As an American who has never been to Europe, some aspects of the culture were new to me. This was not necessarily a bad thing, however, it took some getting used to.
One thing that required me to adjust to the most was the service culture, especially at restaurants in Italy and throughout the European Union. I found that since tipping culture is not prevalent in Italy and most of the EU, there is a difference in the way service staff thinks about customers. In general, it takes a while to flag down a waiter, so if there is a problem with the food or you would like to order more food, you are likely going to be raising your hand for a while. Also, you will probably run into an eye roll if you want to modify anything about a dish or have any specific requests. The wait staff will either not pay attention to you when it comes time to give you the bill or try to rush you out, usually depending on how busy they are. Most Europeans seem to be okay with this because they are used to a non-tipping culture and have not had it any other way, for the most part. In Switzerland, however, I noticed that even though there is no tipping culture, wait staff are more accommodating and nicer. This could be because of the fact that most people are paid more there or the quality of life is better. I could not figure out why wait staff was nicer there, but definitely did enjoy it. Having rude or off putting wait staff does not affect the quality of the food, however. Unless you decide to go to a restaurant with pictures on the menu, then you’ve found a tourist trap and are not likely to get the best of food quality. This one thing was definitely an adjustment for me, but after a while I became used to it.
This reflection has prepared me to respond to future cultural misunderstandings by approaching a situation by maintaining my integrity as to not show any type of animosity. I’d do this because I do not want to be disrespectful to a host culture. Overall, living in Europe has taught me a lot about respecting a host culture and trying to understand it before coming with my own predetermined judgements. This works best to not be negatively affected by something that I am not necessarily used to, like how wait staff is a bit more rude because tipping culture is not prevalent in the majority of Europe. Conflict’s can be entirely avoided just by not engaging in a threatening way. This is important when in a place where the cultural identity is strong but unknown to a visitor. Keeping an open mind has brought me to a better understanding of different cultures than my own.
Overall, the wait staff not being too nice has not negatively affected my experience abroad. I consider it to be apart of it and embrace the memories and stories associated with some ruder wait staff.