EU Faux Pas in the USA

As I was out having dinner with someone in a Manhattan restaurant last night, I began to think about how different we were as people, despite our common language and interests. When Sting wrote the lyric "Legal Alien", in many ways he really was conjuring up the best possible phrase for an Englishman in New York.

For the weekend then, I've decided to list seven of what I think are the most subtle but important mistakes English people and Europeans in particular make when they come to America. In fact, I think on many levels, these are some of the reasons for break-downs in political and business communications between the USA and the EU. If you can think of any more, post them in the comments section below.

So, if as a European you find yourself in the U.S.A., DO NOT:

1. Assume that your typically understated demeanor with be recognized and admired by your American colleagues. It won't. This is not to suggest that you should brag while in the company of Americans, but our trans-Atlantic brothers and sisters are very vocal about their achievements and positive proclivities, and you should take this as a license to do the same. The difference between Europeans and Americans here is that the latter actually want to hear about all the great, amazing things you've done, so you don't have to be afraid of selling yourself. In fact, if someone seems to be over-bragging about how brilliant they are, it's usually because you have not offered anything to the table yet in return, so take this as your cue to do so. However, a crucial disclaimer here: make sure you sell yourself in a way that is as deeply personal as possible (see 5), otherwise, being European, you risk coming off being somewhat aloof.

2. Politely respond to the question "how are you doing?" with a brief "fine, thanks" and walk away shyly without engaging in much further dialog. This is very rude, and Americans will just assume you are not interested in talking to them, or that you think something is wrong with them. If you're buying something, like a coffee, it's perfectly acceptable to respond with "how are you doing?" back, while not answering the question, and place your order. In Northern Europe especially, we are not naturally inclined towards rapport with people we do not know, and tend to get quite defensive when someone asks this question up front: remember, this is essentially a culture of immigrants, so think like one.

3. Try to exaggerate an overseas experience for dramatic effect. Or, for that matter, underestimate the intelligence of your American companion. Once you start getting into the swing of things, you'll realize how  a) generally untraveled your American colleagues are, and b) how much they enjoy listening to your overseas adventures as a result. In such situations, it is often tempting to add little fictional details to a place/event in order to enhance it for dramatic effect. Don't. There are two reasons for this. Reason one is that however brash they might come off at first, Americans are incredibly brilliant bull-shit detectors. Probably because of the largely commercial nature of the country, Americans are hard-wired to find you out, so play authentic. Secondly, as untraveled as your American companion may well be, remember that this is a culture of very recent immigration, and so someone probably has a third-cousin/half-brother/sister-in-law from the place you're talking about, or at least near-by. Essentially, this all boils down to a crucial key point, that you must never, ever forget. Do not underestimate the intelligence of American people. Just because they come off less "broadly trained" than you are, this does not mean they are not extremely savvy people. There's a reason this place has become the largest self-sufficient economy in the world in a tenth of the time it took European countries. 

4. Seize every point an American colleague is saying in a debate by analyzing and deconstructing his/her sentence structure word-by-word and pointing out the flaws in his/her logic. Your apparent logical brilliance will not be appreciated, but most of all, it won't be understood. You will in fact come off looking stupid. This temptation arises out of a two-fold dichotomy: Americans use very bold and political language to convey their points, and in such a situation Europeans are trained from a young age to take apart, bit-by-bit, what their opponent is saying and return that sentence as a direct challenge of whether they know what they are talking about or not. This is not the case in America: using bold and strong language is perfectly acceptable, and most Americans think you are just wasting time or don't get it if you continually defer back to empirical logic when arguing with them. By all means fine-tune your own sentences, but attack the concepts they are putting forward in debate, not their debating style.

5.  Hold back on sharing fairly intimate/personal stories on a first meeting. This will make you seem as if you have something to hide and will not endear you to people quickly. It is perfectly acceptable to talk about your qualities and faults with loquacious and detailed stories as if you had known the person for years. In Europe, this is somewhat inappropriate behavior, and in certain parts of Europe especially, it is guaranteed to send people running away quicker than you can order the next round of drinks. In America, however, it shows you are confident and happy with the person that you are, you have nothing to hide, and that you are genuinely interested in getting to know your colleagues.

6. Assume that anyone who is on some kind of anti-depressant or who has been on one/several is insane and that you shouldn't talk to them. Medication, and anti-depressants in particular, are pretty near popular culture in America, and loads of people have taken them. Be aware too that most Americans are fascinated by the effects of anti-depressants, and will happily talk about multiple types of drugs and their benefits/side-effects with great interest and relish. If someone tells you an experience about their time on Prozac, ask something like "did it help?" and then share a similar experience of a time when you were really depressed.

7. Assume that every American is pro-war in Iraq. I shouldn't need to point this out, but it's still a huge stereotype. Americans have a whole diverse range of political views, and you'll encounter them in all their glorious and inglorious aspects, because they also love to talk about politics. In fact, politics is a very good conversation starter in America, so don't be afraid to ask someone who they are going to vote for at the next election right off the bat. But, do be aware that while not every American supports military combat elsewhere in the world, by far the majority believe that America itself has fundamentally very good intentions, and that the country really does want the best for everyone. This is not a concept you should challenge until you know someone at least quite well.

*UPDATE* Thanks for dropping by and for all your comments. This post - quite unsurprisingly - seems to have generated a strong emotional reaction in many cases. Due to the overwhelming number of comments here then, I'm going to list and further expound some of what I think are the best pieces of further advice given by the American readers themselves. If you have any more, or you agree or disagree with me, keep posting them in the comments below because I will respond.

First a quick blog promotion. This blog is about the global economy and specifically globalization's impacts on markets and visa versa. I occasionally get political but mostly try and keep the polemics as economically grounded as possible, so it's different in that respect. The following is for sure: what you read here is probably better advice than what you'll read elsewhere on the global economy, and America's situation within it, and you won't find many of the ideas expressed here elsewhere either. I'm a freelance financial journalist (go to my about page), and to make a success of being a freelancer, you have to write accurately, informatively, and you have to have an edge that others don't have, simple as that. You're in business for yourself. In other words, keep coming back. E-mail me or post a comment if you're interested in a perspective on something and you want me to write about it, and most likely I will. Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds for linking to me again, too.

Now, from readers (and with my explanations), some further DO NOT's:

8. Assume that because wealth is greatly admired and sought after in the United States, your inherited wealth will be similarly admired. It won't. This has to be one of the fundamental differences between continental Europe (excluding Scandinavia) and America. Americans like self-made people, people who got their hands dirty earning their money and have all the bruises to show for it. If you have made a lot of money yourself, fair play. If you have inherited wealth on the other hand, play it down if possible, because to American eyes, you haven't done anything to earn it. You can throw a lavish dinner party with the youngest and trendiest Lords and Ladies (such as would be greatly admired in London) of course, and while some Americans may appreciate the invitation, most who go along will do so in order to see the eccentric 'circus act' you've put on, not to get to know you in any meaningful way. The irony is, it is usually the people who have inherited wealth who are most self-conscious about displaying what they have in the United States. They should in fact be self-conscious about playing it cool, not playing it up.

9. Draw parallels between European pre-industrial revolution colonialism and America's post-world war II involvement in world economies and politics. This is guaranteed to get you thrown out of a conversation circle, unless you know the people you are talking to very well. It is also, however, an incorrect comparison, however easy it is for Europeans to draw parallels. Americans do not see themselves as colonizers of the world in the way Europeans once were, and in fact, they are right about this too. The American Empire has tended to economically try and dominate the world, rather than control it politically, whereas the Europeans were chiefly political in terms of their ambitions for individual countries (which is also why they ultimately lost them). If you disagree with this statement, just look at the vastly different intentions of the U.K. and the U.S.A. in Hong Kong, and for that matter, in China.

10. Make assumptions about America or American people based on what you have seen on Hollywood movies. Again, this shouldn't need to be re-iterated, but it's a classic fault, time and time again, of Europeans when they think of Americans. The best parallel I can give to show how inaccurate such portrayal of Americans and America is, is that given of the English or the French in such movies. Do all English drink tea and speak like they were educated at the most expensive boarding schools in the country? (Answer; maybe 1%)  Are all French red-wine drinking,pot-smoking miscreants? (Answer; this is a very specific sub-set of Parisians generally living within the wealthier arrondisements).

11. Assume that once you've been to one part of America you know it all. This may undermine some of my previous points, because they focus on generally broad aspects of the U.S.A, but it is true - America is an enormous country, and as a result, it's probably best to bear in mind how different the U.K. and Greece are. Double that distance and you haven't even covered the longitude of America.

12. Be afraid to ask for a pay rise. Bargaining and negotiating is at the heart of American culture, and is a major factor in what has driven this highly commercial and competitive country to number one economic status. In some cases, if you don't, you will just get left behind. In fact, as an example of this, an American friend of mine told me the other day that she "figured I should stay in the job a month before negotiating for more money." To most Europeans, you would be lucky after a year if you were able to negotiate a pay increase. Not so in the U.S.A. It's a deal-driven environment, and you should similarly have fun rainmaking and driving deals, wherever you are on the economic plateau.

**UPDATE** I've received a fair bit of e-mail from this post and thread, and there seems too to be quite a lot of other threads at different sites discussing this piece. This e-mail from reader Byron says something which it's especially worth remembering, I think:

Great article, well written and well treated.  This kind of clear, respectful, honest analysis of the differences in our two cultures is increasingly valuable these days as the US-EU transatlantic alliance should be one of the strongest forces for human rights worldwide, rather than the constant bickering match to which it recently seems to have degraded.  We have differences we need to overcome to accomplish that, and doing so requires respectful understanding and acceptance of our cultural, political, and historical differences.

Absolutely on-the-money. Building our trans-atlantic political and economic alliances to create a power center which is capable of doing bigger and better things is exactly what both Europe and the United States should be striving for, and it's what Britain and America have been doing since the fall of the British Empire and the rise of the American Empire.

In many cases though, economic reality speaks louder than all others, and that means it's time for the continental European countries - in particular France and Germany - to begin playing ball a little more. This will ultimately benefit these current naysayers economically, too. As an example of an economy which has successfully done so, Spain, prompted in this direction under Aznar's excellent leadership, derived massive growth both in terms of it's import/exports and capital market growth as a result. 

Comments

[Just Some Guy]

Fascinating comments! I'm American and find the self-analysis and experienced commentary on this subject quite intrigueing.

Obviously you like America and Americans in general. You probably know that most Americans have encountered, at some point, a European who generally hates America and Americans. I once sat next to a young Swedish woman on a plane. We conversed a bit, and she kept saying things like, "but don't you agree that your country does not have enough culture, and that your government is terrible?" I'd like to see a response to your post by a European like that.

[MB]

But most of all, DO NOT take any of the above advice seriously.

[Chester White]

DO NOT:

1. Automatically assume we think your "free health care" is any good. Some of us have direct experience with it and, as in my case, had a horrible outcome.

2. Assume we all hate George Bush and every single Republican ever born.

3. Assume we will agree with you that capitalism is horrible and cruel and that every enlightened person on earth mustagree. There are 9,000,000+ millionaire households in the US and most of them got that way on their own. How many are there in Europe?

4. Tell us we are selfish because we are only 6% of the world's population, yet produce way more than that fraction of the pollution. Ask us what percentage of the world's GDP we put out, not to mention what percentage of the world's security we provide, for free.

5. Fail to bathe.

I could go on for days, but this will suffice for now.

[swampwoman]

Sounds as though you may be mistaking behavior in the northeast with the rest of America. Behavior such as you describe would be viewed in my area as extremely rude and offensive.

[Tood]

Debate Europeans with this article about why America will still be the only superpower in 2030.

http://futurist.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/05/why_the_us_will.html

A great conversation starter.

[geekWithA.45]

>> don't be afraid to ask someone who they are going to vote for at the next election right off the bat.

Are you _insane_?

No, DO NOT ask this right off the bat.

Apparently, the author never heard the aphorism that "religion and politics makes poor dinner conversation."

This is a safe question ONLY in a homogenous political environment, where most folks are playing for the same team.

In a mixed environment, you'll either queue up a powderkeg, or, more likely, the question will be squeegeed off to the side, with some neutral, noncommital response.

With tensions and polarization at an all time high, folks in politically mixed environments are obscuring their team colors, so as to be able to carry on with biz.

Folks are interested in talking politics, but not interested in general donnybrooks, so tread lightly.

-----------------

Another point, mainly for my UK cousins. This is something I've heard more than once, and it strikes us as surreal and slightly unhinged every time we encounter it.

Do NOT refer to the American revolution in the diminutive, or as anything other than an established, historical fait accompli.

It's rarely a topic of conversation to begin with, and it's not like we're going to rub it in your face, or anything. We're pretty matter of fact about the whole thing, so there's no need to be coy.

[Peter CArroll]

This seems pretty good to me, as a Brit who has visited the US since 1968 and lived here since 1974. Except for the one about anti-depressants. That's just silly.

[Dave S.]

My goodness. I'm an American, but apparently I think like a European. Just about everything that you identify as "wrong" (except #3) would be quite welcome by me.

Maybe that's why I spend so little time out of my home.

[Jonathan Walz]

Interesting, somewhat funny and witty observations, all cast with a wide net of typecasting individuals with a cultural group-think concepts that seek to find strategic work arounds so that you can feel as though you are more appealling to your American conterparts. Rather sad, really. To walk about worrying about what others think and reacting to stereotypes instead acting upon your own creativity.

[Cliff]

I take exception to the statement that Americans are not well traveled. Sure, most americans have not left the country, but that does not mean we are not well traveled. In Europe, one cannot help but to travel to a different country; if you drive for more than a couple of hours in any one direction it is bound to happen. This is because Europe is SMALL. The United States, but contrast, is quite large. Indeed, it is several times the size of Europe. So, for a European to claim to be better traveled merely because he has visited three or four or eight countries in Europe is fatuious. Sure, if an American travels from New York to LA, he has not left the country, and the people still speak the same language, but I assure you that culturally, he has gone as far as from Prague to London.

-cliff

[Mike Anderson]

8. When west of the Mississippi and east of the Sierras, do not assume that rough clothing and vernacular speech correspond to a lack of education or worse yet, a lack of intelligence. Ignorant American rubes have been fleecing intelligent (but not smart) Englishmen for centuries.

...

1,897,326. Watch your language. Should you find that you have made a stray pencil-mark and wish to erase it, do not ask for a "rubber."

[wlpeak]

Generally sound advice, however it overlooks something most of the Europeans I have met seem to not intuitively grasp.

The US is a huge populous country. It has regions just like Europe. Each with its own quirks of culture.

Your advice seems targeted to the northeast and the more urban areas at that.

Be careful of assumptions about provincialism especially in areas with a heavy military population. The military and their children are heavily traveled and learn new places intimately.

Rural areas can be quite surprising as well. You mentioned a culture of immigrants, I have only a vague idea what you mean by that, but some of the small rural communities in the southeast haven't substantively changed since their ancestors came over from England. And German, Czech, Pole and other smaller colonies are peppered throughout the midwest from near Canada to down into Texas.

In general I would suggest avoiding thinking about any region in the US based on how it is portrayed in TV or Film. Regional bias exists here just as anywhere. That's why they call it 'Fly over country'.

[jim]

Interesting perspective.

Many of these points are valid just for the somewhat more introverted or intellectual Americans, on how to deal with their fellow Americans.

It also sounds like the American you've dealt with have mostly been from fairly large cities in the Northeast. The BosNyWash corridor has a different culture from the rest of the country. More aggressive, more anonymous, more competitive.

American culture is fairly extroverted and aggressive. People move a lot, change jobs a lot, change friends a lot. So they learn these skills to survive and thrive.

Learning deeply personal details about a persons life within hours of meeting them is not atypical. At the same time, having a fairly close friend move or change jobs, and end the friendship, is not atypical either.

The stereotype of Americans often having a large, but not deep, circle of friends has a good bit of truth to it.

What else. Yes, there is a an anti-intellectual side of America. A super-logical debating style is not trusted by most Americans. They instinctively will think you are trying to either a)trick them or b)look down on them. We are suckers for British accents, though.

On listening to travel stories. It depends. Americans like hearing stories from foreigners so they can relate it to their own friends. That way they look well-traveled themselves.

Many conversations can be seen as competitive bragging. You brag about something you did, then I brag about something I did. We learn how to do this from childhood.

Since most Americans are not well-travelled (especially outside the big cities), then you are breaking this cultural norm. They can't participate. If you are a foreigner they won't mind, but they won't like an American who tries that.

It's best to brag about something you know the other person can also brag about. Americans like to brag. Steering the conversation to an area where you know they can't will be seen as rude and show-offy.

Of course, it's a big, big country, with a great variety of personal and conversational styles.

[Darrell]

I think most of your points are overstated. Relax, be positive, be yourself, don't be an ass, and you'll have no problems. Most Americans love meeting Europeans. On politics, if you're in a "red" state, don't start off by badmouthing President Bush, you're not likely to make friends that way.

[WGBrodie]

Another valuable tip to EU visitors (especially journalists):

DO NOT spend too much time in Manhattan, NYC or other narrow enclaves. You will be doomed to repeat the mistake of some who have deluded themselves and others by concluding NYC *is* America and attempt to extrapolate. It will become obvious to better-travelled visitors that, as with London and Great Britain, so too with New York and America ... not always the seat of our best character, wisdom and humility.

[Kevin]

Two more:
1) Don't assume about religion. The local variations are unbelievable. For example in the course of a week in the NW, a liberal part of the US, I had dinner with people who talked extensively about their church and lunch with someone who used "born again Christian" as a curse.

2)Assume we can't speak other languages. It's not as common as in Europe, but many of us know Spanish, and may have grown up in families with non-English speakers. For example, my paternal grandmother would not speak to me except in French and my maternal grandparents were much more comfortable in a dialect of Russian. I've lost most of it but my brother hasn't and he learned Italian to talk with his in-laws.

A 3rd generation American

[Jake]

"In fact, politics is a very good conversation starter in America, so don't be afraid to ask someone who they are going to vote for at the next election right off the bat."

That is the worst advice you can give a person anywhere at anytime. 85% of the time you will end up in a verbal and perhaps a physical fight.

You should never discuss politics or religion unless you know the person well enough to know what their reaction will be.

[Cro]

To be honest, as a Mid-westerner that has lived and worked all over Europe, I'd say your advice is hogwash. It's insult wrapped in advice ... we Europeans are trained from a young age to logically dissect an argument, yadda, yadda, yadda.... Americans over-brag, blah blah blah.

Maybe Manhattan IS full of assholes, but it by no means defines America and your advice wouldn't be worth donkey snot here in Chicago.

[Patrick Carroll]

This is a brilliant piece of work! I'm saying this as someone who grew up mostly in the UK and Ireland, and who's been in the US since 1985.

One thing I'd add (though, as a middle-aged guy who's been kind of out of touch with the EU for a while, I'm unsure of the value of the insight) is not to be afraid to ask for more money from your employer.

Growing up I got a huge dose of the "money is the root of all evil" thing. This doesn't really hold in the US, where money is mostly seen as (a) a tool, and (b) a way to keep score.

So, if you're working here, negotiate, negotiate, negotite. And when it's all over, ask again in 90 days.

Obviously, you've got to do it from the perspective of what you've accomplished, but do ask. Otherwise, well, you'll get trampled by everyone else.

[Molon Labe]

May I add a few more?

8. Don't assume that the Americans you are with speak only English or are narrowly educated or untravelled.

It's true of some Americans, of course. However, I've been alternately amused, offended and annoyed at smug, condescending comments made in my presence by those who assumed I couldn't understand the language they spoke or that I wouldn't recognize the literary, political or social references implicit in their 'clever' remarks. If I'm REALLY annoyed I sometimes answer back in the language used -- or in a third.

9. Don't assume that because you've been to New York or Los Angeles you understand the US and its complexities. Within our own borders we have as much cultural, linguistic, social and geographic diversity as western Europe taken together. Many of us have lived in highly differing areas of the country or in neighborhoods with recent immigrants from a variety of places around the world. There's more here than most Europeans realize.

10. Don't assume that most Americans are as class conscious as most Europeans.

We're by and large a nation of strivers, of entrepreneurs, of blue collar kids who go to college and become white collar professionals. We tend to value achievement, not birth status. Be especially careful of this if you're in the West -- that guy in a plaid flannel shirt driving a dusty pickup truck might well be able to afford to buy a considerable chunk of your home country if he chose.

11. Don't miss the opportunity to really SEE the country. Spend time in the mountains, in the deserts, on our shores (not just the warm beaches, but also the Pacific northwest or the coasts of Maine or the islands of North Carolina), in our forests. While it's not true of many in our largest cities, the majority of Americans enjoy and have been shaped by the big outdoors of this vast nation. We certainly didn't create it, but we do enjoy it.

I hope you will too.

[W.J.A]

"In fact, politics is a very good conversation starter in America, so don't be afraid to ask someone who they are going to vote for at the next election right off the bat."

This is only good advice if you ask the American the *American's* opinion, and listen with friendly but non-commital curiousity. Then the American is chatty and opinionated. By far the worst and surprisingly common faux pas Europeans make is to start lecturing Americans about American politics. It's the height of arrogance, though ironically, these same Europeans often complain about "American arrogance". Also, you're almost sure to embarrass yourself, because by necessity European knowledge of US politics is third hand, and largely a mix of fact and strange overreaches and generalizations and even conspiracy theory. (I can't tell you how many Europeans have cited Michael Moore to me as if he's a credible source from the Brookings Institute.) If you want a perfect illustration of the phenomenon, watch Whit Stillman's *Barcelona*, and the Spanish intellectual who informs his docile audience of students that it's a fact that the leading US intelligence agency controls American labor unions-- after all, the largest one is "the AFL-CIA".

That's who you're probably going to sound like. So dude, seriously, just ask questions and listen politely, and when we want *your* opinion of America, we'll beat it out of you.

[Shannon Love]

Some of these points require translation:

1. Assume that your typically understated demeanor with be recognized and admired by your American colleagues.

Don't assume that Americans will understand your subtle conversational hints intended to convey your position in Europe's archaic social order. Americans do not care where you or your people come from. Americans care about what you, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, can or cannot do.

2. Politely respond to the question "how are you doing?" with a brief "fine, thanks" and walk away shyly without engaging in much further dialog.

Because Americans lack anything approaching the class conscious of the typical European, the individual serving you your coffee will actually believe they are your social equal and expect you to respond in kind. It's disturbing but one can grow accustom to it. Remember this is essentially a culture of equal individuals so remember to act like one.

3. Try to exaggerate an overseas experience for dramatic effect. Or, for that matter, underestimate the intelligence of your American companion.

Strangely, Americans do not consider Europeans who have tuttled around Europe to be "well traveled." For some reason, Americans do not regard riding a train from Paris to Prague as trans-cultural experience.

4. Seize every point an American colleague is saying in a debate by analyzing and deconstructing his/her sentence structure word-by-word and pointing out the flaws in his/her logic.

Don't expect Americans to mistake repeated appeals to intellectual authority as logical empiricism. Don't expect Americans to mistake a clever turn of phrase for reality. Don't expect Americans to find Europe's history of bloodshed and discord indicators of a more wise and worldly culture.

5. Hold back on sharing fairly intimate/personal stories on a first meeting

Again, Americans only care about you as a individual. If you don't talk about yourself, you don't convey any information that an American finds useful.

6. Assume that anyone who is on some kind of anti-depressant or who has been on one/several is insane and that you shouldn't talk to them

Don't assume that the pill-popping culture of far Left of center urban areas represents the entire country.

7. Assume that every American is pro-war in Iraq.

Don't expect Americans realize that life is meaningless and that we are helpless to affect positive change in the world. Unfortunately, few Americans recognize impotence and cynicism for the virtues they are.

The real problem with Americans is that they do not realize that the culture, history and politics of Europe established the template for all human societies and that deviation from European norms represents a serious fault.

I guess we will grow up someday.

[JorgXMcKie]

I'm in agreement with those who point out that, assuming that this is good advice (may or may not be), it works at best in the NE. I'm not convinced it would work much more than a small majority of the time there.

Having said that, my experience in the upper Midwest in grad school is that Americans from either coast are very uncomfortable in the Midwest for different reasons. That is, the Midwest is a very different culture than LA/SF and also than Bos-Wash. Those from south of DC have an easier time of it. I have seen similar effects in business. Thus, even Americans need to be able to adjust to internal cultural differences.

Dude, the US is fookin' HUGE!! Exchange students in high school and international students in college take anywhere from months to years to figure out just how big the US is. Even our Chinese students and colleagues are amazed at both how big the country is and how widespread large cities are. In this way, the US is much more like India. Lotsa big(gish) cities and lotsa culture variation.

My advice would be what I would give any good salesman: watch your contact carefully and mimic their behavior to the extent possible to you. Let them initiate behavior. You can't go too wrong that way.

[Nigel]

Nice post, it was a fun read. I've had a conversation like #6 before and didn't know how to respond. #1 is a big one because some Americans interpret this as a lack of self confidence.

I'd add that Europeans shouldn't base their view of Americans on any idiots that they may meet. For example a gas station attendant in Denver heard my accent and asked where I was from, I told him I came from the UK, and he replied "You know we kicked your arse in the civil war"

-Great story, the kind Euros love to hear, but that guy is one of kind.

[Brown Line]

I would offer Europeans one bit of advice about Americans: Forget everything you "learned" about us from the movies or television. Just set it aside. Pretend you never saw it, because it is almost entirely horseshit. Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, draw your own conclusions, and you'll do just fine.