Tourists

I was walking in the city yesterday and somebody stopped me:

Tourist: "Excuse me, do you speak English?"

Me: "Yes"

Tourist: "Oh, ok, good...can you try to help me find this address?"

Me: "Yeah, I know where that is, you are on the right island, and if you take a left at this next street then you will be on the right street and its just on your left."

Tourist: "Tack så mycket! Its amazing how well everyone here speaks English!"

Me: "Yeah, it is...albeit considerably less amazing when they are American."

I like how everyone learns to say "thank you" in the native language. Anyway, I thought that was kind of funny. I must say though, my attitude on tourism has completely changed. Tourists in Europe are nice, excited, they seem to have good priorities...and they are always having fun! Of course, they get in the way sometimes and its better for me, a misanthrope, to have less people...but its a welcome change from San Diego and that goes for all three European cities I have lived in. They are here to actually do productive things...in San Diego tourists come there for a three day pass to act like a jerk on a beach in another city. The same tourist, who in Stockholm has a mile wide smile on their face as they try to find the palace, is a belligerent drunk slob with a sunburn in Pacific Beach.

That said, I actually hate the 4th of July and that is from living in California. I hate the summer there generally as I have said I believe, but the 4th is the worse. I cut a wide berth from my beach on that day unless the surf is really good. One time it was, and my main memory is sloppy drunk people in the inside section who only get in the water to pee. They laugh like idiots when you go by, never thinking that it may not be safe to be swimming, semi-conscious, in front of a fast-moving piece of fiberglass.

Summer here is 5000x better than in SD...I do not miss it at all right now. Fast-forward to November here and you will be hearing a different tune!