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A question for Europeans and Asians

I

iMacZealot

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 11, 2005
2,237
3
How can you tell who is an American and who is not? Stylistically, what are the differences between Europeans and Americans?

Thanks. I'm curious to know. I haven't been to Europe in about six years, and I don't usually go to the touristy parts of my city.
 
Americans are:

- loud
- wear flip flops
- tend to gather in the middle of sidewalks blocking traffic
- baggy pants
- big sneakers WITH baggy pants
- hoodies
- unkempt hair that doesn't look stylish, rather just boring
- english?
- touristy looking like they wear cameras around their necks or walking around in hiking shorts and loaded backpacks.

are you a girl? German girls don't wear shorts, esp. hiking shorts I've noticed. It's either caprees or skirts in warm weather. Short skirts a la Abercrombie also strikes me as American.

For me, it's clothes and the noise. That's how you spot Americans.

Oh yeah - they're fatter.
 
jng said:
Americans are:

- loud
- wear flip flops
- tend to gather in the middle of sidewalks blocking traffic
- baggy pants
- big sneakers WITH baggy pants
- hoodies
- unkempt hair that doesn't look stylish, rather just boring
- english?
- touristy looking like they wear cameras around their necks or walking around in hiking shorts and loaded backpacks.
Click to expand...

Everything I'm not. Good. I'm quiet, hate flip flops, hate baggy pants and big sneakers, and I hate shorts.

I'm safe if I ever get the chance to go to Europe.
 
it5five said:
Everything I'm not. Good. I'm quiet, hate flip flops, hate baggy pants and big sneakers, and I hate shorts.

I'm safe if I ever get the chance to go to Europe.
Click to expand...


We'd still know.
We have a sixth sense.
 
LOL!

I have lived in america 11 years and have never compared them to any other type (?) of people before. Now in Japan it is easy to tell the americans because their, louder, pushy-er then the Japanese. They are also taller and....rounder.
 
EricNau said:
OK, since we're basing this off of sterotypes...

How do I spot a European? ...I look for anyone with a cigarette in one hand and an alcoholic beverage in the other. :rolleyes:


;)
Click to expand...

I'd have booze in both hands as I don't smoke, but it's still better than being obese.:p
 
jng said:
Americans are:

- loud
- wear flip flops
- tend to gather in the middle of sidewalks blocking traffic
- baggy pants
- big sneakers WITH baggy pants
- hoodies
- unkempt hair that doesn't look stylish, rather just boring
- english?
- touristy looking like they wear cameras around their necks or walking around in hiking shorts and loaded backpacks.

are you a girl? German girls don't wear shorts, esp. hiking shorts I've noticed. It's either caprees or skirts in warm weather. Short skirts a la Abercrombie also strikes me as American.

For me, it's clothes and the noise. That's how you spot Americans.

Oh yeah - they're fatter.
Click to expand...

What sort of styles would you say typical Europeans wear? Sure, there's the elaborate expensive stuff we see at Fashion Week, but what do European teens wear? How else are Europeans separated from Americans?
 
American Tourists:

- Fat
- gullible
- Have huge utility belts with everything you could ever need strapped to them
- Ask questions like "Why did they build the Queen's castle under a flight path?"
- Hawaiian shirts

But we love you really :D
 
Ooo, flametrap threads. Cool.

I find it hard to tell who's American because they rarely venture out of their own country... :D
 
M3G4 said:
Ooo, flametrap threads. Cool.

I find it hard to tell who's American because they rarely venture out of their own country... :D
Click to expand...

I'd have to second your comment, I'm 18 and have lived in the UK all my life and I can only think of 2/3 Americans I have seen over here.
 
M3G4 said:
Ooo, flametrap threads. Cool.

I find it hard to tell who's American because they rarely venture out of their own country... :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, well, I'm not so interested in what "we" look like (or who we are misrepresented by), I was more interested in what you look like, as well as sound like, listen to, etc.

I have been to Europe four times, but the last time I went I was the age of 8.
 
I'll answer this question properly, rather than flaming.

Wild generalization number one: Seeing as 'America' was primarily formed from colonialists out of England/Ireland there are no visible differences between them and those here in the UK (the rest of Europe is a slightly different matter.) So the differences are cultural:

-Americans in London will often have a map, a fanny-pack-thingy and a camera around the neck, with shorts. Ye olde tourist.
-They will talk to you on the tube
-They will talk to each other on the tube.
-They will not have a mobile phone glued to their face
-They will use a map
-They will get lost using the map, and, crucially, ask for directions.
-They will ask for a 'regular' beer in the pub

...and so on. Visibly, racially etc. the world is now so multicultural you can't tell from raw appearance alone who is from the US. But in practice, there are difference abound that give us here in Europe that 6th Sense.

*This thread contains more generalizations than any other on the face (face?) of the internet.*

EDIT: Bubblegum chewing is a surefire sign of US-dom
 
xJulianx said:
I'd have to second your comment, I'm 18 and have lived in the UK all my life and I can only think of 2/3 Americans I have seen over here.
Click to expand...
And how many times have you been to the US..? Why would you when you have the whole of Europe to explore? Why would Americans come here when they have the whole of the USA to explore.

As for the original question, it's a thousand little things. Differences in clothing, brands, how they wear them. I was on a bus a couple of years ago, in the least touristy place I know, and four 16-20-year-olds got on. They looked like everyone else, except one guy had his sunglasses on the back of his head instead of pushed up, so I had him pegged as non-English as no one here does that. When they spoke, they were American.

As for the flip-flops stereotype, I'm in the US on business a lot, and I have to agree with that one.
 
Badradio said:
And how many times have you been to the US..? Why would you when you have the whole of Europe to explore? Why would Americans come here when they have the whole of the USA to explore.
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to imply that it's odd that Americans don't come here often, I was simply stating, that actually, I have seen very few over here. I myself have only been to the US once (though I would love to go again). But as you stated, is there any need until I have exhausted Europe?
 
Much Ado said:
I'll answer this question properly, rather than flaming.

Wild generalization number one: Seeing as 'America' was primarily formed from colonialists out of England/Ireland there are no visible differences between them and those here in the UK (the rest of Europe is a slightly different matter.) So the differences are cultural:

-Americans in London will often have a map, a fanny-pack-thingy and a camera around the neck, with shorts. Ye olde tourist.
-They will talk to you on the tube
-They will talk to each other on the tube.
-They will not have a mobile phone glued to their face
-They will use a map
-They will get lost using the map, and, crucially, ask for directions.
-They will ask for a regular beer in the pub

...and so on. Visibly, racially etc. the world is now so multicultural you can't tell from raw appearance alone who is from the US. But in practice, there are difference abound that give us here in Europe that 6th Sense.

*This thread contains more generalizations than any other on the face (face?) of the internet.*

EDIT: Bubblegum chewing is a surefire sign of US-dom
Click to expand...

>I think anybody can spot most tourists.
>That's interesting about the tube.
>I understand that the phone plays a significantly larger role in European culture. I read an article on this a few weeks ago, and one of the reasons why is because it developed in Europe. Also, it's called a mobile phone in Europe and a cell phone in America (I personally can't stand the name 'cell phone')
>Do Europeans tend to order more cocktails?
>I understand physiologically we all look pretty similar. I was talking more about fashion.
>...and I'm chewing bubblegum as I'm writing this. :)
 
iMacZealot said:
>Do Europeans tend to order more cocktails?
Click to expand...

:) No, i was referring to the convention to order a 'pint' of lager/bitter etc.' in the pubs in the UK. I have seen many Americans say 'We'll have two beers, regular please."

And honestly, US tourist do stand out from other tourists. Can't really explain.

There are so many more little touches i have noticed over the years, but i don't want to start rambling like a grumpy-old man :)
 
xJulianx said:
I wasn't trying to imply that it's odd that Americans don't come here often, I was simply stating, that actually, I have seen very few over here. I myself have only been to the US once (though I would love to go again). But as you stated, is there any need until I have exhausted Europe?
Click to expand...

My parents took my siblings and I on road trips to almost all fifty states before taking us to Europe. I was three years old when I first went, and we took four trips to Europe between 1996 and 2001. I also went to Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia last year. I would definitely say that I have a different view of the world by traveling more. It's great seeing history and other cultures. It makes the world seem so much larger than what we see in our daily routines and much more exciting than them.

Also, like Europe and Asia, there's so much more to a country than just the large cities.

I would travel as much as you can. And, right now, you can travel to America all you want considering the almighty Pound and Euro!
 
iMacZealot said:
>Do Europeans tend to order more cocktails?
Click to expand...

No, we'd just never call anything a "regular beer". What you call beer is in fact lager. In the UK it would be ordered by the size you want (using a precise designation, not small, regular, large), for example "Pint of lager mate". As most pubs in the UK stock a variety of lager and beer it would be normal to ask for the one you want as in "Pint of Stella". Of course you probably don't want the pint of chemicals that "wife beater" is in the UK :D
 
jng said:
- wear flip flops
- hoodies
Click to expand...
Check and check. Not so much when traveling abroad though. 'Cause hoodies aren't ideal for the different climates you go through. At least, I don't think they suffice.

dynamicv said:
Dead easy. Fat with suntan = American. Fat without = Brit :p
Click to expand...
Oy!






Some of us are pasty. :eek:


iMacZealot said:
Is it the clothing that separates us? Not all tourists wear fanny packs.
Click to expand...
Of course! Not just are brands different... but styles. For instance, in CA, tons of folks wear simple jeans and flip flops quite a few months outta the year. Even in other parts of the States? That'd be seen as absurd, and so of course, in a different country there'd be other cultural norms as well.

Every time I've been in Europe I've seen hetero men wearing capris*. You just don't see that Stateside. :)

And Europeans have the coolest shoes. I love going shoe-shopping in Europe. :eek:

*As in, pants cropped several inches above the ankles. (Yes, I realize inches gives me away as an American, too. Teehee)
 
Much Ado said:
:) No, i was referring to the convention to order a 'pint' of beer in the pubs in the UK. I have seen many Americans say 'We'll have two beers, regular/large please."

And honestly, US tourist do stand out from other tourists. Can't really explain.

There are so many more little touches i have noticed over the years, but i don't want to start rambling like a grumpy-old man :)
Click to expand...

Ah, yes, terminology is an entirely different sort of realm.

Is it the clothing that separates us? Not all tourists wear fanny packs.
 
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