Reply to s/o "European" myths about Americans

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[quote=Anonymous]American expat who has lived in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Ice = absolutely. I live for my ice. As do all my American friends. Cold means a tall glass filled to the brim with ice, then a cold drink poured onto the ice. Not 2-3 measly ice cubes. I find it amazing that even in other hot countries people are so resistant to the notion of ice. I keep telling my non-American friends there's nothing like an ice cold drink on a sweltering or humid day. They still don't get it  :lol:

Americans being overly friendly = yes, this is true. We are a very friendly and actually quite polite people, it's just that our politeness means being friendly whereas other nationalities consider politeness to mean being reserved.

Clothing = getting harder as the years go by (globalization?) but on the whole there are still some design trends that differentiate Americans from non-Americans. Speaking of shorts, Australians wear shorts all the time too. Shorts are becoming more and more common among the British (they used to practically never wear them over the age of 10ish till the mid 1990s). British expats overseas in hot countries will wear shorts as often as Americans do. Other European nationalities are still more resistant to shorts but they will wear capri style pants.

Alcohol = yes, the other poster is correct. Americans have an odd relationship with alcohol. So many Americans do not drink at all, or only drink 1-2 small drinks once in a while. Even among Americans who drink, they rarely do so at lunch (A British friend once said to me that the British are scandalized by Germans drinking alcohol for breakfast, the Americans are scandalized by the British drinking alcohol for lunch). Americans do have heavy drinkers but I read not long ago that something like 90% of the alcohol in the US is consumed by 10% of the population.

Dining hours = yes, Americans eat earlier, on the whole. 12 for lunch, 6ish for dinner. British eat slightly later, continentals eat much later.

Teeth = Americans like their big shiny white perfect teeth. Europeans find them off-putting. But Europeans do have perfectly fine teeth too as most kids will have orthodontist treatments by now.

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