How to spot a tourist

Here's the link to the article. It is worth the read, if only for a good laugh at ourselves.

It's really very simple, and sadly it's pretty hard to hide your tourist identity. It's a little easier if your a tourist within the USA, but if you dress like a local in the US, I think the biggest giveaway is if you look like you don't know where you're going.

One thing this guy missed, is if you're in a foreign country, most likely everyone will know you are a tourist because you look American no matter what you are wearing. Not to be politically incorrect, but if you're the typical white bread American like me, & you go to Mexico or China.....well, it won't take a 2nd glance for people to know you're not from there. Sure our world is becoming more of a melting pot & it's possible for you to be an American looking Mexican or for an American to have lived in china for enough years to call it home, but the chances are still slim.
When I was in Costa Rica last month, a group of us (another dead give away) were standing outside of a shop talking & this little kid no more than 5 years old said to his mom "look at all the gringos" (he said it in Spanish). Funny part was 4 of us spoke Spanish, but we weren't fooling anyone that we were locals. Especially since 3 of the 4 of us had blond hair & we all had sunburns.
Good advice in today's world is to say you're Canadian...which I can do without lying. I may never have lived there, but my heritage is Canadian...my mom was still a Canadian citizen when I was born & 95% of her relatives still live there. My mom has a favorite comic strip that someone gave her years ago. It shows a Canadian & an American. The American says to the Canadian "you look oddly familiar". Sometimes I go for the "subtle" statement & wear my Canada t-shirt ;-)
It was super classy when unplanned, my sister & I both wore it on the way to Thailand. When we got to LAX (her from San Francisco & me from SLC), I had to laugh that we were both wearing the same t-shirt. Plus, obviously we were Americans - our flight was from the USA!

The best advice is no matter how bad you scream tourist, just don't be the rude, loud tourist. Do your research before hand to know some of the culture's basic customs - do's & don'ts, ways to greet & thank others, etc. Observe, learn & imitate their body language & behavior...not in a mocking way, but in a respectful "when in rome" way. If you don't know the language, learn a few phrases (especially hello & thank you). Your effort will earn you respect.