How you act when living abroad

[hipeter924]

I find that when I am traveling in America I act like a New Zealander, and am quite proud to show it; that means using NZ phrases and euphemisms and behavior; which can cause problems sometimes, they can't tell me apart from the British or what I am talking about it. I always get the question, 'are you from London?' or 'Are you Australian?'

Whereas when I am in New Zealand I find myself acting quite American (and thus aloof and even foreign acting and looking), and being rather snide about some things i.e. the tiny NZ military and some rather silly foreign policy positions NZ'ers hold.

I guess when I am in New Zealand I miss America, and when I am in America I miss New Zealand.

If any of you live/travel outside of America, do you find that you act more patriotic when you are outside the country; and more constrained when you are in it?

 

[Mr. H.]

You are totally fucked up.

 

[tinydancer]

I find that when I am traveling in America I act like a New Zealander, and am quite proud to show it; that means using NZ phrases and euphemisms and behavior; which can cause problems sometimes, they can't tell me apart from the British or what I am talking about it. I always get the question, 'are you from London?' or 'Are you Australian?'

Whereas when I am in New Zealand I find myself acting quite American (and thus aloof and even foreign acting and looking), and being rather snide about some things i.e. the tiny NZ military and some rather silly foreign policy positions NZ'ers hold.

I guess when I am in New Zealand I miss America, and when I am in America I miss New Zealand.

If any of you live/travel outside of America, do you find that you act more patriotic when you are outside the country; and more constrained when you are in it?

Which way do you want it? I've seen life at 5 stars. Or do you want the life from rocking at CBGB's.

I've done both lives so you have to be more specific.

 

[Douger]

You are totally fucked up.

I agree. Who the hell would go from New Zealand TO murka

 

[Saigon]

I think most of us only come to understand out country when we leave it for an extended period of time.

Spend a year living in another country, culture and speaking another language, and you start to see your own culture with frsh eyes. It's an experience most people never have, because they never spend enough time away from their own country to really experience it anew.

It's a bit like dating someone for a year, and then being apart from them for 6 months - the person and the relationship look very different. But often what we create is a romanticised view of the person or place that then all crashes down when we come home.

Either way, when the ABs are winning and the surf is up at Hot Water Beach, it has got to be the best place on earth to be.

 

[eots]

You are totally fucked up.

It would appear so..

 

[NoNukes]

I find myself quickly defending America when people give knee jerk criticisms of the United States without really thinking about what they are saying.

 

[B. Kidd]

The 'Ugly New Zealander'.

 

[Harry Dresden]

You are totally fucked up.

I agree. Who the hell would go from New Zealand TO murka

coming from a guy who fled the 1st world for the 3rd world because...."the Muslims are coming"..........your something else Gordo.....where you going to run to next when something happens down there?.......Hugo collects Ca-Ca....maybe you can go there....

 

[ABikerSailor]

I find that when I am traveling in America I act like a New Zealander, and am quite proud to show it; that means using NZ phrases and euphemisms and behavior; which can cause problems sometimes, they can't tell me apart from the British or what I am talking about it. I always get the question, 'are you from London?' or 'Are you Australian?'

Whereas when I am in New Zealand I find myself acting quite American (and thus aloof and even foreign acting and looking), and being rather snide about some things i.e. the tiny NZ military and some rather silly foreign policy positions NZ'ers hold.

I guess when I am in New Zealand I miss America, and when I am in America I miss New Zealand.

If any of you live/travel outside of America, do you find that you act more patriotic when you are outside the country; and more constrained when you are in it?

I spent 20 years in the Navy and traveled to 26 different countries, probably 8 years of my career was spent cruising overseas. So, there are my credentials.

Am I more patriotic in America or outside of it? Probably more patriotic while in America, because it's easier to discuss politics with people who are affected by it, which means fellow Americans. I also fly my American flag on holidays, as well as wear red white and blue patriot clothing while running around town.

Outside of the US? I tried to keep a low profile because of several things. Number one, I was a U.S. Navy Sailor, and if it was made obvious, I could open myself to all sorts of nasty encounters (I went overseas in 1983 for the first time, and during those 4 years is when a lot of countries were unhappy with America as reflected by USO bombings), and number two, because I might never get a chance to see or travel to those countries again, I was interested in finding out as much as I could about the place I was at, and meeting the locals, and having lots of fun learning how they lived.

If I took the attitude of the Ugly American and acted like I was better than them, I would have missed out on a lot.

 

[Douger]

I find that when I am traveling in America I act like a New Zealander, and am quite proud to show it; that means using NZ phrases and euphemisms and behavior; which can cause problems sometimes, they can't tell me apart from the British or what I am talking about it. I always get the question, 'are you from London?' or 'Are you Australian?'

Whereas when I am in New Zealand I find myself acting quite American (and thus aloof and even foreign acting and looking), and being rather snide about some things i.e. the tiny NZ military and some rather silly foreign policy positions NZ'ers hold.

I guess when I am in New Zealand I miss America, and when I am in America I miss New Zealand.

If any of you live/travel outside of America, do you find that you act more patriotic when you are outside the country; and more constrained when you are in it?

I spent 20 years in the Navy and traveled to 26 different countries, probably 8 years of my career was spent cruising overseas. So, there are my credentials.

Am I more patriotic in America or outside of it? Probably more patriotic while in America, because it's easier to discuss politics with people who are affected by it, which means fellow Americans. I also fly my American flag on holidays, as well as wear red white and blue patriot clothing while running around town.

Outside of the US? I tried to keep a low profile because of several things. Number one, I was a U.S. Navy Sailor, and if it was made obvious, I could open myself to all sorts of nasty encounters (I went overseas in 1983 for the first time, and during those 4 years is when a lot of countries were unhappy with America as reflected by USO bombings), and number two, because I might never get a chance to see or travel to those countries again, I was interested in finding out as much as I could about the place I was at, and meeting the locals, and having lots of fun learning how they lived.

If I took the attitude of the Ugly American and acted like I was better than them, I would have missed out on a lot.

FUCK.....................rep.

 

[Mr.Nick]

You are totally fucked up.

I agree. Who the hell would go from New Zealand TO murka

coming from a guy who fled the 1st world for the 3rd world because...."the Muslims are coming"..........your something else Gordo.....where you going to run to next when something happens down there?.......Hugo collects Ca-Ca....maybe you can go there....

Go get fucked by Lenins corpse..

 

[Harry Dresden]

I agree. Who the hell would go from New Zealand TO murka

coming from a guy who fled the 1st world for the 3rd world because...."the Muslims are coming"..........your something else Gordo.....where you going to run to next when something happens down there?.......Hugo collects Ca-Ca....maybe you can go there....

Go get fucked by Lenins corpse..

i will.....when you get through fucking it.....so save me a little....

 

[Si modo]

I find that when I am traveling in America I act like a New Zealander, and am quite proud to show it; that means using NZ phrases and euphemisms and behavior; which can cause problems sometimes, they can't tell me apart from the British or what I am talking about it. I always get the question, 'are you from London?' or 'Are you Australian?'

Whereas when I am in New Zealand I find myself acting quite American (and thus aloof and even foreign acting and looking), and being rather snide about some things i.e. the tiny NZ military and some rather silly foreign policy positions NZ'ers hold.

I guess when I am in New Zealand I miss America, and when I am in America I miss New Zealand.

If any of you live/travel outside of America, do you find that you act more patriotic when you are outside the country; and more constrained when you are in it?

I used to work and live in France. My patriotism was the same irrespective of where I live.

I've also lived all over the USA and find no region better than any other, too. I appreciate my locale when there but don't denigrate others to pump up any region. If I had any different attitude, I would not have gotten as much out of each place I have lived.

 

[Swagger]

I've lived in Jordan, Turkey and the UAE while working for big civil engineering firms. But I lived in a gated compound patrolled by armed guards. So apart from the local labourers, I had little extended contact with the locals. But I was paid much more than I would've earned in the UK, and wasn't paying any tax on it, whatsoever. So, on account of that, I could well afford to act like I owned the place. Except I didn't. Though all you had to do to keep out of trouble in the likes of Jordan and the Emirates is don't piss off the local police. Don't desecrate any landmarks by pissing on them. And, last but not least, don't shag the Russian prostitutes in plain view that flock to contractors' accomodation compounds like locusts.

When I'm travelling abroad in countries that speak romance languages, I make an effort to look down my nose at everyone I encounter. This is primarily in retaliation to the outright antagonism shown towards foreigners by the locals, for little or no reason. On the other hand, I afford the locals in Germanic and English speaking countries I'm visiting with much more respect, for patently obvious reasons i.e - they know how to queue.

 

[Unkotare]

I find that when I am traveling in America I act like a New Zealander, and am quite proud to show it; that means using NZ phrases and euphemisms and behavior; which can cause problems sometimes, they can't tell me apart from the British or what I am talking about it. I always get the question, 'are you from London?' or 'Are you Australian?'

Whereas when I am in New Zealand I find myself acting quite American (and thus aloof and even foreign acting and looking), and being rather snide about some things i.e. the tiny NZ military and some rather silly foreign policy positions NZ'ers hold.

I guess when I am in New Zealand I miss America, and when I am in America I miss New Zealand.

If any of you live/travel outside of America, do you find that you act more patriotic when you are outside the country; and more constrained when you are in it?

If you feel the need to act differently in either setting then you have issues in both.

 

[Unkotare]

I think most of us only come to understand our country when we leave it for an extended period of time. .

If that is the case then you didn't understand in either case.

 

[Saigon]

I think most of us only come to understand our country when we leave it for an extended period of time. .

If that is the case then you didn't understand in either case.

Would you like to try that again in English?

 

[Unkotare]

If you "only come to understand" your country when you "leave it for an extended period of time," then you probably didn't understand it when you were there or when you were gone.

 

[Politico]

New Zealand has a military?