Different Cultures

In this post I am going to talk about some interesting facts that shows the difference in cultures between Europe and the United States. 

Feeling of Distance and Time

THINGS ARE REVERSED WHEN IT COMES TO DISTANCES. EUROPEANS WOULD TEND TO THINK THAT DRIVING 100 KM IS QUITE A LONG WAY, WHILE FOR AMERICANS THAT WOULD BE RATHER NEAR. THIS IS DUE TO THE MUCH HIGHER DENSITY OF POPULATION IN EUROPE, AND THE SMALLER SIZE OF EUROPE.

IN EUROPE THEY USE TIME COUNTING FROM 1 TO 24. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THEY SAY 1 PM IN THE USA, in the Europe it would be 13:00 or 11:15 pm in the USA means 23:15.

Cars

Almost all Europeans have cars with manual gears, while Americans have a marked preference for automatic ones.

Measure system

All Europeans use the metric system (metres, grammes, litres, Celsius, etc.). Although Americans do learn it at school, the vast majority of them still use the old English Imperial system (yards, miles, pounds, Fahrenheit, etc.).

Date Systems

Europeans write the date in the format "DAY MONTH YEAR", whereas Americans use "Month Day Year". Americans usually consider the week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday, while in Europe it always starts on Monday and finishes on Sunday. 

Schooling

Schools and Universities are free in most Europe countries. Europeans see University as granted, while American families often have to save for years for their children to attend one. 

Food

Europeans eat more varied and balanced meals (especially in southern cultures) and less fast food than Americans (except maybe the Brits). Europeans eat more cheese (not just French!), more yogurts, and on average drink more wine and stronger beers than Americans. 

Also, it still seems distasteful for me to eat pancakes, omelet and bacon together and pour it all with syrup. 

Introduction

Hey!

Some of you may know where the country Latvia is, but for those who don't know --> Latvia is part of Eastern Europe and its population is only 2.013 million people which is four times less than New York City's population. Living  in New York I absolutely felt this difference. It would be hard to experience the crowd of people in daily life in Latvia as it is in New York City. Tucked between Estonia to the North and Lithuania to the South, Latvia is the middle country of the Baltic "Sisters". It is located along the Baltic Sea, which is known for its good salmon and where the harbour porpoises aka pig-dolphins live. No, no, it is not a dolphin with pig's snout or a pig's tale, it is just a specific species of dolphin. Latvia is pretty flat country and one of the greenest in Europe. 

I have been away from home this past year, which allowed me the opportunity to appreciate my hometown and to reflect on its beauty in even more than ever before. These posts are going to consist of some interesting facts about Latvia. I hope you will enjoy them!