Europe VS. USA: Smoking & the Environment

I already knew this about the smoking situation in both the USA and Europe before I traveled to Europe, but to actually experience the difference was interesting.

I absolutely LOVE that in most places in the USA that smoking cigarettes, and obviously marijuana in public places is illegal.  People can not smoke by restaurants or stores, or any type of public place.  I did not realize how much this makes a difference until I visited Europe where it is not against the law.

I have people in my life that I love very much that smoke.  My mom's parents (my grandparents) smoked.  I still remember the ash trays on their coffee tables.  Unfortunately, they both died from smoking related causes.  They were both good people that started smoking when they were young, when everyone seemed to smoke, and they never could shake the addiction.  Jonathan's dad smokes like a chimney.  I was worried that I would get sick from the smoke because I do not do well with cigarette smoke.  It makes me feel sick.  I ended up being completely fine.  It isn't that I liked the smell, but I did not feel sick.  Jonathan's dad only smokes in open spaces outside.  I am sure that made a big difference.

What was surprising was how many people smoke in Europe.  We would be sitting outside a cafe eating when suddenly we would be breathing in pure nicotine.  Ugh!  It ruins the taste of food, the smell of food and fresh air, and it changes the entire atmosphere.  We were not used to dealing with the stench of smoke.

Europe likes to pat themselves on the back when it comes to the environment.  It reminds me of that book about the chicken or hen that keeps warning the other animals on the farm that the sky is falling, but then the sky never falls.  I do believe that there is global warming.  I do not think it will be the end of mankind.  The earth has gone through weather patterns for millions of years.  I do think that each of us need to do the best we can to take care of mother earth.  I love the beauty of the earth.  I am in awe at the beauty.  I have watched documentaries on pollution and it is horrendous.  I think it saves money and helps the environment to not waste and to recycle.  Germany has about 100 different types of recycling garbage cans.  Not really, but it felt like it.  I think it is more like seven garbage cans for different things like plastic, paper, electronics, food waste, etc.

Being in Europe helped motivate me to want to do better when it comes to recycling and not being wasteful.  Doing better is different for each person.  I felt like if I lived in Europe I would be spending so much time doing everything for the environment that I would not have time to do anything else.  haha.  I felt like saying, "Chill!"  I love that in the USA it is a personal choice.  Of course it is a personal choice in Europe also, but someone will be given the death stare if one didn't throw something in the right trash can or chose to not recycle at all.  If one chose to litter, then one would be looked at as though he/she was the sole responsible person for the demise of the world.  It seems very extreme.  I get upset if I see someone litter, but Europe litters and pollutes the earth more than what they realize.

Jonathan and I had a discussion when he came to the USA this Summer.  I explained to him that the USA does care about the environment.  Just because some people do not believe in climate change in the USA does not mean that they don't care about the earth or keeping the earth clean.  There are those in the USA that do not believe in climate change.  I don't think it is that they don't believe in climate change, because obviously the earth's climate changes.  What they don't believe is that humans are the sole responsibility of the climate change and they also do not believe that climate change will be the end of mankind.  It doesn't mean that those same people do not care about the earth.  They do.  Most of the people that do not believe that Climate change is going to be the end of human kind are people that love nature.  They do not pollute or waste.

On the other hand, I see Europeans that seem almost obsessed with climate change, but in the next moment they are lighting up cigarettes.  Throw a paper in the plastic recycling bin - death stare.  Light up a cigarette and blow it out into the atmosphere so everyone else has to breath in nicotine - no biggie.  It's so twisted.  It's no big deal to pollute one's own body and everyone else's body but how dare you drive a car to work everyday so you can feed your family!

Europe has an amazing transportation system. It is great.  It is easy to get after Americans for driving cars every day, but life in the USA is completely different than in Europe when it comes to transportation.  Everything is much more spread out in the USA.  Most cities do not have a big transportation system.  I think Jonathan understood when he lived here for a year why so many Americans drive cars.  Riding a bike or walking in the Arizona heat is pretty much like asking someone sacrifice his life to save the environment.

(These kinds of demonstrations just make me roll my eyes.  Yes, I want a cleaner environment.  I do not understand how people can get so riled up.  I think the only thing that could get me this riled up would be if the government tried to take away my own human rights, like the religion I choose or not allowing me to have free speech about whatever I feel.  Obviously these people are using their human rights to protest about the environment.  I don't understand the fear though.  Just live the best you can.  The end.)

The only other part about Europeans when it comes to the environment is that they truly believe they are saving future generations.  They want to leave an earth for their grandchildren and great grandchildren to live.  I think that is great.  What I don't get is that it seems to be such a priority that the people that are on the earth at this very moment don't seem to matter as much.  No starving person in Africa is worrying about if the fruit they are eating is organic.  Only wealthy Americans are worried about if everything is organic or not.  And, my husband grows crops both organically and with pesticides.  It isn't going to make any health difference to someone's body whether the crop is organic or not.  And as for the environment, the pesticides used are not what is killing the environment.  My point is that I would rather help those that have lives right now live a better life than worry about generations down the road.  How can a government expect people to pay for solar panels and electric cars when they are just trying to feed their families?  It's so backwards.

Another BIG difference when it comes to climate change is that the USA is religious and Europe is not religious.  The entire religion thing is another topic, but when it comes to climate change, religion does make a difference.  I truly know there is a God.  I feel that I have a purpose on this earth.  I feel that this earth was created by a Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that when I die I will still live and be with my friends and family here on the earth at this time and also my ancestors.  Death and/or the death of the earth does not scare me.  Those that do not have faith seem to worry more about the environment.  I do feel that we need to take care of the environment and I do feel that we need to do our part for future generations.  But the entire death thing doesn't scare me and the whole idea of the demise of the entire earth does not scare me.  That doesn't mean that I don't believe in climate change because I do know there is climate change.  Having faith in God and a life after this life makes a person have a broader view though.  It takes away the fear, although there is still caring.

In conclusion, I do want to take care of the earth.  I do care about the environment.  I want to do better to not waste.  I also feel that recycling, using solar energy, driving an electric car, and/or using public transportation will not save my life or help me to be healthier as much as not smoking will help me to be healthier and live a better life.  So, Europe, stop being hypocrites just because we don't act like climate change is our religion.  We do care, but we are not fearful.   

Europe vs. USA: Beauty

I have little experience traveling to Europe compared to many of my friends.  I have some friends that have traveled all over the world.  I have family and friends that live in Europe.  Although my experience is small, I have had a great interest in where I came from and the history of the European countries.  I wanted to travel EVERYWHERE in Europe this Summer, but I knew that I would not have as great an experience if I was constantly moving around the month that I spent there.  In the end, I chose the countries where my grandparents and great grandparents immigrated to come to the USA.  My Grandma Ctibor's father immigrated from Sweden.  My Grandma Ctibor's mother came from a town in Germany (now Poland).  My Grandpa Ctibor's grandpa immigrated from the Czech Republic.  So, I chose the Scandinavian countries, Germany (mainly because Jonathan's family has lived in Berlin for centuries, probably forever), and the Czech Republic.

American "Beauty" is not Beautiful in Europe:

One big difference I noticed in each of the countries I visited is that the women are natural.  When Jonathan came to the USA he would emphasize to Kendra and Kessa to not wear much makeup.  He hates when girls wear eye makeup, he thinks it is lame to put any blush on, and he doesn't understand why anyone would goop their lips up with lip gloss or lip stick.  Kendra put eye makeup on one day.  Jonathan did not like it.  Kendra told him that it is what she likes.  Jonathan replied, "Fine, it is up to you if you want to look ugly or not."  hahaha.  For Christmas, Jonathan got an eye shadow compact, took all the eye shadow out of it, wrapped it up, and gave it to Kendra as a gift.  He was making a point that girls should not wear eye shadow because it all looks ridiculous.  It was actually hilarious.  I see eye makeup in a whole new light now.  I still put eye shadow on every once in awhile, but I try to make it not dark.  I thought it was Jonathan's personal preferences when it came to girls, but it made more sense once I visited Germany, but also Scandinavia and the Czech Republic.  I don't know how any makeup businesses last there!  

Natural beauty is what is in there.  My perception of beauty completely changed.  The women do not use a ton of products, other than cleansing and taking care of their skin.  It was amazing at how healthy and natural most of the women look.  I saw no out-of-shape people in Sweden or the Czech Republic.  There were a few in Berlin, but Berlin is a huge melting pot now and has people living there from all over the world.  Munich, on the other hand, seemed like every boy belonged in a preppy boy band and the girls were all models.  It is the stereotypical German.  And yes, they all seemed to have blonde hair and blue eyes.  Materialistic beauty is American where in the European countries I visited the beauty was natural.  So, if someone doesn't have much natural beauty then too bad for them because putting makeup on and anything fake is considered even uglier.  Materialism, when it comes to looks, is not emphasized anywhere close to what it is in the USA.  I saw no one with fake eyelashes, Botox, boob jobs, extensions, colored hair or any type of  fake anything on one's body.  Jonathan knows no girl that colors her hair and the high school girls wear their hair very natural.  No spending an hour before school on one's hair, straightening hair, or curling one's hair.  Jonathan showed me pictures of girls from Germany when he stayed with us for a year.  I remember thinking at first that the German girls were not as pretty as the American girls.  Then I went to Europe and I was so wrong.  The girls are very naturally beautiful.  In America it would be considered plain where there it is actual beauty because it is natural.  The American girls that are not naturally pretty and use anything fake makes them look like clowns to Europeans.  I remember Jonathan being shocked that most blondes in the USA dye their hair.  It bugged him because he didn't understand why the girls couldn't just wear their hair natural.  

Jonathan also told me a few times that he thinks Swedish girls are the prettiest.  It made sense when we visited Sweden.  The girls are naturally beautiful.  They have NATURAL blonde hair, flawless skin, piercing blue eyes, and are all in shape.  They are beautiful and they don't even wear mascara.  It is obvious that my genes came from Sweden.  Okay, you don't have to laugh that hard!!  Jonathan loves Kendra's freckles and thinks she is beautiful without a lick of makeup on.  I remember thinking it was so weird since I would at least think she should put on some mascara.  Once I went to Europe, I completely understood.  It is amazing the perception of beauty people are fed.  When my nephews go to Africa they get jungle fever.  Their perception of beauty changes and the African women are beautiful to them.  

(Swedish Girls in traditional costume for Mid Summers Eve)

What is sad to me is that the USA has such a superficial outlook on beauty.  It is a false beauty.  All the Hollywood stars are so made up, have plastic surgery galore, and heaven forbid the women in Hollywood have a wrinkle.  NOOOO Hollywood star that is 50 years old and looks like she is 20-30 years old is "natural."  Sorry to burst anyone's bubble.  Why do we feel that we need to look 20 when we are actually 50?  Europe embraces their age and does not feel embarrassed by wrinkles or saggy skin.  It is what it is.  I've always wished that women had to be more natural because I have never been one to do much when it comes to sprucing myself up.  What you see is what you get.

(We all know who these girls are even if we are not fans.  I, personally, look at them and feel sorry for them.  It is just sad to me how superficial and fake and made up they are.  They just represent most of Hollywood that the much of the population tries to emulate.  Why?  It isn't real, it's fake.  It's not attractive.)

I was so impressed by the women in Europe that they were not ashamed about being older.  What was the most impressive is that the men also see natural beauty as beautiful and the fake beauty of the USA is not attractive to them.  We went to a lake while in Germany.  I have this false sense of beauty and compare my body to what it was when I was 17.  Not just 17, but even five years ago.  I tend to only see my flaws and I want to hide them.  Jonathan's brothers and sisters and my girls were the only children at the lake when we first got there.  There were quite a few older couples that looked like they were in their 60's.  All of them had swim suits on, including Jonathan's grandma, and none of them seemed ashamed or embarrassed in any way.  When I go swimming, I stay covered up until right before I am getting in the water, and the moment I uncover myself, I jump in the water.  After being there for awhile, a family with kids showed up.  From what I remember, they had two or three children.  I'll just put it this way - no one in the family would be on the cover of Vogue in this lifetime.  None of them cared at all.  I had read somewhere once that Europeans did not concentrate so much on flaws and did not judge others on beauty, or lack thereof.  I witnessed this first hand and was very impressed.  When we got back to the USA, I got into my swimsuit for the first time in 2 years and went swimming with my family.  I decided to not worry about what I consider my flaws.

(European girls)

It is no wonder that Swedish people are the longest living on the Earth.  They are the kindest people I have ever met.  No joke!  Every single person I came across was sooo friendly.  It didn't matter if they were working or trying to get something done.  They were helpful and so friendly.  The kindest people I have ever, ever, ever been around.  Not only that, but they are healthy.  They don't bulk and look like He Man.  They just look healthy.  That is a different blog post I will have to write about health.  

Don't worry, there are things that I like here in the USA better than Europe, but I did find the differences interesting.  I love to learn about people and different cultures.  Here are some of the things that I want to write about in the future when it comes to the differences that I experienced in Europe vs. USA:

- refugees

- religion

- politics

- health/food

- transportation

- morals

Obviously one could compare two different places in one country or state, so obviously these are my observations.  The beauty observations I made are spot on though.  I don't think anyone would argue with my views on the different outlooks on beauty in Europe.  America - fake.  Europe - natural.  THE. END.