Europe Left THIS American TOTALLY Speechless…

[00:00:00]Number one, I didn't realize how much people hated Americans.

[00:00:04]>> That one's actually very big. So, I know you guys have seen all the videos of us Americans embracing people coming into the United States and enjoying the World Cup. We've talked about it to our faces were blue. It was a really good time.

[00:00:15]The World Cup is pretty much over at this point, probably by the time that I upload this video. And if not, it might be the final day. But the biggest thing a lot of us Americans have been obsessed with recently is our perception across the entire world. How has that changed since people have visited the United States and got to see us for who we are?

[00:00:31]It's been remarkable. People have been saying we're very nice, we're very hospitable, we're inviting, and these are all things that very starkly contrast how we've been perceived outside of the United States for a long time. So, it's refreshing and it was a nice little pat on the back for a while, but we're slowly returning to our regularly scheduled program. On the flip side though, there are a lot more Americans that are interested in traveling the world than I feel like there were prior to this World Cup, which is really cool, and I keep talking about that as well. And that's where I stumbled across this particular video.

[00:01:00]Now, this has nothing to do with the World Cup at all, but it does have to do with an American abroad that lives in Spain. And she gave a lot of interesting observations she's noticed about how Americans are perceived where she is, and also the different culture shocks she experienced living in Spain that I haven't really heard of too much. Some of these things I definitely have heard of quite a bit and it's interesting hearing some of the same points reiterated again. But then there were some things she mentioned where I was like, "Oh my goodness." If you guys are new to the channel, welcome. If you guys are returning viewers, welcome back.

[00:01:28]Please help us hit a million subscribers by liking the video and subscribing if you haven't already. I know I've lumped Europe into one big entity, one big continent and whatnot. And there are a lot of stereotypes that I've been like, "Oh, this happens in Europe, the entirety of Europe." So, I want to go ahead and narrow this down. In your opinion, which country in Europe is the friendliest? And for as much as we've talked about quality of life, which country in Europe has the best quality of life in your opinion? Because as a lot of us Americans are getting curious about traveling and seeing the rest of the world, we're also getting more and more curious about leaving and see what it would be like if we were to permanently uproot ourselves and move abroad into a different country. And to kind of turn things around a little bit, what's an unpopular opinion you have about the United States? I've been living in Madrid for the past 4 years.

[00:02:12]And these are 10 culture shocks that I experienced as an American here. Number one, I didn't realize how much people hated Americans.

[00:02:19]>> That one's actually very big. Massive, massive, massive. I actually uh noticed that myself traveling as well. It depends on the environment that you're in and what what's happening around the time, but I can always tell when something major happens in the political atmosphere, then obviously Americans are the first to face backlash because it has a lot to do with what we have done to the rest of the world. And it's a cascading effect. Also, let's say it's not politically related. It has a lot to do with how we behave in various countries. So, a lot of us Americans have this stereotype against us where we're incredibly entitled. We bring our defaultisms with us. We'll travel to another country and try to implement what we know from our country into that country and that obviously doesn't work.

[00:03:00]And people look at us like we're crazy.

[00:03:02]And so, of course, we develop a reputation that is not the best. So people aren't really happy to receive us when we're not being considerate, not even attempting to try to mend with the culture that we're visiting for the time being. There's a lot that goes into it.

[00:03:15]So I do get the sentiment about a lot of people not really being the biggest fans of American travelers. I will say this though, I had a friend that I talked to recently. He had traveled to England and he said that it just depends on how you are as a person individually. If you are belligerent and you're causing problems, then yes, people aren't going to be happy to be around you. You're going to be a nuisance. You're a public nuisance.

[00:03:37]But if you behave yourself and you're friendly and stuff like that and you're abiding by the rules and you're not causing problems, then yes, people will want you to come back. I mean, you're going to be easy to be around. And if you're a representation of where you come from, they're more likely going to think that there could be more people like you that are on their best behavior. So, whenever I travel now, I try to make sure that I behave myself and that I'm, you know, very conscious of the actions that I'm doing. so I don't give a bad reputation to not just myself but my entire country. You know what I mean? I think that's very important. If you guys agree with that, let me know in the comments down below.

[00:04:08]And I think this works the other way around as well. When you guys travel, whether you guys believe it or not, you guys are representing your country when you travel to other countries. So, if you act a fool, they're going to be like, "Wow, I wonder how the other people act as well." Especially if that's the first time anybody else has seen a person from your country and their country, and you're the representation of that. I remember when I first traveled to South Korea, I bumped into a lot of locals and they they were learning English and everything and I knew that whatever interaction I gave them in that moment would completely alter how they viewed Americans. And I'm like, man, that's insane cuz of course they had seen Americans before. There's Americans that travel to South Korea all the time, but again, there's a handful that travel to South Korea. It's not like it's hyper frequented. You know what I mean? So you have an opportunity to change the minds of people who have believed a lot of the stereotypes that exist on the internet.

[00:04:58]And I think that's very important and it puts you in a very interesting position.

[00:05:02]I feel like it's it's almost like a responsibility in a way to make sure that you don't make yourself look like a fool, but you also don't make your country look wild. Now, the United States already looks wild, so I don't have to worry about that. But at least I can contribute to having people think that, oh, okay, cool. Like not everybody is crazy and unhinged and whatnot. there are some people that uh they're they're enjoyable to be around.

[00:05:24]>> Number two is going to the doctors and dealing with like anything medical here.

[00:05:27]I first moved here, I had no kind of like Spanish vocabulary regarding health, doctor, like really specific things. And so I felt really frustrated not being able to explain myself because a lot of places don't speak English. Not saying they should, but I felt a lot of like frustration when I had any medical thing go on.

[00:05:43]>> Now, this is incredibly important. I get this question a lot from you guys that are in the comments. Some people ask me since I've been in Korea for such a long time, do I know how to speak fluent Korean? The answer is no. It is absolutely not. I should know how to speak Korean fluently, but I have not learned the language very well. I know the basics, the bare basics. I can say hi. I can say bye. I can say thank you.

[00:06:03]I can say you're welcome. And I can say sorry. And I can say yes and no. Those very very very basic things, right? But I also know that there are other ways to communicate where if I don't understand the language, I don't speak the language, I can still communicate effectively to get what I want. I told you guys in a YouTube short video I made a long time ago, there was a lady that was crashing all the way out because she couldn't understand the people in the store and vice versa. And I'm like, pull out your translator and tell them what you're trying to say, okay? Like, it is not that difficult. there is a way for you to bridge the gap between communication so you can get what you want. Now again, if you don't want to learn the language, cool, but figure out an alternative so you can figure out how to get what you desire. I will say this though, no matter where you are from my personal experience, people will respect you a thousand times more if you attempt to learn the language. Even if it's a couple of words, even if it's you trying to attempt to say words and you're botching them, people care that you're trying. That's the biggest thing. And then it'll soften the interactions you have with local people. and it's cool.

[00:07:07]It's a fun experience. In her case, she's highlighting something that's very important. If you're not able to effectively communicate what you want or what is happening with you in a situation that is dire, like going to the hospital because something hurts and you're not able to explain what hurts or where it hurts on your body in their language, that could be a roadblock. And sometimes the translation apps that we use to try to communicate those things to other people mistransate what we're trying to say, but we won't know because we don't know what it's translating our speech into in the other language since we haven't taken the time to learn that language. So, like I mentioned before, I don't know very much Korean, and I understand the consequences of me not knowing that much Korean, but I've been able to navigate very effectively since I've been out here because I know in general, Travel 101, figure out alternative plans in case you don't know something. It's okay to not know. It's not okay to be willfully ignorant and not have a backup plan.

[00:08:01]>> Number three is there is a siesta. A lot of the small shops close between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m.

[00:08:06]>> Now, this is going to sound pretty crazy, but in South Korea, they also do something very similar. I was very confused when I first got here. I would go to restaurants to go eat and stuff like that. And a lot of the restaurants close at around 3 actually and don't open until 5. So their quote unquote siesta is between 3 and 5:00 p.m. in South Korea. And a lot of places, I don't think every place does it, but there's enough places that do it to where I think it is a cultural thing.

[00:08:29]This also rings to be true in a lot of countries throughout Europe as well. Not every country, not even most countries.

[00:08:34]It just depends on where you're at.

[00:08:35]Spain, for instance, definitely does this. I'm pretty sure Italy does this as well. There are also countries that don't do this like that, right? I don't think Germany has siestas like that. I do know on Sundays most shops are closed. I mean, obviously there are some exceptions, but they don't really have siestas. They don't do siestas like that. Now, if I'm wrong, pack me up in the comments.

[00:08:53]>> Culture shock for me, not tipping at restaurants in America. I really feel like you have to tip a bunch of money.

[00:09:00]They always require it. And here, it's never like on the bill. Of course, you should tip, but it's not like included in the bill. And they don't like rush you out of the restaurants either.

[00:09:08]>> Tipping, tipping, tipping. Out of control. I don't have to get into it too deep because you guys know exactly how I feel about it. And if you guys are new to the channel, welcome. I absolutely hate tipping. Now, I don't hate tipping the concept, right? The concept is cool.

[00:09:22]You reward people for doing extra.

[00:09:24]That's what I understood tipping to be, but the United States took that, ran with it, and turned it into something else. You're subsidizing somebody's lifestyle. And I don't think that that should be the case. If you go there to go purchase food, you should just be purchasing food. Because if we apply that logic to a grocery shopping situation, if one of the store people helps you find something that you were looking for that you could not find yourself and they're like, "Oh, by the way, that's going to be extra since I helped you out." That's crazy. That's diabolical. You don't have to do that.

[00:09:55]But, you know, United States people love to bully other individuals that are trying to enjoy their meals because they make less than minimum wage in the restaurant industry and they demand tips. It sucks.

[00:10:06]>> The dating scene here, like I'd never been around so many different nationalities before. And the men here are very, very different in a better way, but I was not used to that.

[00:10:15]>> Well, that's vague as far as the dating scene goes. The culture shocks and cultural differences will always be there no matter what country you go to, right? Like one country might have certain customs and courtesies, other countries might have certain customs and courtesies. And then you have the international groups of people, right?

[00:10:30]Like each different nationality and different culture, different person is going to have a different way that they operate and function. So that's understandable. I can see how that could be a major culture shock.

[00:10:40]>> Number six is like the times that gyms open. Used to gyms in LA opening at 5:00 a.m. And I'd always go to the gym before my day started. And here they don't open till like 7, 8, 9, sometimes even 10:00.

[00:10:50]So, that was a little bit frustrating for me cuz had to rearrange my whole day.

[00:10:55]>> As a gym goer myself, I work out twice a day and I usually go to 24-hour gyms, right? There's 24-hour gyms all over Korea. It's awesome. I absolutely love it. There's 24-hour gyms all over the United States. It's awesome. I love it.

[00:11:07]I'm going to ask you guys a question. Do you guys have 24-hour gyms in your country? Cuz I do know that one of the biggest things that I'll ask Americans always get on different people about throughout Europe is, "Oh, you guys don't have 24-hour gyms or your gyms open too late. They open up at 7:00 in the morning, 8 in the morning, 9 in the morning. We want them to open at 5:00 in the morning, 4 in the morning. Or is there a pass we can get so we can have access to your gym 24/7?" A lot of times you have to pay a pretty hefty fee and your membership needs to be secured for a few months. You know what I mean? So, I have heard that. But I'm pretty sure you guys have 24/7 gyms as well, right?

[00:11:43]24-hour gyms, like 24 hours, 7 days a week. You just buzz in with your card and go in whenever you feel like it. I feel like you guys have those depending on what the country is, the city is.

[00:11:54]There's a lot of varying factors, but do you guys have 24/7 gyms?

[00:11:58]>> Number seven, people eat dinner really late. Like one time, my friend and I were planning for dinner. We never said a time. I just assumed like 56 p.m. She assumed like 9:10 p.m. And so I'm like, "Hey, are you ready for dinner?" It's like 5:00. And she's like, "What do you mean? I'm just having lunch right now."

[00:12:13]I'm like, "What?" You may have heard me talk about this a lot, but growing up in Chicago, right? Uh I had a lot of friends that were from European countries that moved to Chicago when they were really young and stuff like that. And then my family schedule was also very, very hectic. So I actually did not eat dinner most nights until 11:00 p.m. So that was normal for me. I did not know it was normal throughout the United States to have dinner at 5 or 6:00 p.m. until I went over to different friends houses and that's when they were serving dinner. And I'm like, what? I would normally be having lunch at 5:00 p.m. Now, yes, in school it's different.

[00:12:48]Yes, you have lunch at the normal times that you have lunch, which would be 11 to 12. Did I say P.M? Okay. So, usually lunch is between 11:00 a.m. to 100 p.m.

[00:12:58]It's anywhere in that time frame. So, some people have lunch from 11:00 a.m.

[00:13:02]to 12:00 p.m. Some people have lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. And I'm like, cool. I prefer to have lunch and dinner a little later. At this age, yeah, I'll have lunch at, you know, 11 or 12. I would not mind having my lunch at 5:00 p.m. What time do you guys normally have lunch? What time do you guys normally have dinner? I know this answer is going to vary from country to country, person to person, and it depends on what your schedule is looking like on a normal basis. Whenever you guys are working, you have things planned throughout the day. It is going to impact the times that you are able to eat, right? Some people don't even think about eating like that. They have like one meal and they're good for the rest of the day. I don't know how they do that cuz I need to be eating. Okay.

[00:13:43]What are the normal times for eating?

[00:13:45]Like what time do you guys have breakfast? What time do you guys have lunch? What time do you guys have dinner?

[00:13:49]>> That number eight is the clubbing time in LA. Going out clubbing, it's like 11, 10. Here it's like 2 3:00 a.m.

[00:13:55]>> Clubbing culture in South Korea. Oh my god. Now, she was she highlighted something, right? She said 2 3:00 a.m.

[00:14:03]clubbing culture. The clubs don't close until 9:00 a.m. here in Korea. Okay? 900 a.m. You will be partying until you physically can't move anymore. All right? And there are clubs like that throughout Europe as well. It just depends on what country you're going to and where you're partying and all that other cool stuff. But the clubs close late as I was not used to that. In the United States, the clubs close pretty much at 2.

[00:14:28]>> Number nine is making friendships across different cultures. It's really easy to be friends with an American cuz it's like kind of same vibe, but when you're making friends across like Germans or French or whatever or Spanish people, it's like super different and you have to be a lot more cognizant of what you say, how you say things, cuz in your head something might not seem offensive, but to them it might be perceived offensive.

[00:14:48]>> That's interesting. That's a very interesting point and I do agree with that. I actually feel like it's easier to make friends from other countries and cultures and stuff like that when you travel abroad and all of you guys are in a different country together. Like not like you guys travel together, but I'll give you an example. Everybody loves traveling to Japan. Everybody, right?

[00:15:09]Every person from different walks of life, they congregate in Japan. So there's a huge huge huge tourist population over there, right? You got people from Germany, you got people from Spain, you got people from Africa, you got people from the United States, you got people from Antarctica chilling in Japan. And now when you guys are all navigating the space, it's new to all of you guys. All of those things that you're experiencing in Japan for the first time are going to be entirely different than what you guys experienced back where you're from. And so it's a lot to take in. It can be overwhelming.

[00:15:43]And so you it's easier for you to make friends with people from other cultures that are also experiencing culture shocks as well, similar culture shocks that you're experiencing because it's different from where they're from. So you guys can bond with each other through experiences like that. Like, "Oh my god, there's robots that serve us random stuff. That's so cool. We don't have this in our country." I'm like, "We don't have that in our country." Boom.

[00:16:06]Congratulations. You have an acquaintance that will turn into a friend later on. I think that's really cool. That's one of the biggest things I love about traveling is most people who travel do have a very open mind and they do kind of defy the odds when it comes to cultural norms from the country that they come from cuz a lot of people from different countries and stuff. I mean they do travel for sure but some people love just staying put which is also fine but it's interesting when you're able to meet people from different walks of life different backgrounds and stuff and it will expand your way of thinking. It'll challenge the way that you view the world and I think it's very important.

[00:16:40]It's fun. I think it's fun. It's real fun when you guys eventually go back to your respective places and stuff like that. Now you have a contact in another country you've never been to before or maybe you visited very little and they can show you more elements of that other country that you now get to travel to and have a guide. So if you go to Japan and meet a person from Egypt or something and that's a place you've always wanted to go and you travel back to whatever country you came from, you're like, "Yo, I got a friend in Egypt. they could show me around and vice versa. I could show them my place and stuff that it'll be fun. It's so cool. I do like that.