Kitty said:
I lived in Europe for several years off and on thanks to my rich uncle and every time I returned to the states I was shocked by the attitudes, gross behavior of the natives. It would take a few months to quit comparing the two places.
We are very arrogant and ignorant of the rest of the world. We are very intense, stressed, rude, and a lot of other not so nice things. Not that the Europeans are not
they are but in a different way! Because of my ignorance of languages and culture a lot went over my head.
Being a foreigner in a strange land gives you
status among the locals and your peers as well. When you return home your back to being .... average (sigh).
Kitty
True story: On Monday, we were stood in the security check queue at Sydney International Airport. After putting all our belongings onto the x-ray conveyor my wife and baby went through the metal detector with me immediately behind. All my personal "pocket" belongings (keys, cell phone, loose change and lighter) were placed in the individual plastic tray and sent down the conveyor. As we were recovering our belongings on the other side, the American woman behind me reached into the plastic tray holding
my personal belongings , removed
MY lighter, waved it in the face of the Australian Security Officer yelling "Is this allowed?". The Officer replied that it was. Not satisfied, the woman yelled again "Well it isn't allowed in the US?". Gracious and unruffled, the Aussie Security guy said, "You are not in the US Miss, please move along." Still determined, she grabbed my arm, waved my lighter in the air yelling, "You wouldn't get on a US aircraft with this you know."
I turned and said " Firstly, we are not in the US. Second, I am not flying on a US Airline and thirdly get your f*****g hands off my belongings."
The Aussie jumped in with, "He's correct on all three counts Miss, please go to your gate." The woman angrily grabbed her belongings and scurried off ranting at the "slack" and "inferior" standards and attitudes
THEY have "abroad".
Anyone care to guess how long a foreigner would stay out of custody if he tried this in the US?
Kitty said:
We are very arrogant and ignorant of the rest of the world. We are very intense, stressed, rude, and a lot of other not so nice things.
Yup, I think you just about hit the mark with that statement.
EDIT: On a brighter note, Australia is a fantastic country and the people, attitudes, lifestyle and weather are all superb.
