The New Miss Manners: The US State Department

The US State department has given us expats (and Americans simply travelling abroad) a how-to guide for behaving properly when not at home. Apparently this administration has finally recognized that we have an international image problem. They seem to think this problem can be solved by US companies giving their employees headed oversees a handy guide featuring 16 etiquette tips!

Here's one way in which the Ugly American is described: "Surveys consistently show that Americans are viewed as arrogant, insensitive, over-materialistic and ignorant about local values." Given, though, that the Ugly American travelling abroad has been a problem for a long time, long before our current image problem, and yet we've still been generally respected around much of the world until lately, you'd think someone might wonder whether the Ugly American might not be a primary factor in our being particularly unwelcome on the international scene at present.

Karen Hughes, President Bush's former image-maker, is one of the leaders of this etiquette movement. She is, after all, State's head of public diplomacy. So I guess we shouldn't be surprised that no one there seems to be asking (publicly, anyway) whether the current administration's policies have anything to do with the image problem.

In case you're travelling abroad, here are some things you might keep in mind, according to State:

1. "Save the lectures for your kids"
2. "Speak lower and slower"
3. "Your religion is your religion and not necessarily theirs"
4. "If you talk politics, talk - don't argue. (Steer clear of arguments about American politics, even if someone is attacking US politicians or policies. Agree to disagree.)"

Here's a thought. If Americans don't already know (1-3), we've got bigger problems than image concerns. And if we've been forced into a situation where (4) is necessary, we've reached a sad state of affairs. The political arguments I've had with non-Americans over the years have been a rich source of education.

Okay, enough whingeing. Here's the upside: it would be nice if there were fewer clueless and rude US travellers abroad, and maybe this will make a difference.

Sydney, Part 2

So here's the follow-up to Part 1 on the trip to Sydney. As you can tell from the pictures, we had fantastic weather. Roughly 75 every day, with no clouds until the last day. Perfect. Sydney apparently features many great sights and activities. A few that I can attest to include the nice restaurants in Wooloomaroo (sp?), a couple of great bars in Newtown, the aquarium (with its very cool shark exhibit and much sea life I'd never seen before), and the beach walk, which runs from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach.

The beach walk is billed as about 2 hours, but unless you take a lot of breaks or go slowly, that's on the long side. There are some pretty astounding views, and it's a very pleasant, accessible walk. Also a great place to watch some pretty spectacular surfing (although the waves were unusually high that week--Bondi Beach was closed the next day, in fact). The first three pics here are from various points along the way. You'll also notice what has to be the world's greatest real estate for a cemetary in the second and third pictures.

I've also decided to include two artistically questionable photos of Sydney at night. I've posted the one with just the Opera House simply because it looks freakish--as if it's not the Opera House, but the ghost of the Opera House. The other gives you a better idea of its setting. Both were taken from the glamourous train platform.

Don't forget to click on the pictures for larger images!

Again, Sydney is a great city, which I highly recommend visiting.

Sydney, Part 1

One of the downsides of living down under is that you're too far from the US to go to back for every significant event. This hit home last weekend when I missed Jordan and Colette's wedding. (Congratulations!) The corresponding upside, however, is that you're in close proximity to many other things.

Say you live in Chicago and you want to travel to a great, sunny city within 3 hours: you might go to LA or SF. Or if you want white sandy beaches you might go to Florida or the Bahamas.

Here, within 3-4 hours are: Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, and Fiji! (Not to mention some pretty fantastic stuff here in NZ itself.) Last weekend, I was able to go to Sydney for a long weekend. The short story? An absolutely fantastic city. I'll post a couple of entries with pictures here on JIINZ. The pictures featured in this post include scenes from my second day there, where I was visiting Ann, who proved (as expected) to be a great host.

On day 2, we took the ferry down to Watson's Bay (I think that was its name). The Sydney harbour is quite beautiful, with lots of different angles on lots of great things. The two on-the-water pics include the obligatory Opera House shot and one as we got further from the city and closer to Watson's Bay. The three from-land pics feature views of the ridiculous amount of sailboats, some pretty well-located houses, and Sydney's downtown and famous bridge.

FWIW, the ferry is a great, cheap way to see the harbour, a nice alternative to the more pricey boat tours.

Another tip: if you're ever here, visit Watson's Bay. If you climb the hill beyond the docks, there are great views of the Pacific Ocean. Then head back down to the docks, where several casual restaurants will let you sit on their decks, enjoy the views, pour beer down your throat, and feed you calamari, burgers, and other fried foods. We managed to spend several pleasing hours in that environment!