Forgive the USA Today link, but this piece — yet another article addressing how poorly America, if not Americans, are being received beyond our borders — had a quote that I relished.
In Ugly sentiments sting American tourists, Vince Vaughn recounts an encounter he had with some girls in England. They flirted with him until he told them he was American. Walking away, they told him they were hoping he was Canadian.
"Canadian?" Vaughn protests. "Since when was it cooler to be Canadian?"
For a while now, buddy. And in all seriousness, when traveling overseas for my last job, we specifically made it a point to claim we were Canadian for most casual, social situations. From cab drivers to restaurant employees, the difference in how we were received was frighteningly obvious.