I have also been to Guangdong and talked with people there. As long as people speak Cantonese, I look puzzled.
Some people don't like Cantonese, and people in other places are called "Americans", because in the eyes of Cantonese, except Guangdong and some areas around Guangdong are southerners, others are northerners.
In fact, I don't care much about this title, because to be honest, as a Hunan native. I don't even know whose side I'm on. I don't think I'm from the north, but I never think I'm from the south. After all, I have no southerner temperament at all. So every time I go out to introduce myself to others, I say that I am a Chinese.
Every place has its own unique dialect. When listening to related languages, we always bring our own local dialect subconscious thinking. Therefore, it is easy to misunderstand dialects in other places, so learn to do as the Romans do, to understand and learn other people's dialects. If it really doesn't work, use Mandarin. After all, there is barrier-free communication all over the country.
The dialect of every place is the memory of some people's hometown, and it is a very beautiful existence in everyone's memory. One of the greatest pleasures in life is to meet an old friend in another country. Moreover, it is definitely a very happy thing for you to walk alone in a foreign country and hear the familiar local accent.