European/American Differences

After a long eight hour plane ride the group finally arrived in London. The plane ride was terrible because it was difficult to sleep and the jet lag was exhausting. Most of the students felt the same way as I did, however we did not go to rest at the hotel. We got our bags and then we met our tour guide that would accompany us for the rest of the trip, Cornellius. He led us through England and France and would make hilarious comments on the various things we encountered, making our visit more enjoyable. After we dropped off our bags, we got onto the tube for the first time to explore the London shops and one of the local parks. The tube is an underground train system that runs throughout London that a majority of the citizens use. The line that the group used the most was the Piccadilly line that led from our hotel across London.   

            
A significant difference between Europe and the U.S. is the mode of transportation used. In the U.S. buildings and people tend to be more spaced out than in Europe, the public transportation system in most areas is not as well developed and the use of cars is more prevalent. In Europe the use of buses, bicycles, walking, and the tube are implemented into society much more. At a population of eight million people condensed into a small area the widespread use of cars would be ridiculous. London has been on a path to going green and being environmentally friendly, making the use of bicycles a common practice. There was a separate lane for bicycles on the left side of the road along with cars and buses which seemed strange to me. The steering wheels on the vehicles were on the right side and the oncoming traffic was on the left side of the road. Instead of looking left when crossing the street pedestrians would have to look right and Cornellius said if you did not look before crossing the street and just followed someone, you would be sheeping.

            
Another concept most people in our group were not used to was the portion sizes in Europe. In the U.S. restaurants tend to make portions large and throughout Europe when ordering, it is noticeable how much less is provided. This makes people living there used to eating less and moving more.  The phrase that has been associated with the U.S. is “Bigger is better” when it comes to food, while the mobility of our citizens is limited.   

Last but not least when it comes to shopping the attitude towards customers in Europe versus the U.S. is very different. From my prior visit to Romania, where my family is from, I observed that the shopkeepers are not as concerned with making the customer happy, but more with the bottom line. The English shopkeepers were no different. In the U.S. businesses and their employees have the policy of “the customer is always right” focusing more on the customer experience to draw profits, which I think is wiser.