Habits brought back with you from Europe?

Like you, I now carry my wallet in my front pocket, I just got used to it and it makes sense.

I will usually choose wine over beer now.

My iPhone displays in 24 hour time; it keeps me "there".

I tend to use my thumb now when I want two or three of something. I.e., "I'd like two [shows thumb and forefinger] scoops of gelato, please."

I check the iL Meteo App every time I check my local weather App.

My iphone is on 24 hour time, and my dominant keyboard is Italian.

I make morning caffe' in a French Press, using decaf Espresso and a variety of beans I find at Starbucks.

I dug out my Grandma's 100 year old antique coffee grinder and grind anew every morning.

I'm looking for a Moka Pot, but may have to buy next time in Italy.

I died my hair a brilliant red like ladies do in small hilltowns.

I hung up tons of those little souvenir bronze masks with gold hats and colored feathers found in Rome.

I bought up all the orange bath soap at the Roma Termini Farmacia and I'm still using it. It smells soooo good.

I bought a little travel deoderant at the SMN Farmacia, bought more at the Adriatic, and just hope it lasts till I get back there.

Yogurt, jam, and müsli for breakfast, along with espresso.

Slowing down my day-to-day hustle, taking in things at a more deliberate pace.

Eating in-season produce from small, local farms - it tastes a lot better than the supermarket stuff.

A greater willingness to help lost tourists - and in DC, we get a lot of them. I'm especially keen to help those on bicycles, as there are some not-very-well-known rules pertaining to bikes here (e.g. no sidewalk riding allowed in the downtown business district, though there are no signs to point this out to non-locals).

Nutella became a staple in our pantry after a trip to Europe. My son existed on nutella/peanut butter sandwiches for years.

Sparkling water. We love being just about anywhere in Europe because it is so readily available in stores and restaurants. Here, not so much.

Eating with the fork in the left hand and knife in the right.

Ripping the bread apart at the table instead of cutting it.

Olive oil for that bread instead of butter.

Thin crust pizza.

Wish I could justify the expense of a Nespresso machine. Using a Keurig as a substitute.

Gelato. Very thankful we have a great place in Tucson called Frost where a master gelato maker from Italy has taught others how to make it.

Things we wish we could get here: Lipton iced tea made with sparkling water, Cécémel dark chocolate milk, Schweppes Agrum, sticky toffee pudding, Kopparberg Pear Cider, and I could go on and on.

I don't put ice in my cold drinks.

I drink bubbly water.

I like eating yogurt with teeny tiny spoons. I don't know if this is common all over Europe but in Italy, yogurt seems to be accompanied by a teeny tiny spoon.

I savor a smaller portion of a full fat food item rather than eating a larger amount of lower fat/more processed version.

Going for evening walks. Drying my clothes on a clothesline.

Eating the same breakfast 6/days a week now for 18 months. Porridge with Baileys.

Learned to count using the thumb as #1 from my father, but I now keep skylinewebcams.com (shift to different parts of Italy) as my screen saver.

Lo, I'm so with you on olive oil for bread and thin crust pizza!

Keep an eye out: I recently bought some Lipton sparkling iced tea (in a can) at Safeway.

I count with my thumb, hold my fork in my left hand, love mayo for my fries (or better yet is the Spanish spicy version) and sometimes drink a glass of wine late-afternoon.

More fundamentally, I purposely live in a place where I can walk almost everywhere on a daily basis and even visit the grocery stores a few times a week. That includes walking to a patisserie with amazing croissants (not everyday). And I fell in love with food and wine.

Oh and I hate that calendars put Sunday as the first day of the week. That never made sense to me anyway. So I try and change that in my electronic calendars.

Wallet in my front pocket? I thought I invented that carry technique here in the States after suffering "fat wallet syndrome" as a result of too many cross country nonstop flight and long snow delayed drives to Tahoe.

https://paradelle.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/fat-wallet-syndrome/

PS. Re no ice. Can't figure out how the French drink room temperature Oranginas. Bought an Oranginas at CDG that must have been 5 to 10°C above room temperature.

Ok sorry if this is a stupid question but how do you count if you DON'T use your thumb as 1?

In North America people generally hold the forefinger and the middle finger up for 2. In Europe it is the thumb and the forefinger.

This has been used in movies as a plot device to enable German officers to find out who are spies (most recently on Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds") and occasionally makes British bartenders do a double-take when two drinks are asked for by North American tourists (the backwards two-fingered gesture is worse than the middle-fingered gesture in the UK).

Ok sorry if this is a stupid question but how do you count if you DON'T use your thumb as 1?
Definitely not a stupid question. The forefinger is 1. Adding the middle finger is 2, etc. The thumb becomes 5.

I wear scarves a lot.

I cross my 7s. I feel comfortable eating with my fork in my left hand and the knife in the right.

Thanks for this. I am going to enliven my Sunday oatmeal with some Bailey's!

Great topic!

Significantly cut down my use of plastic grocery bags and now bring my own to grocery stores and every other retail business

Developed a taste for German Ritter Sport and Haribo - the licensed versions made in the U.S. just aren't as good

Edgar, if I had fat wallet syndrome I'd spend a lot more time in Europe developing new habits ;-)

Fork - Left, Knife-Right.... check
Sparkling water- when I can get it ( and I DO miss it so much)
Water with added lemon juice- check
Hubby now keeps wallet in front pocket
Think of appetizers as 'entree' and entrée as 'main' and desserts as pudding or 'afters' or 'sweets'
Think of popsicles as ice lollies
Think of suckers as lollies
Think of sweaters/cardigans as jumpers
Think of underwear as pants and pants as trousers
And when someone says something particularly stupid I think 'bollicks' in my head

I cross my 7's and my Z's, and use German toothpaste as much as possible (I bring it back from trips but sometimes run out).

I have been eating with fork in my left hand and knife in my right since I studied in Germany in 1967.

After our 2007 trip to Switzerland, where our apartment had a Nespresso machine, my husband bought one and has used it every day since. He even takes it on trips (if we drive).

He also drinks a Negroni as his pre-dinner cocktail, after discovering this drink at a bar in Florence.

I have adopted a lot of the same habits others have: eating with a fork in the left hand and knife in the right (way more efficient, I think), crossing 7s, buying fresh(er) produce and therefore shopping more often, 24 hour clock, olive oil and fresh lemon juice as only dressing for salads. What a fun topic and some great ideas-like oatmeal and Bailey's......hmmmmm.

I use milk in my tea and pour it in the cup first.

Our last trip included the UK. We have been back for 6 months and I still tend to call a parking lot a "car park".

I have starting using the exclamation "brilliant" and "you are indeed welcome" (when someone enters my home).

Things I wish I could incorporate into my life:
Biking and walking to everything. We do it as much as we can, but I would love to have a car I only used for long trips.

Although we have made many trips to Europe, all my habits are from our last trip. I think this is because the changes don't last after I have been home for a year. After trips to Italy, I tend to come home and speak a lot of Italian. (I have studied the language and enjoy practicing in Italy. ) However, it fades with time.

I don't bring habits back I just go see a nun and borrow her habit.

What a fun topic! Let me count the ways, starting with my thumb! :-)

OK, I won't because my new habits are very much among those above. I am in love with the Nespresso and even sent one to my son so that when I go to the U.S. to visit him, it will be waiting for us.

I wonder if Europeans bring habits (good and bad) back from the U.S?

I'm still thinking about this Bailey's and oatmeal (or was it porridge?) business . . .

The numbering system is a strange one, if I need to indicated three in a noisy bar etc I'll often use the thumb and forefinger on one hand and the thumb on the other.

In answer to Laurel, mustard. American mustard, or to be precise hot dogs and hamburgers only ever seem to taste right with American mustard.

My first trip was to Austria in 1984 and I have loved dark beer ever since.

My husband and I adopted the European practice of having 2 single doonas on a double bed instead of the 1 double doona. My poor husband would freeze in winter when I loved to wrap myself in the doona and sweat in summer when I tossed my half of the doona over his side. Until we travelled in Europe it neve occurred to us to have separate doonas! Now we are both happy all year round!

I've become a socialist. :)

I bought an espresso machine for coffee after one trip. After staying a few times with friends who live in Europe I bought drying racks and cut back on dryer use. I always come back and change my breakfasts to bread, yoghurt and muesli, but the varieties of bread and muesli I can get here are never the same, so this doesn't last long. I wish I could change to walking and using public transportation more, but that just isn't an option where I live.

Yes, I was reminded that I haven't put Ice in a drink in years.

And actually I did move from Florida to Chicago to get a big city feel and I haven't drivin a car in 2 years!

After living in Europe for a few years, here's what I picked up and can't seem to shake:

Fork in left hand, knife in right.

Always bring bags to the grocery store.

I still instinctively separate my trash, even though I don't need to anymore.

I only wear gym clothes at the gym.

I mix juice with sparkling water to make a Schorle.

Obsessive observance of the speed limit, just in case there's a camera somewhere.

I still listen to the same radio stations I liked in Germany, but over the internet now.

I seem to be a little more bothered than my current neighbors by all the litter in this country.

I def NEVER drank sparkling water before going to Europe in 2008...now I like to have Perrier (lime flavor is good!) in the fridge - so refreshing in the summer. And I like it because it really does help my digestion (cuts down heartburn...for me).

Hmmm - and I guess after going to Italy a lot, hubby (and I) prefers thin crust pizza over thick crust (but most pizza places around here only do thicker crust).

Almost always have a bottle of STROH Original in the house.

In addition to a lot of European hotel experiences and living in Germany for 7 months, we often stay in people's homes (house exchanging) in Europe. This has allowed us to experience the routines of daily life up close. We used, shopped for and brought back lots of European linens and gadgets as well as habits like drying our clothes on a drying rack. When I bought a new HE washing machine here recently I read a lot of reviews that criticized the new HE washers as taking too long, about an hour to wash a load of clothes. I thought heck that's nothing, they should try using a washing machine in Europe which can take > 2h to wash a load of clothes!

@ Lauren, we have had several European house exchangers tell us that they liked using something at our house and looked for one in Europe when they returned. Recently our Quedlinburg, Germany family went home and bought a blender after trying smoothies at our house. Last year's family from Vienna stocked up on SPF 70 sun screen here because they said they couldn't buy such a high number in their stores. Many exchange families state that they have a US style refrigerator but I kind of like the challenge of using the counter high type that used to be more common.

It's a small world when you travel and adapt/adopt new habits.

Been here for 28 years and have never used my thumb to signal 1.

Have adopted the following and would continue if I moved back to the US
I do use fork in left hand & knife in right, cross my sevens, sort my trash, don't let water run, use dish towels instead of paper towels, use re-chargable accu batteries, shop often for smaller amounts of fresh produce, use Farmers Markets, use 24 hour time.

Oh, this one too... Day-month-year order. I get confused now when I see a date written as "2/4/14", for example. Is this 2 April or 4 February?

I also find that I prefer to hear the weather forecast on Canadian radio stations, because I can relate more to Celcius.

Finally...I've forgotten a few times that I can't take my dog everywhere with me.

One thing I notice when we have had couchsurfers from Europe stay here - they seem to be mystified by our electric can opener...you know, the kind that sit plugged in on your counter as opposed to one you use by hand - I have had more than a few comment on it!

Can someone please explain to me the fork in the left hand and knife in the right? I am left-handed so I have always eaten that way.

@ Steve- Most right-handed Americans use the fork in their left hand while they cut meat, with the knife in the right, then switch the fork to their right hand to bring the meat to their mouth. Most Europeans simply do as you probably do, and keep the fork in the left hand to move the meat to their mouth, saving the putting down and picking up and swapping maneuvers.

Thanks Toni, how strange. I have never noticed that before! Is it difficult for a right-handed person to cut meat with the left hand??

Left handers do it the opposite way from right handers. My husband is left handed and holds his knife in his left hand.

I cross my 7's and Z's
I write dates day/month/year
I carry a messenger bag
Fork left/knife right (but this is only because of my left handedness---I do not nor ever have done it the way Jo's husband does)
Beer and toast for breakfast courtesy of Spain (well not really, but this is a habit I would love to adopt :)

"Can someone please explain to me the fork in the left hand and knife in the right? "

For the reason already listed, and because it's easier to manipulate your food by using two utensils at once.

And if we used our fork and knife the European way we were told it looked like we were attacking our food...

so funny to notice how many people in 'chic' towns and restaurants in US now eat European....

@ Tom. You must not be left-handed. I don't see how it is easier to switch hands for doing basic tasks such as eating. Most things are geared towards right handed people. Us lefties grew up at an early age learning how to adapt. Any lefties out there agree with me?

Sorry but as always the thread evolves.

Fork/knife issue here- I do tend to keep the fork in my left hand. But what if I'm eating something that doesn't need speared by the fork, but really needs to set on the fork? Like cake, or mashed potatoes? Do you flip the fork over in the left hand so that food can set on it, or try to balance it on the back side? I tend to then switch the fork to my right hand so that I can eat my mashed potatoes the way I want.

It seems that we have not yet completely refined our eating utensils. Inventions still to come?

I chain smoke and drink at my new found 2 hour lunch break :p!

I write the date Swedish style (e.g., 2014-04-15). It is the most logical way to write the date and I wish all countries used it.
I stock up on quadrille notebooks as I prefer to take notes on grid paper.
I prefer cookbooks where measures are by weight.

I still switch my knife and fork when eating. I'd rather be an obvious American than drop food down my shirt. And no way would I ever try to eat peas off the back of my fork ... I don't know how the Brits do that. It must take years of practice and exceptional fine motor skills. If I tried that, peas would be rolling across the table.

It took 12 years, but I finally got a down duvet and I use a sheet cover just like the ones used to have in Eningen uA, Germany.

More recently since also moving to NYC I always carry my bag cross-body and won't buy one that can't be used that way!

Pam

Wood-stove cooked, thin-crust pizza, with a gelato chaser. Hard to find where I live, but I keep looking.
Espresso and cafe creme.
Walking more.

Yes, a few have mentioned sparkling water, but Peligrino is the best. and it doesn't matter if it's room temperature or cold. Definitely picked this up after our last trip to Italy. We buy by the case at Costco.

I'm now used to carry shopping bags as Sonoma County passed an ordinance that either one BYO or you purchase a paper bag for .10 each. No more free bags and definitely no plastic bags. If my husband and I forget to bring a bag with, we only buy what we can carry without a bag. I even take a reusable bag so at SFO (same bag rules) I don't have to spend 10 cents for a paper bag that won't make it on the plane with my food. So now we are thoroughly trained for our next trip to Europe.

Some Trader Joes also sell San Pellegrino, and a pretty good limoncello.

I solved that pea problem when I was just a little kid, thanks to our Hoosier neighbors down the road from us. We kids played with their grandkids when they came for summer break.

My Mom would invite the elderly farmer couple for Supper, and that's when I saw the Grandpa mix his peas into his mashed potatoes! Problem solved! I had a problem eating mashed taters 'cause, well, they are mushy, and I didn't see the point in chewing mush. But adding peas to the mash changed my life.

So everywhere I go, I do the mash mix and have garnered quite a following all over the world!

Sandra, so it's you! Works well with corn kernels, too.

Hmmm...Bailey's and oatmeal. Would it be OK if I just did the Bailey's for breakfast? ;-)

forgot to mention.....pizza with tuna. thought it would be disgusting but love it. make it at home now.

i havent tried the pizza with tuna thing yet. Is that just a cheese pizza with a drained can of tuna on top?

Sparkling water is a big one for me. Also, I get a bit annoyed when I'm out for a nice dinner in the US and they bring the check before I'm done or there seems to be any hint of wanting to turn the table. I have to remind myself that I'm not in Europe anymore, I've come to much prefer lingering at a nice dinner. Now, I still like my workday lunches with fast service, so I'm something of a hybrid. Another one is tea. After a trip to England I started drinking tea, hated it beforehand and I still hate iced tea.

I wanted to bring a nun's habit home with me but the nun wouldn't sell it to me.

I enjoy cooking. After a month in Italy I have come to simplify many dishes, focusing on a few good ingredients, simply and honestly prepared. On the other hand, I will continue to tender-crisp steam vegetables, which I love. I think Fifty Shades of Grey was actually a Roman veggie cookbook.

I don't get crossing 7's in America. Like, what's the point? Just to feel fancy?

Will... yes, just to feel special...
Just like putting your phone number out there with periods 800. 555.1212 instead of the usual dash
Guilty:)

Like everyone responding I've bought back/picked up several habits from traveling in Europe, such as crossing the 7 wherever I use that number, drinking mostly German beer (since I have to limit that a lot now , it's basically German beer, if any, now), perfected using the left hand fork with the knife in the right, ie, no more zig zag eating, using the thumb to indicate # one. buying German coffee here from time to time, (easily available in SF), writing postcards German style, usually having HP sauce (used in England) at home as well as French red wines any where from $7 to $18, use mayo sometimes with fries, eating the light salad last after the main course as in France,

On the knife and fork issue as mentioned above, I am right handed, tried the left handed fork the first time at 19 when it was explained in class. After the first trip at 21, it almost became second nature since I watched and watched how it was done among the Germans. Now, after all these years it's only a matter of course.

It seems as though my new habits are fairly covered above, but when I thought more about the topic, I recalled my European friend always smiling as he asked in a slow, exaggerated voice for one more, "ICE COLD beer."

For those interested in food, Trader Joe's sells sliced Prosciutto, Mortadella and Porchetta imported from Italy. Not cheap but very good. Every now and then they have Iberico ham from Spain.

I had the top three this weekend with a few olives and ciliegene. Molto bene

These are my Italian/European habits that I have not changed:
- Still Use thumb to count first
- Still cross 7 and z
- Still set digital clocks, incl phone, to 24hr clock (but have adopted US date format to avoid confusion at work)
- Still drink sparkling water (Costco has cheaper San Pellegrino than TJ, but Whole Foods has an Italian water sold under their Whole Food brand that is good and cheaper).
- Still cannot walk barefoot, not even on carpet.
- Still use metric to measure distances instead of body parts (I understand where 'feet' came from, but I always wondered which body part the "rod" referred to)
- Still not putting ice in cold drinks.
- Still not driving under the speed limit (Autovelox and Tutor came after I moved to US)
- Still not cruising in the left lane.
- still not drinking cappuccino in the afternoon (Yuk!)

Do people that cross their sevens also write their ones with a long ascender?

Marco, yes, I do.

Crossing the sevens can be a real problem. In my hotel the other day, I heard someone trying to use a keycard to get in my room. It was in the evening.

I looked out and saw a Japanese guy keep trying to use his card. I opened my door and he was startled. He showed me his card envelope and the last number was 7. (I'm in a room ending in 1). However, he read the 7 as a 1. I pointed him to his room.

Separate (twin) duvets on a queen bed

I poach eggs now (working on that red wine sauce to go with it), drink espresso only-no 'coffee', and we use those rough brown cubes of sugar called Comptoir du Sud....don't ask. I watch BBC news from time to time, and also regularly watch a German produced show on PBS called Focus on Europe, which has 3-4 somewhat in depth reports on a wide range of topics in a thirty minute show-excellent.

And then, there's Moone Boy...

http://www.dw.de/program/focus-on-europe/s-101185-9798

Washing my socks and undies in the sink every night. Just kidding!

Eating slices of different kinds of gourmet cheese for lunch with fresh French bread, grapes, and apples slices. I first picked up this habit in London by buying these items at Borough Market farm stands and finding a bench by the river or in a park to eat. Wine is sometimes included.

Using cream in my tea.

Making coffee with a French press.

Buying imported items from the British Foods section of my grocery store; real Yorkshire tea, and Chicken Tikka Masala sauce in a jar.

Watching the BBC Channel (have for years) and currently addicted to a program called "Inside The Commons" about day-to-day activities inside Parliament. Also watch "The Travel Show".

Like to go to a cathedral (such as Washington National) and sit and listen to the organist practice. Reminds me of one time when I was at York Minster in the afternoon when the organist was practicing music for the Sunday service. There were perhaps two other people there. I just sat in one of the pews for an hour, listening. Wonderful.

Is sparkling water not usually consumed in the United States?

Re: sparkling water in the US, it is available at any grocery store. But when you go into a restaurant you aren't asked sparkling or still water. You are provided with free tap water. Bottled water is available if you ask (usually), but not often sparkling water. I'm seeing it more now, though, usually at nicer restaurants. In General, sparkling water is something you seek out, not rare but certainly not super common.

Is sparkling water not usually consumed in the United States?

Certainly not at the level it is in Europe. I think it is an acquired taste. I have had sparkling water offered in New York but rarely anywhere else. Sparkling water is used more for cocktail drinks.