Americans Abroad

I have heard from many fellow Americans how embarrassed they can be by their compatriots abroad--the loud, brash behavior, seeming uncouth or uncaring about adapting other cultural norms, and complaining all the time. Dressing in baseball hats, jeans, and sneakers, people argue that they give the rest of us a "bad" name.

For all of you who have encountered such an American, I ask you to consider this American:

Super Prick.

We typically refer to them as "wife hunters" but this man I overheard the other day at the internet cafe took it to a whole new level, as I don't think he's interested in meeting a prospective wife, I think he is only concerned about getting laid.

I ended up sitting next to him when he received a phone call from a fellow disgusting American who was travelling to another city in search of a woman (no lie). The conversation continued for at least 10 minutes where the American man next to me encouraged his friend to come back to my town, because apparently this other man had been burned by some scam or rejected by an earlier woman (sorry, I have no sympathy). The man next to me rallied his friend, telling him "no, man, you're attractive," and asserted that in my town they would be certain to find something "real."

At one point during this conversation, even he began to feel uncomfortable, explaining his location and how, "dude, you know, speaking English isn't good here, and besides, I don't want anyone to hear my conversation." At this I let out an audible guffaw.

Literally, I see these men every time I go to this internet cafe or anytime we go into the hotel nearby that has a restaurant and cafe we like to hang out at. They are not always American, either, as European men come too. They are also not always so blatant about their business here. (As an aside, I met an American owner of a dating agency in the winter and he told me he was here for business purposes and would not tell me what kind of business. That must say a lot about the kind of work you do if you are unable to tell others what it is.)

This man, despite his hesitation of speaking English continued his disgusting talk, essentially talking about women like they were property, commodities, and toys. He referred to one prospective woman as "Super Blonde" several times. Obviously, this is a man who "respects" women and Ukrainians!

During the length of his conversation, I thought about what I should do. As I mentioned, I see them all the time, but this guy just was asking for it. I weighed my options, but knew that I was much too pissed off to really make a cutting remark and would just be seen to him as an American bitch, the whole reason he probably isn't dating in the States (or who knows, maybe he's married?). Anyway, while I was still processing I got a phone call from a female volunteer. I gladly took the call as when I started talking in English with my American accent he looked over at me but didn't say anything. I wanted him to know that I understood every word he said.

However, it mattered little to such a man, as when I left he was chatting up some woman next to him, a Ukrainian woman who speaks English. "Hi, how was your day..." Oh, how I wanted to vomit.

No actually, I wanted to punch him in the face.

I left without saying anything to him, and now I really regret that.

Walking towards home I thought of something I could have said:

"Super blonde, huh? That's pretty funny. When I tell my friends about you, you'll be 'Super Prick.'"

He is leaving on Sunday but perhaps coming back for Memorial Day weekend. If I see him again, we will have words and they will probably be of the four letter sort. Ukrainian women are humans too and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Not exploited simply because of the economic advantage American and European men have over all Ukrainians. He is the true meaning of an Ugly American.