You know, there have been times that I have been overseas that I have been embarrassed by some of my shipmates and fellow Americans. Mainly, it was because they were acting like total idiots by getting drunk and tearing up the town.
I remember one time in the late 90's, we had pulled into Thessaloniki Greece, I stopped into a roller blade shop to pick up some off road roller blades. The lady there said that she didn't have any in my size in the store we were at, but if I was willing to wait a bit, she could have some ran over from her other store. Well, while waiting, we started talking and I asked her where a good rock and roll bar was to go to. She thought a bit, grabbed one of her business cards and wrote some stuff on the back. She then told us to go to a place called the "Libido Bar" and to ask for a dude named Antonio and give him that card. Later that evening, we found the bar, found Antonio, gave him the card, and he said that he was going to take good care of us for the entire time we were there.
Well, that evening, some people from the AIRDET (air detachment, we deployed with 2 helos), went out, got drunk and went streaking through the city, as well as got into a fight with some locals. By the way, it was a group of dudes that had no women with them.
The next evening, NOBODY from the ship could get into any bars unless they had a female with them, because they figured that a guy would act less stupid if they had a woman with them. But, because Dave, Jeff and myself had an introduction from the roller blade shop, and we behaved, we had a place to go for the rest of the port visit.
People kept asking how we were able to stay out until 4:00 in the morning, and I said it was because we acted right and not like the "ugly American" that the AIRDET had demonstrated. Some of them, I took with me when I went to the bar, but I also told them they had to behave if they were with me because I didn't want to be embarrassed or have my privledges with the bar to go away (everyone that showed up to the bar with me never paid the 10.00 cover charge).
Yes, there have been times that I have been ashamed of my fellow Americans.