Interesting and totally impressionistic - I meant to blog about it this spring from Rome, but I regularly stood in lines in shops and such behind French people ordering in bad Italian. My impression from previous travels is that they USED to use French and expect to be understood. I was going to write something about the loss of linguistic confidence.

I am an American living in London. My home is right next to the British Museum, which is the number-one tourist destination in the UK.

At least three times a day, I am asked for directions to the Museum. (Usually, my response is: "See that big building? That's it.") In my experience, Americans try to keep a low profile. They are generally afraid to look lost or ask for directions.

I asked a neighborhood convenience store operator, who has been here for 20 years, if he thought the same. He said told me that American used to have a higher profile, but, over the past few years it had changed. He said that he had noticed that since international opinion towards the United States had soured (e.g. Iraq, Guantanamo, Israel, and President Bush in general) Americans didn't want to be noticed.

Whether or not he is right, it is an interesting suggestion.

It is true for me. After being here for a year as an art historian, I got tired of people--friends, colleagues, and, even, strangers, asking me if I voted for Bush. However, now everyone wants to know if I am voting for Obama. Either way, I talk more softly than I used to.

I am shamefully language-limited even though I passed graduate (reading) foreign language tests in French and German.

I discovered I can still converse (minimally) in German a couple of years ago. However, before I go to a foreign country I try to learn three phrases in the local language: please, thank you, where's the bathroom. Thye first two, of course, are the most important.