FirstLoveMovies

I guess some conflicts here on the forum may be caused by different cultural backgrounds of our users.

In case somebody is planning to travel to the USA, I just found the following tips on a German website, which are obviously non-obvious for German people:

• Der Amerikaner geht nach der Vorstellung schnell zum "Du" über. Das bedeutet aber noch lange kein echtes "Du" !
• Die Begrüßungsfloskel "Hi, how are you" erfordert allenfalls eine positive Antwort; eine negative würde nur irritieren!
• Höflichkeitsformeln im Gespräch sind nicht immer ganz persönlich und verbindlich gemeint. Dies gilt auch für oft ausgesprochene persönliche Einladungen zu einem Besuch bei Personen, die man erst kurz zuvor kennen gelernt hat!
• Im Restaurant hat die Dame immer Vortritt!
• Beim Restaurantbesuch gilt es als rüpelhaft, sich selbst einen Platz zu suchen. Man wartet am Schild "Please wait to be seated", bis einen die Bedienung zum Tisch führt.
• Das Fleisch wird mit dem Messer in der rechten Hand geschnitten, dann wird das Messer weggelegt und mit der in die rechte Hand gewechselten Gabel gegessen. Die linke Hand liegt im Schoß.
• Wenn man den Tisch verläßt, legt man die Serviette auf den Stuhl.

English translation:

• Americans switch to "you" shortly after introduction, but it doesn't mean real "you" for a long time.
• The greeting phrase "Hi, how are you" requires a positive response, a negative would only irritate!
• Politeness in conversation are not always meant personally and binding. This also applies to often expressed personal invitations to visit people you have only met briefly before!
• In the restaurant, the lady always has right of way!
• When eating out, it is considered rude to find a place yourself. One has to wait at the sign "Please wait to be seated" until lead to a table.
• The meat is cut with knife in the right hand, then eaten with fork in the right hand. The left hand is on the lap.
• When one leaves the table, one sets the napkin on the chair.

Is this a serious post?

Or is it just a joke post meant to insult FLM's American members?

Why isn't there something that offers 'insights' to traveling members on how to behave in other countries, such as Germany, Albania, China, ect...

.....

kev.

Mimzy always did have a strange sense of humour

Well, kev's post seems to be a proof of what I meant

The post was absolutely serious. I just stumbled on these tips while searching for something unrelated and found them interesting. I'm sorry if they do not hold true (I've no idea).

I don't know much about other countries, but I thought other members may add their observations.

If there are Americans here, who have found amusing things (for them) in Germany, I'd love to hear about that.

10 Things Americans Do That Drive Brits Nuts


American people are some of the loveliest you’ll ever meet and make us expats feel all warm, cuddly and very welcome. But just occasionally they do or say something that Brits find a tad… eccentric.

1. Saying “I love your accent!”
Before I moved here, I never imagined that my dreary London burr made me sound smart or lovable. At first the compliments were nice, but then a New York tiger mom asked me to talk to her snoozing two-year-old in the hope that it would rub off. A bit much, I thought.

2. Putting last names first
The fashion for inflicting quirky monikers on babies started with American parents giving their kids surnames as first names. Remember Sex and the City’s Smith? Absurd. Then last week at the launderette I got chatting to “Anderson.” Could not take him seriously.

3. They take your plate away too soon
Americans love to please, and nowhere is this more evident than in restaurants. If I want a side of pickled kitten lungs or a splash of spaniel milk in my coffee, then by God they’ll make it happen. On the flip side, over-eager waiters will whip away an individual diner’s plate the second it’s empty. In my case, that’s long before anyone else at the table has finished. And people are like, “Seriously, did you even chew?” No. No I did not.

4. The relentlessly sincere cheer
If I’m having a bad day, or a good day – make that any kind of day – I do not want people in shops whom I’ve never met to swaddle me with their sticky, earnest, exaggerated niceness. In America, actual humans say things like “Ma’am, you have been an awesome customer today,” just because I bought a box of tampons from their store.

5. Their over-zealous patriotism
We get it, you’re proud to be an American. It’s not like Brits are immune to nationalism, but perhaps we’re better able to separate feeling glad (I was lucky enough to be born in a country with democracy and Kit Kats!) from feeling proud. Shouldn’t the second one be reserved for my actual achievements? Oh, and to your average Brit, hanging a giant flag from your house is a tiny bit creepy.

6. They treat their pets like people
Recently, at a flea market, I saw a woman pushing a buggy. Nothing strange about that, until I looked inside and noticed that her baby was a dog. One of those petulant micro-yappy types who thinks just because it’s short you should love it. I’ve also seen twin pugs out for a winter walk dressed in a full-body knitted suits and ties. And a friend of a friend’s cat is on Prozac.

7. Insisting that turkey is tasty
There’s a good reason why Brits only eat this galumphing fowl once a year, then bitch about it behind its carcass. No matter how many saltwater baths you give your bird, turkey meat is dry, insipid and stringy. Yet Americans put the powdery poultry in everything – from burgers and chili to meatballs and lasagna – and make it the culinary centerpiece of not one but two celebrations.

8. Spelling words the wrong way
I might as well pry the letter “u” from my keyboard for all the good it does me in over here. (But you know which letter made it big in America? “Z”! Only, they pronounce it wrong.) My point? Remembering to remove ‘u’s from words like “colour” and replace “s”s with a more abrasive “z” is a headache and I resent it. So there.

9. Pretentious pronunciation.
Americans, please note: saying “erb” instead of “herb” and pronouncing “fillet” without the “t” is not clever or sophisticated. You are not French. Make an actual socialist your president and then we’ll talk.

10. Saying “panties,” “fanny” and “bangs”
We’re all aware from watching Americans onscreen that these are the words for knickers, a bottom and a fringe. But when you live here, occasionally you’re forced to deploy these abominations in real life sentences. Only the other day, I said, “Can you trim my bangs, please?” I felt dirty afterwards. But “panties” is much worse, somehow infantilizing and over-sexualizing ladies’ unmentionables. No word should do both these things.




http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/ ... rits-nuts/

Are we all really serious???

FLM has now denigrated to BASHING Americans????

I apologize if I don't find a lot of humor in out-of-the-blue, no reason on earth to do so, bashing of ANY culture...

Being raised in the military, I've lived all around Europe [Germany included], Thailand, and Taiwan. I loved every minute in every country I've been to.

Sure there were things that didn't appeal to me where ever I went, but the positive aspects of the different cultures I was exposed to FAR outweighed any petty differences I might have personally had with the way people live.

I thought FLM was supposed to be apolitical..

Unbelievable.

kev.

Just a further demonstration how an innocent (IMO) message can cause a major problem...

Here is the original link, if anybody is interested: http://www.ebe-online.de/home/kkraus/Re ... tenus.html

mimzy wrote:Just a further demonstration how an innocent (IMO) message can cause a major problem..

No MAJOR problems, as I'm sure I don't have any valid point and come off as humorless...

I guess I'm just over tired.. lol

kev.

I friendly recommend: http://www.xenophobes.com/

"The Germans take their humour very seriously. It is not a joking matter."

well,i can honestly say the only Americans i've spoken with much are here at Flm,there's an american guy working at one of my local supermarkets (asda/wallmaart) and he's easily the most upbeat and friendly person in there,he always finishes serving you with "have a nice day" you don't really hear that a lot in the big shops.