去欧洲的时候对你造成的最大的文化冲击是什么？
What was your biggest culture shock going to Europe?
译文简介
我年纪不大，在美国"三杯马提尼午餐"还是一种普遍的商业行为时，我还没有开始工作。等到我开始工作的时候，工作时间饮酒已经被禁止了。
正文翻译
What was your biggest culture shock going to Europe?
去欧洲的时候对你造成的最大的文化冲击是什么？
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, Pianist since 1970. Singer since 1992
Drinking during work lunches.
I'm not old enough to have worked when "three-martini lunches" were a common business practice in the US. By the time I started working, alcohol consumption during work hours was banned.
When I went to Austria on a business trip, our hosts took us to lunch and they had beer and wine-but we had to abstain since our company didn't permit drinking on the job.
It was weird to see them drink, and then go back to work. I myself probably wouldn't have indulged even if permitted to since I have a tendency to get sleepy after a drink or two.
Seeing a teenager drink in a restaurant.
While having dinner with a colleague in Austria during a separate business trip, there was a family seated next to us. There was a teenager who looked to be about fifteen years old or so. He ordered a sherry. I was surprised when the waiter brought him the drink and he drank it. I was then told that Austria does permit teens 16 and older to drink if they are in the presence of an adult, and that the age determines what they can drink, with the final restrictions lifted at age 21.
工作午餐期间喝酒。
我年纪不大，在美国"三杯马提尼午餐"还是一种普遍的商业行为时，我还没有开始工作。等到我开始工作的时候，工作时间饮酒已经被禁止了。
我去奥地利出差时，主人带我们去吃午饭，他们有啤酒和葡萄酒，但我们必须戒酒，因为我们公司不允许在工作中喝酒。
看到他们喝了酒，然后继续工作，让我觉得很奇怪。我自己即使被允许，也可能不会沉迷其中，因为我有喝一两杯就犯困的倾向。
在餐厅看到一个少年喝酒。
当我在奥地利出差，和同事吃饭的时候，旁边坐着一家人。有一个看起来大约十五岁左右的少年。他点了一杯雪利酒。看到服务员真的给他端来饮料时，我很惊讶，他还真的喝了。然后我被告知，奥地利确实允许16岁以上的青少年在有成年人在场的情况下喝酒，年龄决定了他们可以喝什么酒，最后的限制在21岁时取消。
In Vienna, I passed a McDonald's while sightseeing and went in to get a cola. I noted that the McDonald's there sold beer. I know of no fast-food restaurant in America that serves alcohol of any kind.
Cokes are served without ice.
This didn't particularly bother me too much since I don't like a lot of ice in my cola and generally drink it out of the can or bottle anyway if it isn't a fountain drink-but if you want ice for your cola, you do have to ask for it.
Desserts aren't as sweet.
Here in America, I'm not a person that eats a lot of sweet stuff-I generally pass on desserts after a meal. But I found European desserts to be far more enjoyable since they weren't as sweet. In America, you can literally crunch on the sugar crystals in icings and fillings, it's so sweet. However, in Stockholm, they have salted licorice. Now that was just disgusting.
在麦当劳也能喝酒!
在维也纳，我在观光时经过一家麦当劳，进去买了一杯可乐。我注意到，那里的麦当劳还卖着啤酒。据我所知，在美国没有一家快餐店提供任何形式的酒精。
可乐是不加冰的。
这并没有特别困扰我，因为我不喜欢在可乐里加很多冰块，如果不是冷饮小卖部里接的饮料的话，我一般喝的都是罐装或者瓶装--但如果你想给可乐加冰块，你确实得自己提要求。
甜品没有那么甜。
在美国，我不是一个吃很多甜食的人--一般吃完饭后都不会吃甜点。但我发现欧洲的甜点更令人愉快，因为它们没有那么甜。在美国吃甜品，你真的像是在嚼糖精，太甜了。不过，在斯德哥尔摩，他们有一种叫咸甘草糖。这真的很恶心。
If you stay up late enough and watch TV, you can run across some pretty explicit programming that isn't confined to the porn channels like here in the States. Here in the US the sexually explicit stuff is confined to a few channels, and you know what those channels are so that you can't accidentally stumble on it and if you wish, can take steps to block them-the more mainstream channels don't show that stuff and the language is generally tamer. But in Europe, that's not so-mainstream channels show this stuff. So, if sexually explicit material and/or cussing/f-bombs on TV bothers you (and yeah, you know what the dialogue is-they translate the shows for you), you're better off not watching TV late at night-just read or go to bed.
电视里的性爱内容多了起来。
如果你熬夜看电视，你可以看到一些非常露骨的节目，而不像在美国那样只限于色情频道。在美国，性方面的东西只限于几个频道，你知道那些频道是什么，这样你就不会不小心碰上，如果你愿意，可以采取措施屏蔽它们--更主流的频道不会播放这些东西，而且语言一般也比较温和。但在欧洲，就不是这样了--主流频道会播放这些东西。所以，如果电视上的性暗示材料和/或骂人让你感到困扰（是的，你知道对话是什么--他们为你翻译了节目），你最好不要在深夜看电视--只是阅读或睡觉。
The news in Europe is what the US news used to be about 30 or 40 years ago-free of talking heads giving their own opinions. CNN Europe and Sky TV don't have any shows with anchors à la MSNBC or FOX or CNN even-it's just news and sports and weather upxes with nothing else. An anchor might give a throwaway opinion on something in between news stories, but it's not an hour of discussion and analysis with a particular political bent like the US.
Europeans follow US events VERY closely and are quite informed about them.
The average European to me was very well versed in US issues as well as how our government works-something that isn't true in reverse.
Not needing a car.
If you stay in the city in Europe, you don't need a car. You can take public transportation, walk, taxi. A car simply isn't necessary, everything is located in such a manner that one can get around without a car. When I travel in the States, there are very few places where at some point, a car isn't needed.
新闻节目没有评论。
欧洲的新闻就像三四十年前的美国新闻一样，没有说话的人发表自己的意见。CNN欧洲和天空电视台都没有像MSNBC或FOX或CNN那样任何有主播的节目--它只是新闻、体育和天气更新，没有其他内容。主播可能会在新闻故事之间发表一些不经意的意见，但它不像美国那样有一个小时的讨论和分析，有特定的政治倾向。
欧洲人非常关注美国的事件，对美国的事件相当了解。
对我来说，一般的欧洲人对美国的问题以及我们的政府是如何运作的非常熟悉--这一点反过来就不一样了。
不需要车。
如果你呆在欧洲的城市里，你不需要汽车。你可以乘坐公共交通、步行、出租车。根本不需要车，一切的位置都处于不需要车也可以到达的地方。我在美国旅行的时候，很少有地方在某些时候不需要车。
I'd like to point out some things about your answer:
In most European countries you can drink and buy any kind of alcohol at 18.
I've always had my coke served with ice, without asking for it (this in Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France and Italy).
News shows DO have commentaries, but they're usually only done when something big happens or during the weekends. It is not a daily thing, though.
我想对你的回答指出一些问题。
在大多数欧洲国家，你可以在18岁时喝和买任何种类的酒。
我的可乐一直都是加冰块的，不需要特别提出要求（这在葡萄牙、西班牙、安道尔、法国和意大利都是一样的）。
新闻节目确实有解说，但通常只在有大事发生或周末才会这么做。不过这不是每天都有的事情。
Many Europeans learned to ask for coke without ice because of 3 reasons. First, normally the coke is refrigerated enough when it passes through the soda dispensing system (fountain etc). Second, Ice in your coke dilutes faster making your coke taste bland and flat. Third, having Ice in your coke is a scam since it reduces the amount of coke in your cup by at least 10 ml. I pay for coke not water.
So the restaurant is saving thousands of liters coke per year by adding crystallized water to your coke. This might not be an issue for restaurants that offer a free refill, but in Europe you usually have to pay to get a refill. Also, except for very short periods in summer, it does not get THAT hot or humid in Europe that you might need the extra chilling effect of having ice in your coke. So no ice in my coke please! Mc Donalds eaven has it as an order line request on their cash receipts, so I am pretty sure they are well aware of how much coke syrup they are saving each year in Europe by adding ice to coke.
很多欧洲人学会了要可乐不加冰，原因有3点。第一，通常可乐在经过苏打水分配系统（喷泉等）时，已经足够冰了。第二，可乐中加冰会加快稀释速度，使你的可乐味道平淡无奇。第三，在可乐中加冰块是个骗局，因为它至少减少了你杯中10毫升的可乐量。我买的是可乐而不是水。
所以餐厅在你的可乐中加入结晶水，每年可以节省上千升可乐。对于提供免费续杯的餐厅来说，这可能不是问题，但在欧洲，你通常必须付费才能续杯。此外，除了在夏季一个非常短的时间，欧洲根本没有那么热或者潮湿需要你在可乐里加冰来缓解。所以请不要在我的可乐里加冰块! 麦当劳甚至在他们的现金收据上把它凸出作为一个订单的要求，所以我很肯定他们很清楚在欧洲每年通过在可乐中加冰来节省了多少可乐糖浆。
Salted licorice is quite ubiquitous in some parts of Europe and many people enjoy it. I brought it back to my Asian homeland once and most people who tried it didn't like it and couldn't understand the appeal.
咸甘草在欧洲一些地方相当普遍，很多人都喜欢吃。我曾经把它带回我的亚洲祖国，大多数尝试过的人都不喜欢它，也不明白它的魅力。
I’m impressed with your perception and analyzing of the differences between the US and Europe - thank you for sharing it.
How long was your visit in Austria, and have you visited any other places in Europe?
我对你对美国和欧洲之间差异的看法和分析印象深刻-谢谢你分享它。
你在奥地利访问了多久，你访问过欧洲的其他地方吗？
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
I remember an article in a beer magazine by a Belgian beer writer, who said that the first time she went to the States and ordered a beer, that the waiter dropped the glass he was holding onto the floor. She was 10 years old at the time, and regularly ordered beer at restaurants in her native Belgium. When I was 15 in Germany, I had to teach the American college students in our exchange group how to order beer in kneipen - - the official age was 16, but nobody really cared about age as long as you were well behaved.
我记得在一本啤酒杂志上有一篇文章，是一位比利时啤酒作家写的，她说她第一次去美国点啤酒时，服务员惊得把他手里的杯子掉在了地上。当时她10岁，经常在家乡比利时的餐馆点啤酒。当我15岁在德国时，我不得不教我们交流团里的美国大学生如何在knipen点啤酒------官方要求年龄是16岁，但没有人真正关心年龄是多少，只要你表现良好就行。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
About the alcohol: the whole of Europe has legal drinking ages of no higher than 18, although here in the UK you have to prove you are 25 now, which is annoying considering they will refuse to serve you, althought you are 18.
But in pubs or licensed premises, somebody over 18 can buy alcohol for somebody over 16 with a meal,
At home though? children are legally allowed to drink from the age of 5, as much alcohol as they like.
I did remember that there was something about being able to drink sherry from the age of 12 or 14 when with parents and eating a meal, but I can’t find anything about that currently.
关于酒精：整个欧洲的法定饮酒年龄都不超过18岁，虽然在英国，你必须证明你现在是25岁，这很烦人，因为他们会拒绝为你服务，尽管你已经18岁了。
但在酒吧或有执照的场所，18岁以上的人可以为和你一起吃饭的16岁以上的人买酒。
不过在家里吗，孩子从5岁开始就可以依法喝酒，喜欢喝多少酒就喝多少酒。
我倒是记得有关于12岁或14岁开始和父母一起吃饭时可以喝雪利酒的说法，但目前找不到相关的资料。
You're so right about European news following American events really closely. So many times when theres another instance of police brutality or murder against a young black person Spanish TV network news is covering it. Even when its not one of the bigger cases.
你说的很对，欧洲新闻紧跟美国事件。所以很多时候，当有另一个警察暴力或谋杀年轻的黑人的案子的时候，西班牙电视网络新闻总是会跟上。即使它不是一个大案件。
Well written and accurate. One nitpick: beer is not liquor. When I read the heading "McDonald's serves liquor!" I imagined the golden arches over vodka and gin bottles.
写得很好，也很准确。有一个可以挑刺的地方：啤酒不是酒。当我读到标题 "麦当劳供应酒类！"时，我想象着的是伏特加和杜松子酒瓶上的金色拱门。
Well, if it has alcohol, I just lump it in as liquor. I guess that comes from growing up in an area where we called stores that sold beer "liquor stores".
好吧，只要它含有酒精，我都会把它看作是酒。我想这是在一个把卖啤酒的商店叫做"酒类商店"的地方长大的缘故。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
"Drinking during work lunches" really, what would be lunches with office colleagues without that glass of red wine? :) or the beers, wine or champagne organized by management to celebrate some corporate victory? or someone leaving
"Not needing a car" -- yeah, it seems Americans have a real problem accepting that in Europe not having/using a car is the norm in cities and definitely not a sign of poverty :)
"Seeing a teenager drink in a restaurant" -- I had my first half-pint of beer at 12, with my father; I drank beer and wine (at occasions and moderately) at 16-17; I felt a big pity for Americans that can't legally drink before 21 (and had a "whaaaat the fuck?!" reaction); in Romania there's still no legal restriction on age for alcohol consumption
"工作午餐时喝酒"真的，如果没有一杯红酒或者啤酒、葡萄酒或香槟，那难以想象管理层为了庆祝公司的某个胜利或者是某个人的离开而和办公室同事一起吃的午餐会是什么的 :)
"不需要汽车" -- 是的，看来美国人真的很难接受在欧洲没有/不使用汽车是城市的常态，绝对不是贫穷的标志 :)
"看到一个十几岁的孩子在餐馆里喝酒"--我在12岁的时候和父亲喝了第一杯半品脱啤酒；16-17岁的时候喝了啤酒和葡萄酒（在一些场合，而且是适量的）；我对21岁之前不能合法饮酒的美国人感到非常可惜（并且还有一种"whaaaat the fuck? "的反应）；在罗马尼亚，对饮酒的年龄仍然没有法律限制。
, Californian living in Portugal
I am an American from California, and moved to Lisbon, Portugal a few months ago. The continent of Europe is very diverse so I can only speak on what I've noticed here. Things that have definitely stood out in my time living here:
Big breakfasts are not a thing here! This one makes me a little sad, I must admit. I looove traditional American and Mexican breakfast foods (which are both common in US), and those aren't here :( Toast or pastry with coffee is what they have. I've even seen toast and coffee as advertisement on McDonald's ads:
Virtually every restaurant is only open between 11am-3pm and 7-10pm. Really frustrating when you're hungry outside of those times and aren't at home.
Cobblestone sidewalks everywhere. Pretty dangerous to walk in stilletos or heels that aren't wide.
Streets are narrow. The Old World wasn't built with cars in mind!
Lots of political parties, that are all given media airtime. I think this is a great thing. In the US of course its only between two parties, but here there are many more categories to choose from with significant differences.
我是一个来自加州的美国人，几个月前搬到了葡萄牙里斯本。欧洲大陆是非常多样化的，所以我只能说说我在这里注意到的东西。在我生活在欧洲的这段时间里，有一些东西绝对是与众不同的：
在这里，丰盛的早餐是不存在的! 我必须承认，这让我有点伤心。我喜欢传统的美式和墨西哥早餐（在美国都很常见），但这里没有这些 :( 多士或糕点加咖啡是这里的特色。我甚至在麦当劳的广告中看到过吐司和咖啡的广告。
几乎每家餐厅都只在上午11点到下午3点和晚上7点到10点之间营业。当你在这些时间之外饥肠辘辘却又不在家的时候，真的很令人沮丧。
到处都是鹅卵石的人行道。 穿着不宽的高跟鞋或高跟鞋走路相当危险。
街道很窄。 旧世界不是为汽车而建的!
有很多政党，都有媒体报道。 我觉得这是件好事。在美国当然只是两个党派之间的争斗，但在这里有更多的类别可供选择，这是一个显著的差异。
Washing machine in the kitchen. Kind of weird to me, and dryers are less common.
No big coffees. Except for at American chains. When you order coffee here, it comes in this kind of espresso size mini mug:
No complimentary water at restaurants. I suppose you could ask for tap water but you'd look very cheap and they'd probably wonder if you had enough money to pay the bill. They bring water bottles when you ask for water, and you have the choice of refrigerated or room temperature.
People rarely eat with their hands. It may actually be more of a culture shock in reverse, as I wasn't aware it was a thing! But "finger foods" seems to be very American and was shocking to my Portuguese boyfriend (ex: pizza, tacos, chicken tenders, burgers, etc.)
Alcohol served all kinds of places. Hard liquor too, not just beer and wine. I've seen it at cafés, bakeries, train stops, food carts, etc.
不那么要求要对不认识的人强制性的微笑。当我向店员微笑打招呼时，他们却没有回应，我认为这是一种无礼。但我发现只是因为在这里和刚碰见的人交流要微笑并不是一种社会规范。可能会有问候，但不需要带着微笑。这可能有很多解释，我觉得在美国，这是一种显示你对人没有威胁的方式，对服务人员的要求也更高。
在厨房里的洗衣机。 我觉得有点奇怪，烘干机在这里也不太常见。
没有大杯咖啡。 除了在美国连锁店。当你在这里点咖啡的时候，送上来的都是装在那种浓缩咖啡大小的迷你杯里。
餐馆里不提供免费的水。我想你可以要自来水，但这样会显得你很廉价，他们可能会怀疑你是否有足够的钱付账。你要水的时候他们会给你瓶装水，你可以选择冷藏或常温的。
人们很少用手吃饭。其实可能更多的是反向的文化冲击，因为我不知道有这回事! 但"用手指吃食物"似乎很美国化，让我的葡萄牙男友很震惊(如：披萨、墨西哥卷饼、鸡肉卷、汉堡等)。
酒类在各种地方都有供应。烈性酒也有，不只是啤酒和葡萄酒。我在咖啡馆、面包店、火车站、餐车等地方都看到过。
Tips and sales taxes are not hidden costs. Service workers are paid normally here, so customers are not expected to subsidize their paycheck via tips. Giving 10% will often be met with elation as it shows you really appreciated their work and it’s not necessarily expected. The last time I went to California I noticed they added an “18%, 20%, 25%” calculation at the bottom of the receipt to show you what you “should” be leaving them, plus the hefty sales tax. It’s amazing how the hidden charges are not there in Europe and I must say I hardly questioned it before. Now, it’s hard to believe what a massive scam the restaurant/bar etc. industry lobbied for by getting customers to pay their employees for them. The price on the tag/menu is what you will be charged for in Europe, and it’s the one point here I will rant about. Note that this feeling does not mean I won’t be tipping adequately when in the US.
That's all I have for now! I'll add more if I think of any that'll be useful and not already stated by everyone :)
鲜榨橙汁超级常见。大多数餐厅和咖啡馆都有卖，一般都是2欧元左右，我在美国没怎么见过（特别是不会给你的订单特地现榨），要求鲜榨的话价格是5美元左右，这不算是"惊吓"，但也是一个非常惊喜的事情，也给各位以后去葡萄牙旅游的朋友提个醒吧!
小费和营业税不是隐性成本。这里的服务人员工资正常，所以客户不需要通过小费来补贴他们的工资。给出10%往往就可以让人欣喜若狂，因为这说明你真的很赞赏他们的工作，而且这也不一定是他们意料之中的。上次我去加州的时候，我注意到他们在收据底部加了一个 "18%、20%、25%"的计算方法，让你知道你"应该"留给服务员多少小费，此外还要再加上高昂的营业税。令人惊讶的是，在欧洲没有这些隐性收费，我必须说我以前几乎没有质疑过这种行为。现在，我很难相信餐厅/酒吧等行业游说得让顾客为他们的员工支付费用的行为，这是一个多么巨大的骗局。标签/菜单上的价格就是你在欧洲会被收取的费用，这也是我在这里要唠叨的一点。请注意，有这种感觉并不代表我在美国的时候不会不给足小费。
我现在就说这么多! 如果我觉得有什么有用的，大家还没有说的，我会再补充的:)
When I lived in Spain, I read an magazine article about a mother and daughter, and how their lives had changed with the advent of mass tourism in the 70s. One of their comments was "Tourists smile so much. Why would you waste a smile on a stranger?"
What a difference from the 60s N. American adage "Smiles are free and easy to give."
当我在西班牙生活时，我读过一篇杂志上的文章，讲的是一对母女，以及她们的生活随着70年代大众旅游的到来而发生的变化。他们的评论之一是："游客们笑得那么开心。你为什么要把微笑浪费在一个陌生人身上呢？"
这与60年代美国的格言 "微笑是免费的，很容易给人"是多么的不同。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
May 7, 2016
Here in Lisbon the only restaurants open off those hours are on the shopping malls or burger restaurants. And yes there people eat with their hands, but it is possible to see people eating a pizza with fork and knife.
I don't like the cobblestone sidewalks in Lisbon either, even i grew up with them. I dont wear high heels but even so, they can be tricky and have holes on them, or stones are out of place, with bumps, there are people falling and getting injured in the stones. I understand that in some plazas on Lisbon historic center it would be decorative, traditional, etc. But even i am a portuguese from Lisbon, i consider them pointless and useless everywhere else. Come on, like everywhere?? And besides they retain more garbage and dirt.
About the breakfast i think it is because in the morning everybody is in a hurry, many families and kids have different schedules, and in the morning everybody is rushing for commute to work or school, so the most important meal in the day ends up being dinner when all family is together.
在里斯本，只有在购物中心或汉堡店才会有非营业时间运营的餐厅。是的，那里的人们用手吃饭，但也有可能看到人们用刀叉吃披萨。
我也不喜欢里斯本的鹅卵石人行道，即使我是伴随着这种鹅卵石人行道长大的。我不穿高跟鞋，但即便如此，它们也会很棘手，上面会有洞，或者石头从原有的位置脱落了，而且很颠簸，有人会在上面摔倒受伤。我明白，在里斯本历史中心的一些广场上，它会是一种装饰，一种传统的，等等。但即使我是一个来自里斯本的葡萄牙人，我也认为它们在其他地方都毫无意义，毫无用处。拜托，用得着每个地方都用鹅卵石吗？而且它们还热议藏污纳垢。
关于早餐，我想是因为早上大家都很匆忙，很多家庭和孩子都有不同的时间安排，早上大家都在赶着去上班或上学，所以一天中最重要的一餐就是全家人在一起的晚餐。
The question "when going to Europe" is pretty strange. To a north European as me, this discreption about Portugal would be as big a culture shock as for an American. The question assumes that "Europe" are all the same.
这个问题里“去欧洲的时候”就显得很奇怪。对于像我这样的北欧人来说，葡萄牙对我们会和对美国人的文化冲击一样大。这个问题假设"欧洲"都是一样的是不对的。
, Traveler and Music Maker
My biggest culture shock in Europe - Spain specifically - was the lack of indoor heating during winter! I’d travelled in Europe quite a bit before living there for eight months. I remember being quite chilly on a prior trip to Lisbon in early spring, but I chalked that up to staying in one of those quaint, centuries-old carriage houses. Nothing prepared me for the relentless coldness I experienced.
Overall I had a great time, and I was familiar with Spain before living there: I had visited the country on four other occasions - but never in winter. It’s a great country, full of wonderful people. I was living in a somewhat remote area - about an hour from Granada - from October to June. Well, I was in for the shock of my life, as a “spoiled” American. I’m from New York, so I’m used to cold weather. I don’t particularly like it, but I enjoy experiencing the four seasons. Winter in New York is great for cozy, indoor activities: music, reading, movies - as well as city life in general.
No one, not even other Americans, had told me that residences and all public buildings - even newer ones - would be under-heated or completed unheated. Temperatures were similar to those of NY, but drier. I found out that some other European countries are also like this. The electric heating units that existed were woefully inadequate, and very expensive. Consequently, they were used sparingly. I chose to use my heaters for all they were worth. I had to ask the landlord for a portable heater for my bedroom, and I ran up huge electric bills. Still, I couldn’t get comfortable, and I was always dressed in layers. Hot water didn’t last, so I couldn’t even enjoy a nice, long shower. I escaped to the coast a couple of times, just for warmer weather. Other than that, I froze my ass off for at least five of those months.
Generally speaking, I don’t like air-conditioning. I find that it’s overused in the USA - a huge waste of energy. I hate needing a jacket to sit in a cold office in the summer. Perhaps other Americans and Europeans find America overheated in the winter. Not me, I’m actually looking forward to coming in from the cold for comfy warm-ups.
我在欧洲--特别是西班牙--最大的文化冲击是冬天没有室内暖气！在欧洲生活八个月之前，我已经在欧洲旅行过不少地方。我记得之前在初春去里斯本旅行的时候很冷，但我把这归结为是因为我住的是那些古色古香的百年老马车屋。于是对于我即将要经历的无情的寒冷，没有任何准备。
总的来说，我度过了一段美好的时光，在住在西班牙之前，我对西班牙很熟悉。我曾四次访问过这个国家，但从未在冬天访问过。这是一个伟大的国家，充满了美好的人民。从十月到六月，我住在一个有点偏远的地区--离格拉纳达大约一个小时的路程的地方。作为一个被"宠坏了"的美国人，我在这里受到了人生的冲击。我来自纽约，所以我习惯了寒冷的天气。我不是特别喜欢寒冷，但我喜欢体验四季。纽约的冬天很适合进行舒适的室内活动：音乐、阅读、电影--以及一般的城市生活。
没有人，甚至没有其他美国人告诉我，欧洲的住宅和所有公共建筑--即使是较新的建筑--都会供暖不足或完全不供暖。这里气温与纽约相似，但比较干燥。我发现其他一些欧洲国家也是这样。现有的电暖器严重不足，而且非常昂贵。因此，他们很少使用。我选择用我的暖气片，因为它们的价格。我不得不要求房东为我的卧室提供一个便携式加热器，我用了巨多的电费。不过，我还是感觉不是特别舒服，我总是得穿得厚厚的。热水不能持久，所以我甚至不能享受一个舒爽的、长时间的淋浴。我有几次逃到了海边，只是为了迎接温暖的天气。除此之外，我至少有5个月都冻得瑟瑟发抖。
一般来说，我不喜欢空调。我发现它在美国被过度使用--非常浪费能源。我讨厌夏天需要穿着外套坐在寒冷的办公室里。也许其他美国人和欧洲人觉得美国的冬天过得太热了。我不是其中一员，其实我很期待从寒冷的地方进到屋里，然后做一个舒适的热身运动。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处