The first night I was in Rome, I took a shower and passed out. But what did I do the second day? I had a feeble attempt at touring Rome and getting lost– it was beautiful– don’t get me wrong; however, I somehow ended up in all the tourist spots, missing the authentic Italian experience I was hoping for. I arrived at the Trevi Fountain surrounded by eager tourists and faces of disappointment, as there was no way to throw in a coin and wish for Prince Charming like Lizzie McGuire…

And I did not meet:

And he did not take me around Rome in a vespa and break my heart. But one day…

I did, however, experience a close second: being hit on by my Albanian waiter when I went out for dinner by myself. He asked me to wait for him after his shift ended at 2 am. Don’t worry, Mom, I was drooling on my pillow case at that hour. Instead of complying with his request, I interrogated him on his thoughts on Americans. As a Romanian-American, my first question was: who’s hated more in Europe? Romanians or Americans? He was nice and said neither, but a couple of English women sitting at the table next to me overheard and decided to chime in.

So . . . I’m not saying that everyone hates us, but maybe almost everyone hates us?

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Thoughts on Americans thus far:

“The American pull-out game is strong” (referring to credit/debit cards). –Cashier at a Starbucks in Copenhagen, Denmark

“We don’t hate Americans.” –A couple of English women in Roma, Italy

“Beautiful accents!” –Waiter at a restaurant in Roma, Italy

“We just have a very different relationship with material things. We were born with too much, the luxuries and culture around us from when we were born. America is known for the ‘American dream.’ People make something of themselves in that country, so many people value material things much more than we ever would. It’s not bad, just different.”

“Why are you all always in a rush? We take things slow here, and sit down and enjoy our coffee.” –Professor

“To be honest, before Obama was elected, most of the world did not have much respect for America. Bush was terrible. But after voting in a black president, the whole world changed.”

Speaking of Obama and change:

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Italy seems to have a very strong political culture. Every year they have a carnival in Via Reggio (in Tuscany) that includes floats, talented artists, and political satire. The float in the slideshow above tells the story of the three world powers taking advantage of the world’s resources, and makes the statement that if they continue to do so, the world will be uninhabitable, and they will be left wearing the clothes of a homeless person. The irony of the title should be clear: “The Big Chill”– the world is warming up (HA HA HA GOOD ONE). If you’d like to look it up, check out their website, Carnivale di Via Reggio.

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But the thoughts on Americans must continue, because that’s what you’re really here for, am I right?

“Do you want to buy selfie stick? Selfie stick!” –Street Vendor (Clearly I still look like a tourist.)

In Italian (annoyed): “Did they stop the train for you?” –Elderly Italian woman on a train back from Cinque Terre. Of course, we Americans found a way to stop a train, just for us, for absolutely no reason. Please, hate us more. I DARE you. (Just for your information, the train stopped for a potential terrorist attack– don’t worry, Mom, I’m safe now.)

But what’s on the flip side of this coin? What do Americans abroad think of Americans?

It’s a whole big fight of “my state is better than your state.”

And what do ‘we’ Americans think of Italians?

‘Till next time!

#YOFLO (You only Florence once).