Err…Swedes are delightful people.
What I noticed, and that’s founded on little more than my personal experience, is that Americans tend to assume everybody speaks English - which is bound to create animosity. Also, the fact that the country was flooded by Iraqis post-2003 is developing xenophobia in the country. Of course, the fact that Americans voted (TWICE!) for the man behind the bloody war is not winning the US many friends.
[quote]NateOrade wrote:
I’ve read that people from northern European countries have larger “personal bubbles” when it comes to communication and body language.
Try visiting Costa Rica.[/quote]
I’ve heard a theory about this. I guess the premise is that the temperature affects the way people interact. In a colder climate, people will spend more time indoors and away from their neighbors than in a warmer climate. In a warmer climate, people will be outside a lot more and will have more interactions with others, leading to their being more comfortable and “nice” around others. Even in America, we have the tradition of “southern hospitality” contrasting with stereotypes about people from more Northern states being less hospitable. I’ve been on message boards before and seen posts like “Why are people from Massachusetts so rude?”
I have no idea whether this is true or not, but it does seem to be consistent with places I’ve traveled to. In St. Petersburg, Russia, people tended to be more reserved at first. Compare to Kinshasa, Congo, where people are packed everywhere, and personal space is nonexistent, and people try to get involved in just about anything that is going on in the neighborhood. That being said, my travels are VERY limited and I would love to hear about the experiences of others.
[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
Kruiser wrote:
EmilyQ wrote:
Oh, to be poor but noble and eating fresh, nourishing food from a simple charcoal brazier in the front courtyard of a cozy cottage by the sea, with white fluttery curtains and poor but sturdy furnishings!
Sounds great. Care for some company? I’ll bring the wine…
Well, that better be good French wine, or I’ll whack it into the sea with my polo mallet.
[/quote]
Oregon Pinot Noir!
[quote]catone wrote:
My wife and I just got back from Europe (Scandinavia) and one of the things that we constantly noticed there was the rudeness and unfriendliness of the locals and other tourists, mostly from Europe. It seemed to us like nobody was smiling, returning our greetings, holding doors or elevators, no small talk, actually some were quite hostile when we approached them the way one would normally do here in the US. Coming from a medium sized US city (about 100K) this was really not what we expected while visiting the “happiest” countries in the world (Norway, Denmark and Sweden).
So what’s the deal with that? Or are we just spoiled here in the US?[/quote]
Just out of curiosity, what part of the states are you from?
On a side note, I don’t really think not wanting to make small talk makes a person rude. Believe it or not, not everyone in the world wants to waste time talking to a stranger about nothing. Some people like to be left alone, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong that. Personally, I think it’s a little rude when someone seems to think it’s okay to keep bugging me when I don’t want to be bugged.
[quote]Scrotus wrote:
Just make it so awkward that the other person makes something up and leaves, if you practice you can get it down to under a minute before they are leaving, without making them think you are rude, and they dont come up for more awkward conversations after that.[/quote]
one of my therapists said i do that already. but at my job new students come every weekend and they dont know not to talk to me. it is always the older ones.
when does small talk not have an agenda? are people really ever aware of their true motivations? certainly not the people i see
The best thing about living in Copenhagen during the summer, is all the tourist, who’s taking pictures of the H.C. Andersen statue at the Town Square.
They usually stand on the bike path (I comute on bike), so I get to almost level them/scare them/yell at them.
Good times 
[quote]tjr-dk wrote:
The best thing about living in Copenhagen during the summer, is all the tourist, who’s taking pictures of the H.C. Andersen statue at the Town Square.
They usually stand on the bike path (I comute on bike), so I get to almost level them/scare them/yell at them.
Good times :)[/quote]
are you homeless?
Why would I be homeless? The yelling thing?
I live at a dormimtry and we have 2 international students each semester. The americans/canadians and australians we’ve had, most of them found, that once they got to know us/ we “let them in”, we were nice and open people. But - as someone stated above - our ‘personal bubble’ is bigger, so they might not feel welcome from day 1.
[quote]tjr-dk wrote:
The best thing about living in Copenhagen during the summer, is all the tourist, who’s taking pictures of the H.C. Andersen statue at the Town Square.
They usually stand on the bike path (I comute on bike), so I get to almost level them/scare them/yell at them.
Good times :)[/quote]
haha
yell at this, from the safety of your home
[quote]catone wrote:
tjr-dk wrote:
The best thing about living in Copenhagen during the summer, is all the tourist, who’s taking pictures of the H.C. Andersen statue at the Town Square.
They usually stand on the bike path (I comute on bike), so I get to almost level them/scare them/yell at them.
Good times
haha
yell at this, from the safety of your home
[/quote]
Ha! Well played.
[quote]catone wrote:
haha
yell at this, from the safety of your home
[/quote]
Haha nice one. The bike path is just out on the right =D
Ahhh you just got to know how to make them happy!! I have been to Germany a few times and let me tell you the women love us and the guys hate us, that is until you by them a beer!! I have a few very good German buddies that I see every time I go. Plus I know when I ever I go anywhere with them I am 100% safe. I also have some very good French friends that have actual come to stay with my here in the states.
And anyone who says that Americans are loud ppl and that Europeans arent as loud as us is full of shit(!!) and has never been in a pub anywhere in Europe during the World Cup!!
[quote]eremesu wrote:
Scrotus wrote:
Just make it so awkward that the other person makes something up and leaves, if you practice you can get it down to under a minute before they are leaving, without making them think you are rude, and they dont come up for more awkward conversations after that.
one of my therapists said i do that already. but at my job new students come every weekend and they dont know not to talk to me. it is always the older ones.
when does small talk not have an agenda? are people really ever aware of their true motivations? certainly not the people i see
[/quote]
Shit, I’d do it to the therapist, or just tell the fucker what he wants to hear to shut him/her up. Though you may be going voluntarily, which I couldn’t do, wait what do you mean “one of your therapists”? Do you have multiple people giving you therapy or are you a shrink or professor or something that you work with other therapists? Anyways, Im really not comfortable divulging personal information, and dont like socializing with strangers, apart from my asinine comments on teh interwebz. I do it deliberately as well, and can hold a conversation if there is something to talk about.
Edit: you dont have to answer if you dont want to, as its really none of my business, I was just curious as to the nature of what you said.
OP,
were you wearing touristy clothes and bothering every passer-by to take a picture of you the the missus in from of “that” thing nearly everywhere you went?
I find American tourists to be quite friendly whenever I meet them. I think the accents are amazing on your women, too. :)(from the West especially)
I reckon it’s just the fact that you’re speaking to everyone in what might be their second or third language. Imagine someone visiting the US and trying to speak to everyone in Italian or German? They’d get a few rude interactions for sure.
[quote]Nikiforos wrote:
I find American tourists to be quite friendly whenever I meet them. I think the accents are amazing on your women, too. :)(from the West especially)
I reckon it’s just the fact that you’re speaking to everyone in what might be their second or third language. Imagine someone visiting the US and trying to speak to everyone in Italian or German? They’d get a few rude interactions for sure.[/quote]
All you have to do is talk louder. They understand.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Nikiforos wrote:
I find American tourists to be quite friendly whenever I meet them. I think the accents are amazing on your women, too. :)(from the West especially)
I reckon it’s just the fact that you’re speaking to everyone in what might be their second or third language. Imagine someone visiting the US and trying to speak to everyone in Italian or German? They’d get a few rude interactions for sure.
All you have to do is talk louder. They understand.[/quote]
And lean in closer to their faces. For some reason, that helps.
[quote]catone wrote:
My wife and I just got back from Europe (Scandinavia) and one of the things that we constantly noticed there was the rudeness and unfriendliness of the locals and other tourists, mostly from Europe. It seemed to us like nobody was smiling, returning our greetings, holding doors or elevators, no small talk, actually some were quite hostile when we approached them the way one would normally do here in the US. Coming from a medium sized US city (about 100K) this was really not what we expected while visiting the “happiest” countries in the world (Norway, Denmark and Sweden).
So what’s the deal with that? Or are we just spoiled here in the US?[/quote]
They’re all Satanists!
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Look at Cuba. Everyone I’ve talked to who’s been has said that people may be dirt poor, but they are so much happier than most people in the States. They just drink, dance, go to the beach and not give a fuck about much else. And they have next to nothing but their culture.[/quote]
You don’t get out much, do you? People risk their lives on boxes tied together, to sail 90 miles over the ocean, to escape Cuba.
There are some folks in Miami who’d take exception to what you wrote. Jeeezzzzzzzzzz…
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
PonceDeLeon wrote:
Look at Cuba. Everyone I’ve talked to who’s been has said that people may be dirt poor, but they are so much happier than most people in the States. They just drink, dance, go to the beach and not give a fuck about much else. And they have next to nothing but their culture.
You don’t get out much, do you? People risk their lives on boxes tied together, to sail 90 miles over the ocean, to escape Cuba.
There are some folks in Miami who’d take exception to what you wrote. Jeeezzzzzzzzzz…
[/quote]
I heard the slaves were happier before they were freed.
No worrying about paying bills or having possessions. Just work all day in the great outdoors singing songs. Happy as can be.