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Vincent: You know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules: What?
Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean they got the same sh** over there that they got here, but it's just, just there it's a little different.
Jules: Example.
Vincent: Alright, well you can walk into a movie theater and buy a beer. And, I don't mean just like a paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer. And, in Paris, you can buy a beer in McDonald's. You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
Vincent: No, man, they got the metric system, they don't know what the fu** a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: What do they call it?
Vincent: They call it a Royal with Cheese.
Like Vincent, I find some of the 'little differences' funny.
Here are some I have found so far in the US, that are different from the UK: More 'Foody' differences:
* Being asked as standard if you want mustard and mayo on your sandwich. No, I don't want either on a cheese sandwich thanks!
* Why do you never find sweetcorn on American pizzas?
* Why is the selection of biscuits (cookies) so limited in the US? I don't want Oreos, choc chip or oatmeal with walnuts!
* Calling crisps 'chips'. Calling chips 'fries' and not knowing what a crisp is.
(this section could go on and on frankly)
Cultural differences:
* Switching your fork to the right hand once you have used it for cutting, instead of keeping cutlery in the same hands.
* Not being allowed to pack your own stuff in the supermarket and being asked as standard if you want help out. (Kind of nice but freaky at the same time)
* Formality: eg kids calling adults 'Sir' or 'Mrs (insert surname)'. (Never expected the US to be more formal than the UK in this respect.)
Just for fun, what are some of the little or more subtle differences you find in culture between the US and UK or Europe?
Here are some I have found so far in the US, that are different from the UK: More 'Foody' differences:
* Being asked as standard if you want mustard and mayo on your sandwich. No, I don't want either on a cheese sandwich thanks!
* Why do you never find sweetcorn on American pizzas?
* Why is the selection of biscuits (cookies) so limited in the US? I don't want Oreos, choc chip or oatmeal with walnuts!
* Calling crisps 'chips'. Calling chips 'fries' and not knowing what a crisp is.
(this section could go on and on frankly)
Cultural differences:
* Switching your fork to the right hand once you have used it for cutting, instead of keeping cutlery in the same hands.
* Not being allowed to pack your own stuff in the supermarket and being asked as standard if you want help out. (Kind of nice but freaky at the same time)
* Formality: eg kids calling adults 'Sir' or 'Mrs (insert surname)'. (Never expected the US to be more formal than the UK in this respect.)
Just for fun, what are some of the little or more subtle differences you find in culture between the US and UK or Europe?
The kids aren't so formal here in my part of the country - where are you now?
I found that there is a big difference here in the way men and women treat each other. I think it is more relaxed in the UK, here is a lot more PC. At work there seem to be more unspoken rules.
Also - while I was already married when I came and never experienced the American "Dating Scene" it is quite different from in the UK. In Britain it just seemed you go out with some friends, meet people, if you like someone go out and see how it goes. If it works out great, if not you move on. Here it just seems to formal and stressed. These formal "dates" with the details agonized over, dating multiple people and then maybe becoming "exclusive" the whole thing. Just very stressful. I don't know if I could ever go through that.
Finally - in Scotland at least, modest (even if sometimes false) is valued almost to the point of obsession. It just doesn't do to be caught "tooting your own horn". Here on the other hand people are expected to constantly extol their virtues. I found it very difficult to get used to.
The dating over here is very different - I really don't like it. People have such high expectations and go about dating as if it were a business arrangement.
In the UK, I found it more laid back, no pressure and men & women tend to hang out more as friends, or even groups of men and women. The US is very "role" oriented, IMO.
People are big on credentials, looks, status and money here, considerably more so than in the UK. In the UK, we make fun of ourselves, but that would be seen as "negativity" by some people here.
Massive massive massive difference within work in terms of being PC, constant talk of liability and compliance. I helped a guy the other day with something small and was told not to do that again because he was a union member and I was taking his job away!! I mean c'mon!!!
Another difference is how often people in the UK will talk about America and Americans (take this forum for example) but here people couldn't much care less about what people in Britain think about them or anything else.
The kids aren't so formal here in my part of the country - where are you now?
I found that there is a big difference here in the way men and women treat each other. I think it is more relaxed in the UK, here is a lot more PC.
I'm in California - near San Francisco. Yes, here kids using Christian names for adults is a big no no - unless you know them very well and have been given specific permission. In the UK I only experienced kids using surnames if the adult was a teacher. I find it quite old fashioned like that in many ways, which is sort of nice. Like all the women here bake their own cookies - its almost like a club you have to join if you are female (pretty much always still choc chip though *sigh* ).
I'm in California - near San Francisco. Yes, here kids using Christian names for adults is a big no no - unless you know them very well and have been given specific permission. In the UK I only experienced kids using surnames if the adult was a teacher. I find it quite old fashioned like that in many ways, which is sort of nice. Like all the women here bake their own cookies - its almost like a club you have to join if you are female (pretty much always still choc chip though *sigh* ).
I agree, I think the US is more PC generally.
In terms of the workplace and in reference to your last statement, I'm guessing it's because employers want to protect themselves against being sued, as people are still more inclined to do so over here than in the UK?
Pedestrians have right-of-way - in the US at least. In the UK, they're more like targets
The bagging of groceries actually really irritates me. Mostly because none of the acne-covered, Brittany-listening, teenage part-timers have any clue how to properly pack my shopping. So I always bring my own bags and tell them to kindly back off!
So many things here are way more PC than the UK. There are things all over the UK, on TV, the radio, the newspapers, etc, that you could never do here unless you wanted to get sued or spend the rest of your life apologising for. And that bugs me too. People (ie; celebrities or politicians) constantly say things that they then have to apologise for. How about you not say it in the first place?
In terms of the workplace and in reference to your last statement, I'm guessing it's because employers want to protect themselves against being sued, as people are still more inclined to do so over here than in the UK?
Employers are paranoid about getting sued and that is not helped by the legal environment. For example, in an interview, you are not allowed to ask ..... marital status, sexual preference, where they come from, where they live, if they plan to have children, etc. etc. The list is long. Essentially, you cannot ask anything which might lead the interviewer to have a bias against the person.
I had a situation where we (me and three others) took a new intern out to lunch. During the lunch I asked her to tell us about herself. She later told another (female) employee that she though i was 'coming on to her' (which I most certainly was not). Unfortunately, you cannot be too careful.
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