[Intrepid Homoludens]

As an American who has travelled to Europe several times I can partly confirm that, yes, there are some people there who need a bit of advice on personal hygiene. I remember a train ride my sister and I took when we were on our way to Giverny from Paris. The car we rode in was suddenly inundated by a large number of Italian school kids. It was obvious they hadn't bathed in at least a day or two because we could smell the garlic and the sweat. It was unbearable, so my sister and I darted out of there and found another car to occupy. Of course, that's not to say that ALL Italians don't bathe regularly, just that that particular group didn't, and it doesn't at all make me prejudiced against them. It's not necessarily cross-characteristic of them as a race or culture.

Then again, you will run into people anywhere in the world who need work on maintaining good hygiene. Hell, I even had to deal with other Americans who need help in that department.

But as far as rlpw's observation of those Czech representatives, I think they should be ashamed of themselves. They are representing their company and, coming from their country, ambassadors in a sense. They should've demonstrated a clean, professional image as such, and if I had been their boss and found out about this I would've been so embarrassed and forced them to clean up their act. It makes my company look bad, and it makes my country look bad.