Tanuu Blog

Each tourist season we collect these little anecdotes that American tourist seem so willing to provide. All we have to do is sit in the main plaza with pen and notebook in hand. Enjoy!

Old American Male: What’s there to do in this town?

Sweet Mexican woman: Have you tried visiting our city’s churches?

Old American Male: I’ve been all over the world and have seen more churches than I care to remember. I don’t need to see any more God d***ed churches.

High School American girls: Oh my God, can you believe the toilet paper dispenser was OUTSIDE the stall?

American Restaurant Patron: I asked for a “real” taco.

American cab rider: I want “real” money in change and not pesos.

American Student: Are all the Mexican women this fat?

American (Texan) Housewife: Do you realize just how corrupt your government is here?

American Freak-a-Zoid Hippie: I can’t believe you Americans (expats) who want to live in such a poor country.

American woman in tour-group: You shouldn’t feed your child something like that for breakfast! (She says this to a Mexican mother.)

American man fat and balding: They have no booze in this grocery store for Christ’s sake.

American Country Club Snobs: What do you mean there’s no golf course here?

American teenaged male: Where’s the mall so I can cruise for Mexican chicks?

American 10-year old: But I wanted a Happy-Meal!

American Redneck Hick: Donch y’all have no cafeterias down to where you’re from?

American Old Crow (female): Walks into a bank and begins screaming, “I know some mother-f***er employee here speaks English and I want to talk to them right now!”

American Senior Citizen: But I demand a Senior citizen’s discount on this roasted ear of corn.

American Hotel Patron: Why don’t you get ESPN?

San Miguel de Allende American Expat: Stands in front of a Mexican young person’s rock band and gives them “the finger” until the concert is disrupted.

Middle-aged American backpacker: Walks into a crowded restaurant and announces, “All Mexican women are b**ches”.

Another American Redneck Hick: What kind of speech do y’all talk down here?

American Woman in English bookstore: She points to something she finds inappropriate and tells the owner it is a sacrilege that she has such an item.

Another chubby bald American: I am worried about all the graft in Mexico (I guess he doesn’t keep up on graft in America![1]

I have to make a comment here: Americans act as though America is the paragon of all that is good in the world. Where does this self-delusion come from? They are so quick to point out corruption in another country while wickedness of all sorts is going on right under their noses! Perhaps the Minuteman Project fanatics who blame the Mexican migrant workers for exploiting services should do a little self-examination at their own fraud…see footnoted quote!

Can someone please explain this to me?

So ends my story on Americans say and do the craziest things!

[1] Billions Misspent by Medicaid in New York State, Tuesday,

HealthIssues Daily Briefing, July 19, 2005

Billions Misspent by Medicaid in New York State A year-long investigation by the New York Times

One of the more challenging aspects of being a flight attendant is providing in-flight service excellence to your customers. When operating out of familiar territory selecting a highly regarded
caterer is usually not a problem. However, can that high level of service be found in Boise as well as in Beijing? And, if so, where can this information be found?

According to, “THE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY OF CORPORATE AVIATION CATERING SERVICES,” you certainly can find a caterer in Boise, Beijing, and hundreds of other locations worldwide. First published in 2001, the directory is a one-of-a-kind book chock
full of caterers from around the globe. The 400+ page, 6″ x 9″ directory is organized by continent, country, and airport code.

Each section begins with a city/airport code cross reference table for that region to enable you to find the airports that each caterer serves. Those catering organizations with multiple airport locations have separate listings in each airport. This
particular feature is wonderful as the referencer need not flip throughout the book in an attempt to find and compare caterers.

As far as particular caterers in more remote locations, the directory lists A Catered Affair as the lone caterer for Boise, but has four sources for Beijing. For example, Beijing Air Catering Co LTD serves Capital International Airport. The guide
gives this particular caterer’s address, a contact name, hours of operation, e-mail address, phone and fax numbers, and an
“other” number which I assume is a backup or cellular phone number. Typically, for many of the far flung places the guide lists a flight planner such as Universal Weather & Aviation or Air Routing International as the contact for that city. According to the guide, these two companies will recommend a caterer at the destination and can provide a local representative to bridge
any language barriers.

The guide also offers a “Helpful Reminders” section for the flight attendant under the heading, “Advance Planning When Traveling Outside the United States.” Included are tips on contacting the caterer ahead of time, what to do [as mentioned above] when no local caterer is listed, keeping appropriate
containers onboard your aircraft in the event that the caterer does not have the correct sized packaging to fit in your microwave, and more.

The guide will be updated on a regular basis and is currently
available in paperback and eventually also will be available on CDROM.

Many of the catering recommendations were received by knowledgeable corporate flight attendants directly. As such, some of the addresses or phone numbers may have changed, while some of the businesses may have closed altogether. Always check in advance to see if the caterer is still available.

Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful article writing, web design, and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board. Please visit The Article Writer to review selections from his portfolio.

Backpacking is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your backpacking experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a backpacking journal for your adventures.

Backpacking Journals

Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent backpacking experience. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first time you ever went backpacking. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the geography, people you went with, particular backpacking routes and spectacular views. The experiences you’ve forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a backpacking journal, this won’t be the case.

There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank’s Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your backpacking experiences better be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.

A good backpacking journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you don’t have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:

1. Who you went backpacking with,

2. Where you backpacked and if you enjoyed it,

3. Who you met and contact information for them,

4. The geographic and weather conditions,

5. Routes you tried and how far you made it, and

6. Any unique things that occurred while backpacking.

At the end of the trip, you should be able to get the following from your journal:

1. Contact information for other backpackers and people you met,

2. Enough detail to provide you or a friend with a guide if you backpack the location a second time.

3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and

4. Something to pass on to your friends, children and grandchildren.

To get the most out of your backpacking journal, you should write in it during backpacking breaks or immediately after. Every trip is special, even if you just go out for a weekend.

Backpacking is a great way to commune with nature. Make sure to preserve the experience.

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals for outdoor activities and traveling. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read articles and stories on travel and outdoor activities.