1. Driving a car to high school
I just don't get it. In the Netherlands, where i live, you're not allowed to drive a car by yourself until you're18 years old. Most of the high school students will be long gone by then.
2. Being an adult at 21
Talking about being 18 years old... That's when you're officially an adult (almost) everywhere in Europe. Coming with that are a lot of rights and responsiblities. You can drive a car, drink alcohol, vote, etcetera. That's why i find it SO WEIRD, that in the USA, you're allowed to drive a car at 16, but can't drink alcohol until you're 21 because you're not an adult yet? Wtf?!
3. The school system
I don't really know if it's the same in other European countries, but in the Netherlands, we have different 'levels' of high school. Children take classes according to their intelligence. After high school, we also have 3 'levels' of education. From what i understand, American high schools just put everyone together. This is so weird to me, as a Dutchie.
Also, what's the thing with 2nd grade, 8th grade, and so on? I DON'T GET IT.
4. Eating fries with ketchup
We eat them with mayonnaise. Always. A lot of it. OH, a lot of Dutchies also eat them with satay sauce. Myself included. Is that weird?
5. Driving almost everywhere
Why do American drive everywhere? Even short distances?
We take our bikes most the time. Getting some groceries? You cycle there. Going to school or work? You cycle there. Even if it's an hour. Or if it rains. (Yes, i also rode my bike to school everyday. It took me an hour. And also an hour back. For 6 years. You don't wanna know how many times i cycled through a storm.)
Even if we don't cycle, we often use other types of transportation. We travel by train, bus, boat, tram, subway, ferry AND by car. A lot of people even use 2 or more of these types just to get to work or school.
6. Acting like they live in paradise
I'm sorry but-
The USA is not... like... THAT great.
It's just that I, as a European, find it weird that a lot of Americans are SO patriotic. Why are the American flags everywhere you go? Why do people shout "USAAAAAAA WOOOHOOHOOOOOOO" and other people respond?
7. Presidents
I don't really understand American politics to begin with, but okay.
Anyway, WHY is the president so old every time? And why is it always a man?!
8. Lack of knowledge about other countries
Like i said earlier, Americans look very (too) patriotic to us Europeans. They make it worse by not knowing anything about other countries other than their own.
Why do Americans not know ANY basic geography? Why do they only speak English? In Europe, almost everyone speaks at least 2, often more.
9. Sizes of food
WHY IS EVERYTHING SO BIG AND SO MUCH.
10. Being VERY friendly to strangers
We like it!.... but it also kinda scares us. Sometimes.
11. Getting your groceries packed FOR YOU
This is something I can only dream of. In Europe, the cashiers scan your stuff fast. Like, REALLY FAST. They kinda throw it at you sometimes? After catching your groceries, you should pack them in like 20 seconds, because the person behind you is almost done already. You'll hold up the whole line if you don't hurry and people start yelling and complaining and omg. It's so stressfull i'm crying.
12. Parking lots
They're so big? And there are SO many of them. Here, we literally shout out of joy when we find a parking spot that's within 5 minutes of the store you're heading towards. I know there are a lot of people in the US and therefore a lot of cars but... wow.
13. Paying taxes at stores
When the price tag says 10 dollars, I expect to pay exactly 10 dollars. But Americans pay their taxes at the counter? Like? On top of the price?
14. The USA is HUGE
We all know that but I think Europeans sometimes just... forget it? We drive to another country in like an hour, maybe a couple. (When I went on a holiday to Italy, we drove for 15 hours. In that time, we crossed the Dutch, German, French, Austrian, Swiss and Italian border.) The fact that you can take A PLANE and still be in the same country is just amazing.
Love,
A European
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