Ugly American Englishman

We have all heard about the ugly American traveler and I think most of us who travel or live in Europe in this day and age are aware, at least to some extent, of this reputation and make strides when we travel to be good ambassadors for our country. But apparently Americans aren't the only ones who can be "ugly Americans" as Jon and I witnessed in a recent BBC documentary we were watching.

The seven-part series called, "Riding Route 66, America's Mother Road", is about an Englishman who buys a Harley motorcycle in Chicago in order to live out his childhood fantasy of riding the length of Route 66. This is the second series we have seen on this subject and the last rider was a Scotsman. He had a thoroughly enjoyable trip and laughed his way through most of the show, enjoying the good and laughing at the bad of his particular trip. The Englishman didn't have those kinds of traveling skills.

The ride through the Midwest was a disappointment to him and he began to complain about things. He was tired of fast food and thought that was the limitation of the food options. He was tired of the bland little towns along the way and the fat people that were everywhere. He stayed in chain motels to save money and found them to be "soulless". He got fatigued from the long hours of riding. He alternately loved and hated what he was experiencing. He has become the "ugly American" and I doubt that he realized it.

It made me think that perhaps Americans have had this reputation because Europe is a common vacation destination and they face some of the same things that this Englishman did which can make anyone a cranky traveler. Jet lag, fatigue from trying to do or see too much, the need to budget and finding accommodations which are adequate, but not charming and never just like our own bedroom at home. Having a romantic notion of a place which it can never live up to. Inadequate research and planning. If this man had an American guide, he might have seen all sorts of things along the way that are novel and charming. He might have planned his route differently deviating occasionally onto side trips to see special things. (The Scotsman did.) If he had asked local people where to eat, he could have found lots of Mom and Pop places with good home cooking at very reasonable prices. He might have found out that traveling parts of Route 66 aren't worth doing, no matter the romantic fantasy based on American television or movies.

I thought it was funny, that this man, who works in television was surprised and disappointed to find that the America portrayed in movies such as Easy Rider, doesn't really exist. I would think he would know that television is always a fiction, to one degree or another. Even news or documentaries are going to be slanted because the best they can be is the eyewitness account of something from a single person's viewpoint or in a single moment of time. Some are longer on facts than others, but there is almost always something of the unreal in it.

So Jon and I watch and laugh to ourselves as this visitor from Britain, both extols his enjoyment and displays his displeasure in minor rants throughout his documentary. We laugh because we recognize ourselves in our European infancy and we smile instead of being insulted or offended by his behavior, recognizing in it, a rather universal traveling experience.

One can laugh at one's traveling ups and downs or get angry and disappointed. The Scotsman did the former and our friend from Britain did the latter. I have done both. No question who will go home with the fondest memories and who will want to come again. And I must admit a small inner satisfaction (wicked though it is) in finding out that not only Americans can be "ugly." Perhaps it is time to change this appellation to the "Ugly Traveler" or more kindly to the "Tired, Stressed and Inexperienced Traveler."

Next post I will give some tips we have learned along the way to make travel easier, minimize some common difficulties, and encourage happy memories.