These 7 phrases make you sound like ‘an obnoxious American’ touring overseas

I do know what it is wish to have thoughtless houseguests — the type the place you possibly can’t anticipate them to depart. I do not ever need to be that particular person when I’m abroad. 

I’ve been touring virtually so long as I’ve been alive. I’ve made it to all seven continents, 70 nations, and 47 U.S. states. Along the best way, I’ve realized how a lot what we are saying and the way we are saying it issues, particularly when navigating totally different cultures.

For instance, phrases like “conquer,” “explore,” and “discover” have colonial undertones that is probably not welcome in nations nonetheless recovering from the impacts of colonization. Calling a spot “unspoiled” can erase its indigenous historical past.

The last item I would like when I’m overseas is to be labeled an obnoxious American. As an expert traveler, I’ve realized via expertise one of the best ways to keep away from that’s by not saying issues that may come off as impolite, offensive, or ignorant.

Here are 7 phrases I’d by no means say that Americans touring overseas typically use: 

I can not inform you the variety of instances I’ve seen an American whip out their greenback payments at a international market solely to be met by a shopkeeper’s clean stare. The U.S. greenback is not the one foreign money on the earth. Acting like it’s — or demanding locals inform you how a lot one thing prices in {dollars} or “real money” — could make you look clueless and self-centered. 

Look up a rustic’s foreign money earlier than you go to, and use a foreign money conversion app to maintain monitor of your spending.

On one other journey to Mexico City, I did cease at Starbucks — the closest espresso store to my lodge and a spot the place I knew for positive I may get a chilly brew on a sizzling day. I bought a lot facet eye from my associates and so many questions on why I did not go for better coffee while supporting the local economy.

English is the most commonly spoken language on the earth, with an estimated 1.5 billion speakers across the globe. It’s an official or widely spoken language within the U.S., Canada, the U.Ok., Ireland, Malta, Singapore, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and several other Caribbean islands and African nations. 

It ought to by no means come as a shock to come across somebody who has impeccable English in a predominantly English-speaking nation. Yet, I’ve misplaced monitor of the variety of instances folks have mentioned that to me within the U.S. and shudder to listen to it when I’m touring. 

Calling a rustic — particularly one you are visiting — a “third-world” nation can come off as judgmental. Instead, I use “developing country,” a phrase that doesn’t carry the same connotations. It just doesn’t feel right to judge a place whose people I hope will welcome me. 

I was once invited to a tasting menu dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant not far from Paris. After the second or third course, an American at our table interrupted the meal to request a green salad like he normally eats at home. I’ve never seen such a mortified waiter, and I don’t think the chef ever complied with the request. 

Meena Thiruvengadam is a journey author and editorial marketing consultant at the moment primarily based in Chicago. She is the founding father of the journey website TravelwithMeena.com and a contributor to publications together with Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, The Wall Street Journal, and Lonely Planet. Meena beforehand labored as an editor for Yahoo Finance and as a head of viewers growth for Bloomberg and Business Insider. Find her on TikTok and Instagram. 

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