Things You Come to Realize
When You Go to Europe
Shannon’s take on an article
posted on http://theodysseyonline.com
1.
We are louder... than everyone...
This
takes a little time to notice. When on the trains or on the street, stop
talking for a moment. It's actually pretty quiet... Yep,
and it’s embarrassing when you’re an American and you see a fellow American
being obnoxious and you want to apologize to everyone else on behalf of the
moron.
2.
Going to class in workout clothes WILL result in dirty looks and judgment.
"Sweats"
are not really a thing in Europe, and usually, the people are dressed pretty
well. I don’t generally dress like that in public even when I am in
the U.S., but it’s true: Londoners and Parisians have more class and self-worth
it seems when it comes to appearing out in public.
3.
You must embrace a lack of deodorant from those around you.
For
some reason, body odors tend to... well, linger a little more. Yep.
Just, yep.
4.
No matter how hard you try, you still look American.
You
can shed your sorority/frat letters and your "I HEART NY" shirt, but
for some reason, you still GLOW American. Actually, in Paris anyways I kept
being mistaken for a Parisienne, which was the most flattering thing ever.
5.
But some people actually like that.
Some
locals are oddly fascinated with "The States" and love to find a
place they've been there that is familiar to you. True
of Parisiennes anyways, which we found to be much friendlier than Londoners.
6.
Embrace (or get over) the constant smell of cigarettes.
Smoking
is completely culturally acceptable and common here. So, get over it. This
one I’ve got to really disagree on. I mean yes, Paris smokes like a chimney,
but it’s annoying, and weird really, because they’re so progressive in certain
areas, and yet not in the area of sucking-carcinogens-into-bodily-organs.
7.
If you see someone falling-over-drunk, 99 percent of the time, they're
American.
An
absolute given. We can't handle our liquor like the people here. Actually
I’ve heard that we just have bad manners. It’s much more socially unacceptable
to be intoxicated in public in Europe, at least where I was.
8.
Clubs cater to people of every age.
Unlike
American bars and clubs where (with the exception of the fake ID entry) everyone
is over the age of 21 and generally under 30, the bars here have a variety of
18-50 year olds dancing all alike... scary. K, so didn’t go to any
clubs therefore can’t verify. But hey I say more power to ‘em! Age is just a
number.
9.
The people will greatly appreciate it when you (attempt) to speak their
language.
Nothing
brings a smile to a foreigner's face like seeing you try to say "thank
you" or "hello" in their language. It reminds them that we do
actually appreciate their culture. Yes! And my tries at French were so
practiced (I am a Francophile after all) that many people started speaking back
in fluent French after my simple phrases.
10.
You will greatly miss your dryer.
Rarely,
if ever, do you come across a dryer accompanying a washing machine. Everything
is air-dried. Thank goodness for the Laundromat next door. I can’t do
the stiff, scratchy clothes thing. I assume it’s an environmental thing and so
I feel like I should be tough and put up with stiff, scratchy, un-dried
clothes, but I just can’t do it. Some things are too unpleasant to forgo. I can
easily be vegan, which is the most environmentally-friendly diet, so let’s let
me use a little electricity to dry my clothes thanks.
13.
You can, in fact, walk by police on the street holding an open beer can.
Greatest
law (or lack of law) ever. Again, haven’t tried this. But it was
nice because I got a beer at Sainsbury’s and wasn’t carded for it even though I
look like I’m twelve I’ve been told.
14.
Public transportation is not an option-- it is life.
The
public transportation is efficient, also surprisingly clean, and used by pretty
much everyone in the city. Yes, and for someone who is not
confident as a driver, living in a big city with public transport is like the
solution to life’s hardest questions.
15.
The locals here WILL be fascinated with what you are studying in their country.
It
is almost a guarantee that after telling a local you are studying in their
country, they will respond eagerly with, "so what are you studying?"
Every. Single. Time. I wasn’t a student, sadly. But maybe I’ll do my grad
studies abroad…I can have my dreams can’t I??
16.
Far too often, you will accidentally buy "sparkling" water instead of
regular. Yuck. Although sparkling water is available in the U.S., it is not as
common as here-- where regular and sparkling are considered... well, equals. Sparkling
water is delicious. Especially when you run in to a Franprix and all around you
are French words being spoken by locals and you can pretend, for just a second,
that you are one too.
17.
It is no rumor: beer is literally cheaper than water. (And water is not free.)
Instead
of trying to save a few bucks by getting water, always, ALWAYS get a beer.
Here, it will actually save you some cash. Water is cheaper in
Europe than it is in the US, at the grocery anyways. I think the cheapest I
found was 1L in Paris for 29 Euros. Can’t beat that. And if you chug water like
I do, it would be futile to replace that with beer. Seriously, let’s get real
here. Not even funny.
18.
We have been trained since birth to eat way, WAY too much.
The
server will be straightforward and let you know that you are, in fact, ordering
WAY too much. Like only a true American does. We didn’t go to any
restaurants like that, but we did our people-watching and noticed that
everything is smaller in Europe, and that is rather nice. Americans can be
disgustingly excessive in all areas, that’s for sure, which is not to say
Europeans can’t, but as a whole they are much less so.
19.
Ice is a precious novelty and shouldn't be taken for granted... drinks are
rarely served with ice. Get used to some nice, luke-warm drinks. I
will never again take ice for granted, or pretend that I don’t love it just so
that I can fake my European-ness or hipster-ness. Ice = necessary. It was 100
degrees while we were in Paris, and not only did we not have A/C, but of
course, no freezer/ice-maker. The solution: STARBUCKS!!! I went to at least one
every day, and it was heaven. I try to steer clear of them while at home
(price, affiliation w/ Monsanto, not organic) but while abroad I had to get my
fix. Starbucks was the only place I knew I could get ice and A/C while in
Paris.
20.
You will be judged if you eat dinner before 8:30 and leave before 10:30.
People
enjoy their meal in the evening and have no rush... unlike anything we're used
to. It's actually a nice change of pace. We cooked at our apartment, which
beat eating out! Because eating dinner at 8:30? No thank you. I’m not going to
pretend I like that either just to “fit in” with the locals.
21.
Sometimes you get charged to use public restrooms (WC's), and it stinks.
Although
it may not cost much, there are often bathroom attendants trying to either rip
you off, or actually charging for using the public facilities. Never
saw a bathroom attendant, but had to pay a couple of nominal fees for general
upkeep. No prob.
22.
Cars WILL hit a pedestrian.
You
must come to grips with the fact that in you vs. car, the car will always win.
And here, the drivers aren't afraid to show you. Yikes, glad we didn’t
observe that. Actually pedestrians seemed really confidant in their ability to
not be hit by cars. But again, maybe it was just timing.
23.
The people here are generally more eco-friendly.
Between
the lack of dryers, AC, the eco-friendly settings on EVERYTHING, the heavy use
of public transportation, and conservation of water, the people seem a bit
ahead of the curve with helping good ole Mother Nature. Yes,
but the host we stayed at in London didn’t recycle and I was appalled.
24.
Men are not afraid to wolf-whistle or honk loudly... in fact, this happens far
too often.
Public
display of affection is much more common here, and the same can be said for men
trying to get your attention. They will not hold back. Actually,
the only experience we had with men being rude in public was them shoving us
quite literally on the street and the tube. Disappointing. Chivalry really is
dead.
25.
You realize that even though you're in a different country, on a different
continent, there are still comforting similarities that prove we're not so
different after all. Amen to that. That was the coolest thing, and the reason I
want to keep traveling for the rest of my life.
