Allan Goodall schrieb:
> Folks in Europe tend to forget that between Canada, the
Quite true. And pretty off-topic, but in a friendly enough tone so
far.
Just a contribution from the other side of the pond. I do have a passport, but
only because I have travelled rather far afield. With European unification, I
wouldn't need it for most places I could drive to. And any European country
has enough attractions to keep you busy for weeks (well, maybe not
Liechtenstein).
Europeans travel into foreign countries more than Americans, but mostly
because their countries are smaller. When Americans go in-country to
Florida, California or Hawaii to enjoy the sun, Europeans go to the foreign
places of Greece, Spain or Italy. Many go for the culture, too, but others
just want those places to be like home, but with better weather. My Uncle had
a restaurant in Spain and made good business sellling Germans Sausages and
Kraut. And this is not a peculiarly German trait. He had neighbours who did
simlar business with Swedes and Britons.
As to danger. In most civilised places, travelling is quite safe. To a fair
degree, it's the effect of news media that report only on ugly incidents that
make people apprehensive of travelling. Quite a lot of
Europeans have the impression that the US is a place of gun-cracy
cowboys and inner-city gangs.
Greetings
In a message dated Thu, 20 Jun 2002 11:06:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de writes:
> As to danger. In most civilised places, travelling is quite safe. To a
I agree, my comment was strictly tongue in cheek. I only felt even slightly
threatened outside the US once, in the Caribbean, and that had nothing to do
with where I was from. Just never a good idea to walk down dark alleys late at
night, no matter where you are.
> Europeans have the impression that the US is a place of gun-cracy
That's the answer I got when I was telling people I was moving from Germany to
Miami... Never had a problem yet, EXCEPT for the insane drivers down here...
> On Thu, 20 Jun 2002 12:52:59 -0400, <sowerbyj@fiu.edu> wrote:
> Europeans have the impression that the US is a place of gun-cracy
I kept getting weird looks when people found out I'd moved from Toronto to
Louisiana... but that was from the locals here in Louisiana! I did see one
"gun-crazy cowboy". A neighbour walked by the other day with his rifle.
He wanted to try out his new "toy". (I live in a small city in northeast
Louisiana, which is mostly rural. Lots of folks around here are into hunting
big time.)
I had more problems in Toronto than here. I was physically accosted by some
homeless folk a couple of times in Toronto.
There are areas of the US where you do _not_ want to go. There are areas
of this city where we don't drive through without the doors locked. Still,
there are areas like that in any city in the world.
> > Europeans have the impression that the US is a
The 'gun-crazy' cowboys tend to be VERY polite people,
inner-city gangs are not polite.
Bye for now,
> Quite a lot of Europeans have the impression that the US is a place of
Reminds me of the two girls from Beirut who I went to graduate school with
back in '96. They said all their relatives warned them to be careful
when they were leaving Lebanon for the States - "America is a very
dangerous place!"