Jsport wrote: ↑November 16th, 2022, 7:05 pm
I'm curious to see what your opinion about US culture is compared to British culture, because it doesn't seem that you see British and American culture similar to each other socially. And I notice that you are not as critical about US culture as you are about British culture. But I personally see a big similarity between both cultures when it comes to social isolation, since also they are both Anglo countries. In the same way you say that you don't connect with British people, I also don't connect with American people socially. I just notice that you are a little more fond of the US than the UK.
Spain is actually a great country culturally speaking and I can see why you are so fond of Spain. But what many people don't realize is that the culture from Spain is distinct from Latin American culture. The only countries in Latin America that are closest to Spain culturally and European culture in general are Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
But anyways you give good insights on different cultures, and it's nice to have a discussion with someone who knows the nuances of different cultures.
Thank you for your response, Jsport.
I've never actually experienced the US in the flesh and my interactions with Americans have been mostly online and also sporadic encounters with the occasional tourist while I've been travelling and so I'm probably not qualified to make a strong comparison. I can therefore only give my own basic impressions.
My impression of US culture as an outsider is that it is considerably more interesting than British culture but that at the same time US society is equally as messed up as its British counterpart or perhaps even more so in some ways. Culture-wise the US simply has more going on for it and for more than half a century has been at the forefront of cultural innovation with some of the best cinema, music genres, videogames, and other mediums of entertainment originating in the US. This is to be expected given the country's privileged status as the dominant world power and its consequent ability to attract investment and human talent. Even I love certain music genres which were pioneered in the US, a large chunk of American cinema, certain American videogame franchises, American professional wrestling (mainly from the 90s and 2000s), and the sport of MMA which was popularized the most in the US. America has an unparalleled level of creative contributions since the second half of the 20th century and this attracts the fascination of many foreigners. The UK on the other hand is a much duller and more boring country as far as culture creation goes (at least in the last half century). Because of my admiration for certain American cultural products and my perception of the US being a more dynamic and therefore more fun country, I look upon its culture with more fondness than I do for the UK, but at the same time I wouldn't dream of living there given what I know about US society.
I'm actually not very fond of any of the historically Protestant Anglo countries. They all have a similar culture of hypercompetitivity, antisociality, workaholism and narrow conformity which results in social alienation for many. I'm a little fonder of the US than the other Anglo countries because at least the US produces some interesting culture as I've explained above and I'm also partial to North American English which I see as a much more pleasant medium of communication than other varieties of English - especially British -, but as far as living and social life go, I think that all Anglo countries are quite rotten - especially when we compare them to Southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal.
As for social differences between British people and Americans, I actually find British people somewhat colder and more difficult than Americans. I'm not exactly sure why this is the case. I suspect that Americans have a more expressive nature and at least outwardly put on a friendly persona with outsiders like myself (even though genuine friendships are hard to come by in the US from what I've been told) whereas British people are naturally more reserved and don't even try to appear friendly most of the time. I personally find British people the most difficult nationality to interact with, even more so than Americans. In my experience, Continental Europeans (most European nationalities) are much easier to talk to.
Spanish culture is different from Latin American culture. That's true. I actually like them both but for different reasons. Spain is peaceful modern society situated along the coast of the Mediterranean sea and with a relaxed pace of life, a vibrant and inclusive social culture and a high level of cultural and intellectual sophistication. Latin American countries are wild, passionate, intoxicating, Dionysian, and full of the wildest fun. I'm particularly fond of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil even though I believe that every Latin American country has its own unique charm. Paraguay is actually the only Latin American country that I know next to nothing about. All I know about Paraguay is that the capital is Asunción and that the country is largely bilingual in Spanish and Guarani. I had no idea that the country was culturally similar to Argentina and Uruguay which are both overwhelmingly European in terms of culture and ethnic composition.
). I lived in Spain for a few years and then in Latin America, speak fluent Spanish and was even engaged to a Latina at one point, so I've walked the walk I guess I could say.
