I’ve had a few people ask me what I thought about the different cultures. Here’s a compilation of their questions/answers:

–What do you see about different cultural conversations?

That’s a very interesting question which seems to be universal across everywhere in Europe, but subtle differences between each country.

I’ve found that I can make friends really easy by saying I’m from Dallas, Texas (Ah!!! TEEX-ASS!, as they say) and then singing the first 4 notes of the Dallas, TV show theme song. They usually finish the rest.

I was worried that when I got here, they would not like Americans because of the Bush. However, they do have a strong distinction between Bush and the rest of Americans. No matter what, they still love our culture. And when they tell me they can’t stand Bush, I tell them that we have something in common. That seems to create an even stronger bond.

I haven’t witnessed the “Americans are rude” conversation much. Previously, I was aware of the “French are rude” conversation, but almost all of the French guys I’ve hung out with have been extremely friendly. I’ll be able to provide some more info on that when I get to France in the next few weeks.

Both the Socts and the Irish love drinking. It’s a form of socialization and bonding that seems to be deep rooted into their culture. It’s a really beautiful thing to be able to walk into a pub and be talking to a stranger in about 5 minutes.

I’m a fan of the smaller towns as I find more interesting and warm, friendly people there. Like all big cities, you’ve got people involved in their agendas and schedules. While in the smaller areas, I’ve had people stop their yard work to talk to me and share ideas.

— Conversation between me and my sister:
me: The Dollar’s really not worth much here. It’s 2:1 ratio for here and the Pound. So, everything costs 2x as much. I had a $15 burger. And it wasn’t blow your socks off amazing.

Michelle: That really sucks, but what are the girls like?

me: The frenchies are gorgeous. I’ve met a few beautiful English women, but all the other guys seem to think that English aren’t that attractive. The Scotts aren’t as attractive, but the Irish are better. But almost all of them have great butts. Right now, my ranking system is Scots -> Irish -> England -> French.
Michelle: didn’t know you were a but man
me: I’m not. But I’m constantly walking around and when you’re following people, it’s what you notice.

P.S.: While some people might take offense to my physical attractive ranking system, I will have to say that the people I love the most and think are the best in the planet is in the reverse order. (i.e. The Scots are #1 in my heart.)