Compliments to Swiss – aka Kevin

A cultural analysis of Europeans and Americans (namely the men):

Our time has come to an end on this beautiful continent and as we sit on the train to Paris we are discussing all the differences we noticed in European vs American culture. This is not a criticism of American culture, but simply a reflection of our experience as we traveled across Europe. These are just a few things that we feel we should bring back to America as a positive addition to our lifestyle.

The first thing we noticed about most Europeans is that they simply have good manners. They opened doors for us, served us as the guests and women of the table first, offered food and wine when our plates/glasses were almost empty, etc. They were very attuned to our feelings and needs. Whenever we wanted something, or didn’t even know we wanted something, it was offered to us. During our social interactions, we found Europeans to be very analytical and intelligent. They had a worldly intelligence that we aren’t used to. In school we learn American history and not a lot of world history. In Europe, they learn it all, so their views were very interesting for us to hear. An opinion was always given that made us think and realize a lot of things. When the conversation turned into something political or controversial or even mundane, they were always there to give their opinions but also see it from our view and discuss all the details. We felt like we could give our opinion and even if it was different, we wouldn’t feel like we were wrong. We felt respected in our opinions and actions, no matter how ridiculous they seemed. We also found them to be very generous. When we stayed in Switzerland for example, Kevin and his father Jean-Luc were SO kind to us. We felt like princesses. They offered everything to us multiple times. They took us in for 3 days without question and let us take over Kevin’s room (which went from a very clean room to a mess with us three in it, thanks for understanding Kev! J). Kevin’s friends offered us everything they had and bought us what we needed/wanted, because girls don’t pay in Switzerland (or so we were told!). We were very impressed with the hospitality and generosity that these men offered us. We also noticed that Europeans are very fashionable and clean. They were always dressed nicely and smelled great because they take care of themselves well (not that American men don’t.. it’s just an observation remember!). One last quality that we noticed is that they’re very honest. We encountered a lot of people that said it like it is. Sometimes we found that they are a little forward, such as men who thought we were beautiful and let us know it multiple times, but most of them found us exotic and liked us for being American. We thought maybe comparing our hostel roommates to the Europeans would be wise to show one big difference. Our three hostel roommates were from St. Louis and they were nice guys don’t get us wrong but unlike all the European people in general that we met, these boys did not invite us into their homes in St. Louis (which is completely 100% fine.. it’s just that Europeans make a connection and wholeheartedly welcome us into their homes to learn about their cultures and cities).

Overall, all three of us have encountered Americans and found a lot of them to have some of these qualities but also a lot of them that do not have these qualities that we appreciate so much. We realize that it depends on where we are in the states though as well.

Something we noticed that doesn’t have to do with men in particular is that American news revolves around America while European news involves the entire world. We start the news with a story about a water skiing squirrel for Pete’s sake and maybe end with 3 minutes of news from the other side of the world. There are just so many differences between the oceans. Another example is Europeans eat with their elbows on the table because underneath is not polite. It started in war times because of weapons under the table, but it is still used today. We also sat down for aporos, which is wine and a snack with our hosts. Then we had dinner and finally cheese for dessert. It was little lessons like this that made us realize how different and amazing our cultures can be.