6 of 1, A Half Dozen of Another...

There is one major problem when you travel. Americans. We are ignorant, obnoxious, whiny, think we know everything about everything, and most of all, we’re Americans. It goes without a doubt that you will encounter Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum at some point when overseas. They might be together. They might be separate. There might be a Tweedle-Daa thrown in for good measure (and to test your patience).

Ok, I know what you are about to say. This sounds familiar. I think I read about it 4 or 5 posts ago. That may be true, but like the saying goes, if one person says it, it might be a rumor. If more than one person says it, it might be a fact. If this isn't a saying, it should be.

We’ve met some INCREDIBLE people here. The locals are amazing. The fellow travelers (not tourists) are a joy. However, since we bought an American arranged Groupon, we’ve been followed or have been following Americans since day one. 

I love America. 

Americans… not so much.

A sample of American head-shaking awesomeness.

American:

“These houses are so pretty and SO white! Are they made of shells? How do they get that way?

 Guide:

“Paint”.

Me:

It gets dark so quickly here.”

American:

“I don’t like it. It hinders vision.”

Me: (after a good 10 seconds of staring at her with a quizzical look)

“Yes. Yes it does.”

So when it came down to picking animal interactions. We had our two options. Elephant interaction or cheetah interaction. After asking around we discovered the Americans at our camp were signed up for both. 2 with one, the other 2 with the other. Dammit. Erika and I huddled up to plan our strategy. “Would you rather go to the elephants with ABC? Or Cheetahs with XYZ?” My answer. “That’s 6 of 1, a half dozen of the other.” It’s like choosing which leg you want broken by the mob enforcer that has come to collect your debt. We finally sucked it up and went with the elephant interaction since it was higher on our list. American ABC that was joining us was the same one that the previous day squealed so loud at the cheetah interaction that she scared them all away and basically ruined the excursion for everyone else.

I know I’m sounding like an asshole and I'm on vacation which means I should let these things slide and enjoy myself. Here is the thing. I can still be on vacation, make fun of those more annoying than I, and still have a wonderful time. The next argument will probably be that I should be supportive of my fellow Americans. True. And I will. However, when those fellow Americans were raised in Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, I don’t tend to play nice.