Tourists' truthful accounts of foreign countries

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have always wanted to know what tourists to my country really think of the place. I’m sick of hearing all the trite cliches about the “friendly” people and the great scenery. Every tourism department in the world claims their country has “friendly people” but it stands to reason that travellers will only ever be approached by outgoing citizens. How can a tourist logically assess if the friendly people they meet are a minority or majority of the total population?

Anyway, in a no-holds barred sort of way I would like to know the unpleasant (or pleasant) truths about New Zealand or any country anyone here has experience of.

2

I’ve never been to New Zealand, but fro the pictures I’ve seen, it looks like God’s own paradise.

I’ve been to four foreign countries. The best experience was England, which seemed to have the friendliest people. Every person I encountered was chatty, nice, helpful when me, the Poor American got lost, and utterly charming. I had a lovely time.

On the other hand, two trips to France convinced me that they were some of the least friendly people. Not everyone was rude, in fact I met some very nice people, that despite the language barrier, were friendly and pleasant. The majority, however, seemed standoffish and downright rude.

I am not an Ugly American. I deeply respect other cultures, and make an effort to be as polite as I can be, but in France, it seemed that my efforts were useless. I had always been of the opinion that people who reported that they were treated rudely consitantly in a certain country had been behaving in a manner to invite it, but having experienced it myself, I now feel differently.

3

I have to say that my own experience was, for the most part, much different from yours, Lissa. I spent 6 weeks in France this past summer, and couldn’t have had a better experience. You mentioned the language barrier - while observing some of the other students who went on the trip with me, that was the number-one factor in determining how well the French interacted with them. I speak pretty fluently, and only experienced some rudeness at a fondue restaurant in Montmartre, where the waiters cussed us out for being Americans and not knowing the fondues and fon-don’ts. Other than that, I got into a couple of sticky situations (losing a traveling companion at the Eiffel Tower and having to stand with a security guard for 2 hours, and getting somewhat accosted in a phone booth in Cannes), but I never got any of the “Sacre bleu, not another - ech - tourist” kind of looks or treatment. I also never got mistaken for an American, which was a bit odd. They always thought I was English, and the security guard at the Eiffel Tower said it was because of the way I spoke the language - Americans are “always” caught by their accent and how they mangle the language, according to him. As for the “standoffish and cold” persona of the French, it’s just a part of the culture, and it’s so much different from what they perceive to be the bubbly and overfriendly attitude of Americans that it comes across as rude sometimes. It was a bit difficult to get used to first, but I found that going with the flow worked a lot better than getting frustrated with it.

I also went to Italy, and it was great. Venice was more tourist-y than I imagined, but the shopkeepers and the innkeeper of our place were very nice. The restaurant waiters and waitresses, however, were kind of unfriendly. But again, June is high tourist season, and it’s a lot easier to deal with Italian-speaking customers than kids who are trying to read out of an Italian-English phrasebook. But the ice cream is awesome - yummy :slight_smile:

4

I remember reading an account written by a member of Monty Python about his trip to New Zealand in the 70s. He apparently went into a restaurant and asked for a 2 egg omelette. What he got was an omelette which had a filling of 2 fried eggs. As far as Monty Python were concerned that was an indelible mark of unsophistication. I don’t know how many people share his views but I’d rather hear about stuff like that than how wonderful everything is.

5

The only foreign country I’ve ever been to has been Canada, but there are these two international students at my school from New Zealand, and they’re both damn sexy. Seriously, two of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen in my life. So I can only assume the New Zealand is the sexiest country in the world.

6

Never been to New Zealand, although I’ve heard rumors that it really does exist.

My travels of any extended length have included:

  1. Finland - I lived in the city of Oulu for a year in the mid-1990s. I absolutely loved it, everything about it - well, except for the cold, dark winter - but going through it once was interesting. I found the people to be very accepting and friendly of me, even though I didn’t speak Finnish - and most of them seemed happy to be able to practice English with me (it’s actually how I met one of the people I dated while there). The older generation was a bit more reserved and less secure in their grasp of English, so they were a bit more stand-offish, but so long as I made an attempt at Finnish, gesticulated in some manner to communicate, and nodded when we seemed to agree on the meaning of something, everyone was happy. The worst thing about Finland was the beer - it was by and large watery pilseners done Budweiser style, or such was my experience. The best thing - sauna! I am now a sauna fanatic, and outlasted many a Finn in the their own national hobby!

  2. Great Britain - well, my wife is British so I’ve spent a lot of time there off and on. Haven’t spent time in London really aside from being a tourist - my wife is from a small village about 1 1/2 hours north of London, and the people there are friendly and genuine - especially down at the pub after a few pints. The village pub is something sorely lacking in American society. Additionally, I spent some time in Dunkeld, Scotland (home to Dougie MacLean, whom you’ve probably never heard of - a folk singer - I met him in a pub he owns in Dunkeld) - anyway, the people there seemed friendly as well, especially the owner of the B&B at which we stayed.

  3. Canada - only spent a few weeks there in my life, but I guess from my experience you could describe them the way Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall once did - American, but without a gun.

  4. Spain - it’s been 10 years, and I have good friends over there - so naturally, hanging out with friends of my friends I was welcomed and had a great stay. My only run-in was with the an a**hole who owned an arcade and thought we were lying about a game taking our money. I loved Grenada and Sevilla - Valencia was too big for my tastes - and I don’t recall much about Cordoba.

7

Cordoba is hot. That’s pretty much all you need to know. They call it “El Sartín de España,” which means “Spain’s frying pan.”

I’ve been all over Western Europe and a few other places (but never New Zealand), and I’ll gladly give you my take.

Western Europe excluding Spain, France and Great Britain - All very, very friendly people, across the board. The only rude person I encountered was an Italian guy who gave me the finger atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I still don’t know what his problem was.

Spain and Great Britain - The people here were exponentially friendlier than they were elsewhere in Europe, which is saying a lot, IMHO. Especially Spain: the Spaniards seemed proud of their homeland and were eager to welcome me to it.

France - Assholes. Every last one of them.

Japan - I spent several months here in the mid 90’s and got to make good friends with several people. I spent most of my time in a small city on the western coast, so my observations are obviously not true about the whole country. Here’s my assessment of the place, warts-and-all:

First of all, I was utterly astounded how technologically-backward the place could be. Yes, Japan was technologically-backward in a couple of ways. First and foremost was their system of heating: kerosene space heaters, everywhere. By golly by the time spring rolled around I felt that if I smelled kerosene one more time I was going to puke. It amazed me that the same nation that brought us the Playstation II has not embraced the concept of a furnace.

Secondly, these people smoked and smoked and then smoked some more. On buses, on trains, on the streets, in grocery stores, even while nursing children. People would light up right in front of no-smoking signs!

As most Americans do, I also found Japan to be horribly crowded. But I got used to it.

As for the people… I found them to be just like any other group of people. There were a bunch of warm and friendly people and there were a bunch of assholes. I suppose if a Japanese person came to America he/she would say the same thing.

My $.02.

8

…someone should ask Ogre about singing old Negro spirituals and field songs in a small pub called The Cock in Gamlingay, UK. :slight_smile:

…that was a strange thing to witness, to say the least.

9

In August 1991 my father and I took a trip to Australia. On the way, we took five planes, and the penultimate stop was in Auckland, NZ. We spent a few hours in the aiport there, waiting for our continuing flight to Melbourne.

I remember the NZ customs people spraying some dubious insecticide in the plane’s cabin before we deboarded the plane.

I also remember the customs people, again, not allowing me to pass through the customs control area and into New Zealand proper because I didn’t have a visa to visit, if only for ten seconds. (I wanted to get another cool stamp on my passport; seven years later, I was able to do this without a problem in Switzerland.)

That’s about it for my experiences in your country, G. Nome. I do remember being absolutely awestruck by the view coming into the airport though. I’d never seen that shade of green before. Beautiful land, indeed.

10

Montfort

they’ve stopped the idiotic spraying. I can’t remember the last time I went through it. I know I was dreading going through it with babies and I don’t think it happened.

I’m married to a Kiwi bloke, This Years’ Girl :D. Although this week I am seriously considering shipping him anywhere in the world…

I’ve lived in a fairly tourist intensive part of NZ and there certainly were times when I didn’t want to feature in yet another Japanese home video.

11

Gee…everywhere I travel the people are REAL friendly. Perhaps that is because I am a young blonde female? Seriously, here are my impressions

London-lots of flowers. People nice enough (except for our inkeeper, who was apparently concerned we were going to burn the place down)
France-Despite what people say, everyone in France was reall nice. When I first got off the train and went to figure out the subway system, someone looked at my apparant distress (I was trying to figure out the maps) and tried to explain things to me. He eventually bought me tickets (ends up I didn’t actually have enough money to get where I was going). I was there after JFK Jr.s crash and everyone talked about what a tragety it was and expressed sympathy. One man on the champs du mars even gave me a newspaper that had a story about. They wern’t snooty about language at all, as long as you spoke with a little humility and didn’t barge into places demanding things in English. Once again, this might have to do with my slightly attractive young woman status.
Spain- I met a lot of shady people in Spain. Our hostel keeper was kind of freaky and I didn’t feel confortable there. Spain was the only place where I got unwelcome attention from guys, for the most part. One guy even tried to grope me while pretending to help me when I was doubled over in stomach pain at a train station. When I yelled “no” at him he left. Later on we saw him going from girl to girl, trying to touch them. If it wasn’t so creepy it would have been funny.
Italy-Italy is heaven on earth. great food. beautiful art. Heavenly beauty. The people there were very very nice to me. They all seemed eager to help me through the language barriars and show me the beautiful parts of their country. I can’t wait to get back there.
Germany- bad place for a non-German speaking vegetarian.
Southern Mexico- The jungles and mayan ruins were amazeing, and the people were aimiable and willing to help. Some of the Indians were pretty aloof, understandable considering the poverty surrounding them and our American Tourist status. The food that we didn’t prepare ourselves was bland and terrible (speghetti topped with sour creme was one meal I choked down). I had a great time, but the economics kind of got me down.

12

All 48 mainland states…
England…
France…
Sweden…
Estonia…
Finland…
Germany…
Canada…
Mexico…
Japan…

Out of all those places, there were only two places where i felt that the majority of the people went out of their way to be rude to me…Japan and Indiana.

13

Friendly, friendly, friendly - I’m sick of it. I still contend that travellers and tourists cannot gauge the national character of a country because they primarily meet people in the service industry who are required to act in an extroverted and sociable manner. I wouldn’t expect to travel to America, for instance, and meet the Puerto Rican mafia, militia men or people of the southern gothic persuasion on a 10 day mini bus tour. I would rather do that than go to Disneyland though. In fact, the “alternative tourism” idea would be great for any country, including mine, if it doesn’t exist already. Instead of seeing nice scenery you could go to crack houses, and visit with the Bloods and Crips. In New Zealand you could go and see the AIF who are a militant Maori group with plans to engage the country in a civil war - or so they say. But thank you for your more interesting contributions. I have to admit: I like dishing dirt and reading dirt as it is dished.

Bad things about New Zealanders I would expect to be mentioned by honest people: They have no sense of sartorial style, they have filthy public toilets and pathetic little bungalow houses. I have to do everything myself.

14

Never been to NZ, but every Aussie I’ve ever met sure has some things to say…

15

that’s just because we are better at sport than they are :wink:

16

NZ? If you want to know why Buddists long for the extinguishment of the soul, spend a weekend in Palmeston North.

Mutton pies smell better than boiling mud, but it’s a close contest.

The locals are friendly by and large, but what struck me is the maniacal intensity (“untinsuty”) bubbling under the surface.

Wellington is a curious town. Charming yet apparently closed for much of the time, it is never quite able to live up to the terrifying death-ride that one experiences approaching the airport in a high wind.

I went there as kid (in the 70s) and was struck by how like the UK it was. The place has changed a great deal, though I was saddened on recent visits by how long a shadow Australia seems to cast over the place.

17

Well, it was great enough to steal my sister away from the U.S. She spent time in NZ on her way to do a couple seasons at McMurdo, Antarctica, and emigrated to NZ a mere 2 days ago. Apparently, according to her, it’s the greatest, most beautiful place in the world.

18

My sister also spent some time in NZ on her way to Antarctica, but she hated it. She said it reminded her of New Jersey :smiley:

19

Whirlwind trip to Germany. A friend worked for an airline and got me a buddy pass: round trip from BWI (USA) to Frankfurt Germany for $200. Rented a car, drove to Heidelburg, Toulon, Nice, Munich in six days.

After Heidelburg wanted to hit the beach. On the way to Nice stopped in Toulon for some fast food. Made the mistake of leaving a piece of luggage visible. Returned to a bashed out rear window of rented car, and a weeks worth of clean clothes gone.

Got a new car in Nice. Lounged around beach area all day, then drove to Munich. Left the car parked for three alcoholic days of tourism. German beer is liquid bread. Still treasure the photos I got. IMHO Germany’s great to visit and spend money.

Observations: in my experience, in Germany most people speak English, and welcome the opportunity to practice with a native speaker. The roads are well maintained, and there is discipline on the highways. All the cars on the interstate are late-model, and I was amazed at how just two or three lanes can move everybody unlike in the USA.

In France no one spoke to me except the police filling out the robbery report, and it took them an hour to free up the one officer who spoke broken English. I don’t expect to be catered to, but there are definitely places to spend time in Europe where you can get by on English alone, and France is not one of them. Highlights of French tour were following historic signage tracing the Roman Empire influence, and topless beaches. The yellow headlights on cars and aggressive driving on the interstate were turnoffs. I spent some money in France, but no one said ‘thanks’.

I know I might have had a better experience if I had bothered learning a foreign language. But I had a one week vacation and it didn’t make sense to me to study for six months just to speak bad French (had three years French in High School: didn’t do me a bit of good. “Ou et la biblioteque?” Yeah right.)

20

There are no science programmes on television in New Zealand, none at all. Sporting events are beginning to seem more like Nazi rallies - education is suffering. Immigrants quite often cannot get jobs and in a country of just 4 million people refugees are sometimes returned to their own countries. And why are there only 4 million people I hear you ask? Quite possibly because of the hidden laws of a clandestine anti-fertility cult which escaped to this isolated colonial outpost in the 19th Century. I mean what sort of people would come all this way on little rat-infested boats 150 years ago? What sort of psychological profile were they likely to have? A desperate need for privacy I would think.