Do Locals Laugh at American Tourists?

Will People of Other Nations Joke About You as an American Traveler?

One of the biggest misconceptions about traveling as an American is that people of other nations will quietly snicker when they see you and laugh at how “gauche” you seem with your loud voice, constantly smiling face, and complete disregard for culture, history, and tact.

As an American, I fully embrace the culture within which I was raised, but despite the foolish reputation Americans have built with other countries over the past century, I’ve interacted with very few people who have treated me poorly because of a previous opinion they had about people from the United States.

Now, it’s completely true that I smile all the time, and it’s also true that I’m absolutely as enthusiastic and excited to learn about everything I can whenever I travel. I do give off a huge American vibe most of the time. However, that’s not to say I haven’t been mistaken as a citizen of another nation.

When I traveled to Iceland, I had a few folks come up to me and launch into a conversation in Icelandic, which is the coolest-sounding language, but not one in which I’m fluent. I was also mistaken for someone who didn’t speak English when I traveled to England (of all places), which was amusing to me, if only because a few of my close ancestors came from the Manchester area.

But despite a few mistakes on my identity, I can categorically state that I’ve never ever been treated poorly because of my nationality, and I’ve never had a bad experience due to being an American. Let me share with you some of the experiences I’ve had that I might not have if I hadn’t been from the United States.

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Visiting Vietnam and Coming to Terms with a Difficult History

I got to visit Vietnam in 2023, and it was, by far, one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. The moment I have another chance, I’m going to go back, and I want to explore so much more of the country. I loved every second I spent in Vietnam and felt quite at ease throughout my entire stay. The people were amazingly polite (I think that’s a normal cultural thing).

Now, you might think that, as an American, it would be a little difficult to travel to Vietnam, given the fact that only 50 years has passed since the close of the war with the United States, but the Vietnam of today is in many ways a modern and growing nation looking to leap forward along with much of the rest of the world in terms of technology and advancement.

The tour guides on my trips throughout the country seemed cognizant of the shared past of our countries, and we (my traveling partner and I) were occasionally shown remnants of the war. Things like craters in the earth and holes in the sides of mountains from bombs.

Seeing these pieces of history in person was interesting for me, but nobody we ever interacted with seemed put off that we were American. Virtually none of the other travelers we saw throughout the country were American – most were European, Indian, Chinese, or Korean, and the Vietnamese seemed to treat everyone the same.

And overall, that has been my experience in several different countries now. No matter the history shared with another country or the reputation of Americans, I’ve only ever been treated like any other regular traveler. Nobody has ever gone out of their way to laugh at me or treat me oddly because of my nationality.

The Few Odd Interactions I’ve Had Because of My Americanness

There are really only a few instances where someone was overly inquisitive about me or with me while I was on an international vacation. When I visited some friends in Ireland that I knew from college, many of the older people in the town I visited were really interested in hearing me speak. They stood really close to my face and asked me loads of questions to hear my accent.

Similarly, when I was across the water in England, I had a few people asking me how I said certain words. The proprietor of a bed and breakfast near Oxford, where I stayed a night or two, was quite interested in how I said the word “route.” Was it with an “ow” sound or an “oot” sound? But those interactions weren’t really negative. They were just locals getting a little curious about a traveler.

When we were riding bikes through a really rural part of Vietnam, the kids who saw us were pretty excited to see us and did give us rather overenthusiastic waves. I don’t think it was too incredibly common to see a couple of blonde people riding bicycles through the dirt roads of their villages. Someday, it will probably be more common, but I think I was a mild novelty at this point.

Usually, the people we interact with are just curious as to where we’re from in the United States. Since we’re from Los Angeles, virtually everyone has already had some inkling about that location due to its relative fame around the world and the existence of Hollywood. If we were from a lesser-known state, it might take some explaining, but even the most rural folks have known Los Angeles, California.

Do I Act Like a Stereotypically Loud and Obnoxious American?

When I’m not otherwise engaged in conversation with someone, I’m actually pretty quiet because I’m normally trying to observe everything I can, and I’m often taking tons of pictures. If I’m on a train or walking down the street, I’m very rarely speaking very loudly and getting into everyone’s business.

However, I do think that I’m more interactive than the people of some other nations. Americans tend to smile a lot and greet virtually everyone we see. Unless we’ve got our faces in our smartphones, looking at our GPS to find a place to go, we’re nodding and smiling all the way to our destination.

That’s definitely not how every nation acts, and when you smile, nod, and greet everyone, you’ll definitely be branded an American wherever you go. But I have to say, this isn’t a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with anyone knowing you’re an American.

As long as you’re acting like everyone else – generally respectful in whatever way the environment demands – no one is going to bat an eye at you. A lot of places you’ll visit will already have a lot of tourists, so you might not blend in with the locals, but you’ll probably blend in with the rest of the tourists if that makes sense.

When we were in Morocco, there were loads of European tourists and some Americans. Most of the tour groups we joined were full of Europeans, and me and my traveling partner generally blended in with those groups. No one was really able to – or bothered to – see if we were something other than random European tourists.

Act As You Would in Any Stranger’s Home

In my travels across the globe, I’ve seen badly behaved people from quite a few different nations, as well as the stereotypically loud Americans laughing and carrying on when no one else in the vicinity was acting the same way. Those stereotypes exist for a reason, but they’re not the norm.

Neither is the treatment many Americans might expect while traveling to other countries. While there are some cultural differences across the globe, few of them are so severe that you’d have serious trouble getting around or interacting with the locals as an American.

Even the mildest amount of research, before you depart for your trip, will help you understand a few cultural norms and what’s expected of tourists when they visit. For example, I did some research before traveling to Morocco regarding how to dress since I’m not a practicing Muslim, and the country is considered a Muslim-majority country.

As it turns out, I did a little bit too much preparation, but honestly, it’s probably better to go overboard when you prep for a trip than to fail to go far enough. Truly, if you’re an American and you’re nervous about traveling to the other side of the planet because of a perceived reputation, you really don’t need to worry.

As long as you’re acting as you would as a guest in anyone’s home, you shouldn’t encounter any meanness or people making fun of you for your nationality. You may even find that getting to know the people in other nations helps you share a little bit about your culture while they get to share something about their culture, too. Overall, it is an excellent exchange of friendships, ideas, and experiences.

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