Americans and Our Lack of Culture

[Jack Davenport]

I have to agree with this bit here. Not speaking about anyone in this thread specifically but most people that travel only hit up the main tourist attractions of a particular city, only stay there for a week or two and then claim that they've visited the city. Sorry but to me that doesn't mean shit to me.

Case in point: I was born and raised in Brooklyn and used to spend a considerable amount of time in Manhattan (NYC). Now a tourist from out of state or out of country will come to NYC on a visit and want to see all the typical sights like Times Square, Madison Square Garden, or Rockafellar Center. But anyone that's from here will tell you that those places are in no way representative of what NYC is really like because those places, especially nowadays, are overrun with just more tourists. If you really want to "experience NYC culture" you have to stay AWAY from the tourist attractions. You have to ride the subway at 2am on a weekend, experience night life in the less populated areas and visit average communities and neighborhoods to get a true sense of how real New Yorkers interact and live. Going to a random city, staying in some hotel, and only visiting bullshit tourist attractions doesn't mean shit.

And I don't give any kind of shit about any other city enough to want to experience their way of life in order for me to be more "cultured" (except for maybe Tokyo... and MAYBE Korea). That's just more pretentious bullshit that pretentious assholes like to say to make themselves think they're better than other people.

The last time I was in NYC I went to Astoria Queens to visit a friend. After hanging out in a bar, I decided to make my way back to my hotel at around 2:30 a.m.. Asked one of the bouncers where to find the closest subway entrance and he motions to a cabbie and says take this man back into Manhattan, it's on me just tip the driver and we will be cool. He seemed to think that the subway at 2 a.m. wasn't a good idea. I took his advice.

 

[Mr. Daystar]

He just won the Internet.

Fucking post of the decade.

 

[ThatRedWing]

So lets look at this from another angle. How many work a day Europeans travel? I'm not talking about the rich & famous, I'm talking about the people who work for a living. Probably not that many. Are they less cultured?

 

[BusterLoads]

when did I say you had to do touristy shit or stay in hotels? ... You guys are fucking defensive and taking shit outta context.

You didn't, which is why I prefaced my post with this statement:

Not speaking about anyone in this thread specifically but ...

Maybe it is you that are "fucking defensive and taking shit outta context."

He seemed to think that the subway at 2 a.m. wasn't a good idea.

That's because it's not, unless you're traveling with someone that's from NY and doesn't look like someone that's never been in a train before. But I would say that traveling through any city, especially at night, without someone that's a native of said city is never a good idea.

 

[SabrinaDeep]

So lets look at this from another angle. How many work a day Europeans travel? I'm not talking about the rich & famous, I'm talking about the people who work for a living. Probably not that many. Are they less cultured?

That's where you are wrong. A lot of people in Europe travel and that's also a direct consequence of thousands of years of history. Travelling is part of the European culture. Without Europeans travelling, for example, there wouldn't be the USA as we know it. Or the world, even. Europeans have always traveled. I also would like to remind those who talk about passports that although the number of passports in Europe is much much bigger than the number of passports in the US, there is no need, currently, for a passport to travel among European countries which together with the geographic structure of Europe itself makes it easier for European to make that experience abroad. In 2 hours flight you can reach any european destination from any european starting point.

Anyway, outbound trips stats (4 years old) per world region:

Americas (pop. 950M) 17%
Europe (pop. 745M) 52%

http://www.enduringwanderlust.com/who-travels-the-most/

 

[sean miguel]

I've walked the route of the Bataan Death March and been to both A-bomb sites of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the latter as an 8th grade field trip.

I went from "those motherfuckers" to "holy shit, we got our payback."

 

[RosyPalms]

So lets look at this from another angle. How many work a day Europeans travel? I'm not talking about the rich & famous, I'm talking about the people who work for a living. Probably not that many. Are they less cultured?

When i was in the military and deployed in i think Germany (i think that it was actually just a 5 day layover i dont remember) a group of guys took a 2 day trip and went on like a several hour drive to go to Paris. They just got a rental car, split the cost and bam off they went. In the US i imagine that kind of behavior is similar to how my roommate +a few friends will go from SoCal to Vegas on Saturday morning and come back late Sunday evening. I didnt actually go on that trip from Germany to Paris with the guys, i stayed back at the base and rode go-carts hehe. But anyways, your average American going to Europe probably has to get vacation time for that, but somewhere nearby in the US they can do on their days off. I wonder if Europeans do the same thing though on just their days off?

 

[Jack Davenport]

It is also possible to travel to Russia from England via train and visit about seven other countries in the process, for those so inclined and have the time. Much more convenient for Europeans to broaden their horizons.

 

[RosyPalms]

It is also possible to travel to Russia from England via train and visit about seven other countries in the process, for those so inclined and have the time. Much more convenient for Europeans to broaden their horizons.

Ohh yah i forgot about their bullet train system. I'm more familiar with the Japanese bullet train system, i've never bothered to figure out how extensive the European system is.

 

[ThatRedWing]

That's where you are wrong. A lot of people in Europe travel and that's also a direct consequence of thousands of years of history. Travelling is part of the European culture. Without Europeans travelling, for example, there wouldn't be the USA as we know it. Or the world, even. Europeans have always traveled. I also would like to remind those who talk about passports that although the number of passports in Europe is much much bigger than the number of passports in the US, there is no need, currently, for a passport to travel among European countries which together with the geographic structure of Europe itself makes it easier for European to make that experience abroad. In 2 hours flight you can reach any european destination from any european starting point.

Anyway, outbound trips stats (4 years old) per world region:

Americas (pop. 950M) 17%
Europe (pop. 745M) 52%

http://www.enduringwanderlust.com/who-travels-the-most/

Exactly my point. You can have a four hour flight and not leave the country in the U.S.. From where I live in Michigan it's a longer distance to go New Orleans than it is from London to Rome. So how are these numbers not slanted? I'm sure that quite a few Europeans travel to a different country on occasion but it's the same thing as me going to fucking Ohio. Neither one is much of a feat and it doesn't make them any more cultured than me. We joke about Rhode Island being such a tiny state but it's larger than three or four European "countries". Hell you cant leave your house without "traveling abroad". I have been out of the country a dozen times. It wasn't that big of a deal and it didn't make me more cultured. At the end of the day the fact remains that travel does not equal culture.

 

[Jack Davenport]

There is a very long layover once you get to Ukraine because those paranoid Ruskies have a different Gauge wheel and they actually have to change wheels to accommodate Soviet era tracks.

 

[Ace Bandage]

I'd rather visit all the wonderful places that our country has to offer. America is expansive, and there's plenty to do here. I had the best deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's in Chicago, IL. I had the best clam chowder at Nervous Nellie's in Fort Myers, FL, the best lobster at Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and the best sushi at Izumi in Kirkland, Washington. I even tried (and disliked) gumbo in New Orleans, Louisiana. I've hiked Chimney tops and dozens of other trails at the Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee. I went white water rafting on the Gauley River in West Virginia. I spent two weeks in D.C. and visited all the Smithsonian museums and as many other museums and art galleries as I possibly could, pretty much all day, every day. I've watched a football game on the field at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I've played in the sand at Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan, swam in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico, hiked the Grand Canyon (find something comparable to that), and watched my beloved Boilermakers play in the Rose Bowl at Pasadena California. I've also been to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing (Indianapolis 500) in my home state every year since I was 4 years old.

Traveling to other countries might be something I do when I'm older (read retired). But right now I'm content to try and do everything in my home country first. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

 

[288gto]

It was once said that "to not know the world is to not know yourself". I also read something that has always stuck with me, "To travel is to make the world a part of you, to stay home is to merely be a part of the world"

I have embraced travel and taken every opportunity that has ever come my way to seek out new places that will broaden my mind to other ways of life. I remember my first trip to Europe and it will be a mile marker in my life that changed how I saw people who are different and how important culture became to me. I was 26 years old at the time and met this girl who had just come back from France and Italy and she went on and on about it. She was so enthusiastic and being someone who had always wanted to see Italy I checked into it and found it wasn't as expensive as I had thought it would be.

I made my plans and flew to Paris the next week. My first night there was a struggle due to the time difference and I woke up at 4:30 the next morning and decided to go for a walk around 5. I walked by the bakeries and watched through the window as they were making the croissant and bread and preparing the chickens for the roaster. A woman saw me and invited me in for a cafe ole and warm croissant. I spoke no french and she spoke very little english but she was so nice and wouldnt take my money for anything. I'll never forget that trip as long as I live. It opened my eyes and ever since I have had this wanderlust and want to see everything before I die.

But I recently read that less than 20% of americans have a passport. We are so stuck in our own culture, and lack of it, that we have this view that we are the ONLY real society worth experiencing. So many people say stupid shit like "America is all I need" but they have no concept of what other societies are even like other than what they see on TV. I know someone who watches everything on Travel Channel and talks about all the places he would love to go, but never does and never will. he has the money and time yet is afraid of what is out there.

As much of a pain in the ass as you think I am there's one thing I am not and that's afraid. I am not afraid to say how I feel to your face, not hidden behind a fake name like a pussy. I am not afraid to try new things and I'm not afraid to go places I know nothing about. I am not afraid of the unknown. The unknown is what motivates me in my life. I feel bad for those who stick only to what they already know. That could be food or places or whatever. The familiar is comforting but it's also holding you back from being a better person and understanding people who are different.

If I could give anyone advice it would be to travel. See the world and take a trip to someplace different where they speak a different language and eat different foods. I am going to India in January which is a place I have been on the fence about for years. There are few places in the world that are so drastically different from the US than India. I will be going with my friend who went there to study yoga and she is taking me back and we'll be there for a month. 10 years ago I would have laughed at her when she invited me, but today thanks to the last 9 years that I have been exploring the world I jumped at the opportunity and wish we were leaving tomorrow.

So please, get out of your comfort zone and open your mind to other places. I promise that you'll find more out about yourself than anything else.

agree with you but another issue is you have on your mind only some limited choices of countries to go, cuntries you already know less or more. why not try visiting countries you have never been or heard of?

 

[Chopper3000]

In 2 hours flight you can reach any european destination from any european starting point.

Not strictly true. I had a hour flight from London to Moscow.

 

[BlkHawk]

Well, if you ask Mariah Milano she will quickly tell you that she doesn't bother going to the places where all the pesky peasants hang out No sir! She is far too enlightened for that shit. Only the finest obscure underground bistros where Celebrity Chef Francois Ipoopintheirgeneraldirection personally blows snot into her 7 course meal will do.

After the culinary adventure that would make Queen Noir green with envy, she hits up only the clubs that Parisienne super models frequent where she suddenly speaks the native tongue fluently and drinks nectar of the Gods with the latest nominees of the Cannes film festival .

The next day it is off to San Tropez where total strangers come up to her just to ogle her spectacular porn breasts and to pay 20 Euro a piece for selfies with her. After that grueling day of fanatical adoration, she heads off to her 5 star hotel suite were only world leaders have farted and she fucks the hottest nymphs Europe has to offer
with her diamond crusted dildo powered by a 20 HP Briggs and Stratton.

I think I am gonna go grab a hot dog and a beer and scratch my balls while the fan is blowing summertime goodness up my shorts.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Just BC again.

*sigh*

 

[SabrinaDeep]

Not strictly true. I had a hour flight from London to Moscow.

I should have said European Union.

 

[MMMariah]

Not all of the trains in europe are good. not all are bullet trains either. Ive taken the train all over and had great experiences and very bad ones. Some have no food or water on them at all, some have decent food cars. some blast a horn every 10 minutes to keep sheep off the track like in Switzerland and most of Scandinavia.

I find it interesting how defensive some of you get as if its insulting to say that traveling broadens horizons. I would hardly use the slogan "Stay put! You'll be better for it!" or think anyone else would for that matter.

I go to places I've never heard of all the time and it's one of my favorite ways to travel. When I travel I rarely dine in places that are fancy because that's not getting the true experience of the place you're visiting. I prefer street foods over restaurants in some place. In Italy when I drove from Rome to Sicily along the Amalfi coast there were little roadside stands where they had a grill and cold drinks with fresh fruit. So you'd get a plate of fresh sausage with asparagus and mushrooms with a piece of bread and sliced orange that was incredible. That to me is ideal, not sitting in some restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I do eat in restaurants. I take the train and subway. I walk mostly if I can. I went to fucking Montreal in February this year for christ's sake because I thought it sounded like an adventure.

So you can talk shit and call me an elitist but that's bullshit. I am anything but. I won't apologize for liking nice things but I am not driven by them. I have an interest in the unknown, which is something people with little creativity know nothing about.

 

[xfire]

There are almost double the number of states in the U.S. as there are countries in the E.U., I'm content to check the ones in my own backyard off before hopping over to Europe. Floating the Neches river may not sound as exotic as doing the same thing on some river in Italy or Germany but the fishing is pretty damn good.

 

[MMMariah]

More power to ya.

 

[Jack Davenport]

You can drive to Montreal. Hang out on St Catherines street . after a few Molsons and listening to some French Canadian babes speak You'll swear you are in Paris .