10 Things Americans Do that Shock the Rest of the World

#3 – We Love Small Talk

[quads id=1]

© Baptists Today

Americans excel at small talk. Even if you’re just running errands, you’ll likely have many conversations with anyone you may meet. “How’s your day?” “I like your top”, and so on and so forth. As for tourists, they can find this annoying, rude, or even an insult.

For instance, in France, people may end the conversation altogether if you ask what they do for a living because they don’t like to be defined based on their job, while in India, you cannot have small talk with a shopkeeper because you’re not supposed to act friendly to strangers.

However, small talk is very important since it allows you to maintain higher self-esteem and chat freely with your superiors, which can be great for your work goals, such as getting promoted. (Go USA!)

#4 – We Take Extra Food Home

© grunge

Have your eyes been bigger than your tummy? No problem, ask for a doggy bag and finish your meal at home. Well, we all know it’s not really for the dog and it’s totally okay.

But what’s acceptable here can even be humiliating in other parts of the world. According to a survey published by the BBC, 25% of British people were extremely embarrassed to ask for a doggy bag and 24% assumed they weren’t allowed to in the first place due to safety regulations.

Same in France, certain restaurants think they could be sued if someone took the rest of their meal home and got sick after eating it. Also, the French usually finish their entire plate out of politeness, even if they’re full.

Well, looking at the French portion sizes, being polite is quite realistic, but in the US, our plates are really overloaded and no one would like to fill themselves until bursting.