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Due to their (in my eyes) "typical" facial structure, I often manage to pick out people from the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Russia. With the Dutch and the Spanish, it's the way their mouths are formed. With the Russians, the eyes and lips. With the Germans, the eyes and the nose.
Others I can recognize by how they are dressed, like Americans, the English (well, that is the working-class types that roam about the Spanish Costa's) and Eastern Europeans women (dressed to the T).
I have two German friends, one from Cologne and the other from Frankfurt - they do not know each other, by the way. When speaking of Germany or Germans, each of them is forever making the qualification..."Not Bavaria, of course" or "Not Barvarians, of course."
I have two German friends, one from Cologne and the other from Frankfurt - they do not know each other, by the way. When speaking of Germany or Germans, each of them is forever making the qualification..."Not Bavaria, of course" or "Not Barvarians, of course."
Tis a puzzlement.
Indeed, Bavarians consider themselves and are considered different from the rest of Germans. It is similar to Texans in the US. Officially part of the nation, but still a world of its own with certain separatist thoughts constantly in the back of many people's minds.
But thanks to the migrations within Germany separation would be odd now as many Bavarians were originally Prussians etc. who moved down there. And they are mixing with locals of course. The dialect is also gradually fading with many Bavarians thanks to the media and schooling.
So, where are you from when Americans strike you as being so utterly disconnected?
I am from Germany and although there is a difference of course, it is not as huge as the one you seem to feel.
I myself even like a certain amount of disconnectedness as I can't bear most people getting close to me, be it physically or otherwise.
I have met my share of people who keep talking and talking, and even when they talk about their feelings etc., which can hardly be called superficial, it gets on my nerves somehow. I guess I am just not really interested in most people.
Yes, it might have to do with that. I can see how a German may perceive less social disconnect in Americans as someone born and raised in a collective, traditional culture; but that doesn't make the whole issue purely subjective.
Cultural relativity does not change the reality that some cultures can be organized in harmful ways. There is ample empirical evidence that a culture's inability to foster strong social bonds can impact people's health (both physical and mental) in negative ways. Germany is not where the US is in terms of social fragmentation but it definitely encourages less strong social bonds between people than the Eastern European culture I am going from. Yes, social connectedness comes with "strings attached", social pressures, conventions, gossip, conformity and the like - but it's got its huge mental health benefits at the end of the day.
Personal communication is going the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon; more and more people live in a world of knee-jerk groupthink not very far removed from Orwell's 1984. That America may be leading the way is one thing, but it is not unique.
I agree - and it's so, so sad. Especially for those of us who can't quite throw ourselves on that bandwagon. It looks very depressing from where I stand, I can assure you.
Americans are louder and their accent are very sharp, you can hear them from a long distance. Kind of gregarious too. They sit in a very definite way in terraces and they don't wear sandals, but sneakers and socks. Kind of strange sport clothes, always carrying gimmicks. They speak Spanish, or use a repertoire of a few words with dexterity. They are more interested in things, they ask a lot.
American tourists in Barcelona have a higher cultural and economical level than most European tourists, in certain ways they are similar to Russians, but Russian have those stunning women... Both are big spenders and both visit museums, etc. Americans tip, so they are kind of popular among waiters, etc.
Americans are louder and their accent are very sharp, you can hear them from a long distance. Kind of gregarious too. They sit in a very definite way in terraces and they don't wear sandals, but sneakers and socks. Kind of strange sport clothes, always carrying gimmicks. They speak Spanish, or use a repertoire of a few words with dexterity. They are more interested in things, they ask a lot.
American tourists in Barcelona have a higher cultural and economical level than most European tourists, in certain ways they are similar to Russians, but Russian have those stunning women... Both are big spenders and both visit museums, etc. Americans tip, so they are kind of popular among waiters, etc.
That may well be since Europe is full of culture and history. When you live in Germany, France, Italy, Greece etc. you have more museums etc. right there in your backyard than you can visit. In the US however you only have a few cultural cities. Most Europeans that go to Barcelona, and Spain in general, usually do so because of the beaches so that culture is just an add-on.
Americans are louder and their accent are very sharp, you can hear them from a long distance. Kind of gregarious too. They sit in a very definite way in terraces and they don't wear sandals, but sneakers and socks. Kind of strange sport clothes, always carrying gimmicks. They speak Spanish, or use a repertoire of a few words with dexterity. They are more interested in things, they ask a lot.
American tourists in Barcelona have a higher cultural and economical level than most European tourists, in certain ways they are similar to Russians, but Russian have those stunning women... Both are big spenders and both visit museums, etc. Americans tip, so they are kind of popular among waiters, etc.
Could you expand on this concept of "cultural level"?
The Americans one sees in Europe (other than on military bases) are not a good representation of the overall American population. They are indeed more educated, sophisticated, and affluent, and perhaps more "progressive" than the general public, or students studying abroad (much of whom fit the description also).
Americans vacationing at popular Mexican tourist resorts, on the other hand, would be a more accurate description of the "average" American, though whiter and slightly more affluent.
I´m from Valencia, Spain, a few mounths ago i fainted in the subway, there was a group of americans, for the america´s cup i think, two guys took me out of the vague and were taking care of me a few minutes until i recovered, i found it a great detail since they weren´t local people and could have expected that others help me, were dressed to the "american style" with caps, shirts and sneakers , the germans in Spain are famous for combining sandals with shocks, but i´ve never seen this in people of my age, people of eastern europe allways seem to me like they had some grief in them, a hard culture i guess...Sorry for the mistakes, i´m starting in this language.
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, the germans in Spain are famous for combining sandals with shocks, but i´ve never seen this in people of my age, people of eastern europe allways seem to me like they had some grief in them, a hard culture i guess...Sorry for the mistakes, i´m starting in this language.
