thoughts on being a 'good' traveler

note: I'm currently on vacation (might do a trip report afterwards) and had this thought, so a bit ranty. On almost every trip I've been on, I've had this thought - that I'm a 'good' tourist. I try hard to learn some basic language so I don't force english everywhere. I try to follow local norms. I try to be quiet and respectful of my surroundings. Of course, I'm not perfect. There are stumbles where I make a blunder and feel cringe in my soul. Even something as minor as standing on the wrong side of an escalator while people walk around feels bad. And I don't think that people should strive to basically blend in; after all, you're still a tourist. But day to day when traveling, there are times when you see other tourists and think, wow, how embarrassing. Without going into details, I'd categorize these as second hand embarassment/cringe; something like taking up the entire sidewalk with a group, blocking it off to the flow of foot traffic. There are obviously levels of respect and…