Cultural Differences

I am constantly reminded while traveling about the cultural differences between Americans and Europeans. For instance, while riding on a subway (metro), Americans tend to be very loud and boisterous. Their conversations can be heard by many. The more Americans there are in the car, the louder it is. By contrast, with the exception of adolescences and the inebriated, Europeans tend to have quiet conversations, speaking to each other in muted tones. The cars tend to be quiet.

A similar behavior is when riding a bus or metro, American will often put their feet in adjoining seats, stretching out the legs, taking up more than one seat. These people are also sending a signal of ownership and signaling a disinclination to share adjacent seats with strangers. I have seen bus drivers stop, walk to the back of the bus and chastise young American women for putting their dirty feet where soon someone else will be sitting. I conjure the image of prim and proper Irish women riding the bus after we have departed. One driver, as he walked away, muttered that he worked hard to keep his bus clean.

The unfair aspect of this description is that there could be, and probably are, many Americans who adopt a similar habits and attitude to their European counterparts. But because they are quiet, they are not immediately recognized. The loud Americans are recognized, the quiet ones are not. Nevertheless, my observation has given rise to a pet theory: In general, Europeans tend to share public space, while Americans try to own it.

[As I was sketching this thought out in my notebook in a sedate hotel breakfast room on a Sunday morning, I an everyone else heard an American woman say: “I am generous to a fault!” It fit all the stereotypes that many will have of Americans.]