Scottish and Italian. Living in America.

Growing up in America with two European parents, I have noticed a few differences, mostly in mentality.

I'll begin with the main differences I see between the Scottish culture and the American culture.  Each year I visit Scotland at least once.  First, I notice that the Scots mentality is much more blunt.  American's, not so much in NYC, but definitely throughout the rest of America, seem to be more fake.  Also, the British humor is much more dry and not as politically correct.  Television in Scotland, as well as the advertisements, are much less edited than here in the states.  The last major difference between the culture in Scotland vs. the American culture is that in Scotland it is the norm to visit the pubs quite often, while in America visiting the bar each day is unusual.  Drinking in America is taken much more seriously than in Scotland, where it is more of a social thing.

Italy, on the other hand, is more relaxed than both America and Scotland.  I'm from a small town in Puglia called Brindisi.  In the summer, during the day everything closes because it is very hot, and everyone goes home for lunch and a nap.  Then, when the weather cools down, everything opens up again and people shower and get dressed up for the night.  The main attractions in Brindisi are not the "pubs", but are the "bars", which are not like American bars.  Bar's in Italy are coffee shops, and while they do have alcohol, most people just drink espresso or beer.  At night, the Italians get dressed up and walk to the coffee shop where they meet up with their friends and stay out fairly late.  They probably have the most laid back mentality of all three cultures.