I see your point and share some of the annoyance. But, my perspective is a bit different. :)
There are differences between cultures, and it is okay to talk about them as long as we are being respectful. By way of example, Americans tend to be open, chatty, smile, and make new acquaintances quickly. The French tend to be more private, closed, and make friends in grade school and keep them for life.
It is the metaphor of peach vs. cactus. Americans are *super* friendly, but one may discover that your new "American" friend does not, in fact, want to "get lunch sometime." The French can come off as unfriendly, but after time, you have a true friend.
Generalizations? Yes. Culture differences? Also yes. (You've probably read it but The Culture Map does a good job of explaining these.)
In my experience, when I write about these differences, I get heat (anger?) from other Americans in France or Europe. I'm just explaining things that might be surprising or even uncomfortable to those from North America.
All that said, I agree that generalizations from Europeans and Americans tend to be unhealthy and turn into uncharitable stereotypes.
Happy holidays. I am sure Sweden is beautiful this time of year. 🎄❄️🕊️💗✨
Since having multiple small humans running amuck, my Love and I have not had the support or finances to travel since and I miss it so. When we honeymooned in Ireland, we landed, rented a car, scared a few locals when determining what side of the road we should drive on, and just drove for a week exploring.
As a service to my fellow Americans, I feel it is my duty to step up, be the protector, and relieve anyone who has booked a trip to Europe of their itinerary. And… I will sacrificially do this free of charge (you are sitting in first class, right?) You deserve the right to be safe, sitting in you recliner eating processed MAC and cheese and Mountain Dew, watching a good-old episode of Horders.
I see your point and share some of the annoyance. But, my perspective is a bit different. :)
There are differences between cultures, and it is okay to talk about them as long as we are being respectful. By way of example, Americans tend to be open, chatty, smile, and make new acquaintances quickly. The French tend to be more private, closed, and make friends in grade school and keep them for life.
It is the metaphor of peach vs. cactus. Americans are *super* friendly, but one may discover that your new "American" friend does not, in fact, want to "get lunch sometime." The French can come off as unfriendly, but after time, you have a true friend.
Generalizations? Yes. Culture differences? Also yes. (You've probably read it but The Culture Map does a good job of explaining these.)
In my experience, when I write about these differences, I get heat (anger?) from other Americans in France or Europe. I'm just explaining things that might be surprising or even uncomfortable to those from North America.
All that said, I agree that generalizations from Europeans and Americans tend to be unhealthy and turn into uncharitable stereotypes.
Happy holidays. I am sure Sweden is beautiful this time of year. 🎄❄️🕊️💗✨
Since having multiple small humans running amuck, my Love and I have not had the support or finances to travel since and I miss it so. When we honeymooned in Ireland, we landed, rented a car, scared a few locals when determining what side of the road we should drive on, and just drove for a week exploring.
As a service to my fellow Americans, I feel it is my duty to step up, be the protector, and relieve anyone who has booked a trip to Europe of their itinerary. And… I will sacrificially do this free of charge (you are sitting in first class, right?) You deserve the right to be safe, sitting in you recliner eating processed MAC and cheese and Mountain Dew, watching a good-old episode of Horders.
Hahahaha! Cliches are so wonderful.
You know about the concept of Wittgenstein's Ruler?
"When you use a ruler to measure a table, you're also using the table to measure the ruler."
I always rembember that when people have these "Let me tell you what coutnry X is like" posts...
You are right. One needs to remember that these generalisations say more about the writer than the actual topic.