Ugly Americans

We landed in Guilin, China today which is a very beautiful place. Oddly formed mountains rocket up to the sky in myriad shapes and sizes. That being the case, many westerners touring China stop here. My crew was having a night-cap in the bar and we were able to observe Americans ordering drinks and just getting along. First off, we are all fat. No question. We are fat compared to the rest of the world. Next, we expect the world to conform to us. This fellow waltzes up to the bar and proceeds to order the most bizarre martini I have ever heard. Imagine you are Chinese and you basically know a trade language which in this case is a very limited range of mixed drinks. As he explained it was clear the bartender had no idea what he was asking. They brought in a second who knew more English. This also flammed out. The American got frustrated but what did he expect? The bartenders were patient and kind but struggled to understand just exactly what this guy wanted.

Why do we think the world must revolve around us? Unless you speak Chinese, you better plan on some minor inconveniences when it comes to such things. This morning, my hotel bill was messed up. I made one attempt at getting it fixed, (the error was in my favor), but I could see it was going to lead to massive confusion at a time when the hotel clerk was totally alone. I dropped back and punted the issue away. This is what you have to do when travelling internationally. If you can't speak the language be prepared to be flexible. Just because your from the U.S. you can't expect the rest of the world to understand what your life experience is all about. You can't and won't get "it" the way you want "it".