The Good American Traveler

There has been this pesky little stigma on American travelers for quite some time now. The loud, pushy American tourist. I have been thinking lately though, that we have actually outgrown this title, or should I say, become better travelers. We have gotten used to moving through the world, and dare I say even *slightly* more patient when encountering delays, long lines, and things not being perfect upon arrival at a hotel. I would go as far as saying that we are the most resourceful and resilient bunch there is. I was recently scheduled to fly from Iceland to the Faroe Islands on an IcelandAir flight. The flight was cancelled with very little information dispersed to passengers. Pretty immediately, I noticed the Americans on the flight jump to action without missing a beat. We did the work to get updated info from the airline, who got us a shuttle and a hotel in Reykjavik, where we would stay until there was further info. We formed WhatsApp groups to keep updates flowing. We called the airline, we chatted with the airline, we squeezed all the juice possible to know all of our options, and shared that info with each other. All while remarkably, enjoying the free day we now had in Reykjavik. I actually never saw the group again, we all ended up dispersing in different directions - I skipped the Faroes altogether, ended up in Copenhagen, they divided into two different Faroe Islands flights two days later, but we kept up through everyone’s travels in our WhatsApp group. It wasn’t painless, and yes there was commiserating, but everyone moved through it like the bosses that American travelers have become. I think it’s time to flip the script on the American traveler, I would say we have become better. We don’t sit around and loudly complain, we jump into action, we problem solve. Are we demanding travelers? Maybe. But less so loud and belligerent and more just ON IT. Call it crazy but in a travel crisis, I’m sticking with the Americans.