Americans Share 30 Things They Didn’t Realize Were American Until They Went Abroad

Wow head-ache!! They need to sort that system out asap!!

Especially with some of our States' weird fractional rates, like 8.375%. Merchants use tables because it's messy to calculate.

You just picked up a bad US habit!

I'd like to think it's more of a cultural difference or maybe even a personality difference than Americans being arrogant. Not all Americans (including myself) do or have ever done this. This person could simply be an extrovert genuinely interested in meeting people he was in the hostel with.

I'm European myself, arguably from one of the more 'antisocial' countries in Europe.. and I'm sick of how unfriendly we are. It's a breath of fresh air meeting Americans. Although some of them can act borderline fake, it's still nicer than never being acknowledged by your classmates/coworkers unless they want something from you and having to be in the presence of grumpy faces all day. So yeah, as a European, I agree that we need to chill the f**k out sometimes. :/

We’re not trying to be arrogant, we’re just trying to be friendly. Sometimes we just like meeting new people.

A buddy of mine who is Mexican like me, told me when their college class visited Asia. That the Americans were violently chanting usa to the locals outside their bus window, talk about arrogance and disrespect. Also they teased and outcasted the only European there who challenged their arrogance.. tsk tsk..

@Daniel: In social settings (hobby groups, bars etc), talking to strangers is perfectly acceptable. So is introducing yourself to your neighbors, coworkers, i.e. people you expect to see more often. Asking for directions, the time, and ranting about a current crappy situations to the other folks in the same boat (e.g. train delayed) is also fine. The difference is when it comes to making superficial smalltalk with strangers you don't expect to see again and probably don't have much in common with. Personally, I prefer it if I can choose whether to socialize or not. If I were required to talk to strangers every time I leave the house, just to not be rude... god, that would be agonizing.

He said from our perspective. Not that you are or mean to be arrogant. We meet people over a beer talking it's more one on one, like if you sit at the bar you talk to the person next to you, and if you hit it off they'll introduce you to their friends or tell you about a cool place

To be fair, there aren't many hostels in America. When people congregate in any area here, it is for social interaction. When we congregate for social interaction, it is rude for newcomers to not introduce themselves. Also, we do not expect a room full of people to turn around and pay attention to us when we announce our introduction to a group. We are simply giving anyone in the group the opportunity to continue further interaction with us, if they so desire. It is, indeed, a cultural thing. It is not arrogance.

You labeling it arrogance doesn't make it arrogance. It sounds to me it's the behavior of someone who was visiting a foreign country and possibly its their first stay in a hostel and they didn't know what the proper protocol was. I'd rather be thought of as overly friendly than rude.

How do Europeans make friends if they don't talk to strangers? Especially like right after moving to someplace new? Coworkers suck, horrible friends usually (there's exceptions), don't tell me that's all you folk have?

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It’s simple friendly behavior. How negative must you be to read so much into someone just saying hello. Maybe you Europeans need to just chill the f**k out....as we say here in the states.

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And there's nothing arrogant in making an assumption of arrogance about some stranger's behavior? This is the sort of behavior that gets me about other nationalities (Europeans in particular)... they appear to be utterly incapable of recognizing their own arrogance.

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It's because we are brave enough to introduce ourselves on the off chance that we may make some friends. Just because you are snobby doesn't make what we do arrogance

Jus, you hit the nail on the head ! I am Canadian and live in England; I have two very good friends now who told me that when they first met me, because I was so chatty and friendly, they thought they would give me a wide berth !!! But I guess I wore them down ! :)

That is the point of an open introduction. When you say hi and introduce yourself to a group of people, you should get various responses (accept in Europe apparently). Some will ignore you - they obviously don't want to be friends. Some will simply say hi back, smile or nod - they are friendly, but not interested. And maybe one or two will ask you to sit with them or continue the conversation - they want to be acquaintances.

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Why is it fake? Maybe some are being fake, but some people are just friendly,

could be a North American thing

Europeans think Americans do this because they are being arrogant and want the whole room to pay attention to them, but that is not the case.

It's all in the context. If you are in a small hostel where everyone is using the common area not only to hang out, but to cook, to do laundry, to watch TV etc. and everyone is sharing utensils, stove, sink etc. it is actually a good idea to come in and introduce yourself if you re planning to use the area often and this share with other people.

Come to Finland, you'll fit right in.

That's my least-favorite thing about American politics. The value of a lobbying group can be put above the value of the people themselves. They have creative ways of making politicians look bad for putting the people first. My education is in agricultural science, so I recognize the enormous value that the corn syrup industry has to American farmers, but frankly, there are better (less environmental impact, greater economic impact) things we could be growing than corn for corn syrup or cattle feed.