Stupid Americans
I forgot the BEST STORY about flying into Mexico. While we were waiting in line to get through customs, the woman behind me said to her husband, "What did you put down for nationality?"
"American?" he said.
"Oh, that's smart," she said.
"What? What did you put down?" said her husband.
"I put down Italian / Irish," she said.
Wide-eyed, both her husband and I tried to explain that this was a very serious error. "Whaddaya mean?" she said. "That's my nationality!"
"What does your passport say?" I said.
"American," she acknowledged.
"That's your nationality," I said. "The other is your ancestry. You need new customs forms."
Twenty minutes later, we passed by her arguing in broken Spanish with the customs agent, while she was trying to say that it should be OK if she just crossed it out and wrote in "American" instead. Because Customs officials are really inclined to informality.
"American?" he said.
"Oh, that's smart," she said.
"What? What did you put down?" said her husband.
"I put down Italian / Irish," she said.
Wide-eyed, both her husband and I tried to explain that this was a very serious error. "Whaddaya mean?" she said. "That's my nationality!"
"What does your passport say?" I said.
"American," she acknowledged.
"That's your nationality," I said. "The other is your ancestry. You need new customs forms."
Twenty minutes later, we passed by her arguing in broken Spanish with the customs agent, while she was trying to say that it should be OK if she just crossed it out and wrote in "American" instead. Because Customs officials are really inclined to informality.