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50 Hilarious Times People Caught “American Tourists In The Wild” And Shared Their Experiences
Tourists tend to stand out, gawking at sights that are commonplace for locals, getting confused by public transportation, and pointing at things a lot. An annoyance or economic opportunity, you be the judge, but one constant is that American tourists stand head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to baffling actions and requests.
So one TikToker gathers all the stories her viewer's share of bizarre encounters with American tourists who often do not understand that being in a foreign country means things are done differently. Prepare to laugh and roll your eyes as you scroll through and be sure to upvote your favorites and comment your own experiences below.
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At the root of many of these bizarre encounters is the deep-seated belief in American exceptionalism. Whether directly or indirectly, many Americans do think their nation is different, set apart and this, over time, leads to a stunning degree of ignorance about the outside world. In some ways, they are right, the United States is a very, very unique place and one worth visiting for anyone who hasn’t been.
The idea that America is an exception, ironically, is not American in origin. In fact, it was the French aristocrat, diplomat, and political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville who first called it an “exceptional” place. The United States is very big, after all, encompassing multiple biomes, cultures, and religions, how could it not be special?
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And in many other ways, the US is an outlier, a republic founded in an age of monarchies, not an economic giant, and probably the largest melting pot of cultures, music, food, and style in the world. A person could travel around the United States and its territories and have a good variety of holidays, from nature excursions to world-class museums and a wonderful selection of food. Indeed, many Americans never even leave the country, let alone their home state.
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MontanaMariner 1 year ago
UK tourists in America doing this would have been shot. Very different worlds.
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The result could be a sort of “Americentrism,” which might be the driving factor behind many of these encounters. For example, the style of English writing more often than not now reflects how Americans might do it, leaving British English behind. Why wouldn’t things abroad be like “back home,” if everyone understands your English? This is deeply incorrect, but some people can be forgiven for thinking this way.
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foxgirl158 1 year ago
Genuine question from a super naive American teen here, what are people of color called in other countries? In America we use African American, Chinese American, and so on and so forth. I'm so sorry if this is offensive to anyone and I am not trying to be rude or racist, I just dont know and am genuinely curious
Despite the old phrase that “when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” certain tourists prefer to do things their way. Now, in their defense, the Americans in question may not actually know how the Romans do things. Living in a place and visiting a historic center while staying in a hotel is so vastly different that one could be forgiven for missing many of the intricacies. Similarly, unless one is from a more multilingual area, it’s easy to forget that there are lots of languages out there.
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RavenTheCat 1 year ago (edited)
Im American and i don't Join, i refuse to elaborate further to avoid being down voted for my opinion though . Edit: okay wow I did not expect your support like that o.o so the truth is i had a history teacher tell me the pledge is patriotic brainwash. Personally, and this is me personally i agreed 100%. Another reason i stopped, and ive heard they changed it but can't confirm. I am not Christian, im more a spiritualist and when id hear "one nation under god" it honestly insulted me. Not just to myself but to other religions out there. If we are a land of free belief thats not a good way to imply it in my opinion. Okay rants done thank you so much again i read so many of your comments ^^
Americentrism has all sorts of other “fun” effects, like US ad texts using terms like “everywhere” when just referring to the United States, or Americans using US name brands to refer to objects like calling a hot tub a Jacuzzi (which is a brand, not a generic name,) or chapstick, kleenex, and popsicles. This is more a result of a lack of alternatives and the ubiquity of marketing in US life than “ignorance.”
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Karen Clark 1 year ago
Hahahaha! Well that's just rude! They should know better.....we ask the sheep politely to please cough it up when it is properly cooked, of course.
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MontanaMariner 1 year ago
Fun fact: that tsunami changed the fish stick and fishing industry for years and years. Cheap, processed fish products used a whiting called Hake. It was largely caught between Australia and Indonesia, Phillipines, etc. until thousands of people were washed out to sea no one wanted to eat fish that fed on humans. I was a commercial fisherman in Alaska at the time. Pollock prices went through the roof. I also made a ton of money off the Japanese tsunami that destroyed their black cod fishery.
However, in the age of the internet and global media, it’s hard to excuse this level of ignorance. First and foremost, one can just Google anything, or if they have some more time, ask the internet through the multiple dedicated forums out there. The travel subreddit, r/Travel, is quite popular for this very reason. Similarly, “silly American tourists,” is such a popular subgenre of internet content that one would think they could learn something from it.
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MontanaMariner 1 year ago
Huh, Germany has higher standards for signage on their road systems than most countries. These idiots surely drove by dozens and dozens of speed limit signs
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Gay Waffle 1 year ago
Idi Amin claimed to be the king of Scotland, maybe these two are soulmates!
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David Wambold 1 year ago
Most Americans don't realize the English spoken abroad is largely English English not American English.
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never snarky 1 year ago
You should have asked the tourist why she quit school at such a young age that she didn't learn anything.
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Rose the Cook 1 year ago (edited)
Do Australians riding kangaroos have to give way to Norwegians on polar bears?
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StitchIsCuteAndFluffy 1 year ago
No, because English is the default language for the entire world, of course /s
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Aboredpanda 1 year ago (edited)
She should go to Tromsø, in Norway. There's a place called Åsgård there (Asgard). The most exciting thing in Åsgård is a Psychiatric hospital. (I'm sure she could even meet some gods there.)
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RabidChild 1 year ago
I would say just turn on the subtitles but that would require this person to have reading comprehension skills, so...
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Marzipanda 1 year ago
Sure, why not! One president for all of Latin America! Just like we have one Miss Universe and, uh, Elon Musk, future Governor of Mars.
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Jill Rhodry 1 year ago
I wonder if they ever found out that AccaDacca's an Australian band, and that the Youngs were born in Scotland - mind would've exploded!
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StumblingThroughLife 1 year ago (edited)
TBF, stupidity is found world-wide, lol. BP really seems to hate Americans (I'm a Brit, btw). We all have our 'village idiots'. ;)
tabithapaquette98 1 year ago
Yeah, it does seem that way. I have seen quite a few articles on dumb Americans but I have never seen one for any other country.
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Faith Hurst 1 year ago
Living in the US in a tourist invaded place I can tell you that people from everywhere are often on their worst behavior. On the upside, it has made me a very good tourist.
StumblingThroughLife 1 year ago (edited)
TBF, stupidity is found world-wide, lol. BP really seems to hate Americans (I'm a Brit, btw). We all have our 'village idiots'. ;)
tabithapaquette98 1 year ago
Yeah, it does seem that way. I have seen quite a few articles on dumb Americans but I have never seen one for any other country.
Load More Replies... Faith Hurst 1 year ago
Living in the US in a tourist invaded place I can tell you that people from everywhere are often on their worst behavior. On the upside, it has made me a very good tourist.
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