I've travelled widely. I only felt unsafe once because of a crowded environment and noone who spoke the language. The world is so vast with so many great experiences to have. If you use your head and respect local customs you should have no problems. If someone wants to share their opinions about 'America or Americans' listen, show respect for their opinions whether you agree or not, but it will tend to let the steam out of them. I have seen some real obnoxious travelling Americans and am sorry to say they have been used to assume all Americans are similar.