OZ size 14 is US 15
;-)

(gman99) wrote in message ...
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.



We were on vacation in Paris a year ago. Around the time "French
Fries" became "Freedom Fries" in the States. We had dinner in a small
restaurant and the service was poor. I passed the waitress my credit
card and remarked to my wife I wouldn't be adding a tip.

Well it must have been the Maple Leaf on my CIBC Aerogold VISA Card
because the waitress came right back over and asked if we were
Canadian. I said yes and she apologised for the poor service and said
our meal was complementary.