Brief thoughts based on some recent traveling

I've been doing some traveling (not the fun kind) on my own recently, and since I have no one to laugh and complain with (Meg stayed home) I'm posting them here because... well, because I need to share them with someone.

- Its funny to me that one can spend two hours in an airport doing nothing but queuing and walking, only to queue (and walk) again.

- I've been thinking about Americans and the general stereotype of us being loud, and I don't think its accurate. I think we talk at a similar volume as many other people and cultures... we just do it ALL the time. We talk on buses, we talk in queues, we talk to strangers for no real reason, we talk to ourselves to figure out where we are going. It seems to me the sterotype has less to do with volume and more to do with our people's inability to sustain an inner monologue.

- I am judgemental, especially of Americans, and have a harder time overlooking/forgiving (what I deem as) inappropriate behaviour while traveling. Every time I see someone creating a fuss, not being sure what to do, not fitting in, etc... I say to myself, 'please don't be American... please don't be American,' for fear of having to offset another sterotype the Europeans will take up. I realised I spend most of my time being embarrassed or afraid of being embarrassed (not even justifiably so!) by other Americans when I'm traveling. (Does this make me a bad person?)

- I found it frustrating being an American in Heathrow, specifically because no one knows that I live in England, and I get treated as if I am not culturally knowledgeable about things (and not unjustifiably so). For example, at Heathrow, I asked 'Excuse me, where is the loo?' To which the employee answered, 'Well that's what it's called, isn't it? (Mildly awkward pause where I'm unsure what to do... but have the feeling of a dog that just preformed a new trick or a child that just properly asked for someone to pass the peas) 'Oh, its down the hall to the left,' she quickly added after the pause. When I returned from the loo, she made a properly awkward and backhanded comment by way of an apology, which seemed appropriate as her faux pas didn't warrant a full apology, but I did want some kind of acknowledgment that it was rude. Things are simply easier when my knowledge of the cultural landscape isn't called into question based on my accent and I don't get a small congratulatory comment for calling something by its proper name.