How to best get along in Europe?

Hatunen wrote:
On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 09:38:52 -0500, Barbara Lightner
wrote:

Is this still good advice?

I also wonder, do Eurpeans in general still dress well today, or do
they dress like so many of us slobs here in the USA, especially the
men?

Europeans appear to me to be largely indistinguishable from
Americans, especially the young. But even middle aged people wear
blue jeans.

Different jeans though. The centre of Amsterdam is always filled with both
Americans and locals. You can always tell them apart.

Yorick.

pmckin5750 wrote:
Many Canadians admire Clinton, despite his foibles.
Are Europeans less impressed?

I'd say in general, Europeans loved Clinton and hate Bush. (In general!!!)
Probably because Clinton knows Europe exists, whereas Bush doesn't.

Yorick.

Barbara Lightner wrote:

"Dress impressively like the French,

Dress as you like, maybe a bit less tennis-shoe than you're used to.

speak with authority like the
Germans,

Don't. Speak like an American, just a little softer

have blond hair like the Scandinavians

Nah.

and speak
of no American presidents except Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy. "

Good idea. Don't talk about politics to strangers.

My advice would be (and I'm surprised that no one ever mentions that): Try
to learn some table manners! I noticed that Americans tend to eat with a
fork only, and use their knife just for cutting. That is considered to be
very rude over here. Both in a restaurant and when you're invited to a
private dinner party.
Americans use their fork to push the food around their plates, mix it and
eat. The other hand is used to lean on the table. I see my friends doing it
(also in restaurants), but I also notice people doing it on american tv
shows and in movies.

So my advice would be to learn to eat with a knife and fork before coming to
Europe

Yorick.

Barbara Lightner wrote:

"Dress impressively like the French,

Dress as you like, maybe a bit less tennis-shoe than you're used to.

speak with authority like the
Germans,

Don't. Speak like an American, just a little softer

have blond hair like the Scandinavians

Nah.

and speak
of no American presidents except Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy. "

Good idea. Don't talk about politics to strangers.

My advice would be (and I'm surprised that no one ever mentions that): Try
to learn some table manners! I noticed that Americans tend to eat with a
fork only, and use their knife just for cutting. That is considered to be
very rude over here. Both in a restaurant and when you're invited to a
private dinner party.
Americans use their fork to push the food around their plates, mix it and
eat. The other hand is used to lean on the table. I see my friends doing it
(also in restaurants), but I also notice people doing it on american tv
shows and in movies.

So my advice would be to learn to eat with a knife and fork before coming to
Europe

Yorick.

Barbara Lightner wrote:

Is this still good advice?

I also wonder, do Eurpeans in general still dress well today, or do
they dress like so many of us slobs here in the USA, especially the
men?


"Dress impressively like the French, speak with authority like the
Germans, have blond hair like the Scandinavians and speak
of no American presidents except Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy. "
-- Sylvaine Rouy Neves, On how to Gain Respect While Traveling in
Europe, NY Times, Sep 30, 1984

Barbara Lightner

Depends on where you are, I guess. In the French town I live in, people
dress, ahhh, idiosyncratically I guess would be a way to describe it.
Some time ago I was about to walk across the town carrying a large
orange bucket and the throught crossed my mind that I might look
strange. Then I laughed at myself - I can't think of anything I could do
or wear that would count as strange here. Lots of us consider the used
clothes stand at the Sunday market to be *the* place for buying new
clothes. Seriously. I see all sorts of combinations - jogging pants with
button-down shirts, huge shoes, flip flops, rags...

"Barbara Lightner" wrote in message
...
Is this still good advice?

"Dress impressively like the French, speak with authority like the
Germans, have blond hair like the Scandinavians and speak
of no American presidents except Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy. "
-- Sylvaine Rouy Neves, On how to Gain Respect While Traveling in
Europe, NY Times, Sep 30, 1984

Well, since Roosevelt sold out Europe I would not focus too much on
him. Only luck prevented Kennedy from making a big black hole of
Europe and Lincoln ended op dead. You can hardly win, can you?

Jan

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 09:38:52 -0500, Barbara Lightner wrote:
Is this still good advice?

I got some nicer clothes that were light, easy to wash, and cool for our
trip to Europe. Not dressy, but certainly not dressed-down. Now I wear
them on every trip, just because I get better service than someone walking
in with a t-shirt and jeans. Just don't go overboard with it!

Oh, and I second the advice about not talking politics. You're a stranger
in a strange land; surely there HAS to be something of more immediate
interest than politics!

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 09:38:52 -0500, Barbara Lightner wrote:
Is this still good advice?

I got some nicer clothes that were light, easy to wash, and cool for our
trip to Europe. Not dressy, but certainly not dressed-down. Now I wear
them on every trip, just because I get better service than someone walking
in with a t-shirt and jeans. Just don't go overboard with it!

Oh, and I second the advice about not talking politics. You're a stranger
in a strange land; surely there HAS to be something of more immediate
interest than politics!

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 22:49:16 +0100, nitram wrote:

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 17:19:28 GMT, "nospam" wrote:

I also wonder, do Eurpeans in general still dress well today, or do
they dress like so many of us slobs here in the USA, especially the
men?

The further west you go, the sloppier the dress, for both men and
women. Exceptions abound, with Paris being quite stylish. Amsterdam
looks like any American city, clothes-wise.

Belgium is the exception, it's the land of the suit.

???

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 22:49:16 +0100, nitram wrote:

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 17:19:28 GMT, "nospam" wrote:

I also wonder, do Eurpeans in general still dress well today, or do
they dress like so many of us slobs here in the USA, especially the
men?

The further west you go, the sloppier the dress, for both men and
women. Exceptions abound, with Paris being quite stylish. Amsterdam
looks like any American city, clothes-wise.

Belgium is the exception, it's the land of the suit.

???