Being American and having been to the U.K., I can honestly state that I have never met a nicer group of people (okay, so I obviously didn't meet everyone, but those I did meet were all kind and polite, so whatever). Anyone who says the British hate Americans is just making things up.

On the other hand, every mean stereotype about the French is true. They're (once again, generalizing from a pretty generous sample size) rude, entitled, and hate children. And Paris is overrated, as compared to the other European cities I visited.

Germany struck me as slightly depressing. I visited eastern Germany, and the Soviet-era architecture and stories I heard were not at all pleasant. We visited a huge brick cathedral, and you could tell that it had only recently been looked after. Then again, the beach town was awesome (although seeing all the naked children, and some of the time their nude parents, was slightly uncomfortable). St. Petersburg was a lot like Germany, except far more depressing and with tons of buildings both rundown and under renovation. I could see how it could be a truly beautiful city, but it isn't right now. Visiting the Hermitage made me just plain sad, because they clearly do not have the funds to take good care of the artwork. The USSR did so much damage to Europe.

Yea there is a little stereotype everywhere. And I would say that British are rude when it comes to making fun of Americans.

Have you ever been to the UK? If you haven't, then you can't really say if they're rude or not. My parents been to London and they had a great time. They didn't the people were rude at all.

I heard someone say they post Americans who can't spell easy words/names like Ohio on the media.

Just because someone says that, doesn't mean it's true. You should wait to form your opinions until you actually meet people from the UK.

Okay. One thing I do find weird is you drive on the opisite side of the road. I would get in an accident if we ever go there.

Actually, we drive on the same side of the road as UK. But there's no chance of an accident since everything, i.e steering wheel, indicator, turnings, etc are in the opposite direction.
And I disagree. The British are some of the nicest people you can meet. Always knowledgeable and smart.

By the way, that can't be true. Why would Britishers use Ohio as an example when it's in the US?

@princessbina:

just wondering where you have heard all these things that the British "think" and "do".. it sounds almost like you met ONE person [either a rude British person, or a rude other nationality person talking bad about British] and are taking all your information from that.

@KTC.. here all this time I thought you lived in an Asian country, not an Asian community in USA. Two of my grandchildren are 1/2 Asian and cute as can be.

@theFool: hope you enjoy(ed) your German trip

(ps: I live in USA and have traveled to UK, Wales, London, Birmingham, Norwich)

It was an example at school from my SST teacher who was talking about stereotypes.

Oh I am still here, will be here for quite a while hammering away on a variety of things.

Some more recent fun things I found. sauerkraut juice and rather than gum, my local grocery has tasters of alcohol at the checkout line.

Oh and try to keep mean stereotypes to a minimum people Odds are if you hear a stereotype it is 10% fact wrapped around 90% fiction.

OMG Germany <3 I'm envious. Germany is definitely on my list of countries I wish to tour one day.

I'm from Canada and have done some traveling in the last few years. Here are some of my observations.

U.S.A.: Because, yes, it's a foreign country here There are a lot of similarities but also a lot of differences. Overall, I've noticed Americans tend to say "Please" and "Thank you" less than Canadians. And, yes, Canadians apologize a lot more, too! I've also noticed how Americans are a lot more patriotic. Every other house seems to have a U.S. flag hanging somewhere, whereas it's quite rare over here to see a Canadian flag on a house. Things differences can even be felt just across the border.

London: I spent a couple of days in London in 2010. I loved it there. The "driving on the other side of the road" definitely threw me off, but luckily there are signs at every crosswalk telling you which way to look first, haha! The style of cars are different than I'm used to, as well. An interesting note as a Canadian: because of our British roots, we still share some vocabulary with the Brisith (where Americans have replaced them with different words). However, there were still some words to get used to. For example, they refer to bathrooms/washrooms/restrooms as "toilets". If you ask for a bathroom or washroom, the British person you're asking might be a bit confused. Also, I have never heard of mushy peas before going to England!

Paris: I didn't really talk to anyone beyond staff at big tourist spots but I didn't sense any rudeness. Still, you can tell that this city is tired of tourists. If you go there, do try your best to speak a bit of French - a decent attempt will go a long way. I once did my best to ask what time the Louvre was closing in really awful French that probably only half made sense, but the woman took care to speak slowly and clearly for me. It's also a crazy busy city, traffic is awful, and there are plenty of people trying to scam tourists, so be careful and stay safe.

Italy: (cities I've been to: Florence and Rome, mostly, with quick stops in Pisa and Orvieto) Compared to Paris, crazier traffic, crazier tourist spots! Seriously, it's like all traffic rules get thrown out the window. And name any significant tourist spot in Italy and guaranteed there will be TONS of crowds. Still, I found the Italian people to be very gracious and friendly wherever we went. There are still plenty of people trying to scam tourists and a lot of bag snatchers and pick-pocketers. I was very impressed with the history and architecture, though. I knew it was going to be beautiful, but what I saw completely blew me out of the water. Also, I'm not a big fan of steak but the Florentine steak is absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious.

The Philippines: "Hot weather" to me is good weather for Filipinos. "Cold weather" to Filipinos is beautiful weather for me. Seriously, during winter, I'm used to -30 Celsius temperatures, but Filipinos were wrapping themselves in sweaters and scarves at a mere 15 Celsius! I couldn't stop laughing. Meanwhile, I was dying of heat at 40 Celsius while everyone else was perfectly fine. Here, everyone seems to have a dog, a goat, a cow, or chickens or some combination of these, even in the heart of Manila. The wealthy and the poor can live practically side by side, which was weird to see. Things are crazy cheap compared to Canada, and farmers and (closer to the sea) fishermen will bring their products fresh to you to buy. People with racks of clothes attached to bikes will also go door-to-door to sell. Traffic in Manila is about twice as bad as Rome. Coffee is also usually served with brown sugar (instead of white) and powdered whitener (instead of milk or cream). Maids are also quite commonplace if you can afford the help (which is if you're middle class or higher). There is almost never toilet paper in public bathrooms, and sometimes, there isn't soap at the sinks either, so you have to bring your own.

Quote:
Are you sure you weren't thinking about Canadians making fun of Americans? Because, you know, we like to make fun of Americans just as much as we like to make fun of ourselves.