And not for being fatter than everyone else?
Except at a Beach resort the similar, where the native will wear shorts, etc. In other words- in the Rivera- shorts, etc but in Rome- no shorts.
Nah,it’s usually the clothing - loud plaids seem to predominate.
I’m glad I’m color-deaf.
I know some people do this but it’s dishonest. I have never claimed to be anything other than an American when directly asked in all my years travelling in China and Asia. Even when it was pretty unpopular (Belgrade embassy bombing).
Most people are polite most of the time, as long as you meet the local standards for politeness. If you introduce the subject of Irish history in Ireland, or Starmer in the UK, you will find they are far more irritated by local politics.
I’m in Rome right now. I visited Germany earlier this year. I was in Denmark last year, and as my flight was cancelled, i needed a lot of help from local personnel who knew i was American and whom i wasn’t paying.
I haven’t had any problems. Yes, they can look at me and see that my clothes (and especially my shoes – I’m wearing “athletic” shoes) are American. I only speak English, and speak it with a US accent.
Many of them are familiar with the idea that you can be stuck with a government you don’t like. At any rate, mostly, people have interacted with me as “me” and not as if i somehow represented the US government. I can’t guarantee that no American will ever run into problems for that. But when the Romans ask me “where are you from”, i name the largest city reasonably close to home, i don’t pretend to be from elsewhere. It’s been fine.
Also, pickpocketing is a problem in parts of Rome, but it’s not a huge problem. And so long as you don’t lose you phone or your passport, it’s not even a huge deal.
And make sure you don’t lose all of your credit cards.
I lost my cards two years ago in Barcelona. I’m pretty sure it was user error, i failed to zip the picket they were on, and they may even have fallen out on their own, although certainly it’s possible they had help.
I was with my husband, so it wasn’t a serious problem that i lost all my credit cards, we just used his. (And i had left the joint card at home. It was only my cards that were lost.) I put the card holder into my wallet on the way to dinner, and noticed it was missing as we walked back to the hotel, when i wanted to stop and buy something. I spent an hour or two cancelling stuff. The ones with apps were easy. I had a little trouble with my HSA debit card, and the driver’s licence required me to know the number. (Fortunately, Google photos searched my photos and found one of my license.) I didn’t end up losing anything, except i had trouble renting a car two weeks later, before my replacement driver’s license showed up. Fortunately, Avis had the technology to look online to verify that my paper temporary license was legit, and rented me a car after Hertz refused to. (The employee looked at my paperwork that says I’m licensed to drive passenger vehicles and decided that was only a passenger license, not a drivers license!) I had to file a claim with the credit card company to get back my prepayment to Hertz. They lost a long-term customer that day.
The hardest item to replace was the card holder, as the type i like isn’t common.
(I do remove most of my cards when i travel. No need to take the “frequent customer” card from the place i buy cat food, nor my library cards.)
Anyway, it was certainly annoying, but ultimately not that big a deal. Just don’t lose your phone or your passport.
I think the video was staged.
So not all of the credit cards were lost.
I had a friend lose all of his credit cards in Thailand and it was an inconvenience. He was traveling from one city to another and it a bit of a hassle getting replacements. A lot of places accept numbers but other places wanted the physical card.
These days, with more people having credit cards on their phones, it’s less of an issue than before, but I alway make sure that I keep one card separate from the others.
Losing a passport can actually be less of a problem than your phone, as long as you have backup documentation, and you are near a consul. I had to get an emergency passport in Taipei once and it took the afternoon to get it. (Long story, but now I know you need six month validity on your passport to get into certain countries.)
I once had my credit card compromised (someone had printed a fake one and was using it across the country) 18 hours before i departed for London. I was traveling with my impecunious young son, and at the time, it was my only add that worked internationally. To my astonishment, the credit card company (USAA) was able to issue me a temporary card with a credit limit of $5000 and overnighted it to my hotel in London.
I suspect they could do the same if you were pickpocketed overseas.
Probably, but you don’t lose anything by taking simple precautions.
Doing a few things can make your life much easier if something goes wrong, such as keeping a credit card separate from the others, having a picture of your passport online such as emailing it to yourself, and backing up your phone onto the cloud.
Sure, and you also should keep your valuables in front and not in a back pocket, and pay attention to your surroundings. I don’t use as much cash as i used to, but if i need to carry a lot of cash, i also keep spending money for today in my pocket and the rest in a money belt.
But i don’t worry especially about being pickpocketed. I’m much more anxious walking in places where there are muggers then in places where pickpocketing is common.
I suggested to my friends to carry a decoy wallet- a fake credit card (like those they send thru the mail, trying to get you to sign up) some business cards, and a decent amount of small bills. When you want to buy a water or some small item, whip out the decoy. My friend said it worked well in Egypt, even tho he was not pickpocketed, it was handy having small bills in a non-security pocket.
I certainly find it handy to keep a day or two of cash in a readily accessible pocket. I’ve never had that cash stolen, but if it were, it would be only a minor problem.
I travel a lot. If i lose $100 every twenty years to a pickpocket, that’s an acceptable tourist tax.
Many years ago, my parents were in Paris when my mother’s bag was stolen with her credit cards inside.
As soon as they discovered the theft, my father phoned his bank to put a stop on the cards (debit and credit). After reporting the theft to the local police station, they went for lunch. When they came to pay, he confidently offered his card, which was promptly declined.
The cards were separate but issued by the same bank, so stopping one stopped all. They had just enough cash to pay for their meal, but were now in a bind. It was Sunday, and French banks were closed and would remain closed on Monday, leaving them without access to cash or credit in one of Europe’s most expensive cities.
Fortunately, the hotel they were staying in was très sympathique and loaned them some cash and allowed credit at the bar until they could resolve the situation. The lesson is that you should have at least two cards from different organisations and keep them separate.
My husband and i have two copies of a credit card with the same number. Of course stopping one stops both. Were they actually different cards that just happened to be issued by the same bank?
t
Yes, that was the problem. After that, they took out a new card from a different bank and made sure it was kept separate from the other cards.
The other “lesson” might be to put some local currency in the hotel safe. They were better off than the average tourist. It was a mid-range hotel that offered a more personal touch, and my father spoke passable French. Even though the hotel staff would have been fluent in English, they always appreciate the effort, and the police may well have been a bigger problem.
These days we frequently stay in AirBNBish accommodations and when we do, that’s no longer an option.
But as you say, just having a separate card potentially saves a lot of hassle.
International travel has changed so much in the 40 some-odd years I’ve been doing it. It’s so much easier but there are possibilities of things going pear shaped.