Randomness.

[kandrathe]

I guess if you were a Canadian broad you might meet more guys?

When I travel I frequently am confused for a Canadian, but I seldom try to correct them. I figure it is because I don't travel like a tourist. I too am somewhat disturbed when in my travels a fleet of tour buses arrives and disgorges hundreds of loud, rude, camera toting tourists upon an unsuspecting, sleepy little hamlet. The tourists literally invade, pillage the local shops, ravage the restaurants, and occasionally attempt to converse with the non-tourists in the native language (including me, heh, what fun ).

American Tourist (reading from some guide): Whoa is ein bad en zimmer?
Me: Hmmm, ein baden zimmer? Gehen sier rechts, dann geradeaus und links. Es ist nicht weit.
American Tourist (yelling back to the group) : He doesn't know!

But, when I've been in Germany, I've seen Americans, and Japanese on these buses. When in other parts of the world, I've seen Germans, Americans, and Japanese in large numbers together. I don't really understand the attraction of touristy en masse with a bunch of strangers from your homeland. Most of the interesting part of travel is learning to get around without the tour guide spoon feeding you, and meeting and living with the people whose nation you are visiting. Sure, there are some things I want to see that the native take for granted, but mostly I'm interesting in knowing what it's like to live there.