Why smoking remains so prevalent. I'm sure it's not a majority that smokes, but it is massively more common anywhere I've been in Europe than here in the US. I live in a fairly large city and I will go many days in a row without seeing a single person smoking.
I just don't really get it. It's gross, it smells, it ruins your teeth and your lungs, and it's expensive. Why do it?
I belong to neither of these groups. But here goes it.
Europe: when ordering water, I have to specify for it not to have gas (non-carbonated). Also in places like Germany, people drink those before playing football. I don’t understand how you do it or even like it that way.
People in electric scooters are out of control. Specially in Spain. They’re the most egregious when it comes to disrespecting pedestrian crosswalks, dangerous overtaking in bike lanes and all around assholeness. You shouldn’t ride your fucking patinete in a train station crowded with people.
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People from the US: Your tipping culture is out of control. It’s good for outstanding service on certain scenarios. But not for handing me takeout or pulling out a foamy beer from a cooler.
Also , don’t tell newly-aquatinted people from the south that you’re not religious. They’ll try to tell you it’s their duty to save your soul and try to make you go to their religious services, which antagonizes them if you try to set boundaries on your personal beliefs.
Btw. I still like you both.
- No ice in their water or soda
- No refills on fountain drinks
These are the things that stood out to me whenever I have visited.
I spent a good while in Berlin once and one of my favorite restaurants was this Australian themed place by the IMAX theater just because I could get a nice big Diet Coke with ice in it. Their kangaroo sandwich also wasn’t half bad.
I know that a short visit doesnt give great insight into a place, but the following 2 things were very striking to me when visiting:
1 - the smoking.. i found it disturbing just how many people were smoking 2 - the graffiti. I was surprised by just how much graffiti there was. Do people not take pride in their property enough to wash it off? I know Graffiti is common everywhere, but it seemed to be on a whole other level in europe.. like it wasnt just on the back alleys, but on the front facades of buildings too. The front door of one of my airbnbs was covered in graffiti.
There was 1 thing though that was totally the opposite though & made total sense... the dual function windows (where you turn the handle 1 way to open them like a door & another way to lean them in to provide ventilation. These were everywhere & i found them to be the most functional thing ever! I wish they would catch on in the usa.. with that said, the first time i discovered this functionality, it was accidental. I panicked as i thought i broke the window lol.
It largely depends on the European nation. Even as a non-native, I don't tend to lump them all in one judgment, just as Europeans shouldn't lump all Americans in one judgment. Every American state is different. Reply to this comment with a European country and I'll share the thing about it that I understand the least.
Self defense laws are pretty weird in Europe. I am spoiled on our second amendment laws, so let my bias be noted.
However, some guy can break into your house and if you defend yourself with a bat or knife, the laws there from what I hear (this isn't fact, I could be mistaken) can get you in trouble with the law. I remember reading that somewhere.
Sure it's like that in the US too but there are many protections for those who clearly have acted in self defense.
I'm not American but i've worked in Western Europe. I don't know why but there seems to be a lot of taxes for everything. You have to get govt permission for everything. People seem to rely on the govt to provide things rather than have some agencies fill niches that aren't filled by the govt (for example I saw signs like don't help homeless people, the govt is helping them).
I'm from an Asian country, we don't have much tax, we don't rely on the govt for anything (we can't), and we have many NGOs. I think it's similar in America.
As an Asian, there are a few things I can note about Europeans.
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Europeans seem to have lost their sense of traditions, to me as an Asian it doesn't make sense since keeping our traditions and values is a huge part of our culture and society.
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Europeans also accept blame for bad things they did in the past (which is a good thing) but I think they can go overboard to compensate for that (to their detriment). I don't think accepting blame for things in the past is a thing that's done in Asia; we rewrite history instead. It would help if we acknowledged what we did and can have better relations with others moving forward.
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Europeans identify more with nationality than ethnicity. For example, someone from Czech Republic moving to France is considered French. In North America I think they would be considered Czech-French. In Asia they would be considered to be a Czech expat living in France. Our ethnicity matters a lot.
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For starters, I couldn't find any bugles. But I did spend a month or two over there and a few hotels had these weird showers where there was only a half pane of protection abridged to the wall. So the shower head pointed away from the coverage and there was no curtain! Every shower seemed to be just flooding the bathroom and not be in the tub. Either that or I'm an idiot. I will equally accept both scenarios
Tiny things, like tiny doorknobs, tiny stairs cases, tiny doors, tiny houses, tiny cars, and a tiny say in government legislation, etc.
And all the smoking! Eek. And we thought we had a drug problem in the USA. I've never seen so many people addicted to nicotine in my life when I've been there. It's everywhere. No thank you, I don't want to inhale nasty odor while eating my lunch. Jeez, WTF?
Something that always stands out to me is the roll-down window coverings. It's not that they don't make sense to me. In fact, they could be very advantageous here in the US in rough areas. It's just that they are everywhere including in seemingly low crime areas in Europe. Someone could make a killing here in the states marketing these things.
I grew up in Alaska. I live in Germany.
- Germans think air conditioning makes people sick - not because it could be dirty if poorly maintained, but because the chilled air will do... something.
- German cars can't be locked with the driver's door open; German apartments can't be unlocked if the door is closed.
- German tap water is both palatable and safe to drink; almost everyone drinks bottled water.
- In grocery stores, most Germans try to pack the conveyor belt at the checkout as tightly as possible and crowd the next person in line, as if space on the belt isn't a renewable resource.
How much they personally hate/dislike us.
- They've seen too many movies and make unfair assumptions about us and then judge us? Idk.
How racist they are but have no idea they are.
- They ridicule the US for our own brand of terrible racism but seem to be clueless that they and their government have their own vicious and oppressive racism.
How stuck in tradition they are.
- I feel like I don't see a lot of progress in construction, culinary arts, or caste systems (to name a few).
I've only been to Germany (and technically Ireland but I was just changing planes there) and didn't really find anything to be too weird or different than what I know of living in California. The biggest thing was just how all the normal shops and restaurants closed fairly early (like 6pm) and there was a red light district that opened up around that time. They even had the thing where some of the establishments had naked dancing women in the windows so you can see them from the street. I never actually went in, but I walked the whole block nearly every night when I was there at 19 years old.
In Germany, you can be driving straight down a road and someone can pull out onto the road from a turn and you have to yield to them. It seems extremely dangerous. Also, stop lights are directly above you, instead of across the street so if you’re looking at the stop light you can’t really pay attention very well to the traffic in the intersection.
A lot of stuff makes a lot more sense but these two things seem illogical to me.
This might be radical, but the way they view rights when compared to Americans. Europeans believe their rights are given to them by their government, and that the government can give our take them as they see fit, while Americans view their rights as immutable freedoms given to them simply for existing.
For as much shit as you give Americans for using imperial measurements, why are you still using old units of time (seconds, minutes, and hours)? Shouldn't you have come up with something based on water by now that is divisible by 100s? At this point, it just feels disingenuous giving an American shit about "freedom units" when you're walking around talking about hours that were defined by the Babylonians 5,000 years ago.
Honestly, get your shit together.
Edit: lol Europeans woke up angry
