Accents

We aren’t hearing many American accents; about half of those that we do hear turn out to be Canadian. Mostly we are hearing and meeting Italians on holiday, some Irish, a few Poles; as I mentioned before, we have also met Australians. One interesting observation is that the majority of Americans we have heard are students. Snotty, spoiled American students. All they talk about is drinking or shopping. Few carry backpacks and they all dress well, which signifies to me that they are staying in one place for a long time, washing and ironing their clothes, and spending someone else’s money. The one or two American students we have seen actually carrying their belongings are their backs are much more appreciative of the scenery and local flavor and have been able to carry on meaningful conversations with us and locals on busses and trains. I am disappointed to think that the weak economy in the US is only allowing affluent students to travel Europe this summer. That will certainly reinforce the negative American stereotypes.

As will windy mothers. ;D