Culture Shocked Americans Share The Things They Didn't Realize Were So American
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- Americans of Reddit, what is something you didn't realise was typically American, until you went abroad? - r/AskReddit
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I like how americans seem extra concerned about personal space but try to have conversations with strangers
After coming back to America from study abroad it was the weirdest thing to get in an elevator with only 4 other people and have it considered full. Also very freeing though
There is a difference between touching someone and talking to someone though, a huge difference.
Touching someone is way different m than a 5 second introduction lmao
30 seconds I’m American and I don’t even like talking to people I know... never mind random strangers
Lol. As an American I was just wandering the same thing about Europeans, only in reverse.
American: *h-*
Non-Americans: *We don’t do that here*
Auditory Cheesecake
That sounds like a Country Ball comic
XD,
We have similar names!
Lol
Americans: h-
Non-americans: _We don't take kindly to your kind around here."_
This is a joke non-americans most of y'all are lovely 💕
People talk about Europe in a very general way... Northern Europe and Southern Europe are very different. Norwegian and Swedish will avoid eye contact and will not greet you on the street, Portuguese and Italian have kisses as greetings and will literally talk to anyone they see
Finally someone said it
Porcodiooooo
I usually smile at everyone i pass by but they'll not always smile back and just give me a weird and *cough* rude *cough* look. So i prefer not to look at the eyes ( Maybe cause i'm too shy and such an introvert ) From Norway
Lies. As a Finn, Swedes are REALLY friendly to strangers and will talk to... almost anyone. Us Finns, we're the people you're describing
People talk about the US in a very general way. The Central North US, the South East US, the North East US, the South West US, the North West US, The Central US, Louisiana, California, Florida and Texas are all very different different places. (Those 4 states were singled out by name because they don't really fit in with their region either.)
Fun fact: it is incredibly American to put all of your weight on one foot, that is one of the ways pickpockets can tell you are a foreigner
Unwanted Attention do we do it that often? Like shuffling our feet around? Didn’t know that people stood straight in other countries
I do it as well and in from Europe... gotta stop doing that I guess :p
I heard that. And I've noticed that most people here in the UK do tend to spread their weight evenly across both feet.
Also, apparently in America people will put down their knives after cutting their food and switch their fork to the other hand.
@Rosie Spilled
Americans only use a knife if they're cutting tough meat. Otherwise they just use a fork.
I've been to Europe three times and noticed that everyone is eating their food so elegantly and properly with both a knife and a fork. It almost felt like"Really? Do you really need to slice into that green bean before each bite?"
@@braddocke.hutton7392 I would say it's better because then you eat slower and smaller portions and it's actually helthier.
I'm American, i thought smiling at strangers was normal, i have to smile at strangers or i feel like they see me as uptight or arrogant.
i avoid eye contact, but when i do, i do the same.
Oh in asian countrie ppl just tend to mind their own business On the street lol
If you do that shit here in Europe you'll be seen as a weirdo/creep
in asia eye contact is super disrespectful (moreso korea or japan if you don’t know them and aren’t close they see it as weird/creepy)
@@luckychonk9527 yup definitely it just seems weird that someone smiles or says hi for no reason and whenever they do that i always think "do i know you in the past and just forgot about you???" Lol
What I learned from this: Americans are very friendly with strangers but please do NOT TOUCH ME
This is so true it hurts
That’s how you get a lip popped
One time I complimented my Indian coworker on her blouse, and as she's telling me where she got it, she nonchalantly put her hand on mine and my whole body tensed up like "whaaaat are you doing" (for context, I am female too)
am i the only american that doesnt mind physical touch
My life in words
Generally in Europe, since everything is much closer together, driving long distances is a huge deal to anyone.
Or maybe it's because you have to cross the border of an entire country to drive more than 100 miles.
My family go "shopping" for cigarettes in belgium because it costs less
??? I start to question the legit size of Europe at this point
Contrast to Australia, you plan things so you don’t get lost in the middle of buttfuck nowhere
and most of us don't really enjoy driving, spending time in cars... the longer it is the more boring it gets
Why is no one mentioning the fact that America is the only country to measure temperature in Fahrenheit??
It’s honest easier why would you measure something that’s not water (ie heat in the air) with a measurement designed for water. 100 = hot and 30 or below = cold is much easier than 37.777 = hot and 0 = cold. Personally I’d rather use a lot more whole numbers than have to deal with decimals and only have a max of 40 whole numbers to use to describe the difference between freezing and sweating/fever.
No one uses decimals. If it’s really cold and it’s snowing, most likely between 0 and -10 degrees. If it’s really hot, most likely between 30-40 degrees. So maybe in the hight of summer, you would say, ‘Hey, it’s going to be 33 degrees tomorrow.’ No decimals.
Ok that makes sense Fahrenheit doesn’t use them either idk why I assumed Celsius would. I’ve grown up with Fahrenheit and I’ve tried learning to convert to Celsius and I just don’t get it. I know we Americans do some weird things compared to the rest of the world but I honestly think how we measure temperature is one of the only things we do right. I just can’t understand why you would use something made to measure the temperature of water to.....not measure the temperature of water and why literally everyone else in the world uses it. Where did we even get Fahrenheit from if everyone is using Celsius? 🤷♀️
I see here that Americans do not understand why we use the water as a reference for temperature.
Let me remind you that your point 0 for Fahrenheit is the freezing temperature of a solution of brine made from equal parts of ice, water and a salt...
Body temperature is 98, 6°F (yes you have a decimal here).
It seems very scientifically illogical to have your scale 0-100 between two very different types of fluids (freezing salty water - human blood).
The scale is also very short spaced between two values, 10°F do not make a huge difference, which leads to enormous numbers for science.
This system is not even from America, but Germany, so I'll never understand why it has been chosen...
@@mf96450 I guess it doesn't really matter which scale you use, so long as it's consistent everywhere. It would equally confusing to measure the temperature outside in Fahenheit, but then the temperature of your oven in Celsius. So the freezing and boiling points of water are just 2 points on a scale. For example, a hot oven would be 220c. Not that it's useful, but I like how that then is linked into other units of measurement - for example the definition of a calorie is based off heating water by 1 degree celsius.
(btw, I'm someone that still likes using inches despite living in the UK, where metric is much more commonplace - just because I like the length of an inch for most common stuff, so totally get the point that if the scale matches what you typically use it for, it makes more sense)
Who tf introduces themselves to group of strangers
Griffin Curley Extroverts raised in America.
Griffin Curley Me in Denmark in my classroom and everyone stared in silence and one of the girls sitting in the front of the class said in English: “oh boy another one of them” 😂
Muricans
well they said it was in a hostel so a lot of american college students will travel alone in europe and make friends with the kids in the hostels..very normal (i’m currently doing this Lol). It’s not as weird as it sounds
The Japanese do it too...
But the Americans are considerably more open about it tho.
It is a good ice breaker if you ask me, doesn't waste a lot of time, and is very productive for social interactions.
I think Americans just say we "went to Europe" rather than specifying a country because most Americans will visit several countries as opposed to just one
It’s much easier to do when a country is the size of a state here.
lol
Foreigners get butthurt when we lump their culture together by saying Europe and they lump our’s together by saying America. Same difference really.
im from Ireland and I moved to America when I was 11 (I'm 16 now) and it is MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE, when Americans say "I went to Europe", like,,, there are there are 50 countries in Europe, you should really specify where lmao
@@xaviercopeland2789 It's a bit different when "foreigners" are actually coming from dozens of different countries with extensive histories, religions, cultures, and conflicts that existed centuries before the US was even colonized. But yes, I feel your pain. I'm Canadian and it pisses me off to no end when everyone assumes I'm American.
I’m from Finland and I lived in the US for a while. During the first few months I probably googled like 1000 times how to reply to ”how are you” ”how’s it going” or ”wassup”. I was so not used to those expressions.
When I moved back to Finland the most annoying thing was that in a classroom no one said ”bless you” if someone sneezed. Like in the US even the teacher paused their speech to say ”bless you”. I have to always say bless you in my mind if someone sneezes lol
I always say "bless you" if someone sneezes, even if said someone is on the other side of the room/street/hall/whatever
idk as a kid I was taught that it's rude not to say it. Not American tho
i live in an eastern european country and saying "bless you" is something everyone does here when someone sneezes. i never knew not all eu countries had that. you learn something every day, i guess.
sandra well in finland there are _some_ people who say the finnish equivalent to bless you which literally means for your health but i can’t recall almost any cases where someone has said it lol
I'm an American and I never could bring myself to get into that social ritual. Saying "bless you" when a person sneezes always seemed so ridiculous to me. Particularly once I learned the origin of the saying. It has some seriously funny roots in possession.
In eastern europe im pretty sure we always bless you
We may have free bathrooms but we don’t have free healthcare:(
If you use the bathroom regularly what the hell do you need healthcare for, wash your damn hands.
@@Lithane97 uhhh, you've got to be joking right? There are many health conditions that are not at all related to hygiene such as cancer, heart failure, twisted kidneys, an inflamed pancreas, Dislocations, Broken bones, brain damage, (I can go on forever but I'll stop here~)
No one has free healthcare
*Thanos voice* Perfectly balanced, as all things should be
??? It’s not free you fucking moron
In other some countries, waiters don’t typically bring you the check unless you ask. It’s very rude on their end to just bring it to you, like the equivalent of an American waiter saying “get the hell out you’re wasting our time.” My family was sitting around for almost an hour waiting when my dad finally asked if we could get a check and our waiter looked relieved that we’d finally asked.
Edit: I’m not saying American waiters are rude or trying to shove you out. Yes, they often clear up that there’s no rush or that you can still order more. I’m saying that if that happened in another country, it’s seen as rude. It’s just a cultural difference, not that one is better. Calm down guys.
Here in Brazil it's common to stay long periods of time chatting on the table after finishing our meal. The waiters don't complain, it's just how we are. We eat first and chat second. People have told me Americans use to chat WHILE eating... We just can't bring ourselves to do it, we focus so much in our food. So it's normal to have to ask for the check, but usually a waiter will come every half an hour to ask if you want something else or will stay a little longer, just in case. Oh, and they'll only ask if you aren't chatting, otherwise it's rude (like you said, "Get out already!!")
Adalana Duarte interesting, in US it’s seen as rude to stay for long periods of time after eating. Especially if there are other people waiting in line for a table
That’s really weird, when Americans bring your check it’s more trying to prove that they have good service, if you ask in America it’s kind of seem as rude and bad service from the restaurant
Honestly I hate that we can’t stay longer in restaurants. And I always feel rushed when they gives us our check, like they want us out already. I get especially pissed when after they give us the check, if we stay longer, they’ll keep watching us like were criminals, it’s so annoying. Trynna enjoy the last of our meal and can’t because they’re looking at us or they keep walking by our table. Like if I didn’t feel rushed before, I feel rushed now.
@@kay9301 move to the south
I’m Asian and we always take off our shoes when we get home, I got really surprised when my classmates said they don’t take off their shoes
-4 Subscribers with 1 video im Asian too and I take my shoes off?
Yeah, it's a way to keep the carpets clean and not track the dirty stuff on your shoes all over the place
same in eastern europe
I'm pretty sure we do this too in rural America atleast farm boys do as you don't want to even think about what you stepped in all day.
that's relative to the family. Most that have carpets do and others with hardwood floors don't.
Also saying "Good for you" in USA is a positive remark whereas in Denmark, everyone will interpret it as being a sarcastic remark, leaning on "I don't care".
And in the US, people seem to sit next to each other and chat while using public transportation. In Denmark, we'll do whatever it takes to find the last seat in a bus/train where no one sits next to you.
The same things apply to northern Germany
it does sound pretty sarcastic though
but then, I'm from northern Germany ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"good for you" in the UK is sarcastic, as default. Only in some contexts or with a different pronounced stress is it mean genuinely.
Actually in the United States "good fo you" is interpreted in both ways it just depends on the context of the conversation as well as the tone in which you use it in
yeah "good for you" can be sarcastic in the states! it's 100% based on how you say it, rather than just the literal words themselves. I personally prefer that.
I had an American stranger help me buy a birthday present for a friend. I went to a shop to look at colognes and this American guy was there testing some himself, overheard my convo with my friend who was also helping me and started spraying different colognes on perfume cards for me to try. He didn't even work there. I ended up buying the same one he bought for himself. Weird encounter but defs a nice bloke.
In the states that behavior is so normal. Like there are samples that you can use without an employee helping. And that behavior is normal for some reason.
Yeah, people here talk to strangers all the time. If we are out walking people will just say hi to people as they pass them by and have conversations.
This made me remember when I was at the store looking for a birthday card and got distracted by the ones with songs when you open them and fun added features like that. I then helped this family pick out which one of the fun cards to get, them we parted ways with a smile and a have a good day and I haven’t seen them since. And it wasn’t weird, just another day🤷♀️
People always do that. Like with going to the yankee candle shop and opening up all the candles and smelling them
First name Last name hello, my friend.
asking someone “how are you” in a lot of countries is a really deep question that you’re never supposed to ask a stranger because it’s personal
This question gives me a flood of painful memories and some momentary PTSD before I mumble out the words "fine".
In America:
"How are you?"
"Good."
In Europe:
"How are you?"
**existential crisis ensues**
@@The1nvisibleJeevas yeah. How are you is to describe your feeling and why you got that feeling. Is very personnal
Not like that here in Turkey
@@zravena-1309 It's like that here in Turkey. Imagine some random stranger asking you nasılsın out of blue
As an American, it gets annoying when 99% of the starting conversations go:
"Hi! How are you"
"Good, how are you?"
"Good!"
"Good"
That’s not only American though
People do start small talk here in Brazil, but we really talk. Like:
Stranger: “Hi, how are you?”
“You don't know, my daughter just had a fever. I'm here to buy medicine”
“Oh, that's bad. I'm fine, but my cat is missing”
“Man, that's so bad! Can we go look for him after this?”
“Yeah, please! Thank you”
@@adrianlevampiro4567 Where in Brazil exactly? Here where I leave this only ever happens between acquaintances, and even then only if they have plenty of time (say, people waiting for the bus)
@@henriquepacheco7473 Diadema, São Paulo. I do this with people I don't know, and everyone I'm close to do too.
I'm fine with small talk. I'm not sure why people hate it so much. I am a total introvert, so small talk is a way for me to show myself as a thoughtful person when otherwise I would keep to myself and seem rude. Sometimes I'll bring up topics like rare weather patterns, local events or news, or something more personal to the stranger (a dog, baby, cute hair, etc) to set up a friendly vibe. I'll never see that person again, so if I mess up on my words or embarrass myself in a different way, I can laugh it off.
Can always spot an American on holiday, when they wear nothing but athletic wear EVERYWHERE.
Well we kinda (especially where I'm from in the PNW) find athletic clothing really comfortable for both at home and out & about.
A funny thing people here in PNW dress like a hike could break out at any moment
Like really tho are you on holiday just to exercise
Talia so what ? were a casual nation
Vanessa Ladolcetta not saying there’s anything wrong with it, there’s just no other nation that dresses like you guys do I guess. Lol
Honestly we just dress comfortably, and if it looks good cool, if not whatever.
Never say “how are you” to a American because they will tell u their whole life story
YES! 😂😂😂😂😂 We have an American neighbor who comes back during the summer and my mother tends to avoid him 😂 He’s a good person, is very friendly which is comforting but my mom avoids him since he is so talkative 😂
@@maeb.2866
"Hi! Nice to see you!"
"Hey! Did you know that my wife's dog just got his leg prosthetic? He has been needing one for a long time. Also, I just got back from the store and I just got some nice curtains for the shower! They look so nice and have beautiful desgins!"
Ha lol
I just freeze up when someone asks me that because I honestly don't know how to respond.
I'm American btw
alexander the great Same here.
Brainy dude: **makes computer read ASAP as “as soon as possible**
Also brainy dude: AC IS PRONOUNCED ACK
Every time I read “ACK” I hear Jontron right behind me.
ACK ACK ACK.. ACK ACK!!!
Also Suv instead of Es You Vee
And bur-jer
The fucked up part is that it is objectively wrong for anybody to read ASAP has anything other than an acronym. It's also wrong to read each letter individually.
Dumb civs don't get that ASAP is meant to be read quickly.
American: *Went to England*
American: "I Travelled Europe once"
Americans can literally say the same for Europeans. Just like Europe, America is huge with different cultures in each state.
@@c.l.1820 Except there's literally almost no difference between, say, California and Florida. The US is one country, saying you've been to the US if you've only visited one state still counts. Saying you've travelled Europe even though you've only been in England (of all countries) is utter bullshit.
you, my friend, have obviously never been to at least one of those states.
@@herec0mestheCh33f do they speak different languages? I don't think so...
Also, thinking that Britain = England. That will earn you a bitch slap in Scotland.
It's funny how for a lot of Europeans Americans seem loud and overly friendly, and for most Latinamericans they seems quiet and reserved. Perspective depends on your own culture.
@@v0idr4nt57 From a Mexican perspective, I'd say there's this idea of Europeans being sophisticated, cultured, maybe snobby... that kind of thing. So.. very serious. I wonder what Europeans think of Latinamericans , though, if they think Americans are loud lol
@@anaisgomez9681 From our exchange students responding to my friend (who is from Brazil) they believe Latin America is just a massive party per say, with everyone being exceptionally rowdy and overly comfortable with each other. The apparently were led to believe that all Latin American women wore super revealing dresses and the guys would all join mariachi bands like how Americans and Europeans will form bands during school.
@@ethan_3714 That sounds hilarious! LOL
@@anaisgomez9681 I'm a Nicaraguan living in Germany. They mostly think that we are very loud and overly friendly people. If you are riding on public transportation and you see a group of people talking loudly, it's almost certain that they are latinos. they think that we love to party and drink, that we are all amazing dancers and only listen to reggaeton, salsa and bachata. They basically think we are all a mix of Mexican, Cuban and Colombian stereotypes, which, for someone from central America like me, it's kind of true lol.
For me and the people I know americans are just friendly and latinoamericans are really friendly and theres the stereotipe that they like to party a lot (and a couple of friends I have abide by that rule), but again, I'm from Spain, many europeans from the north have told me that we're way to close and friendly between people (no sé si hablas español lol)
America; Home of the Brave, Land of the Free Refills!
YEASSSS!!!!! I use those to my advantage 😭👏🤤🤤🤤
And free bathrooms
“The whole point of this country is if you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds and die of a heart attack at 43, you can! You are free to do so. To me, that's beautiful.” 🇺🇸
-Ron Swanson
America Home if the big mouths and free of health insurances.
The “half-smile” thing just blew my mind. Never realized it was weird outside America. I feel like it’s just a way to acknowledge each other’s existence rather than just pretend the other person doesn’t exist 😂
It's disturbing when you do it to someone you don't know.
It's so funny that people would think its creepy/weird. I find it rude if I don't do it, and although I'm not offended if strangers don't do it, I am if my friends don't do it when they pass me in the hallway at school.
i never knew anyone would even smile at a stranger (unless he's very kind waiter or shopkeeper)
I hate the half smile thing and I’m American. I feel pressured to smile or nod my head when I pass a stranger. But then if I don’t do it I feel like I’m being rude or antisocial so I usually pretend I can’t see a person by looking the other way
Ya I have heard people say we are so impolite. But you half smile and nod when you walk past someone. And of they have a dog you stop and get the dog and small talk about the breed and stuff. It's just saying that you know they exist and I would feel really weird pretending someone doesn't exist
Kinda weird to hear that Americans are weirded out by people being anti-social. I’m from New York City and we all don’t say a word to each other. I found it bizarre when I went out West for the first time and discovered that complete strangers will not only smile at you, but even say “Hi” or “Good morning” like they know you or something. Wild.
Event HoriXZ0n that’s because NYC is the scariest place. For the Midwest most people think y’all are the devil with devil rats everywhere. But that’s a lot of big cities. Very few exist in the Midwest
City folks wouldn’t understand. I’m a pretty reserved dude myself, but as a Southern lad, I can’t help but be kind and friendly to everyone.
Depends on the Borough, people in Brooklyn are friendly.
Coming from the midwest its really weird how mean people are to strangers in new york
In the south if your sitting next to someone on a bus for a long time and they are just sitting there, you feel obligated to start up a conversation with them. You don't want then to think your rude so you usually ask " How are you?" Or "Where are you going?" Or even compliment them if you genuinely like what your complimenting. I went to New York we where surprised how little people wanted to talk. We really only had conversations with older people.
If a dad taking care of his child, and hugging it feels weird to you, than you probably had a very sad childhood.
Lee Stormrage it’s not the taking care and hugging children that’s weird, it’s that in America they advertise children things with mothers. Like a diaper commercial will show the mom changing the diapers. In general, it’s expected for the women to take care of the child. I mean it wasn’t that long ago when women were allowed to have jobs, before that, women had to stay home and be the housewife, cooking, cleaning, raising the children. And the men did all the work. And even though women can get jobs now, it’s still expected of them to be more nurturing to the children. Are there fathers here who do the nurturing? Yes, but it isn’t expected. And for things like pushing the stroller, women typically do that.
Yeah probably. Though here (assuming you aren't American) the dads do care and show affection, but you generally see the moms doing more caretaker stuff rather than just caring stuff. For example, moms in America usually have the kids. Dad might take them places too but when it's time to get the groceries, mom is the one who, traditionally, does it and she takes the kids with her. She's the one who goes to birthday parties and casual school functions. Or they both do. But it's not as common for dad to go by himself with the kids. And in commercials and billboards, it's moms putting lotion on and cradling their babies. Not to say dads couldn't or don't do any of those things, but it's not a norm I guess
As someone whose Dad didn't take care of them much as a kid b/c he was always deployed in the military, I can say that that situation is sad... but I wouldn't consider my childhood to have been a sad one.
It’s sort’ve a norm based on the American Dream. The self-made man. You sent and got a job either in the city or military and provided for your family. Chances are by the time you went home you were fairly tired (you are working 9-5 still) and wanted to chill after. The women were supposed to keep the house lovely and presentable while raising their two little angels, unless it was a time of war in which case a job was pushed for them while the men fought. Even in those times of pushing women to work there was no implication of a father’s care imply because he was defending his country. Simple as that.
Idk, it’s just fascinating to see how a cultural allure mixed with a few wars shaped modern day advertising.
Hell I didnt have a dad my father figure was my Pawpaw (Grandpa) and my Uncle, I kinda had two mother figures my Aunt and my Mom, and me and my cousin were raised as brother and sister, (Me being the only boy with two girls) so my childhood was anything but bleak, my Pawpaw and Uncle made a mini-park outside in the backyard, it's still there surprisingly. Me and one of my cousins always fought with each other and we once were really scared because we both stepped on a rusty nail at the same time and kept seeing ads with tetanus, and at the same time were scared of shots. Now that I look at the retards that don't vaccinate their children, I'm proud I was vaccinated like holy shit, also I've had at least 5 I.V shots (I think that's what they're called) and I remember how absolutely painful they were, imagine a centimeter long needle going into the vein on the inside of your elbow and they do it slowly, it's not even quick, it sucks.
I've met a few americans, mostly strangers. Their half-smiles, waves, greetings, and conversations always cheer me up. They're usually pretty nice in my experience, and I'm always happy to make a new possible friend!
We eat burgers with our hands where I'm at, though. Was once confused when we ate with French and Italian classmates so I tried cutting up a pizza and eating them with utensils.
Oof, strayed a bit. Oh well.
As an Italian, eating pizza with utensils is a crime 😂
Just kidding, but you do it only at very luxurious restaurants.
@@edithliciabalducci6543 As ashamed as I myself am to confess, my house does it, however, it's only in the cases where our homemade pizzas can't hold themselves together well enough to be trusted without utensils.
@@JMObyx Don't worry, I get that ahahhaha
@@JMObyx I like to eat my pizza with my hands, but of course anyone can eat it however they prefer and it's easier for them. Our only goal should be ending that pizza 🔥
@@edithliciabalducci6543 Our home-made pizza is soft in a way that makes it so much more delicious, unfortunately we haven't made it enough to master that balance between soft and firm 100%
Still rocking good pizza, though, multiple times we fantasized opening a food truck to just serve our homemade stuff. Still, though, the profit amrgins are so narrow, especially under Democrat rule, that it'll never be worth doing.
bro the first time i went to the US, i was standing by the sink and my mom jokingly turned on the garbage disposal. i screamed.
*edit*: wow this blew up i thought it would get lost in the sea of comments, thank you!!
That's pretty sad.
Honestly understandable. Those things can sound like some sort of space alien in the sink. They’re really damn useful though.
@@eternalfrost1732 Yeah, as a rat I'd also find it extremely kind of you that you cut my dinner in small pieces before feeding it to me :P
@@silverletter4551 LMAO agreed. i find them rather useful but it scared the shit out of me the first time.
when i was younger i "walked in" when my mom was watching a movie (i peeked around the doorframe bc i was curious). thing is i walked in on a scene where a guy choked & fucking died cause his tie got stuck in the garbage disposal. ive been afraid of sinks ever since and its a curse
Honestly when I went to the US the whole everyone saying hey to me was so nice, I kind of picked it up when I returned to the UK and it's kinda frustrating how antisocial everyone is. I say this as a paranoid anxious wreck.
I'm happy to hear you had a good experience while visiting the US. :)
It just seems so bleak if there isn’t at least some small talk
Yeah. If you wanna avoid it also just avoid eye contact. lol if I meet someones gaze I feel like I have to acknowledge them in some way or else I'm being rude. But when I want to just get shit done and be left alone I keep my head down and no one bothers you.
Having lived in the country in the UK all my life, we do this, but you know everyone around anyway, so you're kind of forced to.
Oo good. I thought this was the opposite!
The fact that there aren't flags on display everywhere on days that aren't national holidays.
You will find that in Thailand as well. I saw more flags there than I expected too, on par with certain places in the US, as well as so many pictures of the current king. They have such high patriotism and national spirit there which makes sense because it's Thailand. What's not to love?
You can find plenty of flags at official buildings or next to commemoration statues tho.
You make a point though.
I don't have a Belgian flag in my garden.
HinduHillbilly just visit Northern Ireland, the Union Jack is painted onto the curbs in some parts there.
Being completely honest not many people on Europe are proud of living in his own country to put a flag on their garden. Most of us are ashamed of something bad from our country.
Not much in Spain tho. It's weird not finding one in every street hanging from a window
@@s.v.o.579 I have a Belgian flag in my room, though I'm a bit more patriotic than most waffles :/
I feel like the whole "smiling at everyone" has been misinterpreted by anyone who's not American/raised that way. In America you don't smile at everyone you see on the street. You only smile when you accidentally make eye contact with somebody and you want them to know you mean well and you weren't just staring at them to be creepy. In the US I would say it's creepier to make eye contact and not smile at the person. I've read quite a few comments that were kind of rude about the whole thing, saying that we don't understand personal space or that we purposefully do it to be fake or make people uncomfortable. I just want to say that this is absolutely not the case and that it's just a different culture around here. So I think it's a bit unfair to insist that we need to change our ways and implying that Americans are bad people cause we don't have the same societal rules as you do. Cultural differences are part of what make the world so cool so why can't we just embrace the differences instead of resenting them? It's ok to not understand but it's not ok to make assumptions and disrespect another culture or group of people because you weren't raised in that atmosphere. And that goes for every culture not just directed at Americans and vise versa. Hopefully this made sense cause now I'm just rambling.
I felt that. Of course nobody smiles 24/7 everywhere you go, it only seems that way because you're looking at them at that specific moment. Where I live, if someone makes eye contact with you and has a stony/poker face, it could mean they're shady
exactly like if i am accidentally looking into your eyes, if i dont smile ill be staring into your soul
This entire explanation is american and it makes me uncomfy.
THIS
I'm the creepy one then. And many people where I live dont smile when we make eye contact. Maybe it's my state.
The politeness or friendliness to strangers one is so true. I visited England once and stopped in a cafe to get some food. It had a really long line and overall was just super busy. So Im standing behind the last girl in line and smile at her and say “it’s packed in here isn’t it” and not just her but everyone around her all look at me like I was on crack or something.
Isabel S oof
Lol! I tried serving my girlfriend Spaghetti and Meatballs once the traditional way and when I brought out the meatballs first in a separate dish she asked where the spaghetti was and I gave her that and she wanted to eat them mixed together. Also I had to inform her that alfredo sauce and alla vodka sauce are purely american.
That's so sad lol. But also here in Switzerland we describe British people as ridiculously dry. I'm a cashier here and many people are up for friendly small-talk
Haha, I can picture it perfectly as in these parts of Europe people would react the same. Probably some of them did consider you might have been high on something. Whenever a stranger speaks to anyone here, where I live it's usually a crazy person or a drunk, anyway everyone's reaction is always like "omg, please stop, please go away, don't talk to me stay back, by the name of our lord jesus christ begone!!" . I must say I do the same. When I'm in public I want to be left alone with my business.
I'm not surprised, from their perspective you were disrupting their personal space at best and rude at worst. When you are not used to strangers talking to each other they probably thought you were on drugs indeed :D If you visit Europe again you should try one of the more southern countries, from what I heard they are more open to strangers than we are in the north.
The sugar thing is a big one. I used to work in a hotel restaurant and we had a lot of international visitors. They were shocked and often grossed out by how sweet our breads, cereals, drinks, condiments, etc. were.
Honestly, though, that's one of the big reasons why our country is so fat. There's so much added sugar in things that don't even need to be sweetened. It can be really hard to avoid. :o
@@LoveMyUnusual Also, in America healthy food is more expensive than processed food.
@Paul Martin no it doesn't.
Yup, I couldn't wait to get back home after my visit to NY. Everything was sweet, even the savoury food, all of it. It was awful
Kaylee F yea when I went to LA I was amazed by how sweet everything was compared to back home. Another thing that amazed me was how large the portions were, seriously with how sweet and massive the plates of food are over there it must be tricky to stay fit... Honestly tho some of the foods were too sweet for me to even finish
Wait, you can get an entire desert at a restaurant? "Are you ready to order, sir?"
"Ah yes, hmm.. I think I'll try the Sahara".
:^O
Make sure you order plenty of those *Ahem* *_non-refills_* of water, cuz it’s so dry.
Sahara means desert.
@@HappyCynic That is true. It's one of many redundant place names.
Others include Lake Tahoe, where Tahoe means Lake therefore, Lake Tahoe means Lake Tahoe, or Bredon Hill in England, in which Bredon means Hill Hill, thus, Bredon Hill means Hill Hill Hill.
As an American, I can explain exactly why people smile at each other when walking around. If you ignore someone, it’s kind of saying that you’re ignoring that they’re there, and that’s sort of like saying that you’re not acknowledging that they exist. While that might seem odd to people in other countries, we think that it’s rude to *not* do that and it’s not uncommon to make light conversation with someone next to you in America.
Idk ignoring people existing is basically normal everywhere else so...
It's the same in Ireland.
Honestly, I wish more countries did that. As a kid I always used to smile to strangers and say hi etc. cause it just felt natural to acknowledge their existence. But when I grew older I kinda stopped doing it since not that many people really responded to it and only very few people greet each other like that where I live ✨The Netherlands✨
Really differs per region tho. People in smaller villages are more likely to greet strangers in my experience.
also, if you make eye contact and DON'T smile it's like youre creepily staring into their soul
@@oliviasimpson1826 I mean head nod is a thing instead of smile. Some do it like they would tip their hat if they wore one without the hand motion. Others go up like a cholo like non-verbally saying sup.
Funny seeing the accurate breakdown of sup on urban dictionary.
Short for 'What's Up?'. 'What's Up?' is short for 'What is Up?', and 'What is Up?' is short for 'How are boring daily events in your life going?'.
This makes Americans seem kinda 'sweet' though. All awkwardly half-smiling, unknowing loud people trying to be polite but not quite 'getting' it.
And have firearms
@@airracer28 lmaoo
that’s uncommonly nice of you to say; thanks! lol
We missed the world etiquette class while we were inventing the internet that you're using. Enjoy.
@@ReblazeGaming The internet started as a military project funded by American taxpayers, so yes, "we" invented the internet. I'm sorry if you don't understand the concept of collective nouns. Nice touch with the Einstein reference-using someone who died as an American citizen because he had to escape Nazi Germany.
Half smile and not saying anything is the "im being friendly but have no desire to talk"
Isn't it easier if there was no interaction with a stranger???
@@guilhermefarias5255 But that's not being friendly. You don't want to come off as rude.
Kiki but that's not rude though
@@markcerne1313 no one wants to just randomly start a convo. we have things to do and places to be.
Stan Pines then don't smile at me ? That just creepy
I'm cringing really hard at the thought of someone introducing themselves in that kind of situation.
Edit: 1k likes. Jesus. Y'all are fucking chill ;P
Lefrave It’s not something I’ve seen as an American, but it’s a big country with a diverse culture, so who am I to criticize that person’s culture?
@@AlexRodriguez-oo9yu Oh yeah, definitely, you're completely right! Didn't mean that in a demeaning way or anything. Just meant that purely based on my culture - what I'm accustomed to, that sort of situation would make me cringe. The deed itself isn't bad.
@@TheWebboxchannel extroversion and being courageous. I haven't seen it done often but this kind of social ping is a great way to meet people.
At a public lounge? Where you might be sleeping next to some of the people there?
Yeah, I wouldn't introduce myself. Closest thing like hat I have experienced, was when I was in France I went to my hotel lobby and there were about 7 people down there doing different things, all the seats were forming a semi-circle type thing. There was one empty chair, so I said in American sounding French, " Good afternoon, pardon me" to the group as I moved in to grab a paper and sit down. Most looked up nodded and went back to what they were doing, and I sat down and read or tried to read lol, and that was that. I don't think I could have sat down if I went up and said " BON JOUR! My name is Phishkisses, ill be joining you here for a well deserved read." Im sure a couple of them would have gotten up and left.
Hard to explain it but American tourists are also very hmm... descriptive? Like whenever I see them here in Europe they'd be always like "y'all I think we should go visit the palace now. I think that's the palace, alright? What y'all thinking. I like those red walls. And also the windows, I like the windows".
Obviously a southern person.. most people don’t talk like that in America. Also they’re probably really excited so they aren’t going to craft an intricate sentence to sound intellectual lmao
I had to laugh at that. I'd totally do that.
People in the south do that to be polite. Useless descriptive compliments to make it clear they're having a good time. Most other US states don't do this haha.
@@therealfirelord3359 Yeah, lol, in Michigan we go: "Did you see the, uh, uhhhh, um, theeeeee *snapping to try and remember* the thing? The place we went to before? Oh never mind!"
The nod and half-smile is 100% American. And if you're in the South, you'll be considered asocial or rude if you're dead-panned in a restaurant or grocery store--anywhere public really--and you don't reciprocate it. So, basically the opposite of the situation when you do it in other countries and people consider it disingenuous.
I mean i live in Spain and we do the nod but we dont half smile
Why is it so bad to be "anti social"? If I don't care speaking with strangers, that's my choice.
@@exlibrisas Because the US has a very gregarious and extroverted culture. The nod and half smile, are considered literally the least you can do in terms of social niceities. You don't have to talk, the if you don't smile and nod, people will generally have the impression that you're either having a bad day, or that you have a bad attitude.
@@exlibrisas I think I meant asocial. But still, in cultures where people are majority open, being the person who is not will make you stand out and probably have people make assumptions about you. I.e., you're dangerous, mean, angry, spoiled, discriminatory etc.
@@BenjaminKuruga I hope I don't sound rude, just wanna help!
Asocial is avoiding social things like talking etc
Antisocial is being aggressive to society (murder and the like)
I hope this helped
I work at an airport and it's really easy to spot American customers. They're always either really, really nice or really nasty. It's weird. Most people from other countries act neutral but with Americans it's often really polarized.
Zometh depends on their day. If they’ve been having an average or good day, they’ll be polite.
If they’re having a bad day, they’ll vent their frustration on anyone that happens to further annoy them. Americans are generally very expressive and don’t really hold things in.
We are a country of extremes. this applies to most of the video.
Are country has bi-polar and we love/hate it!
Southerners are nice, blame the New Yorkers otherwise.
Midwesterners vs new yorkers
there are two places on earth, America and Europe.
You forgot Asia, that far away place with the yellow people on it.
Henrique Pacheco what about the upside people in kangaroo land
Joe dirt that’s Europe. I’m an American, so everything I say must be right haha.
Henrique Pacheco that is just “weird Europe”
Joe dirt upside down people fall in the sphere of American. Asia falls in the sphere of Europe. There is America and Europe. No Exceptions.
Influence. Americans get very influenced by other cultures without realizing it. And I don't mean as a melting pot country, but as individuals. Like taking certain things we've noticed and incorporating them into our lifestyle.
Yep
Turn around is fair play.
like pizza
I sometimes find myself bowing my head slightly because I got used to bowing when I took a year of Japanese. When I noticed it, I was all like “What the fu-?!”
Very true! Idk about anyone else, but I feel like “American culture” is just a mashup of all other cultures. Is it just me?
I went to England and needed Band-Aids, so I walked to a local mall with a grocery store and asked for Band-Aids. The worker gave me a puzzled look, and I said "y'know, sticky things with, like, cotton? For cuts?" Then she understood and led me to the aisle with generic-brand "bandage plasters." Moral of the story: Fellow Americans, if you ever have a first-aid emergency in England, ask for bandage plasters.
If I am not mistaken I think Band-Aid is just a brand of bandages just like how people say Kleenex insead of tissue.
@@briannaragusa5620 Yeah, you're right, but I guess in England the brand is not very common
No - moral of the story *should* be: Americans, don’t allow yourselves to be so swayed by marketing that you begin to call the generic item by one specific brand name. Kleenex, Band-Aids, Q-tips, Chapstick... the list goes on and on, whereas in every other country in the world they are called tissues, plasters, cotton buds and lip balm.
@@HerHollyness That doesn't always help, we aren't always wrong in these situations. Like that guy said "(eg trash can)" in America we have many ways of referring to it among them being garbage can, garbage bin, the bin, rubbish bin, rubbish can, trash bin, and many more. All makes works fine since it is a word for waste and then a word for container. In England you are treated like a criminal for having said anything but rubbish bin. The trash can example is were England is in the wrong for being unable to look outside themselves. We might be one country but even regions within states have massively different cultures between them so we are usually rather capable of accepting other terms for things as long as they makes sense in context since a little travel and the people grew up on a completely different vocabulary.
@@HerHollyness wait hold up- Q-tip is a brand name?!
Not an American. But I find it hella weird when I saw everyone have a car on American movies. Here, if you have a car, you're labeled as hella rich. When I was a child, I thought everyone from America is so rich because of this.
Replace "car" with "house".
DecimusYna Yea most people here get a car when they are 16 and is a popular birthday present. Many people once they pay off the car they drive, sell it and begin payment on a new one.
@@Idogames4 Rich people get cars as gifts. Most people just buy their own used car when they grow up.
Silver Letter or get the family hand-me-down from the 80’s like my and my older brother did.
Well, that's probably a middle class thing at least. I've never heard of a "hand me down" car.
So basically it's all about Americans either being "nice" and smiling to strangers or having a polluting lifestyle/ creating waste
nice (personal space invading)
@@TessylOlliipOp How is introducing yourself an invasion of personal space? Touching someone or hovering near them is an invasion of personal space.
@@Lithane97 Different cultures. Where I'm from introducing yourself randomly to someone would be really creepy, but packing up like sardines in a queue is perfectly normal.
@@HaileyTheThird I'm french and I agree with you. Like I don't want people I don't even know their name to talk to me, aks me how I am and all and even if being all packed up like sardines are everyday life in crowded places I don't like it either
for me an invasion of personal space is talking to me or touching me when I don't want you to
Don’t forget that China and India create the most waste not the USA
Americans being friendly and open may be one of the things that I have experienced. I remember a few years ago, I was in a trip to Bali (I'm from Indonesia) and a dude just said hi to me and asked for a high wave. I was around 7 or 8, so I just smiled and gave him a high five.
Another encounter with Americans was when I was in my hometown, Riau Islands. We were at a friend's restaurant and the food is crazy delicious, but it's spicy even for me. They came in, took a seat and started asking us how the food was, whether it's spicy or not. Thankfully I do speak English. No one in my family does.
A good experience. I would like to meet more people like them in the future.
this is probably the best comment section i've ever seen
Ikr I’ve personally had the pleasure to meet many, many people who blindly hate Americans and America. Now I see people from abroad saying what they’ve experienced personally, like obesity and over-nice people. It’s so heartwarming honestly to know that the blind haters are a minority. 😁
@@rosytimes9456 they are definitely a minority, you really met the wrong people lmao because not many people hate/dislike America at all ! I mean for a lot of people America has that image of a cool country
@@janelc1843 We just like to make fun of USA because I mean why no
cat crazy Europe isn’t the best place in live in besides like 5 countries it really isn’t that great of a place anymore, and more and more Asian countries are getting better. Soon Asia or Africa will be more powerful than US and Europe... before 2100.
@@user-bz1xk3pm2v K but I never said either that I was from Europe or that it was the best place to live just that for non-Americans making fun of the USA is fun
As Italian I have to say:
99% of Italian recipe you have in Us...actually are Us recipe. They don't exist in Italy.
This.
Most “Italian” food in the US were made by Italian-Americans
Call me arrogant, but I think that for most people here, it's brought up fairly quickly/early that things that we call "Italian" really arent. I cant think of any other European country that share this trait, oddly.
Italians came to America 100 years ago, and they proceeded to develop their own cuisine. It's its own thing.
Giorgio Lupi well, we usually have Italian-American food which is distinct from classic Italian. Just like American-Chinese, or how the California role is pretty much no where to be found in Japan.
I’m kinda sad that “half-smiles” aren’t considered nice in a lot of other countries, because smiling or saying hello to strangers feels good
I'm from Austria and I often "half-smile" at someone. Mostly when I don't want to greet them though.
It's awkward and disturbing imo, if your intention is to mean hello just say hello in the first place.
If you're outside the states, people don't know what you mean with the smile (an American would know it means hello) and will think that you want to harm them or have an 'evil plan' or something bc such a smirk can be very openly interpretatet.
You know what else feels good? Not having to talk to random people who approach you.
@@denises.5447 I'm also from Austria and I would feel very weird if some strangers would smile to me on the street.
May I add some:
(For reference; I was born in America but my family is Hungarian so I go to Hungary every year for about a month)
• Listening to music & using the AC in the car. Whenever we went somewhere and a friend or family member drove us, I noticed they always turn off the radio and never used the AC, despite it being over 90 degrees outside. I get that some cars didnt even have AC, but for the ones that did they just pulled down the window. Whenever we asked to turn on the radio they would just look at us weird, I dont understand why they hate music so much lol
• Smoking. Oh my god. There’s just cigarettes everywhere. In america I feel like its so rare to see someone smoking a cigarette, meanwhile in Hungary people are already smoking at 14. And its legal to smoke almost anywhere. (TMI but whenever I blow my nose its fucking black from all the damn smoke)
• Paying for public bathrooms & shopping carts. In America both are free, but here each are about 50 cents. You dont really “pay” for the shopping cart, but you need to inset a coin if u want to use it, then you get the coin back once youre done
Hmm didn’t know it was different like that. One thing though, some carts you have to pay for, like once I went to a Jewel-Osco (basically just a grocery store)m and you had to pay for it. I was NOT used to it at all lol and was really confused. But interesting differences. If you reply, are there things that are better there than in America?
Rosy Times3 Really I went to Jewel frequently and never paid for the cart but I paid for it at Aldi once
I live in the Midwest, one of the stores we have here, Aldi, does the "insert a coin to get a cart" thing. But I think Aldi is a foreign grocery store anyways so it makes sense lol. But as someone with a teeny bladder who is very often broke, the idea of having to pay to go pee scares me lol. Free public restrooms are a lifesaver.
@@taylorbritt499 Aldi is the German store, I'm from Germany and here it is totally normal to insert a coin to get a shopping cart, this prevents shopping carts being taken away from the store
Oh they have stores like that in Michigan! Only one that I can think of, though, and it's local.
I'm from Ireland and live in Germany, and my god my eyes light up when an American person/family comes into my bar, you guys tip SOOO well
Tiocfaidh ár lá. Really tho there's so many Irish people in these comments what's going on like
Wait there’s tipping in Germany?
How much do y'all tip in Germany? In America it's 15-20%
Unfortunately, there's an unpleasant reason for why we tip such large amounts. In the United States, customer service positions in restaurant type establishments, such as waiters and waitress, are paid below minimum wage, which is already low enough. The rest of their pay is meant to be made up from tips. That's why it's custom to give large tips over here. It's a payment practice that we're pretty sure shouldn't be legal.
@@caroldenewood3422 If it's anything like in Switzerland, one or two bucks, usually. Five is considered a big tip. The reason for that is that the pay for the wait staff is already covered by the basic work contract. Tips are just bonuses.
Top 3 things I'll never understand about America(ns):
3) Portion sizes
2) Taxation
1) Tipping
we tip because the waiters/waitresses get paid minimum wage
they basically rely on tips to survive
being able to be send to war at 18, but not being able to by a beer
@@thedisabledviking no one abides by that law lmao most police will give you a warning nothing else
Capitalism at its core. And fat people. We have large portion sizes due to excess. Most Americans would rather have a lot of terrible food than a smaller amount of better food. Not to mention "real food" is much more expensive. Poorer quality, greater quantities, and cheaper prices all wrapped up together. It's a really bad combo.
Items don't include tax so they appear cheaper on the rack. Companies like it because their prices look cheaper and no one has bothered to change it.
Tipping works in the favor of the business. They keep their prices low by paying their staff less. You can pay them $3 an hour plus tips (as long as their combined tips per hour make up to at least minimum wage). But I know a few waitresses and servers. They make good money through tips and can really walk out with a hefty sum of cash on busy nights.
Solomon healthy food can actually be quite cheap you just need to be creative
I definitely noticed the loud one. I spent about 2 weeks in the UK because I spent 5 years with a British girl and she wanted to take me along and meet her parents.
My brother called me to see how the flight went and first day was after we got to her parents place. We talk shit to one another like it is a form of affection and so after pacing around the back yard smoking a cigarette for 5 minutes I notice her mom just looking at me rather concerned.
Told my brother I would call him back.
Walked over to her and asked "Is everything alright?".
"You just seem very angry and frustrated, I was a touch worried about all the fuss,".
My girlfriend was used to this sort of thing living in the USA for ten years and laughed just explaining to her "That's just how American men talk to their friends, he's fine,".
Don't think I have ever seen a more confused look on anyone in my life.
We southern spannish do this too...
In my country we occasionally do that as well to joke around and tease each other.
I'm from the UK and my mates and me shit talk all the time, but it might be a class thing.
@@DetectiveInspectorNi This family was upper middle class and very softly spoken and polite so perhaps. I come from a family that is the exact opposite - poor as hell and incredibly loud. So I stood out like a sore thumb.
@@koppunch I think I need to go there then. I would fit right in.
Americans: *concerned about personal space*
Also Americans: *can't do social distancing to save their lives*
That’s just Karens
I can GUARANTEE the ones concerned about people invading their personal space, myself included, are wearing masks and keeping their distance.
I live in Montana. Six feet is waaaaaay closer than we like to be with one another.
literally to save our lives
From Germany,
I also thought everyone eats burgers with their hands
Really? My German friend and her family visited me in Minnesota last summer and her whole family ate their burgers AND FRIES with forks. Must be regional then?
Allie Arnold for me it really depends on the burger. If its like a really big burger in a fancy burger restaurant I would use a fork and knife but a normal sized burger would be eaten with the hands.
@@Defpp It depends. A MCDonalds Burger is eaten with hands but if you eat a bigger burger you eat with the Fork. Oh and eating Fries with Forks is regional I think. We do it here in NRW sometimes but depends on the atmosphere.
From France, I definitely don't see people eating burgers with forks (wth?!) here
As a Croatian, you would get a lot of weird looks for eating burgers with a fork and knife. I am very confused that anybody eats it with utensils
The half smile followed by a simple nod is my go to. It’s built into my DNA at this point and now you’re telling me we’re the only people that do that shit? I’m shook. No really, I am.
i grew up in a smaller town in switzerland. When i was younger (15 years ago) it was common practice to greet everyone you crossed on the street with a "good day" or similar. In the cities you dont greet anyone on the streets, but in towns its still common practice today. We don't have the half smile kinda thing, but full on smile and a vocal greeting.
@@xFjolnir Normally people don't talk if they are just passing but they will give a nod. Well these days it is more like a half nod. Though I think it might have come from originally when people used to tip their hats in greeting.
I am too. I already know that I will be over thinking this for many days.
I've been over-thinking this my entire life, lol: The further out [into the country} you go, the more you react to seeing other people. In the city, you just ignore everyone. There are too many people to acknowledge. In a small town, you'll wave, or half-smile while passing . . . but if you run into someone out in BFE, you'll stop and at least throw a few sentences at each other, like "are you out here hunting grouse" "No, just walking the dog . . ." "Mighty big knife you have for that, lol!" "Well, you never know, I might run into a grouse :)" And then we're done.
I've lived in Finland all my life and the idea of greeting strangers or just smiling on your own on the street completely baffles me. That can't be normal.
I nod or wave to my friends if I happen to see them, but if a stranger did that to me I would either start asking questions about who they are or wonder what happened for the rest of the day.
I have conversations with strangers in places like public sauna's and changing rooms, but a random greet on the street would make me think I was dreaming.
Americans are doing right with the 24 hour stores and free restrooms. Like damn why everything costs money everywhere else around the world, especially peeing?
Also, I love that half-smile y'all do. Cuties.
Haha thanks man, this made me smile
Since they introduced paying for public restrooms a few years back, I (and probably tons of others) just started peeing somewhere where nobody sees me instead.
Only some European countries do not do free toilets. In the UK, there is a lot of 24 hour shops as well.
@@anima94 please don't pee on the roads it's disgusting and ruins the environment for others
@@Berries20 It doesn't really, there are many more animals doing it than I am, it's not like I am peeing on someones house or something. Usually at a tree.
The amount of flags in the US. Everywhere you look outside, there is another flag. I don’t get the point of it, we already know what country we are in.
We’re very patriotic and love our country to death. Well some of us do anyways, others kinda hate it. But fuck em.
We love our country and revere its symbol. And why not, our country is the symbol of freedom for the whole world and so is our flag.
I don’t think there is anywhere _near_ as many flags as you may think. You’ll have a large flag by a car dealer or business, but having lived in the US all my life, the vast majority of neighborhoods do not have flags all over the place.
Monroville Question: Have you primarily lived in Democrat ran cities? Maybe the east coast area? I am curious.
Diana Klien I live in a currently democrat run city, where the mayor is allowing riots to wreck businesses. I also have something called “the Internet” where I can see things called “videos” of what is happening in other democrat owned cities.
People eat burgers with their hands in Europe. They just went to a fancy/chic restaurant.
Not really, there's two reasons, first the burger might be too tall to fit in your mouth and second the person eating doesn't want the burger sauce or the fat to get anywhere on him/her.
@@Kit_Bear so? Doesn't change facts that in Europe people eat burgers with their hands.
That few people don't want to dirt themselves good for them but it's not an european thing.
@@hannaherr1107 It all depends on the circumstances.
@@Kit_Bear not circumstances
Mostly the country
In Romania you'll never see a burger being eaten with a fork and knife
I live Europe and every eats their burgers with a knife and fork. People eat fries wi their hands but that's it
Ugggh I LOVE the personal bubble thing Americans do, bless y'all. In my country it's a 4 out of 10 chance any time I have to stand in a line that someone will be close enough I can feel them breathing on my neck, and _you're_ the rude one if you ask them to stop trying to become your siamese twin
I always move a little if someone is standing too close. I instantly just think "oh they must need more space". But then they move closer and I don't know what to do so then I'm just standing as compact and as still as I can so they can realize they're standing way too close or I move super stiff because to move there's no space to move without literally TOUCHING another person I don't know 😂
I didn't realize no space is kinda normal in other places. Now I feel like an asshole 😓
@@Higinia96 Yeah! I had to give up on moving away from them cause they move with you and then I just end up encroaching on the person in front of me 😓 I wish I had the gal to fart, that'd teach them.
Gosh if a stranger was just standing that close to me I'd think they were going to hit on me or hurt me. Sometimes if I'm out shopping and someone comes into a small aisle with me I will leave. Because personal space. But I'll also nod and smile as I do it because I'm southern.
Yea being close is sort of an intimate thing here, you give space when talking or hanging out, only close when you need to be close for whatever reason.
Thank you for using y’all
~A Texan against using “you guys”
I had no idea the half smile was weird everywhere else. I hate it. I always feel so awkward, but I feel like it's more awkward if I don't.
I live in Russia and sometimes to annoy people I use half smile. People will tense up and expect me to start blabbering at them about religion or a new vacuum cleaner. Nope, just passing by.
Another one of many slightly annoying things you can do is stare behind shoulder of a person walking in opposite direction. Or walk rhythmically. Hehehe.
Half smile usually signifies "i have a plan to scam someone and YOU are my next victim". Just so you 'd know.
In Belgium i try to smile at random folks but they either look weird at me like i did something wrong or they ignore me or there's that 2% that actually smiles back and says hello
It feels awkward but it feel rude not to. So its a hard situation but the nod or the smile or the nod with the small smile like "I dont remember you or even know if we met but we are walking past eachother and its weird so let me just acknowledge that you are passing and such". I have noticed in canada some of the foreign exchange students and fresh immigrants are doing it in the park when you awkwardly walk past each other.
@@Sorestlor I think its more something of saying hello to people and wishin them a good day
I never thought greeting strangers was strange in other parts if the world......
Well if you try to forget that you have to share the streets with others because you have to and not because you want to, you don't want to be rwminded of their existencw by them looking/smiling/nodding at you.
In my parents’ country they just stare at you. Which is creepy. I would much rather get a nod and smile.
In Belgium, people sometimes say hello but very rarely, people keep to themselves here , not in a mean way. But just a normal " I do not know you" distance
In Germany it's not at least in villages, here you have to say "hello" to everyone you pass😅
actually here in Switzerland if you pass someone on the street (not in the middle of a city with tons of ppl or in a mall) you should greet them and if you don't you will be considered rude. Tourists mostly find this very weird but I find it weird NOT to do it
If you eat a burger with fork and knife in Sweden, you're at a fancy restaurant. We usually eat burger & fries with our hands too, at least I do.
Same in Denmark. Or if the burger is too Big to handle with the hands
@greatwhiteprivilege Not when the burger is fancy as well. You can make it in a self-baked brioche, with a high quality beef patty, selfmade mayonnaise, rucola, camembert and a bit of cranberry jam, or you can make it in an overly sweet bun with a patty that tastes like the misery the animal suffered, sprinkled with ketchup and mayonnaise from the dollar store, topped with industrial cheese and a sad slice of pickled cucumber (basically a McDonalds cheeseburger).
@greatwhiteprivilege The quality and price of the materials itself plus the mix of them make it fancy. Might be cultural though, yeah.
@Shane Keller if you're at a fancy restaurant, you don't eat it with your hands for the same reason you don't eat pasta with your hands: manners haha
To all non-americans y'all sleepin on smores
Sahra Then Did you cook it over a fire?
@Sahra sweet? I'm Canadian (practically American, similar culture, similar sugar loaded food) and I find it to be just right. Something like a cheesecake is too sweet for me, IMO. Never heard a smore be described as too sweet!
Sahra that sounds intense😂 what I mentioned earlier is just something that we eat at like bonfires and stuff, so you get the crisp shell of the marshmallow too
You gotta throw a bit of a friendly nod in there to make it less creepy
We have them in Canada
The distance thing varies wildly from place to place. French like to be closer than Germans, Italians practically live on top of eachother, Britain and Ireland people are comfortable so long as you're more than two sword distances away, in Finland you had damn well best be on the other side of the fucking country.
Finland is the country in Europe suffering the most from a lack of space, simply because they're having to sometimes see other people walking a few dozen meters away on the other side of the street and it's entirely unacceptable.
Henrique Pacheco but it is unacceptable... I like to be alone I can't think properly if someone is walking on the same street as me lmao.
Southern Europeans don't care much about personal space with people they know.
Im german but visited my friend in the US once.
People always came by me & asked "how are you".
I was like do i know them? did i meet them before? xD
After that i thought they wanted to start conversation, and the americans were like wtf, cuz i tried to start a conversation. My friend told me its just a phrase kind of thing. While laughing his ass off ofc.
Yea its weird when u think that every 2nd person wants to start a deep conversation with you lol.
But do you say "wie geht es ihnen" when you mert someone, or is that only for friends?
@@wfcoaker1398 yeah you say that but you usually don’t go up to strangers and say that
The most American thing is: Saying that you "went to Europe" and making generalizations about the whole continent, when you actually only went to one or two countries in Europe.
Like, I went to Tunisia and Uzbekistan, but it NEVER crossed my mind to say something like: "When I went to Africa..." or "Asian people do this and that". Because that's just silly and geographically+culturally ignorant.
People probably say that because they go to a ton of different countries in Europe. They’re all so small and close together and Americans aren’t going to fly all the way there to only hit up one or two countries
I don’t think when we say we went to Europe we are trying to generalize everyone in the continent. It’s just easier to say than name every country you went to. I imagine it’s also tough for us to imagine how different each culture is in such a small area where as in America the culture is mostly the same with small differences based on the region of America you go to.
@@cloudanimal5209 Oh trust me, I know plenty of people who only went to the UK or only to Paris (literally only one city in France) and said "When I went to Europe... Europeans do this and that". This happens so so often, whether you believe it or not
It's still accurate. Europeans often say they "went to America" when they only went to one, maybe two states. Both sides of the Atlantic do it. The culture from one country to another can be as different as one region of the US to another.
I am surprised that nobody mentioned the abundance of Big Yellow School Busses. Big shock to me seeing them in person
that's because in us schools are far away from walking distance but in europe moc schools are in walking distance and if you want to go further you take normal bus like everyone else
Lack of public transport and a lot of sprawl.
I knew a couple of kids in school who rode the bus and would wake up around 400-430am to get ready, have breakfast, maybe feed chickens or something, and then catch the bus to arrive at school around 745am.
That is a nightmare situation.
Terrence Guy Really????
Hahaha the same happened to me, I thought yellow school buses were only in movies
wait.. Those yellow school buses are real???
Oh I’m definitely smiling at everyone I pass by in Europe. I want everyone to think I’m up to something 100% of the time.
Shoebill this was my exact thought I love u
elena vasquez It depends on where you go. You want to freak people out, go to Northern Europe, especially Norway, Sweden, Finland etc. If you did it here in Ireland people would just smile back.
That's so creepy.
@@Kat-yv1yq Ayyy Norway here. I usually just smile to everyone i pass. People do smile back but someone don't *cough* rude *cough*
Hah, if you do it in italy they'll look at you weird or smile back in a panic if they're kinder
went to france and whenever we saw a baby we would look at the baby cause babies are cute. people gave us dirty looks as if we were trying to kidnap their child.
Yeah, in the US if you wave at a baby, and the baby waves back the parent gives you such a lovely smile! It's sad to see that it doesn't happen elsewhere :(
😂
@@bekahjoy6600 lol really? I thought all Americans were overprotective of their kids around strangers. And don't worry, that does happen where I'm from, and lots of other places too.
@@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3093 You're not wrong, we're very protective of our kids, but in the US it's an unspoken rule that you don't do this unless the parent can see it happening. Usually you'd wave and smile if a kid was doing the "kid stare" XD
@@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3093 Depends on where you are and if the stranger is male or not.
Rules i go by when abroad.
1. Dress to impress when going anywhere.
2. Don't talk to anyone unless it's required or they speak to you first.
3. Bring a bag for shopping.
4. Have directions for where you're going before leaving.
5. Write lists so you won't forget anything.
6. Bring headphones and keep one ear bud in so you can hear if your cellphone if someone calls/texts all while making sure that your phone won't disturb others.
6. Don't smile, wave, wink, or stare at anyone. Period.
7. Mind your own business.
8. Watch your speach volume and how loud your steps are.
Although, i go by these rules in the US as well because thats just me.
I'll devulge how relevant this is for the Netherlands
1. Dress to impress when going anywhere.
More so in (bigger) cities, but our culture is rather individualistic. Just don't be a total slob.
2. Don't talk to anyone unless it's required or they speak to you first.
Depends on where you are, at some places it's appropriate and in some situations it's inappropriate or annoying, like making alot of smalltalk at the register, delaying everyone else while fumbling with your wallet because you aren't paying attention to what you should be doing: paying for what you chose to buy.
3. Bring a bag for shopping.
While being more environmentally friendly to reuse bags, cheap or free plastic bags almost everywhere...
4. Have directions for where you're going before leaving.
Advisable even if you're in your home country, adds to the safety of driving when you know roughly where you're going.
5. Write lists so you won't forget anything.
Well it's no biggie to forget stuff now and then, just not the high priority stuff :D
6. Bring headphones and keep one ear bud in so you can hear if your cellphone if someone calls/texts all while making sure that your phone won't disturb others.
Only during things that others pay for aswell, like in movie theatres or during presentations, courses or whatever.
6. Don't smile, wave, wink, or stare at anyone. Period.
We do smile, but between people we actually know and like, or when very happy. Rest of the time, we've got a relax look i think.
7. Mind your own business.
Usually people are goal oriented, but in places of recreation, you can defenitely do your 'murican' thing and talk to strangers. Don't expect however that it will always result in a casual encounter like back home. Some people aren't comfortable talking in english as they are aware of their thick accent, aren't well versed or are very unused to do so. Don't assume it's rudeness or something like that.
8. Watch your speach volume and how loud your steps are.
In many public places, being loud is considered to be inconsiderate, like on buses, trains etc. In open air, not as much.
In the Netherlands you can pretty much drop all of these rules except for the last one, although that ome should be fine as long as you make sure your tone of voice is friendly enough
6,7 and 8 are the most important rules for tourist Americans.
You can always recognise Americans in public. They do talk really loud and they’re always in large groups. Also American accents are very distinctive and different so they stand out lol.
People over here have a lot of different accents. Usually when you live here you can guess pretty closely what state someone is from by their accent and how the annunciate their words. But yeah you usually recognize us out in public
m i a I wish that I could understand what American accents sound like to non-Americans! Do we sound amusing??
Illyanna Turtle no just comes off as very strong and fast. Y’all ENUNCIATE.
@@illyannaturtle6950 it really depends. Some accents are good, clear and crisp; some just sound so lazy and dragging with lots of wind and tone dropping at the end of the sentence. My brain feels like melting away listening to them talk.
seriously. i was in canada, most specifically montreal a couple years ago for a school trip, and people knew right away that we were american. we were walking past everyone, and they’d give each other weird looks and ask “are they american?” to someone else. it was a little awkward, and i really didn’t realize it was that easy to point out an american
I live in the north western part of America and we had a transfer student from Indonesia who couldn’t speak English very well and he seemed very surprised when on his first day me and all my friends just went up and introduced ourselves and asked about his culture. It was cool to learn about what life is like outside of the states, because at school for some reason they don’t teach us shit about stuff outside of America so he teaches me words in Indonesian and I help him with his English.
Wait how's history in America? Do they only teach you about American history like what they did to other countries or what other countries did to them? Sometimes I'm wondering how schools in different countries teach students in history 'cause what if they teach you that whatever country you live in is better than the other countries. I'm not saying that America is doing it, but I'm wondering if it's possible at all that schools are biased towards their country. Also do America have class about religion? In Norway we have something called (not sure what it's called anymore 'cause it has changed it's name a couple of times) RLE or KRL or what I like to call it KRLE where we learn about different religions like muslims, christians, jews, hinduism, buddhism, etc.?
@@Tranitosaur In America, it all depends on what school you go to. Being a high school student, you get to choose what classes you want to take so there are many different history classes to choose from. But we always start out with american history ( and a bit of european history because of how america was founded) They do teach us about what we have done to other countries and what other countries have done to us. Most of us teenagers dont think America is better then any other country because we learn about how many problems we have. I've never seem a class dedicated to religion in public school but some schools do. It all depends on what your school offers over here.
I’m so curious about a day in America😂 I live in the middle of Europe and we ain’t learn about USA (i learned a bit about UK and Australia but basically nothing about America)
Tranitosaur yeah it’s just what school, because my school system is different from other places. They don’t teach us much about other countries but that’s why I try my best to learn about these things myself
crying at night it all depends where you live because the states are so big you could drive hours and get no where 😂😂
lmao the driving thing is so true, most americans drive places rather than flying and a roadtrip can be anywhere from a few hours to days
For sure, we visit my Grandma all the time and she lives 4 hours away
Were so used to the ride at this point its like nothing xD
In Iowa we take "day trips" usually can be up to 6 hours one way. And it's considered a trip you can make in a day. That's 12 hours of *just driving*
with the Australia one at 1:00 , mate you didnt get weird looks because you said root, you got them because nobody watches baseball lmao
Baseball is the best though
Yeah, pretty sure that most Australians would consider it a reasonable level of dedication to their favorite team.
@@aavila1206 yea no, cricket is much better
Kevin Babbz really??
@@burnt.norton yup, plus cricket has like 3 main variations, the T20 would be the equivalent of baseball tho except it isnt restricted to a wedge of field
Weird how in America, its polite to make small talk with strangers, but if you sit or stand too close to them youre crazy, and in europe, talking to strangers is a bit weird, but you can get nice n close and be normal
Got to keep them at arm's length in case they try to hurt you. But in the meantime might as well have a conversation.
I wanna know about your day not smell what you ate for breakfast.
Doing either of those with a stranger is rude, period.
I didn’t know about the closeness thing? American here and I guess we do like to have our personal space. If someone was all up on me even if it’s crowded i’d probably be quite grumpy. Is that not normal?
Exactly
As an American, I've also always been annoyed about the 'tax not included' on a check.
Apparently, it has to do with tax laws being different in every state.
@@ivetterodriguez1994 Well, yes every state has different tax laws but it still seems irrelevant to me when all you're doing is adding tax to a check or price tag of the state you work in....... Or just add up to the next dollar.
Still makes sense to add it to the price beforehand
Me to! Ugh I wish we had that
Sounds kind of confusing to me, does everyone know the tax percentage and can calculate it in their heads easily?
Even as a social awkward person I’m American and I still smile at people when they make eye contact with me and asks people how their doing and stuff I just think it’s being polite and friendly :) it’s really how I was taught growing up also I just warms my heart when someone looks happy when I talk to them I mean I know I feel happy when people say hi to me at least
Strange that nobody mentioned tipping
Is it only Americans that go out to the pasture in the middle of the night and shove cows until they fall over? ;P
@@ScionStorm1 its a common practice here in iowa
ScionStorm wait that’s a real thing
ScionStorm that’s horrible
ScionStorm lol, nice one
I'm sorry but I'd rather not have a demon sink that destroys everything that goes in it
Edit:A lot of people are saying that they have a switch to turn them on (which I am well aware of) but that still doesn't make it any better
Edit2: I am not saying they are bad ,I'm saying that I'd rather not have them ,also thanks for the likes
Anis BEng that only happens when you turn it on
But it's for food scraps and it has to be toggled on. A lot better than having old food tossed in the bin and sitting for a few days until the garbage is full...
Honestly, I am American and have never seen or heard a garbage disposal used. Maybe it is a city thing? For reference, I live in a part of Virginia which is very rural. However, I can only think of them as a potential hazard and want to make sure I never have one in my home.
CyberianFaux I was confused too but I think they’re talking about kitchen sinks
They’re really useful. They need to be turned on with a Switch and the only real issue is forks getting stuck in them.
Why do other places not bring their own bags? It's really such a waste.
Funny fact: Walmart failed in Germany completely because we don't like strangers putting things in our bags.
in most shops in Poland the shop actually sells bags (under the line to cash) also putting things in bag for someone else is weird (polish cashiers earn 600$ monthly so they are not this polite)
In my grocery store in America, there is a second short conveyor belt after the cashier so you can bag yourself. All the items are within reach of the cashier still. Many people don't bag themselves. Many only bag themselves because some cashiers are morons that puts bread under milk and some people split the bagging to make it go faster.
And because Walmart treats its workers appallingly by German standards, and the German unions wouldn't let that fly
fyzzos random channel good, Walmart is notorious for destroying communities. Don’t let them set one up in your area
Well good news, the self check out is eliminating that problem!
I love how Americans call their main meal "entrees" when this is french for starters??
Also in ireland we will randomly strike up a conversation with you while waiting in the shopping queue like we've been friends for years in
they just call it /main course/ but ig sometimes /entrees/? still, my mom speaks french and calls it an /entree/ so idk
yeah entree is only how it’s referred to on menus, in spoken language it’s just referred to as meal or well, not at all. We usually just say i’ll get X and if you get an appetizer you’ll say and i’ll also get Y and if you don’t say it’s an appetizer then the waiter will ask
Appetizers and entrees are american restuarnt terminology I’m sure I knew they were words from different countries (American has a lot of these)
Yeah In ireland we pretty much just talk with anyone
Yeah, a lot of white U.S citizens are either from France or Poland, so the words get passed down. Only the words though, not the traditions or anything. I know my family does that XD
In Mexico the half smile thing is very well accepted and so is small talk. It is good manners to say good morning or afternoon to everyone you pass on the street, and when you leave public transportation to wish a good day to everyone.
I every time i walk home from school i say good afternoon to this lady that is old enough to be my grandmother and she says "good afternoon beautiful" or "go on with caution" even though i don't really know her she's always nice, and that's how a lot of people are here.
that sounds really nice!
Vete con cuidado lol I bet thats exactly what she says
@@BrUh-km6il ¡Con cuidado!
Alwayse thank the bus driver
This is definitely a positive thing to have in a culture ... A lot of the commenters seem disgusted by it.
In America, a hundred years is a long time.
In England, a hundred miles is a long distance.
Yup. I used to drive triple that every other weekend when visiting my girlfriend back at home when I went to College. As much as we Americans like to bitch about gas prices it really isn't that expensive here either. As far far as a hundred years goes...if nobody is still really alive from back then, which very very few are, then we Americans consider it to be a long ass time ago.
shit i drive probably close to 100 miles every day commuting to/from work
100 miles is less than 2 hours on the highway wh
@@lillyputian5907 💁 I didn't write the quote. It's not about driving time. It's about how tiny England is and how that affects a person's perception of what is a "long distance" I guess.
As a Belgian who has been to the US a few times (mainly Florida, so I know this does not all apply to every state), the differences I noticed:
-Traffic: Wider roads, bigger cars (way more pick-up trucks), trucks look different in the US, roundabouts do not exist, at an intersection it's basically the first person arriving at the intersection gets priority instead of priority to the right side, on motorways you can overtake some left and right not just on the left, 'right turn on red' the first time I was shocked when the person driving the car rode on the intersection while the light was red.
-American flags EVERYWHERE. I'm not from a very patriotic country (Belgium) so this one seems weird to me. I already find it difficult to understand why people hang out American flags on their houses when there's not a big international competition (Olympics, FIFA, etc) going on or when it's not the national holiday. But I really can't get why there are giant American flags hanging outside a car dealership (and the car brand is not American) or companies/stores like that.
-People seem to easily talk to complete strangers. No deep conversations, but something short or superficial is possible. I had many compliments from complete strangers in supermarkets about my beautiful dress. In Belgium I was standing at the check-out, the guy in the line next to me had the most beautiful, fabulous black hair. I really wanted to give him a compliment, but I did not find the right moment and found it too awkward to randomly stop him and tell him. So in the end I never got to tell him. If I was an American and I was in the US, I probably would have immediately given him that complement.
-Americans speak loudly. Sure not all of them and it’s not only an American thing, but it’s still noticeable. I’ve noticed a few Americans on Belgium public transport before because of their booming voices. My stepdad (=American) and his family and many people I’ve met in Florida speak quite loudly in comparison to the general volume in Belgium.
-Very different drinking ages. In Belgium you can drink beer and stuff when you’re 16 and liquor when you’re 18. It seems so ridiculous to be in the US at the age of 20 and get treated as a child when it comes to alcohol. I’m not a big alcohol drinker myself, but I am used to having the rights and it seems so strange to be 20 and suddenly realize you can’t order a glass of wine with your food.
-Also dark beer is more difficult to find. Do Americans not like dark beer? Or is it just something you can only buy in liquor stores, which is also a strange concept that some Walmarts have a separate liquor store next door instead of just putting it in the same supermarket.
-Supermarkets are huge, most are double the size of Belgian supermarkets. I do love that the US has 24h supermarkets. In Belgium almost everything’s closed on Sundays and most supermarkets close between 18:30 and 20:30. I remember in university, there was one day in the week where I had to make sure that I bought food beforehand because the store was closed too early. (My class ended at 19h and the supermarket closed at 19:30h, so by the time I got out of the building and rode my bike to that supermarket, it was pretty much closing.)
-Everything’s big. The portion sizes are big. Also the drinks are big and often have a refill. When I get a cup of water/coke/… I can barely finish it, let alone want a refill. On the other hand in Belgium I generally finish my drink a bit too fast and am annoyed that I’ll need to be thirsty or spend extra money on a new drink, so I guess the perfect size would be somewhere in between. The people are also big. Many people are overweight. I myself am overweight but in Belgium I feel like I still stick out, when I’m with a group of people (classmates/friends), I’m used to always being the fattest one. In the US (at least where I was in Florid)a, just set a step outside and you see many people my size and even bigger, I’m generally not even the fattest one of the bunch.
-Half of the commercials on TV are about lawyers or drugs. In Belgium I would barely know how to get a lawyer, I’d really had to ask advice from my family members or Google to find out how to get a lawyer. And drugs, I don’t get the “ask your doctor if *** is the right medicine for you”. When I go to the doctor I expect him or her to know their shit and prescribe me whatever I need, I would feel awkward and totally out of place to tell my doctor which brand of what kind of drugs I want him to prescribe for me. They studied 7 years (or longer) for this, they seem way more qualified to judge which drugs I need to take than I who watched a 20sec long commercial 20 times over.
-The shredder thingy in the sink.
-Showerheads that are fixed to the wall (maybe that’s not all of the US, but in all the houses/hotels/motels that I’ve stayed in in Florida, the shower head was fixed.) It’s way more difficult to decently rinse your hair and anything under the waist. Also people use washcloths instead of washing mitts.
-The system that you can send mail by putting it in your own mail box. Genius, in Belgium you actually need to go to the post office of a post box for sending letters. Nowadays it’s not a big deal as I barely mail stuff anymore, it’s text and email now.
-It’s quite acceptable to not finish your meal in a restaurant and ask for a take-away box (which I think is nice, definitely because portion sizes are bigger in the US). In Belgium we don’t tend to take home what we didn’t finish.
-Service in restaurants: First of all: tipping. I hate this so much! I’m not used to tipping, so I don’t know how much to give or I’m scared of forgetting it. It’s fine when I’m with my stepdad, but when I go alone or with another Belgium person, a relaxing meal suddenly turns into a nerve wrecking experience where we constantly need to remind ourselves not to forget to tip at the end and then having to text my mom to ask how much we should tip. Going out eating without having to think about tipping is so much more relax. Also service in restaurants. Sure Americans might come to Belgium and say our service is horrible but that’s what I’m used to. In the US I find it so annoying when you’re enjoying your meal and having a nice conversation and suddenly some guy or girl has to interrupt you to ask if everything is OK, if I need anything else. Wth are you disturbing me for?! If I need anything else I’ll just let you know! (Of course, that’s not what I say, I just smile friendly and say “Everything’s find thank you”.)
-Also going to a store and all prices on products are without taxes. I honestly don’t care about how much the thing costs without the tax, I’m interested in how much I will have to pay when I get to the check out. Imagine my huge shock and disappointment when I was buying something in a dollar store for the first time. I had my product in my one hand and a one dollar bill in the other hand and at the check out suddenly the price was like one dollar and six cents.
-American money: I always struggle with the coins. They’re not all logically arranged by color or size (I think the 5cents is bigger than the 10, which is confusing). Also not all the coins say how much they’re worth. When people talk about euro coins they say 50cents, 20 cents,10 cents etc, these things are also printed on the coin. In the US people talk about a quarter, dime, nickel, penny. For a person who’s not used to the money, that’s incomprehensible. And I can understand people use these words in spoken language, but it really annoys me if the coin itself does not state it’s worth in numbers but only with this name. If I’m trying to figure out how much money I have and I have a coin that says “One Dime”, cool, but I still don’t know how much that is.
Also pretty much all the bills have the same color and dimensions. This gives no overview in your wallet and everything is unclear and chaotic. I know that to Americans, euro bills look like monopoly money, but at least I can throw one glance at my opened wallet and have an idea of how much money I have approximately. If I see at least two bills of orange/brown, something blue and something red, I know immediately that I have a minimum of a 130 euros, . If I open my wallet in the US and see a group of around 7-10 bills. I have no clue if that’s 7-10 dollars or 70-100dollars or 700- 1000dollars (Also I can’t imagine how horrible it must be for people with some visual impairment).
-As someone who has to go to the restroom quite often, it's great that all supermarkets and malls in the US have easily accessible bathrooms and are free. In Belgium, definitely in supermarkets, there is not really a toilet for the customers. If you need to go, you can ask and they will show you where the employee's toilet is or there might be a toilet for customers (but there's no sign showing you where). It's really a pain in the ass.
-Not a lot of public transport (at least where I was in the US). As someone without a driver's licence I felt very locked up in or around the house, I couldn't go anywhere by myself (mid-summer Florida is not fun for riding a bike). There was no store or anything do to in a walkable distance everything is far away. (I assume that in bigger cities these distances and transportation issues might be less present)
There’s probably lots more, but I’ll leave at this for now. I find it interesting how cultures and countries differ. There’s always stuff you’ll like more about your own country, whether it’s because it’s better or just because you’re used to it that way, but you also discover things that make you think "Why don't we have/do that in my county?" or "We really should have/do that too.".
If you were in a more suburban area, public transport like buses are a lot less common because people mainly use cars. In cities, though, you could probably easily find subways, buses, etc.
@arthsey
Yes there are things about our own countries that are different or strange, but we only notice it when foreigners point it out or when you travel to a different country.
In Belgium we don't really hang out flags. Except for at town halls or other governmental placed.
During the national holiday you see some people here and there hang flags out.
The only time you actually see a lot of flags hanging everywhere is during big soccer games like FIFA. But then you also see some other flags. People sometimes hang out a Belgian flag but also a French or Brazillian or Spanish or so, to show they also support those soccer teams in the competition.
I think the only time Belgians get kind of patriotic is during FIFA :p
Fun fact about our flag: The Belgian constitutions says that the Belgian colors are red, yellow and black. It doesn't actually mention in what order or direction.
The first Belgian flags were horizontal with red on the top and black on the bottom. Now all the flags are vertical black on the side of the pole, then yellow, then red.
U tip between 5 - 10 % of the costs
I’m English and I can definitely relate to a lot of what you said lmao it’s so odd to see how different each country is
I can explain some of this stuff! Or at least give some Murican insight.
Most states people realize the ridiculousness of the lawyer commercials, and ESPECIALLY the medication commercials. I've never met a single person that actually pays them any mind. We only get commercials for them because our healthcare system is a capitalistic mess.
The drinking age is 21 because scientific studies show that 21 is when the body, especially the brain, is basically "done" maturing. And alcohol can affect stuff like brain cells. So it's just to try and prevent 16 year olds from fucking up their bodies before their bodies are even done growing.
As for tipping, that's capitalism again. A lot of waiters aren't paid enough, because in some states it's actually legal to pay them a little bit less than minimum wage because they're expected to earn it back in tips.
Then, one last capitalism thing - the lack of public transport! There is SOME public transportation in bigger cities (none of them are very reliable or good though). Our infrastructure doesn't really support public transport because, surprise surprise, the people who own car manufacturing companies have their hands in those pockets. The less public transport there is, the more likely it is for people to buy a car, and then they make a profit. It's pretty shitty lol
I feel like in the US if you don’t do that half smile/nod/wave it’s considered slightly rude. Like if we make eye contact and you don’t smile your creepy. It’s reassuring that the person means well, but it’s not necessary a conversation.
Europeans smile too if you make eye contact. If you don't you seem arrogant and cold. We just don't smile at everyone passing by or saying hello uncolicited if there is no eyecontact
The thing is Americans only interact with people in a very limited number of places like the grocery store or the park, so there's more incentive to be friendly and kind to strangers. Whereas in Europe (and other countries) where walking is more commonplace, you are around people all the time, constantly, so trying to half smile or wave at people seems odd and out of place.
Not using the metric system. Thats the most american thing.
Edit: Thx for the likes. Sub to pewdiepie
Gonzalo Cesena Well use them more interchangebly nowadays. While officially everything is still not metric, in conversation people will use both.
For instance most people arent gonna say something is like 1/20th of an inch when you can just say millimeter
We just don't use kilometers.
We don't like it either, but there's too many items to replace.
Word.
@SoliDeoGloria 07 can confirm we like to keep the rest of the world guessing. Remember 2016 that was just a joke we played on the rest of the world xD.
0:48, the root bear smell is often used in other places outside USA to cover odor in porta potties or for urinal cakes (Disk, Pucks) in bathrooms hence why it's considered so disgusting to drink.
Noooooooooooooooo! Thats terrible!
Taste good with ice cream though a world without root beer floats is forsaken.
Gbob Zburner į
I think it's disgusting because the taste reminds me of toothpaste.
Hudaef Cares? Try it with some vanilla in it, it makes a world of difference
Big difference between USA and Europe is that public transportation sucks in the USA. We go everywhere with the buses, trains, trams, subways here in Europe.
Well your entire continent is the size of Texas. Getting a train or bus from one city into a different city in the same state would cover more distance then most of your transit lines, it's just not as feasible
@@devyboo2 I am more talking about in city transportation. If we go to different. And btw Texas is 696,000 km². Europe is 10,100,000km². That's more than whole USA
Very true, the US is much more spread out tho
@@secretagent6224 I was exaggerating, but city transport varies city to city, in Colorado it's quite well managed, not so much in Georgia
@@secretagent6224 but the main issue over here is that cities are planned around you having a car, since distances can be quite long even in the cities
I'm an american (born and raised). I walked around with my cousin when I was in south korea and did the 'half smile' thing to everyone (apparently, it's a reflex I didn't even notice). She asked why I was picking a fight with all the strangers I walked past 😂
Same! Except when I came back to India to live, people mostly just asked me if I wanted anything or smiled back and commented that it looked like I was REALLY enjoying my summer vacations lol.
First off: root beer is great
Second: when I went to Peru we went to this chicken restaurant (they’re everywhere in Peru) and my mom tipped the waiter, but he was so surprised from it he called the other workers to show them
because waiters and other staff actually get paid regularly not the us system where if you want to live you have to get tips from everyone
It's because non-american countries charge a service fee for dine-ins. It always makes me laugh seeing americans claim european countries don't pay tips so they shouldn't have to in america either.
The tip is often included as a service charge in the bill / they actually get paid enough to live without tips.
In the Uk it's more of a hybrid. Closer to the European way though. Waiters get paid enough that they don't need tips, but they don't get paid in service charges. The cost of services is included in the cost of the food, kind of, so you don't get unexpected charges at the end. Just like in Europe we include VAT in prices. Means we know the exact cost of stuff. If we do leave a tip, it's more "Keep the change"
In Ecuador we ate at this somewhat nice restaurant overlooking the ocean and we've been using small Bill's all day just because everything is so cheap. Anyways I give the waiter a 100 because that's all I had and he gave me this terrified look. He takes it to the back room and the manager/owner just starts screaming at this poor kid. So this kid just took off and ran out the door. Long story short he had to run to the bank before it closed because they couldn't give me change because they didn't have the money. This was at a nicer reasturant that was realitivley busy so I didn't think that would be a problem. The guy told me it can be offensive/embarrassing because I'm a White American and people don't have much down there.
Never heard of anybody introducing themselves to a room full of strangers
Really? I've done it several times in my life. In certain situations here in the states, it's considered rude not to.
@@Takisan111 I dont think I've ever done that (but I am under 18 so maybe that's why) but I dont think I would as I would be too awkward to
J Phone Ah I don’t do it and I’m 33. It’s on the person personally. I tend to be the one don’t say nothing until you talk to me.
@@Takisan111 unless you go to AA or somthing like that where you have to introduce yourself, ive never seen anyone do that. Overly friendly people are usually seen as creeps.
The only time I do is when I'm kinda pressured into it like when I'm at a social event and I know my moms gonna give me the spoon if I don't be nice to people
I feel like if you make eye contact with a stranger and deadpan face them, it looks like you're trying to intimidate them. Like giving them the stink eye. So you give them a half smile to to say no offense, i'm not a threat. That's my perspective as a hispanic-american.
DarkeCrimson That is exactly why I half smile at people, I don’t go out of my way to make eye contact with people but when it happens I half smile, lol
Makes sense. But where that differs from (many) European countries is that we'd never make eye-contact with a stranger to begin with. And if we do it's due to some other circumstance in which a polite, "Sorry 'bout that" would immediately follow.
@@EnjoyCocaColaLight crazy. I can't imagine walking around all day and never making eye contact with anyone. I guess I don't realize I'm doing it until it happens. But it seems kind of weird to apologize for looking at someone.
@@DarkeCrimson In a lot of European countries, it is seen as weird to smile to someone you don't personnaly know.
Someine that smiles to strangers is seen as superficial and dishonnest/untrustworthy. They will not be easily trusted even if there is no reason not to.
Also, smiling randomly can sometimes be seen as being mentaly retarded. I had an American exchange student in my school. He smiled at everyone, and people kept saying that he must have some mental handicap because it was weird (but the teachers said that it was normal, but it was so unusual, people thought the teachers were lying to be nice). Also, people didn't trust him with anything because he kept smiling, as I said, it it seen as superficial and untrustworthy.
If someone on the street makes eye contact and smiles i immediately think that they are about to try and sell me something, or get me to sign up for a shitty charity. Maybe it isn't as common in America so you guys don't get defensive.
If you’re going to the south this is language
1 person: you
2 people: y’all
3+: all y’all
Also Texas is the best state
Thank You! (From Texas!) :)
Finally a Texan... I've been waitin for this
Hello fellow Texan!
I’m from Massachusetts and moved to texas 1. WHERE ARE THE TREES 2.WHERE ARE THE CEMETERIES
I'm from Texas and don't use ya'll. I've even been taught by all my teachers that ya'll isn't a real word and therefore should not be used... Is it more commonly used in other parts of Texas?
I was hella triggered when I went to my cousins house in Ireland and I tried to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and he went “tf are u doing”
I was too lazy to come up with a nam e peanut butter is VILE, literally everyone I know who have tried it think so as well, also I’ve tasted your chocolate, it is awful, it’s not right, it’s MESSED UP
@@Ellie_2810 Peanut butter is Divine. The chocolate thing I agree with though. Dark chocolate is so much better than milk chocolate.
Jayden Potter You think American milk chocolate is bad, you should try Australian/NZ milk chocolate. Cadbury just tastes like wax down here. American milk chocolate tastes pretty damn good in comparison (but I agree it doesn’t compare to dark.)
I love milk chocolate!
What is the jelly in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Is it like jam in the UK?
In England, atleast for the typical youth, you greet even the briefest acquaintances with "Alright?", usually pronounced "Aight?" in a bored tone. And the appropriate response is, "Aight.". Sometimes a little nod with it.
That's it.
You move on lol.
Damn hidden Americans.
Agree
Same thing in Jamaica
"Typical youth". In London, everyone does this. From kids, to teens, to adults, to pensioners.
As a south eastern 20 year old, I know, but I was generalising the country lol
I'm an American and always get thrown off by sales tax because I live in of the 4 or 5 states that don't have it, lucky me.
Chip Kifer I don’t get why they don’t put the tax with it. It’s retarded.
Jersey?
@@shreeyastache It has to do with the fact that different states have different sales tax percentages depending on which state you're in and a lot of stores that operate across different states are too lazy to adjust prices. It's a bit silly imo but it's one of those "that's just the way we do things" kind of things.
John Doe yeah. I mean, it’s a little extra work, but I sure as hell would appreciate it.
the "Not So "United" States of America" because u cant just all stick to one tax 😂😂 just takin the piss don't shoot me
*and in my defense, the half smile look is completely untrustworthy sometimes I get that, but it's beat into most ur skulls as Americans especially if you work in retail/customer service!
The social trust issue is actually a positive thing for Americans. There was a study, when a country has the "smiling means you're untrustworthy" trope, it's correlated with recent hard times in the country (within living memory).
Americans haven't been at each other's throats as recently as a lot of Eurotrash countries.