I have learned that I despise tour groups. Must they continually take up the middle of the road or the entire doorway or block the main attraction of a site at all angles? People tend to resort back to their sheep-like nature and inevitably follow blindly the neon flag raised in the air somewhere ahead of the crowd as the ringleader yammers on in Chinese, Russian, German, Turkish, what have you. They must “pull over” every three minutes to “re-group” and it takes forever before they can actually get somewhere. I know this because I have been a part of these maddening masses in previous excursions. Never again. I am one to avoid being in the way and prefer to power walk ahead and wander in and out of shops or museums. I want to get lost and discover the hidden treasures of a city.
I have also come to the realization that the American stereotype abroad is somewhat justified. American citizens believe that people in other countries hate tourists. Well, I don’t blame them. I have witnessed a number of tourists, first hand, who have gotten up-in-arms with shop keepers about some minute detail or some trivial matter. I have also witnessed blatant negligence when it comes to garbage; tossing to-go cups along the roadside or used tissues on a lawn. And in such a beautiful country! Why can’t they walk ten feet to a trashcan? It’s infuriating. Instead of humbling themselves to the service of their foreign hosts, Americans traveling in another country often seem to hold themselves to some god-like standard in which they have deemed themselves superior to the natives of that country. This is completely outrageous. No wonder Americans get such a bad rep. I don’t mean to hate on my own country, but it’s just ridiculous how ignorant people can be.
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