I guess the Dutch take football seriously...

[Ropeburn]

Bill Shankly >
"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."

That humorously sums up the attitude of many European and South American fans.

US games: music and cheerleaders, family event

European and South American games: tribal warfare

 

[Keith_W]

It is a fascinating thing. All the stories are that the overseas attendees are very much enjoying their stay and interactions in US. And we, are quite pleasantly surprised and pleased that they are! It is definitely a unifying thing that no one expected.

As they say: if you read the news, you will hate America. If you meet American tourists, you probably won't like them. But if you go there, you will love America.

I was very young when I visited the USA for the first time, and I was blown away by how friendly everyone was. I was just a kid, everyone smiled at me, asked me what i'm doing today, called me "honey", and so on. I have been back a few times. They don't call me "honey" any more (except for the red light areas!!), these days it's "Sir". And the other thing - people in small country towns are INCREDIBLY friendly. Walk into a bar and the people are so warm and welcoming, it's almost as if they are your new best friends.

I love Americans. I love everything about it, even though I know every bite of their food is slowly killing me. But America itself ... not so sure.

 

[BeeKay]

Probably follows a worldwide pattern:

Great country, maybe even better without the locals.

 

[Hayabusa]

AI?

no, very real

 

[Keith_W]

Probably follows a worldwide pattern:

Great country, maybe even better without the locals.

Nah, it's the locals that make America great! It's not the same for France and Germany. Love those countries, love the culture, I even love German food. But the people? Not so much. Random Germans you meet on the street aren't particularly friendly or helpful. They don't make you feel welcome at all, you get a strong feeling they wish you weren't there. But not Americans, they want to talk to you and ask you all sorts of questions. The most common questions are about sharks, snakes, and crocodiles

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

And clogging our Autobahns!

I see what you did there…

 

[BeeKay]

They don't make you feel welcome at all, you get a strong feeling they wish you weren't there.

Not a bad description but you miss the bigger picture. You are nothing special. We don’t even like fellow Germans from the neighbouring state.

 

[napfkuchen]

Not so much. Random Germans you meet on the street aren't particularly friendly or helpful. They don't make you feel welcome at all, you get a strong feeling they wish you weren't there. But not Americans, they want to talk to you and ask you all sorts of questions. The most common questions are about sharks, snakes, and crocodiles

Germans are straightforward and efficient, you have to break their shell. If you were to ask me on the street about sharks, snakes, and crocodiles, I’d quickly be at a loss for words.
I find it rather odd to be greeted with effusive enthusiasm by a complete stranger. If you sensed any rejection, perhaps it came from older people who simply aren't confident speaking English? I’ve been to parts of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria myself where I couldn't understand the locals at all, no matter how hard I tried. As a small child spending summer holidays in the Bavarian Forest, I understood the host family's son just as well (or poorly) as their German Shepherd.
Ultimately comes down to the common paradox: "All prejudices are always wrong."

 

[Karmacoma]

Germans are straightforward and efficient, you have to break their shell. If you were to ask me on the street about sharks, snakes, and crocodiles, I’d quickly be at a loss for words.
I find it rather odd to be greeted with effusive enthusiasm by a complete stranger. If you sensed any rejection, perhaps it came from older people who simply aren't confident speaking English? I’ve been to parts of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria myself where I couldn't understand the locals at all, no matter how hard I tried. As a small child spending summer holidays in the Bavarian Forest, I understood the host family's son just as well (or poorly) as their German Shepherd.
Ultimately comes down to the common paradox: "All prejudices are always wrong."

Yep, that's the "peach people coconut people theory", look it up. Most europeans are coconut people, education makes it so that you don't straight up talk to people like they're you're buddies, in German and French for instance there's the ''Sie'' or ''Vous'' form, which is a way to engage people you don't know with a mark of respect, and it means , in these cultures, distance.
The second step is to break the ice, some people will accept the initiative, some people will deny it, if they accept they open up and you'll get a genuine conversation, no shit chat talk, germans and french are generally ill at ease with shit chat by the way, it is seen as being fake.
In the US, showing respect is more like showing warmth, trying to make people feel at ease btw.

 

[Ropeburn]

Yep, that's the "peach people coconut people theory", look it up. Most europeans are coconut people, education makes it so that you don't straight up talk to people like they're you're buddies, in German en French for instance there's the ''Sie'' or ''Vous'' form, which is a way to engage people you don't know with a mark of respect, and it means , in these cultures, distance.
The second step is to break the ice, some people will accept the initiative, some people will deny it, if they accept they open up and you'll get a genuine conversation, no shit chat talk, germans and french are generally ill at ease with shit chat by the way, it is seen as being fake.
In the US, showing respect is more like showing warmth, trying to make people feel at ease btw.

Indeed it's important to get that these are just cultural differences. Germans aren't cold or rude. Likewise, Americans aren't intrusive and disrespectful. It just seems like that to each other because the social expectations are different.

Same with directness and sugarcoating.

Americans: you just blurt out what you think, it's so rude and disrespectful. Be gentle and polite, you're insulting!

Germans: you're talking to me like a child, so disrespectful. Tell me the truth already and don't waste my time, you're dishonest and can't be trusted!

See how that works, guys?

 

[Keith_W]

Same with directness and sugarcoating.

Americans: you just blurt out what you think, it's so rude and disrespectful. Be gentle and polite, you're insulting!

Germans: you're talking to me like a child, so disrespectful. Tell me the truth already and don't waste my time, you're dishonest and can't be trusted!

See how that works, guys?

American boss: "Excuse me, I know you are very busy. But if it's not too much trouble, it would be just super if you could do this little task for me? I need it this afternoon, hopefully before 3?"

German boss: "I need this back on my desk at 3pm".

 

[Snarfie]

AI?

Im Dutch. I wish

 

[Ropeburn]

American boss: "Excuse me, I know you are very busy. But if it's not too much trouble, it would be just super if you could do this little task for me? I need it this afternoon, hopefully before 3?"

German boss: "I need this back on my desk at 3pm".

Haha yes. Look at the bottom:

Efficiency mate, efficiency!

 

[KSTR]

People are different, that is, the culture we grow up plus personal character.
I for one might be what you call typical laconic German, I really don't enjoy to do unsolicited small talk (notably when shopping) and any random stranger asking me personal question.
I much prefer to feel (and give) friendliness, warmth and kindness by using body language, a smile, a blinking eye, and most of all being calm and respectful in all situations, simply trying to be a gentleman. When my or my counterpart's body language openly signs distance (for whatever reasons) then that shall be the modus operandi, and when we just won in the lottery and cannot hold back our joy that'll be OK too.

 

[napfkuchen]

American boss: "Excuse me, I know you are very busy. But if it's not too much trouble, it would be just super if you could do this little task for me? I need it this afternoon, hopefully before 3?"

German boss: "I need this back on my desk at 3pm".

If only it were that easy. I generally value harmony and place no importance on formal hierarchies or anyone's "rank". As long as everyone on the team knows their job, there is no need for a drill-sergeant. However, about two years ago, I gained several new team members reporting to me who are far less motivated overall. One of them, moreover, displayed the behavior of an extreme (covert) narcissist: bone-idle, never acknowledges his own mistakes and loves belittling others. Unfortunately, he managed to keep up a charade in front of the boss for a long time, and through misplaced tolerance and by covering for his laziness, shortcomings and antics, I actually enabled this behavior to some extent. For such people, German has a somewhat cynical translation of the word team: Toll, ein anderer macht's! (literally: Great, someone else is doing it!)
Another colleague, who is significantly older, always maintained a formal "Sie" relationship with the staff she supervised professionally. Looking back, maintaining a certain distance is maybe sometimes necessary. Now, I regularly monitor the team and use a shared spreadsheet where everyone has to meet specific targets. It is a completely new situation for me (hate it), and I have to admit that the workplace atmosphere has suffered considerably. But ultimately it was simply necessary for my own self-protection.

Efficiency mate, efficiency!

Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency!

 

[Karmacoma]

Management is an art.

 

[Sal1950]

Did half the country come here for the games???

What games? They play football in the winter, Sept - Jan.

 

[Karmacoma]

What games? They play football in the winter, Sept - Jan.

LoL, you should get out of you cave , there's a World Cup going on in your country, also the biggest sport event in history actually

 

[Soundproof]

What games? They play football in the winter, Sept - Jan.

With that crowd one could easily be forgiven for assuming this was all about skating.

 

[Matias]

we take football very seriously.
It's a country with 18 million inhabitats

I am not a football fan but as a Brazilian I read this and smiled in an arrogant "that's cute" way.

Football here is considered a religion, bordering on collective madness! And I am old enough to have lived their best years. Nowadays there is still much hype but way lower talent and results...