MovieChat Forums > EuroTrip (2004) Discussion > Europeans don't understand what its like...

Europeans don't understand what its like to be young in America

posted 15 years ago by shaun3701-1
52 replies | jump to latest

Europeans grow up in a normal society where you can drink, smoke and have sex by the time you're 16. In America, you are not even considered an adult until you're 21 years old. You can't drink, can't even order a beer at a restaurant. And sex is a whole different story. Americans are still very much the puritans they were in the 17th century. Many young people are actively discourage from having ANY kind of sexual activity outside of marriage. So you can see why so many young Americans LOVE going to Europe... they're free to be themselves and do what they want without fear of being ostracized by their parents and society in general.

[–] GlorielTheGlorious 14 years ago

"Europeans grow up..." you realize Europe is a continent, not a country? I'm from Europe... in my country the legal drinking age is 20.

'Sooner or later... you really wear that suit'

[–] RemusMoon 13 years ago

Obviously we don't understand what it's like to be young in America, seeing as we don't *beep* live there.

[–] RazziaBE 13 years ago

I live in Belgium. Our drinking age is 16 for beer, 18 for strong liquors. But the cool part is that even when you are like 14, you can still order a beer in a pub if you want. Just don't expect them to serve you all night long, you can get away with like 5 beers, maybe more if the bartender is in a good mood. Beer is in our culture, we learn to drink it from a very young age. I for instance was 'forced', if you can call it that, to drink a glass of beer at the dinner table a few times a week. This since I was 10! It learns us how to deal with alcohol, instead of being deprived of it, which leads to excessive drinking when you finally are allowed to drink. I just can't believe that you guys have a drinking age of 21! That means I couldn't buy beer, should I live in America (20 now), it's just unthinkable for me, I'd die!. Legal age for sex and smoking is also 16, hell it's even legal to possess 3 grams of weed! But even if you have like 5 grams, they'll just ask politely to hand it over, no ticket, no jail time. Pretty good deal if you ask me. Only if you have big quantities, you're screwed. Remember, these are all Belgian laws, in all other European countries (except the Netherlands ofc) it's illegal to possess weed.

Europe isn't like the States. The USA is one big country, Europe is a continent with many countries, that each have their own culture and laws. Most Western European countries have drinking age of 16, but not all of them.

No one gives a rats ass if you have sex when you are 15 or 16. My dad even high fived me after catching me in the act with my girlfriend, was 16 at the time.

Religion is also in decline. Only the old people still believe, while church attendance (in my country) has dropped to an all time low of 5,4 percent, while in 1967 that number was at 43 percent. No one cares anymore, and that's a good thing. It allows us to be free, there are very few social stigmas.

I hope this post has been helpful in understanding GENERAL European culture.

And yes, of course EuroTrip is a grand stereotype movie, but I don't mind. It was hilarious. It's not like we Europeans don't have stereotypes for Americans.

If you guys have any more questions, shoot!

I will eat your soul and crap delicious chicken nuggets.

[–] desifir667 13 years ago

damn

[–] ShanaLD 13 years ago

You do know that you are considered a legal adult in the U.S. at eighteen not twenty one? You can legally vote, buy cigarettes and join the army at eighteen. I know that there are special circumstances that allow seventeen year olds to join the army. And the legal age of consent is sixteen in most states, despite what you see on television, some states it is seventeen and a couple eighteen.

And just because kids are actively encouraged to wait till marriage to have sex doesn't mean they do. I lived in South Texas where the teen pregnancy rate was high enough that all but one of the high schools in the city I lived in had nurseries for students to use. There I knew lots of kids that were drinking, smoking and having sex by fourteen.

When I lived in Sweden, even though the legal drinking age was eighteen, most clubs would not allow people under twenty five in. And there alcohol was kept behind the counter like at a pharmacy. In France and Turkey a woman cannot wear a hijab in public buildings. We are permissive here in some areas where they are not in some countries in Europe and vice versa.

[–] miffo 13 years ago

most clubs would not allow people under twenty five in.

Thats the clubs that set up those restrictions though. Legally its not a problem, but they dont want newly drinking age punks in. They tend to get a bit over enthusiastic when it comes to drinking, and may cause a bit more problems during the nights. They prefer to have a few years older people that have learnt to drink with mederation...well, thats the theory anyway. In practice its just nonsense.

Some might find me morally challenged or morally ambigious. I prefer morally creative.

[–] dippy_in_dc_1 11 years ago

The distinction in the USA is that one's signature becomes legal at 18, thus voting, writing checks, using credit card, signing contracts, etc.

Drinking age, or age of consent for sex, are set by a community to the standards it sets for itself and/or to try to achieve a desired result possibly tempered by what it may consider to be fair to those wanting to do whatever.

Probably a large part of the problem within the USA about the drinking age is that the legal system refuses to properly enforce and penalize the abusers, so an "easier" alternative to try to bring about the result of reducing the abuses of the young is to just make it illegal for the first few years when their judgment is generally much poorer.

Similar to the crap with gun control. There are more than enough laws on the books already, but they don't want to bother to enforce a lot of them, nor charge people with them. To try to force courts to keep violent criminals off the street longer, laws were changed to force mandatory minimum sentences for crimes done with a gun, and judges said that interfered with their judicial discretion, and prosecutors trade those charges away first to get a plea deal fast. If the government employees refuse to do their jobs right, get rid of them rather than imposing harsher laws on decent citizens to try to work out a result that those government employees are obstructing.

[–] Jyveturkey 12 years ago

I did all of that stuff when I was a teen. Smoking and drinking isn't permitted, but it was still possible. And sex, come on. I didn't give a rats ace about permartial sex and partook many many...many times when I was a teen, as did all of my friends. I'm from California if that matters.

[–] summer_wine7 12 years ago

As a Dutch person (yes, The Netherlands, smoking weed is legal there) who has spent time living in Arizona (like full-on living, not just holiday) I gotta say that doesn't exactly count for most American teens.

Look, for the upper-class kids whose parents will fund their little trips to Europe to "be themselves" and "discover life", that is probably true, Europe is probably a platform for them to experiment with responsibility and things that would at home be considered adult.

HOWEVER I want to add that many American teens will never be able to afford it, know this, and break the rules at home as a substitute. Your "explanation" is an upper class excuse, sorry. Most teens I met in Arizona had more experience experimenting than I did. Mind you I moved there at 19, I had had 3 years back home to legally drink, have sex, smoke and try pot, as they'd be allowed at 16. I met 14 year old girls in the US who'd had sex with multiple partners (I was a virgin actually), who were smoking pot on a weekly basis (I did it at home max once a year if offered), chainsmoking (not unlike me) and drank just as often as me even though it was illegal for her.

It's all about individuals and their circumstances, role models, opportunities and environments. Few of them need Europe to experiment with these things.

[–] timlin-4 12 years ago

Well, it's a little easier for girls-- they can always get unlimited sex, alcohol, and drugs from older men.