Making an attempt to learn the local language goes a long way. Local customs and history too.
My understanding is that the international "hate" of Americans is a bit exaggerated as well. You may find that you could be likable overseas, particularly outside the major cities. Just don't go over there as a 'Murican and you'll probably be fine.
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Admittedly, it has been quite a while since I've traveled overseas, but one thing that I've experienced (notably in Korea) is that the locals "enabled" my laziness by preferring to speak in English than let me stammer clumsily through trying to speak Korean.
I made the attempt, they thanked me for it and then with a smile usually said something along the lines of "We speak English, ok? I need to practice for school and, uh, your pronunciation is horrible."
Good to know :) I know Spanish fairly well which is a good base for other Latin-based languages like Italian but I know nothing about the other languages.
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It just seems the government and a lot of people here don't have a lot of common sense and the public education system is by large a failure, and with the cost of college here most people only have a high school education so they don't understand a lot of things that seem to be basic knowledge in other countries.
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I've also heard religion is a lot less of a big deal in Europe which would be nice since I get a lot of shit over here for not being religious.
Comments
My understanding is that the international "hate" of Americans is a bit exaggerated as well. You may find that you could be likable overseas, particularly outside the major cities. Just don't go over there as a 'Murican and you'll probably be fine.
.
Admittedly, it has been quite a while since I've traveled overseas, but one thing that I've experienced (notably in Korea) is that the locals "enabled" my laziness by preferring to speak in English than let me stammer clumsily through trying to speak Korean.
I made the attempt, they thanked me for it and then with a smile usually said something along the lines of "We speak English, ok? I need to practice for school and, uh, your pronunciation is horrible."
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It just seems the government and a lot of people here don't have a lot of common sense and the public education system is by large a failure, and with the cost of college here most people only have a high school education so they don't understand a lot of things that seem to be basic knowledge in other countries.
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I've also heard religion is a lot less of a big deal in Europe which would be nice since I get a lot of shit over here for not being religious.