American Couple Reacts "Explaining Europe to Americans"

[@olsa76]

It's perfectly ok to say "I have roots from x" or "I have ancestors from x", "my family come from x". What many Europeans react to is when someone who has never set foot in x and does not speak the language says "I AM from x", because their grandmother's grandfather came from there. So far I've only heard Americans say that. Many Americans. Because many Europeans got annoyed by it, it's a thing. You are not from somewhere you have never been, your grandmother's grandfather was from there, you have roots from there, YOU are not from there. That's the difference.

[@TheLastCrumb.]

Like the American Irish that have never left the states lol

[@haineko1989]

+1. There's a lot of Polish American people e.g. in Chicago, where a large number escaped to during the World Wars, but to us the ones that are 2, (and definitely everyone 3rd generation+) are so inherently American that I would automatically say that they are indeed American, not Polish if someone else asked me. Now, if we're going into more detail than one word I definitely do respect remembering to use Polish American or Italian American if they feel it, and it's great if we all love pierogi, but in Europe we definitely do place the country you yourself were born in first - if you have strong ethnic roots and were raised in some other culture we'll do our best to include them both when referring to you of course. But the American people are often so American it just boggles our minds that they would refer to themselves as just Italian or German - foregoing the US part O.o'

[@ileana8360]

@olsa76 I think its more the claim "I am Italian/German/Irish", too" that annoys Europeans or if they say "My grand-grandfather is from Italy, so I am Italian, too."

[@TheLastCrumb.]

@@ileana8360 they do seem to want to be anything other than American lol can’t blame them

[@olsa76]

@@ileana8360 "I am x" is the same as "I am from x". I suggest as an alternative "I have an x heritage"

[@CelestialLight7]

As a European that has lived in the US and been to many different European countries there is a massive difference between Europeans and white Americans. Our culture, history, cuisine, mentality, upbringing, mannerisms, sports, art, music, education, etc it’s way different. Europeans from different countries in Europe while having unique and diverse cultures have more in common with each other than with white Americans or white Canadians.

[@sunseeker9581]

Brits are closer to americans than french though. Although maybe closer to germanic/dutch spedking countries.

[@tonibaker3823]

i feel the same i have dutch friends and relations but feel no infinity to americans @@LalaDepala00

[@ileana8360]

Exactly. And there is another reception to when a second generation immigrant claims his parents descent and nationality as lot of them grow up in both cultures. But a third generation wouldn´t usually go around saying they have an additional nationality.

[@Perseus-kw3xc]

@@sunseeker9581 Brits aren't close to American though Of the major English speaking countries they're the furthest away culturally Closest are: 1) Irish 2) Kiwis 3) Aussies 4) Canadians 5) Americans

[@Shante-330]

I’ve also noticed that let’s say Russians have a different look than your average white American and it’s because they have 100% Russian ancestry where as Americans have multiple European ethnicities

[@MN-sk6pj]

'Open a map before you open your mouth!' 🤣🤣, 'If you ever see a Scandinavian laugh, it's sincere!' 🤣🤣 Tell them girl!!!

[@erikbehaeghel]

I have French and Dutch ancestors but born in Belgium, so I consider myself Belgian and not French or Dutch. If you are born in America, you are American wherever your ancestors come from

[@laziojohnny79]

You could argue about first and second degree immigrants, certainly when both your parenst came from the same country/culture, but after that no one would claim the nationality/culture of their immigrated grandparents or ancestors, except Americans apparently.

[@erikbehaeghel]

​@@laziojohnny79 yes and I am the first Belgian in the family, my father was Dutch and my mother French

[@laziojohnny79]

@@erikbehaeghel Ah yes Belgium, aka the southern Netherlands, invented so the French, British, Germans and Dutch had a place to sort out their differences.

[@EbbenezerGeezer]

I think it depends on your upbringing. I was born and raised in London but feel Irish. My mum drilled it into me. My Irish history, my Irish culture, everything was Irish, the people and the accents around me. So that’s why I feel and call myself Irish although people would assume I’m English from my accent. Irish blood runs through my veins, I was only born on English soil. I think it’s just how u feel.

[@kriswoods7051]

@@EbbenezerGeezer I agree with you. Many of us that are of are different backgrounds in the U.S. celebrate customs and family lore from the various countries we came from. It is passed down in many families as part of the family history. My great grandparents on Dad's side were Scottish & Irish, My other great grandparents were Filipino, Mexican & English. Recipes were handed down, sayings, language & stories of how they came here and even prejudice against them, so it's kind of hard not to absorb that. Plus, Americans (Except Native Americans) are usually from somewhere else either recently or more distantly - something most of us have in common, so we actually care about our heritage because it's truly part of our story.

[@thisismaria27]

There is nothing wrong with saying you have for example italian heritage or your ancestors are from Italy, but a lot of american tourists claim a country as their own that they have no cultural part in, haven't lived in and just some distant great-great-grandmother came from. But there is nothing wrong with claiming your heritage at all, many people had to flee to the US bc of dictatorships in Europe and ofc we don't resent anybody for that. There is just a difference between having a german great-great grandmother and living in Germany.

[@kriswoods7051]

Again, I think you might be misunderstanding our "short hand" for saying we are of a particular heritage. When we speak to fellow Americans in the states, we say, "I'm Irish, I'm Italian, etc." We all know we are Americans, but we are speaking of heritage. We forget that Europeans may take this literally, so I try to be very aware of saying , "I'm of X heritage." Unfortunately, people are not perfect and may slip and say "I'm Irish instead of I'm of Irish heritage" - it happens, but it is not meant to offend or suggest we secretly believe we are Irish citizens. We figure that you know what we mean, but it's better to clarify when speaking to someone outside of America.

[@victoriarobinson3909]

​@@kriswoods7051 If you say you're Irish, then you are saying that you are in fact Irish. You wouldn't introduce yourself as black, because you had a great grandparent that was black, but apparently its appropriate to say you're Irish? Europeans also think it's funny as Americans will be selective about which nationality they are. They are very fixated on Scottish, Irish and Italian even though its far more likely that most of their ancestors are English or German. I've never heard of an American introducing themselves as English American, even though more English emigrated than the total population Ireland pre 1790 alone.

[@kubi1155]

Ok, I'd like to clarify some points she made. 1. The main point is that there is no such thing as a universal european culture, as she said "Europe is a continent with many countries in it". Every country has its own history, culture, political system and etc. So you should look at each country in an individual way, because even though there might be a lot of similarities with other countries there are also a lot of differences. Nationality and cultural heritage is somethign that people are very proud of and is what makes every nation individual and unique, so putting it into a larger group ( for example: all easter europe is basically Russia, or eastern europeans speak russian) is really offensive, its equivalent to saying something like All of Eastern Asia is basically China and everyone speaks chinese. 2. About the whole ancestral background thing. I won't go into a deepdive in ethnical theories because that would take forever, as an anthropologist I will try to simplify this huge subject as best I can. Basically there is no one official thery about ethnicity, every nation decides for itself what markers make a person part of this nation (for example: religion, language, ethnicity and etc). To be a part of a certain cultura one must be born and raised into this culture because its the culture that we're born in that shapes our understanding of the world (ethnocentrism). In other words, genetic heritage means noithing without the cultural and national background. 3. While there are racists all over the world, the main issue in Europe is nationalism not racism. As she mentioned, there are a lot of conflicts over history, culture, land, ethnicity and etc. which are the main issues european nations have with each other. Race, ethnicity and nationality are 3 different things that for some reason a lot of people all over the world don't seem to differentiate for some reason.

[@Kristina_S-O]

About #2: I've had this discussion with my former host sister in the USA, who insists on calling herself "half German", because her paternal great-great-grandfather immigrated from Germany. I have pointed out, that even I, whose ancestors were born and raised in Germany for many generations, am not genetically German. My genes are a mix of Scandinavian, eastern European, Baltic and some others. What makes me German is the place of birth and a passport. No more, no less.

[@ileana8360]

Thanks for this comment. I´ve never been able to be as eloquent when trying to explaint the facts under 2. when it comes to second generation immigrants and third generation immigrants I myself am a second generation, born and raised in Germany by Croatian parents and consider myself half German and half Croatian despite my parents being both Croatian. The third generation would most likely consider themself as German.

[@kubi1155]

@@ileana8360 That's a perfect example! And thank you! ☺

[@Niki91-HR]

@@ileana8360 When you say second generation do you mean your parents left Croatia and you were born there then or your grandparents moved to Germany when either your parents were kids or your parents being born there as well? As a Croat myself who was born in Germany I never saw myself as German. Well on paper I am half and half due to dual citizenship. I only lived there my first 16 years of life but even then I was surrounded more with croatian than German culture (other than school and few german friends, the rest were all from diff nationalities). The only german thing I will claim is being very punctual hahhahaahhaha. But we moved back to Croatia 16,5 years ago so Germany isnt as relevant anymore other than that I still use the language for certain situations. But I would agree that with the 3rd gen and any further generation they will consider themselves just that were they were born with whatever roots.

[@ileana8360]

@@Niki91-HR There is a big difference between someone living in a foreign country for 16 years, not really immerging oneself into the culture and then going back to the home country and someone spending the majority of her/his life in this ´foreign´ country. No matter if you are born in the foreign country or not. My parents came in the early 1960´s to Germany, always wanted to “go back”, instead they died here. I´ve been born in Germany, went to school and university and still work here. In addition I went to ´Muttersprachlichen Unterricht´/´dopunska nastava´ which was mandatory (deal made by Tito with the Germany government) and would have ment, that any graduation would automatically be acknowledge by the former SFRJ. The curriculum contained writing and reading in Latin script as well as Cyrillic script, geography and history of SFRJ. There have been the annual celebrations organised by the school and related to the state. As catholics we went to the Croatian mission to attend mass, for the Communion and Confirmation. I´ve spent every school holiday and later vacation ´back home´ visiting family. At home we only spoke Croatian, whilst my go-to with regard to literature was German. All this means, that I´ve been immerged in two cultures at the same time for my whole life. I ´ve had different friend groups with different interests, languages and go-tos (e.g. Croatian clubs or German clubs). This is why for a long time I felt lost. It felt like I am neither Croatian nor German. I had some difficulties with the German mentality and in Croatia they considered me to be a ´švabica´ (incl. the prejudice of new acquaintances that we are all floozies). Now, at almost 50y, I am at peace with my situation. I´ve accepted, that I have been shaped by two differend countries, cultures and languages. That´s why I consider myself half Croatian and half German. And the majority of my friends with a similar path of life feel the same. My friends children on the other hand, who are the second generation born in a foreign country, having not attended the ´dopunska nastava´ or spent a lot of time in Croatia, consider themselves Geman of Croatian descent. On the other hand, many of the first generation, who never really immerged themselves into the culture and life here, would never consider to be German. At most they would say to have adapted another kind of work ethic, work-life balance or interests.

[@Elis_Nordgall]

Here’s the thing, it’s not that we mind Americans being proud of their ancestry. My mother is from Scotland, I am proud of my Scottish heritage, but the difference is that I don’t claim the Scottish culture, I’m not from there. It’s that some Americans claim to be us, be a part of our culture, when they have no connection to it at all. Americans can be like 4+ generations removed and they still consider themselves Italian, Irish, Swedish etc. It’s just so weird to me. Like no, you’re American, you have no connection to the culture whatsoever, you’re not from here, you likely don’t even speak the language. It doesn’t matter if you celebrate Midsummer or whatever, you’re still not Swedish. It doesn’t matter if you can pronounce Cappuccino correctly, you’re not Italian. It doesn’t matter that you celebrate St. Patrick’s day, you’re not Irish. If that is your only connection to us, that doesn’t make you us. We don’t care if you consider yourself to be a certain ethnicity or whatnot. It’s when you claim our culture, when you likely actually know little to nothing about it, that it annoys us. Does that make sense?

[@kerrydoutch5104]

The whole nationality/ethnicity thing seems to be, at the risk of generalising, very American. I have heard, via tv and movies and some videos, people calling themselves specifically Irish or Italian American. Or even Italian (and I have heard complaints on videos about bad Mexican food in Austraia) . Im Australian and we have generations of immigrant families from all over Europe England Scotland Wales and Ireland. But no one refers to themselves as Irish Australian for instance. We're just Australian. Im fascinated by family history and my ancestors are 50 50 UK and Irish. I also have 2 English convict ancestors who definitely didnt volunteer to come here. thats 4? 5? generations back. Theres definitely a connection but Im Australian not British or Irish Australian. Ive visited for interests sake but I dont tell local people Im Irish or English. Im Australian checking out my ancestry.

[@willywonka7812]

Because the US is a giant conglomeration of corporations and billionaires. The best way to maintain the division between haves and have-nots, is to use identity - politics to isolate and segregate the working class into smaller groups that propaganda can set against each other. Capitalism is cancer, and the US has metastasized throughout the globe

[@Niki91-HR]

Funny how your country and the US were build on immigration but totally went opposite ways. I guess that may be the reason why no one really has a problem with Australians. 😅 I am from Croatia and have some relatives in Sydney and Geelong and you can clearly see that with each generation they get more Aussie rather than Croatian, even though some of them do try to keep the heritage alive....but I guess this is a normal process though. And with another generation or two maybe even three all they will know is that they have croatian roots and maybe others as well depending who they marry and have children with but in the end are Australians.

[@willywonka7812]

@@Niki91-HR Mark Viduka Ftw

[@kerrydoutch5104]

@@Niki91-HR I know a lot of Croations. A fellow I worked with in particular, Bernie, was born here but his parents emigrated. They go back pretty much every year to visit relatives and his father still holds the local best prosciutto making title. Theyre still very Croation but Bernie refers to himself as Australian. I guess it will dilute in a few generations as you say but theres always a connection.

[@Niki91-HR]

@@kerrydoutch5104 To be honest I do believe some connections are still stronger with people who moved to Australia than the US in general. I dont remember where I heard it but someone said once that Australia is like little Europe. I wish I could remember if it even was from an Australian. Croatians, from my knowledge moved later to both places and even Southamerica, especially Chile. I believe the biggest migration was during WW2 so it makes sense that some ties are still there compared to other nations like England for example due its history. Some of my cousins also refer to themselves as Aussies more than Croatians. But I guess their kids if they will have them will most likely call themselves just Australians whose ancestors once moved from Croatia.

[@DSP16569]

She was wrong with one thing: When counting Europe with the russian part (until Ural mountain range) then Europe is a little bit bigger than the United States. (USA (total land area+ waters): 3,796,742 sq mi vs. Europe (Continent not the European Union): 3,930,000 sq mi).

[@erikbehaeghel]

Russia is not totaly in Europe a big part is in Asia just like Turkey so she is wright

[@nosmokejazwinski6297]

@@erikbehaeghelAsian part of Russia isn’t included. Europe is larger than America with only European Russia included.

[@anouk6644]

@@erikbehaeghelThat’s why OP said until the Ural Mountain range. That part of Russia is considered Europe.

[@Lysandra-8]

​@@erikbehaeghel not like turkey. 97% of turkey is asian, just a part of one city (Istanbul) and some smaller cities are in europe. But 85% of russian population live west of ural (Europe)

[@JordiVanderwaal]

I was about to comment on that as well. Europe IS bigger than the US. The US are bigger than the EU (which is what she was probably trying to convey, but Google or her sources just mixed those things up).

[@ileana8360]

Love, how being "big on manners", because you are from the south is mentioned as a differentiator when it comes to resttaurants service. In Europe we are big on manners as well. The defintion is different. First and foremost in Europe it is considered bad manners, if the waiter is interrupting you constantly whilst you are eating or even enjoying your time with your company. He is expected to leave you alone unless you wanna order something, need something or dishes have to be cleaned. The bill will be brought upon request. We as well set value on opening up doors for elderly, pregnant, disabled etc., as well as respecting poeple by using the formal ´´you´. Although you will find a good amount of entitled brats under 20yo running around in every country, not giving a s... about manners. 😉

[@nj86]

Maybe it's not general trend but it can be seen in 'white america' tv/internet content that some people "claim" to be 'Irish', "Italian".. just becasue they hit some % on ancestry test. To people in Europe it sounds a bit weird. Maybe there is a miscommunication in expression of these stuff; but I think her dig was at those cases only. Having pride and remebering your ancestry is a totally different thing and I can't think of anyone having issue with it - people appretiate it rather than anything else :)

[@pepepote4268]

In Spain they will never ask for a tip, it is considered bad taste and rude, the best reward is that you come back another day...

[@Viennery]

“Where are all the people at” As a Canadian who’s travelled to Europe, I can confidently answer this. The cities! European cities are much more densely populated than our own, taking full advantage of the spaces available to house as many people comfortably as possible. Their homes tend to be a lot smaller than what you find in North America, but A LOT more public amenities. The outdoor space feels like an extension of your home, not just a space you travel through. Historically this makes sense, because many wars were fought over agricultural land. When you have that many people, you got to feed them and if you can’t produce any more food… you need more farmland. In the case of the fjord lands of Scandinavia, farmland was so scarce that rotting fish became a delicacy and the North Sea empire was born from Vikings trying to secure farmland from Western Europe. This cycle of violence to feed your people went on for millennia until the discovery of fertilizers that improved yields, and an entire new continent was discovered.

[@AncientBriton1948]

You mentioned giving birth in a specific country possibly because of benefits, well Europe doesn't operate the same as the US. If you're born In the US I believe you automatically qualify as a US citizen whereas in Europe we tend to work on the basis that a dog born in a stable doesn't make it a horse. I quite sure that if a birth happens unexpectedly it would be treated as an emergency with little to no cost to the parents but the child's nationality depends on their parents.

[@Roger-np3wi]

Since 2000, children of foreigners have acquired German citizenship at birth in Germany if one parent has lived legally in Germany for at least eight years and has a permanent right of residence. Otherwise, the child has the nationality of the parents.

[@singingcat02]

Depends on the country very much. In a lot of EU countries there is something called "double territorial principle". Citizenship is automatically granted to children born in the country with, for example, at least one parent from the country, or with at least one parent having lived 5 years in the country, or if the child lives only one year in the country after his or her birth… So the territorial principle definitely exists in the EU. It’s just a little more conditioned than the US territorial principle (where just the place of birth is enough). The conditions depend on the country and they can be really flexible or really strict.

[@oiurehj]

@@Roger-np3wi Probably this law will change in the future with the rise of crime from first and second generation "europeans".

[@Niki91-HR]

To us US- Americans are just US-Americans, especially if your families ( for whatever reason) are there for generations. Due to history and how some thing went ofc you will have a background outside of the States but the ties to any european countries are cut. The only people you could tie to us are people ofc who recently moved to the US and whose parents moved to the US but still have connections like family in the country of origin and know how to speak the language and kinda understand the culture and history. You two for example are also just Americans to us even though your roots are from somewhere in Africa and perhaps even Europe most likely British. Its nice to know , if you are able to find out, where your ancestors came from but the majority of the people in the States are just American, especially what you call white people. We dont claim these people anymore. Also the girl in the video has a great sense of humour.

[@iron_side5674]

If you do a deepdive into European History it is WILD. From Germanic Tribes, to them growing into Empires of their own, to them ending the Roman Empire TWICE, yeah you heard that right. The Scandinavians basically ignoring most everyone else and waging war against each other for a while. Scandinavians Gauls and Saxons Fighting over Britain and warring against the Gaels. Spain fighting the entirety of North Africa and losing, but then taking Iberia back by force. And of course what is todays Turkey, fighting pretty much the entirety of the Middle east one after another, being conquered by them sometimes and then those guys fought the rest of the middle east. And all of that in the last 1500 years, and that is only scratching the surface. And then of course you got the, quite recent, Holy Roman Empire, that had nothing to do with Romans at all. That period is basically EVERYTHING you think of when you think "Medieval" Castles, peasants paying tithes, warring Dukedoms, Sieges. Everything Medieval you can think of basically happened in or around central Europe until the Industrial Revolution, i believe.

[@IceWolf75]

Also, is the first time I'm hearing about this theory about the countries in Eastern Europe wanting to be called "Slavic" instead of Eastern European. I know at least one who doesn't, my country, Romania. Nothing wrong with Slavic countries but we are a Latin one and we never thought of calling us anything else but Latin.

[@templaryzta5927]

Slavic countries constitute the majority in Eastern Europe

[@IceWolf75]

@@templaryzta5927 I don't deny that.

[@ashleytrinis4331]

To clear up The rule of ancestry in Italy. It applies to all Italian ancestry background regardless of race because Europe classifies you on nationality versus race/ethnicity like here in the U.S. This is why she stated just because your DNA or ancestry says your Italian doesn't mean you can claim to be Italian. This is most important when it comes to citizenship moreso than anything. You cannot claim citizenship just because your great great great great grandfather was Italian or even lived in Italy. Italy has a law that if you were born there and grew up there you can't claim citizenship until you are 18/an adult. As an example if I have a baby in Italy and we live there and the child grows up there that child still is not considered a citizen until they become an adult and apply for citizenship. Many Italians are fighting for change in this law especially black Italians whose parents reside there because they were born, raised and fully evolved in Italy. So many of them do not feel its fair to have to go through the citizenship process when they are in fact Italian. Also There were black italians way back in the day and that number is rising everyday due to African immigrants migrating to Italy and France specifically from the Haiti and Somalia Region and they are having kids there. I am a black Italian by blood I have many ancestors both black and white who were Italian But I can't claim that I am Italian because I didn't grow up there and I have no current immediate living relatives there but I do speak Italian and I own and reside in a home in Italy a few months out of the year but even that won't qualify me for citizenship only residency. So its not that Italy is asking Americans to not associate their ancestry or DNA history to being Italian but moreso based on the nationality aspect you're not Italian. I'm also French and German by blood but again I don't claim to be either of those nationalities because I grew up in America and I was born in the Caribbean. If asked I will say I have an Italian bloodline or I have Italian ancestry/history.

[@MrKiltak]

1:50 most (there's one or two exceptions) European countries follow "Jus Sanguinis" for births in the country: the child gets the parents nationality. "Jus Soli" (birthright citizenship) is common only in the Americas (Colombia being the exception there).

[@shakya00]

Africans think the same about Black-Americans as Europeans about White-Americans. You aren't them in their eyes. It isn't because you have 20% Senegalese DNA that you are Senegalese for them. Your ancestors have been living in the USA for centuries, you don't have any cultural/family link to them and are mixed. You are mixed with different African ethnicities and most of you even have European DNA. So, from a cultural, ethnic, historical, geographical pov, you are your own kind. Americans and Black-Americans.

[@shakya00]

Many Americans do claim to be "Italian" or "Mexican" or whatever. It is this, that we find very odd. But yes, there is no issue with pointing out your roots in itself.

[@axelk4921]

In my neighborhood in Germany there is an "Italian Pizza Restaurant"...! The owner is a Sikh from Punchab, the cook is Persian, the waiters are from Syria and the shop sells Turkish pizza and Greek gyros...! It doesn't get any better or more international than in Germany.....ok, ok there are exceptions... one, for example, was a "real" Mongolian restaurant but it went bankrupt because of the recipes that were somewhat exotic for Europeans, such as marmot soup with Yak milk yogourt

[@j3mixa]

I think she has a point in that rasism/xenophobia in Europe is more about the country or culture the person comes from, not strictly related to skin colour. If you ask a black American if they have experienced rasism in Europe they might say not at all, everyone is so nice to me here. Ask the same from a person with Somalian or a Roma background and I guarantee that the answer is different. Not that it's any better to hate a person because of their religion, old or newer wars between their nations or their emigrant status. The root of the hate is different and it's good to regocnice it in order to try to fix the problem.

[@dangercat9188]

I'm a Hispanic American with fair skin and tbh, I feel like I'd experience more racism in Europe than here. And it's not just skin color. It's also religion and ethnicity that Americans like to pick at.

[@Aloh-od3ef]

The British do something called cheese rolling. It won’t teach you anything about British culture. But it’s very funny to watch 😂

[@margaretbarclay-laughton2086]

I think the difference is those those that come up to us and say I'm Scottish turns out they took a dna test not even a historical chain of recognised ancestors. We on the island I live on for example have a family history group who are always willing to help folk trace great great grandad Magnus who left the island in eighteen hundred and something. You trace an ancestor back to Scotland then its nice to say you are of scottish descent but to say you ARE Scottish is disrespectful to both our land and the country that has given employment and shelter to your family for generations.

[@kevingrant7098]

The UK has suffered because of Brexit, the majority of people regret leaving and would rejoin

[@almitov]

A key thing in comparing USA to Europe is the abbreviation of USA - UNITED States of America. Each state in the US is like its own country but there is a federal government, free movement between states and a lot of internal cultural exchange. In Europe for thousands of years we have been hating and killing each other and becoming united is a very slow process. We are working hard at it, putting differences aside but it isn't always smooth, as you can probably imagine. Almost every time a country tries to join the EU, there is an EU member opposing it based on some differences the two countries never settled. As in every relationship, compromises are reached and slowly Europe is becoming more and more united.

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

About the smiling thing true we don't usually smile on the street but there is also a BIG North-South divide Northerers are seen as efficient,cold,calcualted and stoic SOUTH EUROPE IS CHAOS! loud, emotional and friendly

[@Geralt_harvey3784]

14:20 There are indeed Americans who claim to be of other nationalities/ethnicities because they have X amount of X ancestry in their DNA. I have read countless stories from Europeans who have encountered such types. There was one story in particular where a Scottish man met an American tourist. They American said he was 50% Scottish, so that meant they were related. The Scottish man said, while dumbfounded, "dude... I don't even know you". This is a common view with most European countries. Just because you have a specific ancestry, that does not mean you are of that specific nationality/ethnicity. This is something I very much agree with, we are all more than what runs through our blood.

[@shadykid5939]

nationality represents the state you belong to through citizenship, simply being of a country will not determine ethnicity or culture although some countries are more ethinically diverse and culturally diverse like india even if they share the same race which is a abstraction we use.

[@comrade9374]

I love that i know most of the things she said and am not even from Europe 😌

[@LievenSerge]

You are not German just because you happened to be born in Germany when your mother was travelling to Germany while pregnant. Same counts for most other European nations.

[@karlineschlenkerbein131]

My favourite US "race" is actually Caucasian, which is surprisingly used for all US citizens with European heritage. 🧐 Do you guys even know, where the Caucasus is located? The only family of real Caucasian heritage, I'm aware of in the US, are the Kardashians, because their ancestors where obviously from Armenia (...ijan is a typical Armenian surname suffix). Which along Georgia and Azerbaijian are the ONLY Caucasian countries. And Armenians and Azeris are currently not on a "first name base", to put it mildly. Celtic or Slavic or Germanic tribes are in no way Caucasian at all! That is just hilarious. I would never ever identify myself as a Caucasian at all!

[@kriswoods7051]

Well, you can blame a German Anthropologist for the term "Caucasian." "It means “of or pertaining to the Caucasus Mountains.” In 1795, the German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in his pioneering treatise on anthropology distinguished mankind into five races." So, take it up with a misguided German from 200+ years ago. And you are not correct about "Caucasian" being used for white U.S. citizens, it recent years, the government and businesses have realized that most people are a mix of things and may identify as more than one ethnicity, so now on most forms it gives the option of "more than 1 race."

[@laurapalmer6699]

The main issue I have is tourists coming to my country (Ireland) and claiming to be Irish. I have no issue with people saying they have Irish ancestry or heritage but you are not Irish if your ancestors left during the famine.

[@marshsundeen]

You can blame St Patrick's Day for some of that. US celebrations say that everyone is Irish on March 17th.

[@kriswoods7051]

We don't think we're Irish, it's just a shorthand that Americans use with other Americans to say that they have a certain heritage or ethnicity. I'm always surprised that Irish citizens assume we think we hold an Irish passport or plan on voting or something. If you hear that again, just assume they mean, "I have Irish heritage," because that's what they mean. I say very specifically that I have X Heritage, when I speak with someone from a different country so there is no misunderstanding.

[@kriswoods7051]

@@marshsundeen HA! That's true. But we just want everyone to have fun and feel a part of the celebration.

[@kc_h7h]

Just let them be. It makes them feel better as a person to know their ancestory since alot of Americans don't know. So i think its kinda sad when they go to their country of roots and they get neglected by everybody. Like cmon be nice

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

9:33 Well I'm from Croatia and our coast is OVERCROWDED with tourists True there are pretty things to see on the coast. The Pula Amphiteatre, the Zadar Sea organ (Organ as in the musical instrument 'XD), Split has Dioclecians palace, Dubrovnik's old town, ect. ect. Now the Inlan Europe has Risnjak national park, the nature reserves Kopački rit, Lonjsko polje and more, Zagreb is a beautifull city, we have hot springs liek Sveti Marin na Muri .... Unfortunately the Coast is overcrowded but the inside of the country sees next to no toursits

[@hunchbackaudio]

The lady was spot on with the Mexican food. In my little city we have lots of different restaurants, but when I go to an Indonesian restaurant I expect it’s “partially” run by Indonesians, same with Surinamese, Italian or any other type of restaurant. So if someone misses Mexican food, which is getting some traction lately, we have 2 of them now in my city, don’t blame us. Just open a Mexican restaurant. Because we won’t make a watered down, sort of Mexican restaurant, that’s not how it works here. Having said that, maybe start in north western Europe, because these countries are most excepting to new food things than other parts of Europe that are way more conservative when it comes to food.

[@bertinamiller9626]

Sweden has a crime issue sadly because of having lots of immigrants who do not have the best social status or job situation.

[@PPfilmemacher]

Thats a extrem Understatement of the current situation in Sweden

[@Randomdude21-e]

To much immigration, not integrated and now they run gangs, shooting, even bombs and handgranades. Even the military has gotten involved. But in general sweden is still pretty safe. Would not be scared to go to sweden but yes it got some issues that needs to be handeled. We see this all over europe when to much immigrants from poor countrys with wars. The culture and maners are totally different. They protest with carfires and throwing rock, scandinavians protests are allways civilised and non voilent.

[@inotoni6148]

It's the same in Germany too. The situation will escalate again this year on New Year's Eve in Berlin. They then attack the police officers, firefighters and ambulances with fireworks. The problem is that the state doesn't do anything about it. In Berlin last year, 130 people were arrested on New Year's Eve, but not one was convicted. Everyone was able to go home, even though buses and cars were burned down. The other problem is Islamist terrorism. In December, 7 people were arrested for planning 3 attacks during the holidays. The third problem with these people is everyday violence. There are several incidents in Germany every day. People are robbed, attacked or even stabbed. Also at schools. 10-15 years ago something like this was unthinkable. The frightening thing is that they feel safe while committing crimes and they even think that they own the country (Germany) where they came. For example, 5 Arab youths attacked a Santa Claus on the street, beat him and asked him to take off his costume. They shouted that this was now our country. It's absolutely shocking what's happening in Germany too.

[@isaacsilva4174]

I am from France and I can tell you that in our eyes, your country as a haven of peace.

[@juanche978]

@@PPfilmemacher Look at the data tho

[@gammaraygem]

If you tip in Portugal, they look at you quizzically, and give you back the money. When you insist, they almost seem insulted. Most EU countries have a decent minimum wage, at least much better than in the US in general.

[@smelly1060]

I feel like that's the case with most nations in the world generally, it's just western Europe and north America that glorify it(for lack of better word)

[@jassidoe]

The big problem I see is that the Americans with an ancestry in Europe who claim to be Italian/German/French... etc. are the ones to attract attention. Maybe they just want a point of entry to a conversation or feel some kind of kinship (?) to a place and that I understand. And I think most people would not react in a negative way if approached like that. With open interest and curiosity where their roots are. I know I wouldn't. I might launch into a history lesson if asked or show people around town. The problem arises when people claim that we have to be like that because they expect us to be like that. Their great-grandmother had this tradition, so all of us have to know this tradition (for example that weird christmas pickle thing). Or some may get angry when a country is not like they expected it to be. In general, and that includes every narrow-minded person on this planet, things will not go down well if you are uninformed, but have a lot of opinions and insist on being right about everything. I have never been to the US, so I can't tell how wide spread this claiming heritage thing is. That's why I imagine our/my impression to be somewhat skewed, because those are the ones you hear about. 🤔 And about the hospitality thing: people always say that the north is more reserved than the south and I think that's (somewhat) true. But there is a line between being reserved and being rude. There are waiters that are downright rude, even for our standards. We just learned not to expect them to be overly friendly. And we tend to tip those who offer a good (and friendly) service more. Opening the door for the elderly, pregnant women or just people who are carrying a lot of stuff and would not be able to open a door on their own is considered good manners here as well. And I tend to offer my seat in a bus or tram for elderly and pregnant women. So good manners do exist even here (Germany) and we are generally considered to be rude 😅 But I think it depends more on the individual upbringing? There is no term like "southern hospitality" that encompasses a whole region....at least I think so. So if you come to Europe you can experience very friendly and outgoing people.... but it may be better not to expect it? 😅

[@kriswoods7051]

Very interesting comment. Everyone is different and some people may take a little longer to know. I'm American and I have a lot of German friends (from Germany) & American friends of German descent. The thing my German friends noticed when they were living here is how Americans have taken many German customs/celebrations from the older generations that came to the U.S. originally and still practice them. To be honest, we do this with all of the cultural traditions that are imported here. I think because we all love to enjoy those things together. We used to have a little German shopping village here in Los Angeles, called Alpine Village. It had a German market, restaurant, bakery, stores, festivals, etc. and they'd do Oktoberfest every year and bring a German band from Germany. I brought my German friends (who were skeptical) and they ended up having the best time. They had a really funny Heino impersonator hosting , a German band that came from Germany, we made them do the chicken dance, the beer drinking contests, dancing on tables, & they were laughing at the people dressed in lederhosen & German colors, etc. All of the songs were from my their grandparents' generation and they said growing up, they hated the Old Fashioned music, but they really enjoyed the sense of humor & fun spirit that Americans brought to the whole thing. I know you guys in Germany have moved on culturally, but I thought it was interesting, that much of what we think of as German culture is from probably 80-100 years ago when Germans moved over here. Once they were cut off from their home country, they continued what they knew in the way of food & customs. Growing up, my Mom had a lot of German friends (from Germany) and we'd always enjoy German meals with them, coffee time, candles on the Christmas tree, good German chocolate & marzipan cakes, Stolen in winter, plum kuchen, sausage making, etc. Even though, it is only a bit of what German culture is , it was wonderful to experience. I still eat stolen with coffee and I love the sausages that my friend makes by hand from his grandfather's recipe. So, in a way, I feel it gives me a little something that I can relate to when I speak with a German national. I like to find out if what they grew up with, to see if there is anything that is similar. This is more out curiosity and interest, not because I'm trying to tell them the right way to do the chicken dance or something! 😄

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

@@kriswoods7051 We call it the duck dance. It's a thing for carneval (in February) and children's birthday parties.

[@SNMG7664]

On your comment about ethnicity, race, and nationality. That's something that's viewed very differently in Europe with its history of very open borders and nearby neighbour countries. If an English person moved to France, lived there for 50 years, spoke the language, and assimilated perfectly, even gaining French citizenship - people would consider them - the individual - English. If they had children that were born and raised in French they could call themselves French uncontested though. It's not like the US where I could move there, get citizenship, and basically right away call myself "American". It's entirely to do with where you grew up. There are some people that have been living in Ireland for basically their entire lives who are loved and accepted by their communities who feel uncomfortable considering themselves "Irish", so it's really weird and in some cases for some a little uncomfortable to see Americans say "I'm Irish" when to any European they're really not. Ancestry doesn't really grant a claim like that here, you yourself need that direct connection. Of course, neither system is "correct", but that's where that difference/disagreement comes from

[@Randomdude21-e]

Europe ruled over 80% of the world. But is only 8% of the world mass, pretty insane to think about. Americans are mostly europeans if you go back a few 100 years

[@viciousqueen5096]

I've seen a lot of white americans say "I'm italian" and very strongly identifying with being "italian" and incorporating it into their identity, but they aren't. They don't speak italian, none of their family members do, they have no actual knowledge of real italian traditions or the culture but they pretend that they do and they say things like "my family is italian that's why we XYZ". You can say that you have roots in italy or ireland or whatever or that your ancestors came from X, but you aren't from there. You are american. And if you met a real italian and showed them your "Spaghetti Meatballs", they would probably ban you from italy.

[@koop8711]

The thing people don’t realise is that european history spans back many thousands of years vs american history which spans a few hundred. In a way, the scale of american history is like a small tip of the ice berg when considering american history This doesnt discredit north american history but it gives some type of scale to the time frame that these cultures and their conflicts developed within

[@sardarcantu7960]

As a person from Eastern Europe (Republic of Moldova) , I've heard many times some people think Eastern Europeans are "Russians" (and yeah mostly when it's something about Eastern Europe, it's always mostly negative) , as for my country : 1) Republic of Moldova (R.M) *is not a slavic country* - culturally speaking, it's very similar to Romania, in fact, it's the same thing, as the Republic of Moldova was a part of the Romanian land (I emphasize the Republic thing because there's also a historical region in Romania called "Moldavia" and that's not a coincidence ) but generally, this portion of the land is the modern day the R.M.; in 1800s it was called Bassarabia (based on a ruler/king) so this territory got under the Russian Empire influence & it became a Governorate of the Russian Empire (a subdivision of that state, or part of the Empire-kind of like a colony hah) so, people got lots of Russian influence and that's how in this land people got to speak Russian as well (and also to mention R.of Moldova was part of the Soviet Union as well). HOWEVER- Moldovans speak the *Romanian language* (A Latin romance language related to Italian, French and etc.) Moldovan is a dialect of Romanian (or accent) , Romania and the Republic of Moldova are the only Latin countries surrounded by Slavic countries (Like Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Slovakia; except Hungary- they aren't Slavic, if I am not mistaken) and that's how the Romanian language has many words of Slavic origin, because there were many settlements of Slavic Tribes around those areas, and of course, as people interact with eachother, they borrowed words from them. And Fun fact : the "Numa Numa" song comes from a Moldovan band haha. ( It's called O-Zone and the original song is called "Dragostea din Tei"- literally means "Love from the linden Tree"). 2) about Euros- as for my understanding countries like Germany and France uses only Euros as their currency- because they are a part of the Eurozone- for example Romania is not in the Eurozone, which means it uses two currencies: the Euro and the Romanian Leu (and Yes in Moldova we also use Leu but it's called the Moldovan Leu, as a currency code, the Romanian Leu is-RON, and the Moldovan Leu is- MDL) for example as current currency (which the info I show here might be outdated after my post and it can change obviously) but generally speaking 1 RON is 3,87 MDL here, which in dollars (USD) is 0,22$. From my village I use public transport (a minibus) and from my place to the capital is 10 MDL which is 56 cents (0,56 USD) hah. 3) about behaviour- yes, if you smile a lot, people are gonna look weird at you, as Moldova has lots of Russian influence and a "Soviet upbringing" there's a Russian phrase or proverb that says "Laughter with no reason is a sign of foolishness" (or insanity; I hope you understood, I am not a good translator) 😅 mostly it's like that lady said- we mostly smile when we have a reason for it.

[@alexmoreira876]

The heritage thing sounds weird to Brazilians too. Here, when people claim to be this or that, they actually are from those countries or their parents or grandparents are. They also, probably know the language somewhat. Most people would say they're Brazilian, and that's it.

[@OrkarIsberEstar]

to identity - if you wanna be a german you should have been raised in germany, gone through the german school system, know its laws, be familiar with its culture, participate in german traditions, speak the language fluently, basicly know the people and the country. that makes you german no matter where you were born or what your skin color is. Example Dave Davis - US born to american parents black comedian that grew up in germany and is beloved and considered german by germans. Meanwhile Austria kicked Arnoled Schwarzenegger out and removed his citizenship cause he became "too american" by supporting the death penalty when he was governor, to be considered austrian - despite having been born and raised in austria. So basicly if you align with the culture and values of the nation , speak its language and know its customs you are considered a citizen. If you dont...you aint. And that doesnt mean you have to have a certain political alignment or religion - but there is certain cultural things that everyone agrees on like austria - death penalty is unthinkable no matter your religion or politics and by supporting it in california Arnold basicly proved that he aint austrian no longer

[@marshsundeen]

My ancestry is mostly English/European. I do not consider myself English. I would like to visit one day, just to see it. My ancestors came over in the 1600-1700's, so long ago. My husband has Swedish ancestors. They came over in the early 1900's. They make certain recipes, particularly around Christmas. They do not consider themselves Swedish, just of that descent. Their parents didn't teach them Swedish, because the attitude back in the day, was to be as American as possible (also the parents could have conversations without the kids understanding).

[@citizenkane4831]

If you ´r looking for something about how americans think about there ancestors or root´s. There´s a famouse swedish tv show called "Allt för Sverige" It´s a reality show where 10 americans compete to meet there living ancestors in Swedden. As the shows goes on they get accuented how it is to live as a swede and how there ancestors lived befor the smigrated to USA. It´s a very popular serie, it´s on it´s 11 seasson now

[@_rivexx_9842]

Being born in Poland is also a big benefit

[@sovietmachine528]

no it isnt

[@conn7125]

It’s fun because every American moving to Europe is asking and complaining about not being able to buy real Mexican food. You can see it if you look at Americans moving to Denmark they all talks about it’s impossible to get really good spicy Mexican food there. And yes we are very very Nordic so we do not eat spicy food. It’s very common for us european to hear Americans telt us that they are Italien or Irish or whatever because they have ancestors way way back. My Grandfather was Germain but I do not claim I’m German and I certainly do not feel German. I’m Danish with a German grandfather.

[@kriswoods7051]

That's understandable that you feel you are just Danish, because that is your citizenship and culture. Americans ALL come from somewhere else recently and farther back, maybe 300 years. It is still very recent compared to most countries in the world. We do not have that long history, so we look back to where our ancestors came from to piece it together. Probably in another 600 years, we will just be looking at our American heritage/culture alone. Currently, we are shaped by a lot of different cultures and influences in the U.S. I'm in Los Angeles and half of the population Speaks Spanish - we are hugely influenced by the Mexican, Indian and Spanish settlers in the Southern part of California, which is why you get people from the Southwest U.S. missing Mexican food so much when they travel. That is one of our "American" foods.

[@mohaa556]

For those curious about the hate towards being called eastern european, it has to do with soviet times. Many of the countries that like to go by a different area name (baltics, balkans, central europe) using those area names as a way of distancing themselves from old soviet times. Many of these countries were forcefully occupied by the russians and were forced to be essentially slave states to the soviet union, so after the collapse of the union many of these countries started distancing themselves from russia and their old forced influence over them. There were many ways to do this, many joined NATO, the EU, adapted more west friendly politics in general and of course they refused any kind of connection to "eastern europe" which is still kind of a synonym for soviet union member state. Source: I'm from a country that's in the "central europe" group (Hungary)

[@meganpodesta9197]

Thanks so much for watching and sharing ❤ Peace

[@Dan-B]

Ethnicity is different from Nationality: *yes* Do many white Americans explain/see their ethnicity as the same as nationality: *also yes* (eg. It’s like a white person calling themselves “black” because they had a single black ancestor 250 years ago, but for nationalities)

[@kriswoods7051]

I think that's incorrect. My passport says American, that is my nationality, period. Most Americans know that. I may have Irish and Mexican ethnicity, but I don't believe I'm an Irish or Mexican citizen!

[@Dan-B]

@@kriswoods7051 you don’t, but a lot do 😛

[@kriswoods7051]

@@Dan-B I think these are anecdotal stories passed on about the one time someone met an American that said they were Irish and really thought they were a citizen of Ireland. I really don't think that happens a lot - in fact, I bet in happens pretty rarely.

[@JokerInk-CustomBuilds]

1:40 As a white Dansih man, who grew up in rural central africa as a small boy and later moved to Denmark in my early teens I can confirm that I very often think about how privilidged I was being born in Denmark. I have poor childhood friends who starve and struggle to survive in rural africa. We used to play side by side. Yet I am the one who now live in one of the worlds safest and richest countries having luxuries my childhood friends could only imagine.... What did I do to deserve this compared to them? Absolutely nothing. I was just lucky to be born in the right place. I actually have alot of cognitive dissonance from this. I feel guilty about being in the upper middle class of europe since I ended up here by random. Sure I work hard for my paycheck... but so does my childhood friends... Yet there is a huge difference in how our lives turned out and it is all based on where we were born. Nothing else...

[@ap4931]

Europe is bigger than the USA, Not sure why it is stated the opposite @6:35...

[@dominika3762]

In many countries you don't get to be a citizen just because of where you're born. Your parents nationality decides your nationality

[@henrijansen4224]

If I would live as an American near the Mexican border, I would cross over illegale every day only for there food.😂😂😂 I'm Dutch and between 2002 and 2007 I lived in Mexico Puebla, Pue. My Mexican girlfriend then loved to cook and was good at it. Her dream was her own restaurant, so I invested a part of my savings. We worked together!Best time and food, culture of my live. Food like Chile poblano, salsa picante, guacamole, Chile relleno, Sopa and so many more things. We could pay all the bills, so I stayed for 5 years. I speak fluent Spanish and my emotionele life is much richer.

[@kriswoods7051]

Well, the good news is, if you lived in San Diego or another border town, you could cross legally everyday if you are an American or Mexican with a passport 😃 We used to go all the time when I lived in S.D. Yes, Mexican food is the best! We are lucky in Southern California to have a lot of Mexican culture and restaurants, but the best is in Mexico!

[@henrijansen4224]

@@kriswoods7051 I passed true San Diego when I went to MIssion Viejo with the Greyhound bus to see family of my ex-girlfriend. Her sister was married to Greg an American guy living in the suburbs. We went to the beach where there son was surfing, baseball match of there other son, but what I missed was a concert of Niel Young, because the tickets where sold out. Really nice people! But what a difference when you cross the border with Tijuana.

[@kc_h7h]

Thing with Europe is (especially west Europe) that alot of Americans expect a all white country with a very apparent culture. But these countries are very diverse. Like the lady said everybody wants to live there (especially refugees). So if you go to west Europe you will see alot of different ethnic backgrounds from african, middle eastern and Asian. Especially in cities. For some reason Americans think they're the only country with such a diverse population

[@chanesy_]

love ur reactions :D

[@oceanmythjormundgandr3891]

Having so many conflicts and different traditions makes it hard to compare to the US and its states at times. The woman in the video was right in saying that each country is like its own mini-US since the countries between themselves are not like the US states. There have been many wars and conflicts going way back and it does affect how the European countries look at each other and their own country. Like Sweden and Denmark holds the record for most wars fought between them: 30 wars since the 15th century. Beating England and France with their 16. Now the countries are cool with each other, but rivalry still exists, some friendly, some not quite so. Some might compare it to the US-civil war... but that is the detail, it was one war, not centuries of it (luckily), So many cultures and countries clashing for centuries leaves its mark in the culture and the people.

[@jujoonline8248]

15:34 As a european. We don't shut off people if they want to know more about and learn their roots, but if they're not interested or informed and just throw around that they... idk a have the dna to become a great chef because they got 25% french on their great- great- grandfathers side bit never been to the country, grew up american without learning french recipes then sorry what exactly makes you french?

[@kriswoods7051]

I think that situation is more DNA/bloodline. If someone is 25% French heritage, they can say that, because it's true. I don't think most Americans would say, oh, I'm culturally French, they would say I'm a quarter French - which means to other Americans, they're grandparents were French. It's rare that someone in the U.S. would question someone about how French they really were culturally, it just doesn't happen. Someone might volunteer that they cooked with their grandparents, do or don't speak the language based on whether the grandparents passed it down, remember holidays with certain French customs, traveled to see where their grandparents came from, things like that.

[@jujoonline8248]

@@kriswoods7051 yeah but if someone say I‘m french to you anywhere else you would think he‘s from France and not the US -\/(^^)\/-

[@kriswoods7051]

When I'm asked where I'm from I say, "California" or' the "U.S." every single time. I can't imagine asking someone from America, "Where are you from?" and they say anything other than the U.S. or name their state. I've seen people say, "My grandfather was from Ireland" or "I'm 25% French on my mother's side" as part of a bigger conversation. Initially, people just ask you where you are from, but a longer conversation would probably lead to a DNA or ancestry discussion, especially if that's why the American went to that country in the first place. So, that is why I believe that people are having longer discussion that lead to an ancestry conversation, not just some American getting off the plane and saying, "I'm Irish" to the first person they meet in Ireland.

[@nicklomas181]

there are DEFINATLEY white americans claim to be irish/italian even after many generations of separation

[@stuartmcivor2276]

I'm 1% Togolese so I must be African (forget about the 90% from UK and Ireland). 😉

[@kriswoods7051]

I'm guessing that if you did do that, the people of Togo would be nice about it and welcome you.

[@SK-nw4ig]

I would be happy to talk with americans with Finnish ancestry. But they are not finnish, they are American. Finnish-american culture is very different from Finnish culture. It is its own thing. Ohh and no tipping in the Nordics!

[@kriswoods7051]

My cousin's husband is from Finland and he is now an American citizen. How do you view former Finnish citizens? It's interesting because his parents never wanted him to marry an American, but he did & he's made his life here. He is a little more reserved than our family, but we love him and I think he loves us, in spite of the loudness we generate😆

[@SK-nw4ig]

@@kriswoods7051 i guess that depends on a person. I would say person who has grown up in Finland is culturally most likely Finnish. Though if someone lives a long time in another country, maybe they become more that with passing time? Definitions of what someone is are very broad and should maybe be taken lightly in a sense that we often talk about slightly different things. We are all a sum of many things :)

[@dennishendrikx3228]

I am from the south of the Netherlands, a village next to a city. Our village has the accent of that city, the village next to us speak like the city next to them. It's small differences, but locals notice that. We can wave at each other, that close. This goes on and on, from area to area. The second I drive in to Belgium, we don't speak about accents, than it becomes dialect. Totally different words for the same thing, while sharing a general language. We use French words the French aren't using for ages, it's from when we were occupied. It's very possible I wouldn't understand my great grandfather, from our area. They used complete different words we lost.

[@akuakesewaa9715]

What they mean in general is the importance of the passport, some passport are better than the others

[@benjamintic3653]

So for Europeans, we don't feel as strongly connected to our ancestry, at least not the same as Americans do. Here if you come for example from Albania to Germany the first two generations will say they're albanians but from third on you're german. You recognise your family is from Albania but beside maybe the language and traditions you're basicly german. Even when I spoke to people with asian or african roots who were born in my country Slovenia, a lot of them identify themselves as Slovenians. Its way diferent then America where you basicly name every single country your great great great grandparents came from

[@marshsundeen]

We believe we are American, but we also have been taught to celebrate our differences.

[@marshsundeen]

@Benny-Frank yes. Politics clouds everything now.

[@robertrauter8459]

bourne in Croatia.... if you must know about my country the best is food.....best in the world....mix of Italian Turkish Germanic and Greek......yeah Balkans!! P.S. Austrians and Slovenians helped too....Love those second best too...they do have some things great too.....

[@ETRTriad]

I'm biologically mixed english/african but not black or white..... I'm Butterscotch.

[@Vojtaniz01]

11:00 At the "Poland" caption, Czech money is shown.

[@andreafardo7370]

The thing about ethnicity and nationality in europe the 2 things are actually basically the same as the majority of eu countries were made for specific culture/ethnic group,

[@colbymasvidal2397]

Denmark here🔥🇩🇰 Scandinavian love❤

[@sasapetroski981]

Salary in Germany is 4.000 euros and in Serbia(between italy and hungary) salary is 400 euros

[@mimmiblu6138]

Some Italian-American do state they are Italian... so we switch to Italian and they explain their ancestors were Italian, but they have no idea how to speak the language...

[@ToxiCisty]

Japanese weren’t the only ones in internment camps during ww2 in America. Italians were arrested and locked up even more so. My parents came on a boat in the 60s. They didn’t want me or my siblings to speak Sicilian in public. We only learned because my grandparents moved over when we were young.

[@petrmilota6398]

she had some attitude :D but she was mostly alright..

[@cmonnnsi]

She put Slovenia in both Southern Europe and Eastern Europe but we're Central Europe cmon man...just because we had a lil Yugoslavia incident doesn't mean we're doing THAT bad. Also, a reaction suggestion: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZq2mHSfgpWXbqM

[@Edruezzi]

Yup, you can't eat without wondering if this is how an Aztec lunch tasted.

[@JanLion-zb1bd]

In Europe, when we speak of 'Western Europe', we definitely include the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic states (because they had a trade union with Germany and Holland since the 14th century), and also Greece, Italy (the Greek and the Romans were the birthplace of Western civilization!) and Spain plus Portugal (the first and greatest colonizers).

[@walhdamaskus2408]

Just born in a rich family, then u will have a great bonus.

[@Scalvoo]

In Italy, "tipping culture" does not exist. We pay only the product we choose

[@EliasBremer]

ofcourse you can't fucking use american dollars outside of america. You expect me to come to the US and buy something with my swedish kronors. No way that would work.

[@hamidhanjra]

Do Americans know that little about rest of the world? We the Asians (i am Pakistani) have known about these things since we were in junior high school. That's why there are geography, history and social studies subjects in schools to learn about. And we are also multilingual i.e. Mother tongue, national language and official language. These three are for sure and we also know about other languages too like Arabic for Muslims

[@annina134]

I'm half finnish, half swedish and this is only because my father was swedish and my mother is finnish. I really don't get some of the people from USA who claim to be part finnish or swedish just because some genetic test tell them they have some % of that heritage. And then when you try to talk to them in finnish or swedish, they don't even know the languages. So in my wiev you are not half something, if you can't even speak the language.. No offence.

[@kriswoods7051]

I think you are looking at this with strict language parameters, which is fine, because maybe that is how Swedes and Fins assess ethnicity in their countries. Americans have a broader acceptance and sometimes it's just DNA, but typically, it is connected to stories of ancestors that came to America from those original countries and passed down customs, stories, food, personal history, language in some cases. Many families keep those traditions alive from those original countries through the years and Americans are very proud of their journeys, hardships and spirit of adventure. My cousin is married to a man from Finland that is now an American citizen, he has taught us a lot about Finnish culture. That said, he is one of us now and we are very proud that he chose to be a part of our family and our country.

[@annina134]

@@kriswoods7051 I think you missunderstood my point. But I get it, my english is not that good and it's hard to get my thoughts out the right way. Point one: citizenships are one thing and yes, you could say one is for example finnish, when they have the citizenship, regardless of their heritage. As you can say an american is someone who lives and work there and have an american passport. If you understand what I try to say here.. Point two: even if I would maybe have some % of my DNA from, say, Russia (because mom's family come from Karjala) and maybe I have other DNA too, but that doesn't make me Russian or any other. I have only my birthplace and birthcountry, my mom and my dad and the nearest family. 🤷 I get it, but I don't get it. The american way of thinking, I mean.

[@annina134]

@@kriswoods7051 and no, language was just an example. You don't have to speak the language, like english speaking doesn't make me english (not even if I had some % of heritage from there). We can talk about heritages and look way back in the history of one's family, but it doesn't make you something else than what you are. If you're american citizen, then you are american. If your mother or father is from another country, you can say you're half that and half the other. But it doesn't make me a Karelian even though my grandmother and her family came from there as refugees of the war at time. If this makes sense to you and get what I'm trying to say.

[@Donnah1979]

Have you seen any timelapse videos on the borders changing in Europe/ the World?

[@johncasper5052]

The Balkans has more negative connotation than being called Eastern European. In that region except for a few countries the living standard is rapidly sinking to the level of third world countries. Even illegal migrants do not want to stay there who are basically invited by the leaders EU. Governments of that region sold out their own countries and citizens to big Asian, German, French, British and american corporation and banks for cheap labor while destroying small businesses sparking a big wave of migration from that part of Europe into those countries where these international companies are located except for Asia.. I am just throwing this out because you will not get an accurate picture from the media an corrupt politician just like in your country.

[@spidertube79]

Northern Italy is Central and Western Europe, like France, Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany.

[@hankchocolate8247]

A lot of European towns are quiet and empty looking because most people will live in cities in apartments or flats for higher wages

[@laziojohnny79]

To be fair; if you include the western part of Russia and Turkye, which are considered European culture and territory, then Europe is actually bigger then the US.

[@laziojohnny79]

@Benny-Frank None of those cultures are the same, quite the contrary, but historically and culturally Russia, Belarus, Ukrain, Turkye, Georgia, Armenia and arguably Israel and Azerbeizjan are European. The countries you mention are solely northern and (south-) western Europe, there is such a thing as central and eastern Europe too.

[@magnoliads2547]

Almost everyone in Amarica has their roots and history in another country... or to be more precise on another continent! There are almost no native peole left in America, because the people which conquered "America" are all from Europe or Africa. Be it by choice or not.

[@LuDa-lf1xd]

To clarify, hispano America is totally different from the Anglo America. Just look up the percentage of Spanish men in the conquest.

[@magnoliads2547]

@@LuDa-lf1xd Totally correct!!! Something some people just mix up or can't accept, can't understand, don't want to understand... who knows. Fact is: "America" has been conquered by Euopeans... mainly by Spain (!!) & Britain (and Ireland) ... and then some other countries long after them... And NO it was not Christopher Columbus, who "found" America... it was Amerigo Vespucci... what is also NOT exactly correct, since the Iselandic Leif Eriksson had been the first European that set foot on the American mainland in 1021 (!!!!!!!!). So... I could go on and on and on...

[@mitkodimitrov8396]

i will give you example,how has bin in Europe for past 2000 years,with my country Bulgaria(shitiest in EU,but very old and made slavic alfabet,wich is actualy bulgarian,dont know why is named slavic),from 681 year,to World War2,we barely have 100 peacefull years-1300 years wars and rebellions.Just,for this EU is so amasing thing,for common peoples,now you are frend and partner,with 2000 years enemies.To know,from 1876,to 1945,bulgarians fought in 6 Big wars,only lead,to death and devastation,my grand parents,bin in those,and no one want ,to speak about that times,only said-hope,peoples never see this again,but our greedy rullers,didnt listen

[@b.benjamineriksson6030]

White Americans aren't European no :D hehe. We don't see them as ours anymore. It's cool to be proud of you heritage though but they're not German, Swedish, English, Italian or whatever. And ethnicity sure but if they go to Germany and say their German then no, we won't agree. It's a bit different with Swedes and Norwegians, we still see them as ours. But like weird cousins that should move back. And yeah, if a Swede smiles or says he/she likes than we really do. There's not much of fake friendliness. And crime in general is Not high in Sweden, we've just have had some nasty gang wars for a while now. So a lot of gang members killing each other, the public usually don't get the bad part of this.

[@kriswoods7051]

No American holds a European passport. We don't believe we are citizens of countries in Europe, we just acknowledge that we have that heritage or DNA. I think a lot of Europeans get confused because Americans use a shorthand and say, "I'm Irish, I'm German, etc." What they are really saying is that they have that HERITAGE. Americans talk about heritage a lot with each other, so if my friend says, "I make the best sausages because I'm German" - he really means, I learned how to make sausages from my German grandfather and it is a German recipe, done in the German way. The fact is, we know he is American of German decent and he doesn't have to explain that when he says, "I'm German." BTW, he does make the best sausages!

[@Forbsey99]

as an irish person i understand alot of americans have irish ancestors but they way ive seen it claimed that because of this they are irish is just kind of patronising and im generally hard to get at but it does get annoying

[@drzewowit]

Actually, you have right to the Polish citizenship, if you can prove Polish ancestry. It is same in many other countries. Not sure about Italy.

[@cleofaspingarron]

In the Netherlands we don't tip. Ever.

[@Lars_erik]

Since when? I was taught is that you tip if you are happy with the service. According to etiquette, this is between 5 and 10 percent of the bill, but people often simply round up the amount. For example from 35 to 40.

[@GDKJustJonny]

To understand a little bit better Europe, imagine USA as not United States of America, but united countries of America.

[@jamesrowe3606]

The British Isles are of course still in Europe. We left a political union, not the Continent.

[@IceWolf75]

Yeah, I believe it's more about the fuss Americans like to make about their heritage. You can't really say you are Italian or French or whatever it you have no real tires with that culture besides some very distant relatives from 300 years ago. By this way of thinking we are all African... So, Americans are Americans. The age of colonies ended with the independence war.

[@a4kata40]

Ok African but which country Nigeria, Gana, Zambia? 🙂 You can't just saying Africa

[@Janecek185]

Why people in Czechia hate to be called eastern europe, because we are more at west than Austria and have higher gpd per capita than Spain or Portugal, so we are both richer and more at west than some ´´western´´ countries. Basicly only reason to call czechia eastern europe is because we were part of SSSR, 30 years ago, update map please.

[@roulis999]

Come to greece and go for 5 days trip to Olympos mountaint you will change your life...for more info i can provide whatever you want

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

4:00 To be fair ... The Balkans is kind of a worse monicer than Eastern Europe XD