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Theoretically Americans have all kinds of faces, but the vast majority of tourists from the US are still the white Midwestern type. American men run around like bloated schoolboys and women often have that odd auntie look. And many Americans have those little bags around their waists, like saying, look at me, I am a tourist, come and rob me, I deserve it
Generally speaking, I think clothes usually tell a lot as most people don't buy new clothes just because they go on vacation.
I have been living abroad for years now, but I still can't get used to the local dress code. I hate those Portuguese caps, I dislike shirts, I dislike sunglasses, I dislike gel in the hair, I dislike mustaches and beards in general, etc. To locals I probably look like a permanent tourist.
Nor do I talk loud or when someone else is already speaking. And when I do speak, I keep my hands still and keep a distance from other people. I guess it is almost impossible to change such things, no matter where you go.
Which is the combination usually of German, Swedish, British nationalities!
OMGosh...are they still wearing those???
Aha... I love that phrase, and maybe if you do write a book about your life there, I think it would be a great book title: The Permanent Tourist!
RiippaKiwi:
I happen to think that Finnish people are by far the most beautiful ones in the Nordic countries. Maybe not the middle-aged men wearing fleece at conferences I attend, but the younger men and females from Finland that I have met are all stunningly beautiful.
I'm not really good at identifying different nationalities myself but I go to an international school with a lot of German students, and many of them told me there is a very clear difference in the dress style of Dutch people compared to Germans. Since then, I started paying attention to it more and it's true, now I can usually spot a Dutch person in a crowd of Germans and vice versa The difference is that Dutch people, particularly young people, dress a lot more "posh" than Germans. Almost all girls here wear skinny jeans, high-healed shoes, scarves, belts and accessories. T-shirts with (cartoon-ish) print or (inappropriate) texts are considered trashy and low-class. The younger men tend to wear blouses or polo-shirts often. In contrast, Germans are generally dressed a lot more "casual" and are more likely to wear sneakers, vests, wide jeans etc.
RiippaKiwi:
I happen to think that Finnish people are by far the most beautiful ones in the Nordic countries. Maybe not the middle-aged men wearing fleece at conferences I attend, but the younger men and females from Finland that I have met are all stunningly beautiful.
OK, 2 points for Finland . Another point is from Alice Cooper, lol
The body shape that I have seen in Balkan women is that they tend to be more lithe almost masculine, and not hourglass like most American women.
Most American women have hourglass shapes? Which America are we talking about? The South one?...
You have it completely backwards. Eastern European women tend to be smaller overall, but also with hourglass shape: small waist, wide hips but flat and lower positioned butt. Americans tend to have long, thinner legs with narrow hip bones (even those who are fat, relatively speaking!), with big torso, wide, thick shoulders, and often a belly (when fat).
The fit American woman too tends towards masculinity - muscular, skinny, narrow hips. While facial features can be quite pleasant in American women (though variations are obviously huge) the overall attitude is aggressive, non-sentimental, non-motherly - hence hardly feminine.
Interesting comment about the Balkans, and I agree with you about being "judged" esp. the women, and that is partly why I think they "dress to kill" even when going to work!
Correct here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Americanwoman54
But I am not too sure what you mean by the expression becoming "pathological" ...as from what I can tell, their facial expressions hardly change as they walk and look at you.
In Eastern Europe and especially in the Balkans being connected to and aware of your social surroundings, as much as of your own SELF as it relates to the social surroundings, can become a relatively oppressive state of being. That is what I meant by pathological. At every step, you know that people analyze you and you analyze them in return. This is exactly why you don't see people smiling at strangers. They usually operate from a position of defense.
Smiling at strangers has nothing to do with "being connected to your social surroundings". It is just an American custom, ultimately highly irrelevant to social connectedness. Trust me, those women you saw over there who didn't change their facial expressions when they were talking to you are quite the eagles when it comes to social astuteness.
Three seconds after you've opened your mouth, they've probably had you evaluated along the lines of:
- how well you dress.
- how pretty your face is overall, as well as features taken separately.
- how fat you are (oh, so important over there!)
- how intelligent or well-spoken you are.
- how naive or how socially skilled you are.
- what kind of social class you belong to; if you have money, are they "new" or are they "old".
- what kind of personality you have.
- what your overall demeanor says about you.
- how much refinement or lack thereof you have (if you are American chances are they'll think you've got none).
- are you likely to have a boyfriend/husband or not.
- are you likely to steal THEIR boyfriend/husband or not.
- how you compare to them, overall.
When you are born and raised in this type of environment you develop extremely sensitive social antenae. Yes, this is especially the case for women. They are generally raised to be self-conscious but also quite judgmental of those around them. When you DO find your compatible people though, the relationships/bonds that develop can be very strong and meaningful. In general, people there develop strong bonds, whether positive or negative.
While all of this can sound bad, I have moments when I wonder what is worse: the social pressures of the Balkan environment or the social disconnect of the American society?
The former can be annoying and tiring. The latter can be lethal.
I think you are being a bit too harsh on Americans.
Smiling serves the same function all over the world. It means, hello you, I am not aggressive towards you, I might even like to get to know you.
Most people including Americans are sensitive enough to recognize a fake smile.
I would prefer the US over the Balkans. In the former I CAN be connected if I want to and make the effort of finding like-minded people, but in the latter it is very difficult to get rid of social pressures, rituals, traditions, and norms.
I think you are being a bit too harsh on Americans.
Smiling serves the same function all over the world. It means, hello you, I am not aggressive towards you, I might even like to get to know you.
Most people including Americans are sensitive enough to recognize a fake smile.
I would prefer the US over the Balkans. In the former I CAN be connected if I want to and make the effort of finding like-minded people, but in the latter it is very difficult to get rid of social pressures, rituals, traditions, and norms.
I don't.
If "smiling to strangers" serves the same function all over, then why is it that many cultures don't smile at strangers yet they manage not to kill each other? Because they know nobody is THAT much of a stranger. American culture, by contrast, was formed as a culture of strangers and it stayed a culture of virtual strangers. Hence the need to signal that you're not about to kill the man.
I, personally, am yet to meet a truly "socially connected" American. The social bonds are typically weak, including in families; and please don't ask for "empirical studies" to support my argument.
I have met more than my share of visitors/immigrants to the US who experience the US culture as disconnected, deeply isolating and superficial when it comes to social relationships.
I have also noticed that generally speaking, Americans seem to be terrified of intimacy (no, not sex; the other kind that involves personal disclosure, deeper conversation, psychological closeness, one-to-one relationships). Americans prefer to interact strictly in large, organized groups where intimacy is out of the question. They typically tend to avoid humanizing encounters with their fellows. I have even seen this trend in nuclear families. You often see 4-5 people (parents and kids) going out for lunch or dinner and having virtually nothing to tell one another as they are dining. They would just gulp and then go.
I can often tell Americans by this aura of social disconnect. To me it is more terrifying than the "chick-will-judge-me-because-I'm-fat" syndrome of the Balkans. This syndrome may work in weird ways and may actually contribute to your staying in shape!
Most American women have hourglass shapes? Which America are we talking about? The South one?...
You have it completely backwards. Eastern European women tend to be smaller overall, but also with hourglass shape: small waist, wide hips but flat and lower positioned butt. Americans tend to have long, thinner legs with narrow hip bones (even those who are fat, relatively speaking!), with big torso, wide, thick shoulders, and often a belly (when fat).
The fit American woman too tends towards masculinity - muscular, skinny, narrow hips. While facial features can be quite pleasant in American women (though variations are obviously huge) the overall attitude is aggressive, non-sentimental, non-motherly - hence hardly feminine.
In regards to what I first bolded...LOL Well, I think we are when we are not being overweight! But to be honest, I think our hips are bigger as are our breasts, but then too, I don't know WHAT I think as Americans are so mixed up ethnically, I am just going by my roots which are German and Lithuanian and from the Midwest! When I look at my Serbian woman friends, you are right as they are smaller in bone structure which is what I meant by lithe, and even though all are close to my height at 5'9" and one is even taller, they are like rails compared to my hourglass figure. And since they are not a ethnically mixed up as Americans, I think they do have more distinct general features (like those cheekbones!).
And for the second bolded part, yes and no as I think it really depends on the person and what part of the country she is in and maybe even the age of the person. None of my friends nor I are aggressive and we all are sentimental and very motherly. I have noticed though, that these qualities tend to be seen in many younger women....but I think that this is happening everywhere, for I have been told by both Serbian men and women that I tended to be warmer than a lot of women there as having a "cold/fake heart" in order to get what they want seemed to be growing. The only thing I will agree on is that we do tend to have lost our femininity, for even when we dress girly-girly, we can be aggressive and masculine and loud. But again, I think where you are in this vast country plays a huge in that behavior.
And Saracusa, I had to chuckle at your comments in the whole last paragraph, as I could see you going through that list you made in the next thread about how the Balkan woman sizes other women up in 3 seconds!
Last edited by Sagitarrius48; 09-05-2011 at 07:23 PM..
I don't.
If "smiling to strangers" serves the same function all over, then why is it that many cultures don't smile at strangers yet they manage not to kill each other? Because they know nobody is THAT much of a stranger. American culture, by contrast, was formed as a culture of strangers and it stayed a culture of virtual strangers. Hence the need to signal that you're not about to kill the man.
I, personally, am yet to meet a truly "socially connected" American. The social bonds are typically weak, including in families; and please don't ask for "empirical studies" to support my argument.
I have met more than my share of visitors/immigrants to the US who experience the US culture as disconnected, deeply isolating and superficial when it comes to social relationships.
I have also noticed that generally speaking, Americans seem to be terrified of intimacy (no, not sex; the other kind that involves personal disclosure, deeper conversation, psychological closeness, one-to-one relationships). Americans prefer to interact strictly in large, organized groups where intimacy is out of the question. They typically tend to avoid humanizing encounters with their fellows. I have even seen this trend in nuclear families. You often see 4-5 people (parents and kids) going out for lunch or dinner and having virtually nothing to tell one another as they are dining. They would just gulp and then go.
I can often tell Americans by this aura of social disconnect. To me it is more terrifying than the "chick-will-judge-me-because-I'm-fat" syndrome of the Balkans. This syndrome may work in weird ways and may actually contribute to your staying in shape!
I think for the most part you are right about us and also right due to how this country formed; but too, like Neuling stated, when he WANTS to connect and make the effort to find like-minded people he will. However, technology is making it now even more obvious that Americans don't want to go and do that. I could go on and on about this, but this thread really isn't about Americans in America!
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The difference is that Dutch people, particularly young people, dress a lot more "posh" than Germans. Almost all girls here wear skinny jeans, high-healed shoes, scarves, belts and accessories. T-shirts with (cartoon-ish) print or (inappropriate) texts are considered trashy and low-class. The younger men tend to wear blouses or polo-shirts often. In contrast, Germans are generally dressed a lot more "casual" and are more likely to wear sneakers, vests, wide jeans etc. 
Which America are we talking about? The South one?... 
