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I am extremely proud of being an American and don’t care who knows it, to a point.
Many international cities have large populations of pickpockets that roam the local tourist attractions searching for an easy mark to help improve their personal financial standing.
American tourists come high on their list because we are prosperous and are frequently quite ignorant of the ways of the big bad world.
So how do you visit wonderful foreign locations without being marked as American and becoming a robbery target?
In a restaurant, we hold the fork in our left hand and cut the meat with the knife in the right hand. Then put the knife down and transfer the fork to the right hand. Europeans leave the fork in the left hand. This is how the Gestapo arrested the first American spy in Germany in WW2.
We hold cigarettes between the first and second fingers. Europeans hold them between the thumb and first finger.
We have a tendency to stand with our weight distributed onto one foot, sort of listing to one side. Europeans tend to stand straight with their weight evenly distributed on both feet.
We frequently wear khaki colored cotton trousers so that most any color of shirt will match. Europeans, I hear, think tan trousers are “work pants” and normally do not wear them in public. I noticed that in Germany a few years ago. Also, most American tourists that I saw were wearing baseball caps, many of which had purely American logos embroidered on the front. I saw no baseball caps on European individuals, not even with soccer logos on them!
Sneakers were also absent on European folks as were sweatshirts with American sports team logos embroidered on them. A very good idea is to visit a local clothing store and buy a shirt and trousers that make you blend in. We did see Levi’s though! I’m told we have a different way of walking too … put a pebble in your shoe and develop a limp.
Remember that you are in their country and that should be respected. Don’t give the bad guys a break by telegraphing the fact that you are an American and most likely have money and valuables with you that they would love to have.
I was told once that I was the “most European American” my hosts had met.
Mission accomplished!
K.H. Kraft has over 40 years of affiliations with Intelligence and Police organizations. Sources for these articles are decades of personal experience and numerous official manuals.
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