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[ThoseDeafMutes]

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

I feel like you're conflating "white people" with sameness and cultural homogeneity. The diversity in culture, language and ethnicity is very high in Europe. It's a continent of 700+ million people and over 200 languages, despite being primarily composed of what the US census would lump together as "whites". Not to deny that the United States is very diverse, it is, but I'm not sure if you truly appreciate the scope of your claim here.

 

[LaMagenta]

I went to Italy this summer and I agree. However, the reason they stay skinny I think is cuz they do walk a lot but also their food is way better and healthier. First of, they let the yeast ferment for days before baking it until their bread and pizza is fully expanded. Unlike in America, we don't let the yeast ferment. That's why we get full and bloated with American pizza and bread. Second, in America I don't eat a lot of cheese because it also makes me feel bloated. But in Italy I never had a problem. All their food sat well in my stomach and tasted absolutely delish! I don't like tomatoes, but Italian tomatoes are sweet and yummy. So it is all the crap that goes into American farming and processing that is bad, even the so called organic. And in italy they drink wine with everything. Maybe that helps? I'm gonna try it

 

[Arjen]

American here, my understanding from staying with friends in different parts of the EU is that they go to the grocery store more often but buy smaller amounts, while in america we buy enough to last 2 weeks or more. So, they don't have to carry a lot while be fill our car trunks.

Confirmation?

Correct in my case.
I go grocery shopping 2 or 3 times a week. It's a small walk from my house. This way I can get fresh stuff to eat for a couple of days.

 

[Vicetrailia]

It's easier to get cheaper healthy food in germany than in the us.

 

[Haly]

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

How much of that culture do you think is expressed, in practice? And how much does it represent America as a whole? Geographically, America is very homogenous. To get any significant linguistic diversity, for example, you need to focus your attention entirely on urban centers and the south border. But that's just a fraction of what the entire country is.

Sure, America is culturally diverse, if you, like, completely ignore 80% of its landmass. And do you think my family's culture as Chinese immigrants is also automatically America's culture as well, simply because I live here? I assure you it is not. It's neither sourced from here nor is most of the country aware of it in the way every Brit is aware of the royal family. I can hardly say America owns my culture like Italy owns the history of the Italian region in southern Europe, and Sweden/Norway owns the history of northern Europe. At best, my culture is Chinese, flavored with America; it is seasoning, nothing more.

What American culture has that genuinely came from itself and wasn't borrowed from other richer cultures doesn't even come close to matching Europe's history, and it is very similar across the nation. Whether it's entertainment, food, art or music, language, infrastructure, economics, or governance, by and large we experience the same vision of America.

 

[Sub_Level]

Correct in my case.
I go grocery shopping 2 or 3 times a week. It's a small walk from my house. This way I can get fresh stuff to eat for a couple of days.

Wow. US here and yeah the Walmart is a 6 minute drive from my house. Don't know what the walk is like. We buy for at least a whole week.

 

[LaMagenta]

How much of that culture do you think is expressed, in practice? And how much does it represent America as a whole? Geographically, America is very homogenous. To get any significant linguistic diversity, for example, you need to focus your attention entirely on urban centers and the south border. But that's just a fraction of what the entire country is.

Sure, America is culturally diverse, if you, like, completely ignore 80% of its landmass. And do you think my family's culture as Chinese immigrants is also automatically America's culture as well, simply because I live here? I assure you it is not. It's neither sourced from here nor is most of the country aware of it in the way every Brit is aware of the royal family. I can hardly say America owns my culture like Italy owns the history of the Italian region in southern Europe, and Sweden/Norway owns the history of northern Europe. At best, my culture is Chinese, flavored with America; it is seasoning, nothing more.

What American culture has that genuinely came from itself and wasn't borrowed from other richer cultures doesn't even come close to matching Europe's history, and it is very similar across the nation. Whether it's entertainment, food, art or music, language, infrastructure, economics, or governance, by and large we experience the same vision of America.

You make it sound like its a bad thing

 

[John Kowalski]

walking is great

 

[Sub_Level]

You make it sound like its a bad thing

Its not a bad thing but he is right. We are not culturally all that different across the land mass besides the remnants of the north vs south dynamic that still exists to this day.

Which is fine because we are, you know, one country.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

Wow. US here and yeah the Walmart is a 6 minute drive from my house. Don't know what the walk is like. We buy for at least a whole week.

France here and we also buy for a whole week, either through our nearby supermarket or by delivery.

 

[Sub_Level]

France here and we also buy for a whole week, either through our nearby supermarket or by delivery.

Hopefully Costco becomes big over there. I know a few stores already opened up.

 

[yuna55]

I was in Germany for 3 weeks and ate constantly - pasta, breads, meats, chocolate, ice cream, at restaurants, home cooked meals, at McDonald's, etc. I dropped from 120 lbs to 110 lbs by the time I got home.

Ate healthy, light meals at home when I got back to the US. Gained 15 lbs almost immediately. Wtf do they put in our food here??

Also, did not eat sauerkraut once, nor did I even see it as an option anywhere. But the German people we were with asked, "How many times do you eat McDonald's in a day?" Lol they were blown away that none of us even ate it once a month, especially after they drug us there several times during our trip thinking we liked it.

 

[Sub_Level]

especially after they drug us there several times during our trip thinking we liked it.

What the fuck kind of trip was this...

 

[Ryuukan]

This thread was a great read

tho my biggest takeaway is to avoid visiting Europe unless you have family there

 

[Haly]

You make it sound like its a bad thing

There are good and bad parts of it. I just think UFO arguing that America is more culturally diverse than Europe is droll, if not slightly insulting.

It's not like the culture our immigrants bring with them is being embraced by America at large. A city like NYC might be diverse by-the-numbers, but we have many insular ethnic enclaves (insular being the keyword) throughout the boroughs, despite our range of immigrants, for a reason. To use the mixing pot analogy, New York is like a stew with a lot of lumps of who-knows-what that just stay congealed together, rather than dispersing among the whole pot.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

Germans? Pretty much the same. You guys graze on pastries and beer like its oxygen. It's very hard to find something open for breakfast that cells, I don't know, something that isn't sausage or bread. Your biergartens are just an excuse to guzzle liters of beer with fattening foods.

You are traveling. Not living there. A german breakfast is usually just cornflakes or toast with jam unless you are in a hotel or with a lot of friends.
And there are still a lot of other foods we eat besides sausage and bread. A lot of vegetable dishes, potatoes (a lot) etc.

 

[Belfast]

Got back from Germany a little over a month ago. Ate loads of delicious stuff. Yeah, every morning was the typical bread/meat/cheese spread thing or a quick trip to the bäckerei (I still miss this), but being in Berlin most of the time, there was a pretty wide variety of things to eat for other meals. Also, I found it incredibly cheap. I've heard it's not quite the same in other euro countries, but damn, everything I ate and drank was beyond reasonable aside from ordering water/soda at a restaurant (it's cheap if you buy your own at the store).

When I got back to the US, I was depressed that I could get the same foods and certainly not for the same prices. I moped around the grocery store wondering why I was paying so much for so little and why it was so damn bad for me.

I ate quite well in Germany, but almost never had the usual stomach problems, even when loading up on carbs and meat.

 

[Ikael]

If we're talking about health rather than food per se, restaurants and hotels are rarely representative of one country's regular diet. I mean, nobody goes out for eating and dinner everyday. If you want to have an idea of how the average person eats, one has to look at home cooking and supermarkets instead, me thinks.

If that's the case, I couldn't shake the impresion that most people in the US simply hates cooking at home, or views it like a too cucumbersome thing to do, hence the prevalance of pre-processed foods. As for supermarkets, I've gotta give you that, you can find absolutely everything at the US, and on a huge scale. Seriously, this might sound silly, but when I visited the US I became genuinely impressed at the sheer variety of products in the supermarkets. Like, "who the hell eats honey-flavoured burritos and who was the evil genious who had the idea of making them bite sized?".

 

[way more]

I ate quite well in Germany, but almost never had the usual stomach problems, even when loading up on carbs and meat.

The carbs and protein are actually good for you in europe. They don't add HFCS or GMO's to them.

 

[yuna55]

What the fuck kind of trip was this...

A high school exchange program consisting of 17 year old Americans paired up with German teens and their families.

 

[shrek]

I noticed how much they seem to smoke there.

 

[Sub_Level]

A high school exchange program consisting of 17 year old Americans paired up with German teens and their families.

No I'm referring to how you put drug instead of dragged.

Dragged is the correct past tense of drag!

 

[kpaadet]

When I was in America I once ate at a McDonalds, I guess that mean all americans eat there 3 times a day every day. No wonder you guys are so large.

 

[yuna55]

No I'm referring to how you put drug instead of dragged.

Dragged is the correct past tense of drag!

Dialect. Not going to start saying sneaked instead of snuck either, sorry.

 

[Z..]

How is this thread not a joke?

 

[Shanlei91]

French people eat so much fucking bread and sweets and chocolate it's absurd. Every hostel and hotel breakfast I've had served included rolls with chocolate chips. Every breakfast cafe sells CAKE AND PIE for breakfast. Fucking crepes man, they're just carbs folded upon Nutella and store bought fruit jam. You guys just munch on sweets until lunch time, when it's time for more bread, and maybe around dinner time you'll eat something green that is not an onion with some wine.

Germans? Pretty much the same. You guys graze on pastries and beer like its oxygen. It's very hard to find something open for breakfast that cells, I don't know, something that isn't sausage or bread. Your biergartens are just an excuse to guzzle liters of beer with fattening foods.

Czechs drink 150L of beer A YEAR. Men drink 500L of beer a year. Yet Prague had less fat people than any of my cities back in Texas.

What I took away from this is that I'm secretly European.

 

[nilbog21]

Yeah, the major difference is that Europeans eat at home 95% of the time while Americans eat out 95% of the time

 

[Renekton]

itt Americans still think Europe is a country...

Because EU

 

[CadetMahoney]

You probably ate at the touristy places, which are for fat Americans.

*smirk

 

[Mr Nash]

I dunno. It always struck me that Europeans age faster in part due to the diet there. Sure, they may walk and not get huge like the stereotypical American, but their skin and such still deteriorates pretty fast. There have been so many times where I've met folks from Europe and thought they were pushing 40 when in fact they were in their mid 20s. The UK in particular seems pretty bad for this.

 

[Kikujiro]

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

Are you trying to outdo the OP in ignorance? You're doing an amazing work.
I hope you realize how stupid you sound and yes the cultural diversity between Italy and Sweden is as big as a China to Belize (the comparison is completely silly), or do you think it's all about skin colors? Which would make your post even more ignorant.

 

[Spieler Eins]

OP in my mind:

Upcoming culture expert.

 

[MiszMasz]

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

I dunno. It always struck me that Europeans age faster in part due to the diet there. Sure, they may walk and not get huge like the stereotypical American, but their skin and such still deteriorates pretty fast. There have been so many times where I've met folks from Europe and thought they were pushing 40 when in fact they were in their mid 20s. The UK in particular seems pretty bad for this.

This thread...

 

[Korey]

Huh? My experience is the exact opposite. Getting something normal in America was almost impossible when going there. Way to large portions also.

And what's wrong with bread

Bread are carbs, which is the same thing as sugar (super bad for you). Same for all grain food like rice and pasta.

It raises your blood sugar and makes you fat.

Beer, also bad for you and makes you fat, is often referred to as "liquid bread".

 

[Jimrpg]

Come to South East Asia Op - or more specifically East Coast Malaysia - some McDonalds don't even have Diet Coke - its like "what's that?"

Everything is rice or noodles with a tiny bit of meat. I get it - its the way it is here. A typical breakfast is Nasi Lemak which white rice with barely any coconut milk, a quarter of a hard boiled egg, a few dried anchovies and sambal (savoury dried prawn paste) and a slice of cucumber. Its about RM1.50, about US$0.40. I don't want to sound like i'm complaining but having lived in Australia most of my life, its just difficult to adjust.

I can't even get a sandwich here for lunch for miles and miles, and if I did it would be in those restaurants that 'attempt' to mimic western food but is like 50 years behind. But to hear people say European food or American food is bad or there's a lack of choice boggles my mind.

 

[TheFakeMccoy]

What is up with the toilets though? My penis doesn't even touch the water.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

But do Europeans squat?

 

[Endorphineforeverybody]

Bread are carbs, which is the same thing as sugar (super bad for you). Same for all grain food like rice and pasta.

It raises your blood sugar and makes you fat.

Beer, also bad for you and makes you fat, is often referred to as "liquid bread".

Bread is not bad for you. White bread is. No bread culture is bad for you.

Beer in normal quantities is also fine. Don't drink an than eat a lot when you are hungry and than go to bed. This is bad behavior. Also Fastenbier for me is great. Don't forget the fasten.

As for the OP goes, nobody is eating the way you described everyday. On holidays maybe. Normal life. No

 

[Korey]

Bread is not bad for you. White bread is. No bread culture is bad for you.

Beer in normal quantities is also fine. Don't drink an than eat a lot when you are hungry and than go to bed. This is bad behavior. Also Fastenbier for me is great. Don't forget the fasten.

As for the OP goes, nobody is eating the way you described everyday. On holidays maybe. Normal life. No

White bread is worse for you, but all breads are bad for you.

Bread or beer in moderation are "ok" but still not good for you.

 

[IceCold]

The carbs and protein are actually good for you in europe. They don't add HFCS or GMO's to them.

First of all you don't add GMOs to things, second, there are no problems with GMOs bud. Most of the fruits and veggies you eat were modified by humans already. GMOs simply speed up the process. Corn, wheat, brocoli/cauliflower/kale/cabbage (those are all the same species ), etc.

Oh and btw, nature has made GMOs of its own without the help of humans:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/04/genetically-modified-crops-nature-got-there-first/

 

[Clefargle]

Dutch Turkish fast food is best fast food

You're goddamn right

 

[Avixph]

In this thread Europeans experience how Americans feel when they're generalised

Welcome to every American thread. The indignation and outrage here is hilarious.

Hhhehehehehehe.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

who the hell goes to a restaurant at 4 pm

seriously, that OP kinda infuriates me

Er, what? Haven't you ever travelled before? Long plane trips, long train trips, long touristy visits, even a long road trip can fuck up a typical meal schedule.

Lol @ all the offended Europeans that can't stand an American calling THEM unhealthy. I live in Holland and one of the main reasons I always go to the U.S. on vacation is the awful service and ridiculously high prices for healthy food in Europe.

Every diner or breakfast cafe in the U.S. has affordable healthy options, doesn't serve coffee in a cup the size of a tea spoon and actually offers free icewater. I was flabbergasted when I ordered water during a concert and the woman behind the bar looked at me like I was insane for trying to hand her money. Don't get me started about public bathrooms. If you go shopping in Europe and need to go to the bathroom? Tough shit! Hold it in or pay the ridiculous price of 1 Euro.
I HAVE TO PAY TO GO TO THE BATHROOM IN A MCDONALDS AS A PAYING CUSTOMER.

Europe has a lot of advantages but service and dining ain't one of them. I know a lot of Americans hate the tipping system but getting a steady wage and not having to work for tips has made European restaurants and waiters lazy. It's a big fucking chore to get free water (at least in Holland) and the word refill is non-existent.

I of course laugh at the OP's ignorance, but I have to agree with many of the things you say, as a Canadian who travelled a tiny bit in Europe -- Germany, Holland, Greece, Belgium and Turkey (both Euro and Asia side). I saw a lot of paid toilets in Germany and Belgium, and in Belgium the water carafe thing seemed non-existent in their mind -- we did get it once, and overheard this hilarious conversation from the kitchens (our table at the hotel restaurant was fairly close to the kitchen door):
- Can you prepare a pitcher of cold tap water?
- ...Why?
- Oh, to make the customers happy.
- [repeating incredulously] "To make the customers happy?!"

looool. Yeah lady customer service, what a crazy idea eh?

Yeah, the tip system is awful for many ways but... it really empowers the customer and make servers give better service, I agree with you there. Most of the service I experienced in EU was mediocre, never even coming close to a typical Canadian or US restaurant.

IIRC the water pitcher/glass thing wasn't an issue in Turkey and Greece, but I don't remember clearly. I might have picked a soda as a drink just to spoil myself since the food was cheap. xD Don't remember for Germany but I remember it clearly in Belgium. Also their parks and stuff have no water fountains anywhere, seems like.

What I disliked about Turkey was that coffee was either "Turkish coffee", or instant coffee. Like I never saw normal filter coffee ever. Same thing in Israel. Either Turkish coffee, a minuscule espresso or cappuccino cup, or instant coffee. WTF?

About the service... I just need waiters to take my order and bring my food, not ask about how my day was and give me fake smiles and fake laughter.

Yeah, uh, same here actually. But we expect them to take our order promptly, not ignore us if we need something, and refill water and coffee every now and then. Most decent restaurants here will bring refills automatically (or ask if we want some, for coffee), sometimes you have to ask but they're generally pretty quick about it.

And we do have refills... but you have to pay for them.

Whaaaaat
You mean like soda or beer right? Not water or coffee?

The carbs and protein are actually good for you in europe. They don't add HFCS or GMO's to them.

(facepalm) You don't "add GMOs" to food, and GMOs are not bad in any way. Educate yourself please.

 

[Fusebox]

Paid toilets are great because the cost goes toward keeping them clean. I'd rather pay a Euro for a clean dunny than use some of the nasty public toilets I saw in the US.

Dialect. Not going to start saying sneaked instead of snuck either, sorry.

What kind of dialect allows 'drug' instead of 'dragged'?

And FYI snuck is actually a word relating to sneaking.

 

[BigJonsson]

I was shocked at the price of soft drinks, equivalent of 5 bucks Canadian for a glass of coke......drank wine and beer instead

 

[sojour]

During my trip to Germany, I remember paying ~10 euros just for drinks (no alcohol) in a single restaurant: bottle of carbonated water, tea, and a hot chocolate. I asked for tap water but the restaurant refused. The waiter also had to ask for 'permission' if I can bring any leftovers home. Typically I hear that American restaurants has large portions (which is true, but convenient if you want to make 1 meal into 2 meals..), but portions in Germany, at in the restaurants that I visited were just as big.

I stayed with my boyfriend, and he made me what he eats.....most of my breakfasts were bread + toppings.

The weirdest thing I found in Germany is when you order water, you have to specific you want flat/non-carbonated water. Otherwise, they will most likely bring you carbonated water, yuck!

 

[BigJonsson]

There was an Earl of Sandwich in London too, just as awesome as the one in Vegas

 

[poodaddy]

The whole bread makes you fat belief of America is a myth perpetuated by ignorance in the realm of nutrition. American obesity is due in larger part to how lazy Americans are rather than consumption of carbohydrates. I say this as an American, we're probably the laziest nation in the world, as well as the most likely to eat deep fried and preservative ridden foods. Other nations eat bread because they move more, and carbs are fine if you're keeping active. We're meant to move, we're literally made for it, but for some reason Americans hate moving. This is why other nations are healthier than us, not because of their food culture, but their active culture.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

The weirdest thing I found in Germany is when you order water, you have to specific you want flat/non-carbonated water. Otherwise, they will most likely bring you carbonated water, yuck!

Oh don't get me started on that shit. Carbonated water is evil incarnate.

I'll always remember going to the Berlin Zoo in early August with my boyfriend, it was a hot sunny day, 30 degrees celsius and we did a lot of walking, and finally went to the rest area to grab snacks and drinks. We bought a bottle of water each, and I bought a bottle of apple juice in addition to that to get some sugary taste and some vitamins too.

I start sipping my juice and my boyfriend opens his bottle. "Psssht!", the bottle said. My boyfriend frowned. "What do you mean, "psssht"?", he asked the bottle. And thus we learned that the tiny "mit kohlensäure" label in small font meant "carbonated" and we needed to specifically get bottles that said "ohne Kohlensäure". I was really glad I had bought that additional apple juice, lol.

I seriously don't understand how people drink that shit. It's... ugh. The worst.

 

[Korey]

The whole bread makes you fat belief of America is a myth perpetuated by ignorance in the realm of nutrition. American obesity is due in larger part to how lazy Americans are rather than consumption of carbohydrates. I say this as an American, we're probably the laziest nation in the world, as well as the most likely to eat deep fried and preservative ridden foods. Other nations eat bread because they move more, and carbs are fine if you're keeping active. We're meant to move, we're literally made for it, but for some reason Americans hate moving. This is why other nations are healthier than us, not because of their food culture, but their active culture.

Enough exercise reduces or negates the damage that bread does to you, but that doesn't change the fact that bread inherently is unhealthy and makes you fat.

Bread = sugar. It's literally the same thing wrapped in a different package.