[gopz]

What I've found after living in a few foreign countries (originally from the US):

If you balk at minor incidents of xenophobia and in so doing generally act as if you don't belong, it will only make it worse.

If you can take it in stride and keep a stiff upper lip people will assume you've already gone through enough "hazing" and leave you alone/be more welcoming.

Even if you're trying to be polite, being overly apologetic is almost always bad, unless the situation is incredibly dire. It makes people think you are trying to get away with something by being there.