Foreigners

I was recently on a cruise from London to Barcelona. When exiting a crowded elevator on the ship, this tall man at the back yelled out “COMING THROUGH”. I replied that there was no need to shout, it looks like we are all getting off on the same floor.

When he got out he stepped aside and he said, “You know how rude these foreigners are, they don’t move unless you make yourself known.”

“Foreigners, you say?” I asked.

“You know how they are.”

“Oh. yes, I do. Here we are on a cruise ship, far away from the United States, surrounded by people speaking many different languages, and you don’t seem to understand that both you and I, in this place, are foreigners. It’s ironic, isn’t it?”

His face kind of dropped and he looked around sheepishly as I started walking away.

As I got to the doorway that led to our cabins I turned and said “This is why the rest of the world thinks we’re idiots, so try not to embarrass us any further, and have a great vacation!”

I saw him a few more times on the ship but each time he saw me he looked away. It never fails, the rudest, most self-entitled people I meet in other countries are my fellow US citizens. It’s so embarrassing.