My recent European trip
unsung
Posts: 9,487
I wanted to mention this because it was a topic of conversation recently for me at a pub in London. I flew there and caught the London and Berlin shows and then I also flew to Ukraine to do a tour of Chernobyl. While the trip itself was great the final flight home is why I am writing this because I was so flipping embarrassed on this flight. I'm also guessing it was nobody from this website so I guess consider this my rant.
On this flight from Dusseldorf yesterday I witnessed behavior that rivaled the behavior of the London crowd at Hyde part, however since I am not a Brit this one hit home. This plane was full of high school aged kids that to be blunt acted the fool. I've never witnessed such childish, immature behavior that so thoroughly caused myself to be ashamed. The comments made were simply the most idiotic things I've heard, things like jokes about peoples race, color, and religion. Then on approach to our final US destination, when a bit of turbulence caused the plane to shift a few times, there were screams from these young adults like they were on a roller coaster ride. One fat, open mouth breathing youth proclaimed, "uh huh we're all gonna die, huh huh." I finally had to turn around and remind him that he was a representative of the US and he should act like it. I don't think he got it.
So please remember while on any type of tour you should be ambassadors for your country. You are a representative.
I hope this one girl in particular made it safely home because she was so relieved the border agent would speak "American". Honey do us all a favor and don't travel anymore. There are those of us who have to clean up your mess when we travel abroad.
I should also mention these two groups that numbered about 15 people each had on two shirts, one group wore German Language Exchange shirts, the other wore Fulbright Scholar shirts. I would have thought them to be smarter than the average child.
On this flight from Dusseldorf yesterday I witnessed behavior that rivaled the behavior of the London crowd at Hyde part, however since I am not a Brit this one hit home. This plane was full of high school aged kids that to be blunt acted the fool. I've never witnessed such childish, immature behavior that so thoroughly caused myself to be ashamed. The comments made were simply the most idiotic things I've heard, things like jokes about peoples race, color, and religion. Then on approach to our final US destination, when a bit of turbulence caused the plane to shift a few times, there were screams from these young adults like they were on a roller coaster ride. One fat, open mouth breathing youth proclaimed, "uh huh we're all gonna die, huh huh." I finally had to turn around and remind him that he was a representative of the US and he should act like it. I don't think he got it.
So please remember while on any type of tour you should be ambassadors for your country. You are a representative.
I hope this one girl in particular made it safely home because she was so relieved the border agent would speak "American". Honey do us all a favor and don't travel anymore. There are those of us who have to clean up your mess when we travel abroad.
I should also mention these two groups that numbered about 15 people each had on two shirts, one group wore German Language Exchange shirts, the other wore Fulbright Scholar shirts. I would have thought them to be smarter than the average child.
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I know how you feel though, when I visited California a couple of years ago, the staff in the hostel I was staying in told me about a group of Irish people who had stayed there a couple of weeks before. Apparently, they were loud, abusive, constantly drunk off their tits, they wrecked their rooms etc etc etc. They were kicked out fairly sharpish, but I find myself apologising for these people who I had never met. Made me ashamed to be Irish.
Made me laugh out loud.
At least you had a cool trip, and I tip my hat to you for your Chernobyl-tour. I made mine a few years ago.
It is pretty cool to say I've been there, not too many have in the grand scheme of things. I was kind of hoping for some type of passport stamp but they don't do that.
Youth feed off of each other and act more like kids then. I wouldn't be so hard on them, individually many are probably pretty cool and if not yet they will be soon.
It doesn't matter what school or college they go to...that has chuff all to do with how much of a dickwad they're being...sometimes it's the kids from the strict expensive schools that behave the most like feral animals when left to roam free.
the other day my bf and i drove down to the seattle outlet malls ...when we were in line to buy some shoes the people in front of us (about the same age, in their early 20's) were asking where in Canada....was Guam? "I think its a territory" says the clerk.... and they were all serious!!
i'm losing hope for your youth!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeoX8MZd81E
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A guy I 'chatted' to in Belfast:
Me: Oh you're from the US! Where from?
US guy: Erm... America? :roll:
Me: LOL it's kind of a big place, where in the US?
US: Florida.
Me: So have you come over just for the PJ shows?
US: Yeah.
Me: So are you on the PJ interenet forum at all?
US: Whut? :problem:
Me: Do you post on the Pearl Jam forum? ie. would I know you?
US: Whut? :problem:
Me: Never mind, I was just asking if I would've known you from the internet.
US: I don't know what you're saying to me. :problem:
Me: OK nevermind. Great to meet you *tries to shimmy away quickly*
US: No, what's great is America... and you should learn that all Americans are great by default.
Me: :problem: You're a wanker. *leaves*
US mom talking to her daughter at the Topography of Terror in Berlin:
Daughter: What is that doggy wearing in that photo? *points to picture of SS guards with a rather angry dog in a muzzle*
Mom: That's called a muzzle. It's for nasty dogs.
Daughter: I've never seen one before.
Mom: That's because German dogs are nasty... American dogs aren't. The German people trained their dogs to attack Jews in the war. That doesn't happen in America.
Same Mom, but to her husband this time:
Mom: Why the hell do you feel the need to go into every fucking museum we see? Who really goes to Berlin and just looks at history?! It's so depressing, why do they feel the need to show all this?
I have no problem with America or it's citizens, but damn, it was my encounters with them that got etched in my memory the most.
... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
At least you probably never get, "Oh, you're from Vancouver? Do you know Justin?"
i would have knee'd him in the face. :thumbup:
I've had that from one of my wife's relatives from Brainerd, Minnesota... she asked me if i knew someone in Edinburgh simply because he had the same surname as me... instead of saying no politely i just told her that of course I did as everyone in Scotland with my surname meets up every 5th Sunday for haggis and golf days.
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“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7POJjKRzTh8