Americans abroad

So, last weekend three people from the New York office arrived to do the training for a new function that is starting up here. They are nice guys but they do confirm that the image of the overweight loud American is not just a negative stereotype. Two of them refuse to try the food, insist on using bottled water to brush their teeth and when we visited the Infosys campus, I had to persuade them that it was safe to ask for ice-cubes in their drinks.

I mean, yes, outside of the major cities and when you are not in a nice four star hotel like we are then you should be careful, but we haven't been in any areas where it is that risky and in fact it's probably a good idea to get a little bit of tap water into the system to get used to it. They are of course horrified by the poverty but are surprised by the fact that there are some lovely areas and that our hotel has electricity. Today we went out to a nature reserve just south of the city and it was the first time I'd seen what the small villages are like and it's tough. I think that may have been too much for them as there was mumbling about never leaving the hotel again.

Like I said, they are nice people but I'm never going traveling any length of time with them. The constant complaining would result in deaths, either mine or theirs. One of them mentioned the fact that there is no poverty in the US. I held my tongue and didn't get involved in that discussion, I need to work with them for the next couple of months.