Some even had the nerve to say so. As an American who's been living in Sydney since last year, I know where I stand. I'm a septic tank. They may admire many things about us, and enjoy our movies, music and fashions, but something about us being a culturally dominant superpower rankles them.
People can be so touchy.
I'm not exactly in enemy territory. Except other Americans, and they've been pretty thin on the ground at the places I've turned up. We expected a very international crowd, but found ourselves in a sea of Australians. While we waited for the event to begin, one young woman brandishing an Australian flag used it to whack the Stars and Stripes that was discreetly poking out of my backpack on the ground. Nobody else was that hostile, I'm happy to report.