Last weekend I went surfing with my friends in Tamarindo Beach. I had been in the water for over an hour, as the usual mass of surf school tourists made their approach towards the waves. Not really minding their presence I carried on with my business, catching a few, but wiping out on most waves.

About half an hour later the surf school people, a family from the US, came exactly to the spot where I had been at for a while. Although I was puzzled why they would choose to do their lessons right in front of where I was, I ignored them and carried on. After catching a small wave of whitewater and coming closer to shore, I heard the frantic screeching of the mother of the group:

“Stay away from my family, go away, find another place to surf at”

Incredulous at what she had to say, I retorted:

“Sorry lady, I didn’t travel 3,000 miles to annoy and kick you out from your local beach, so please don’t do so on mine”

That incident sparked in my mind memories of the infamous “Ugly American”, a phrase coined by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick, in their book The Ugly American.

Here are a few tips on how not be one:

• Don’t expect the entire world to speak English. Traveling to a foreign nation implies that you’re ready to absorb some local culture, learn some words of the local language, etc. The official language of Costa Rica is still Spanish, so don’t expect everyone to understand your English.
• Some people DO speak English. On the other hand, don’t walk around blurting expletives in English because you assume people don’t understand. While many won’t be able to converse with you, they learned the full set of 4-letter words before knowing how to say hello.
• Khaki shorts, Birkenstocks, Hawaiian Shirt, and camera. While very comfortable and well suited for the tropics, don’t be billionth tourist to sport this uniform
• I did it My Way. Just because you have your Freedom Fries with Heinz ketchup at home, it doesn’t mean the whole world should do so as well. So the next time you taste a sweeter variety of ketchup, or even mayo, on your fries; don’t knock it down… other cultures do things differently, Vive la Différence

Certainly not saying all Americans act this way, there are tons of well educated, traveled, and culturally enlightened Gringos. Next time you’re in Costa Rica, or anywhere abroad for that matter, remember that a stereotype of cultural insensitivity has already been formed by previous travelers. Be a breath of fresh air, and act like the “Nice American”!

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Filed under: Travel on August 24th, 2007