…you are stunned each time that somebody thinks your Visa has expired because it is dated 04/09/2010.
Culture consists, in part, of the customs that you take for granted. So we know that we’re adapting to European culture (or Western European or French-inflected or whatever) when we’re surprised by how things are done in the good ole USA. Some more examples: You know you’ve settled into a European state of mind when…
- You find it unspeakably rude when, at a restaurant, your server brings you the check before you ask for it.
- “Of course it’s a topless beach. Why not?”
- You are uncomfortable when someone takes your credit card out of your sight.
- You get frustrated at having to sign a bill for small purchases with your credit card.
- You are excited to find a parking space within a quarter-mile of your destination.
We think of these little differences several times a week, and we’ll post more in the future. Guests of the B&B, what seemed alien to you about daily life in Ireland and Luxembourg?
1 Comment to “You know you’ve settled into Europe when…”
18 August 2010
Hmm. My previous comment was gobbled into a black hole. Sad.
I can’t remember exactly what I wrote yesterday but it was something about how I wish America would adopt bullets 1 and 3 but that I think bullet 4 is already happening here – albeit slowly. I definitely don’t sign every bill that comes to me. Maybe during your brief forays home you haven’t run into the merchants that have already moved in this direction. Something to look forward to when you return home permanently!