5 Things That Confuse Icelanders About USA Culture

As a native New Yorker that has been living in Iceland for over six years, I've noticed that there are some things about USA culture that confuses Icelanders and I'm sharing five of them in this video. This is not to say that some of the things I mentioned only apply to USA culture, but it's my frame of reference. Feel free to let me know if any of what I shared surprised you.

Here is the video I made about Iceland having 69,000 guns and hardly any gun crime (the number of guns in the country has increased since then):
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Time Stamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Number 1
02:07 - Number 2
03:54 - Number 3
05:09 - Number 4
07:12 - Number 5

#iceland #icelandvsamerica #icelandicculture

[AllThingsIceland]

Just want to add that there are things I mention that other cultures might relate to or have as well, but I’m from the US so that is my frame of reference.

[happymack]

I’m from the U.S. and I’m confused as to why these things are this way 🤷🏽‍♀️ Lovely video! 😊

[mckohtz]

As an Australian living in the US, I found the same cultural things were confusing at first. One that I would add was that healthcare is not covered my the US government for citizens and residents and people can go bankrupt if they get sick or injured. Whereas, most other first world countries have some kind of basic universal healthcare and can just go to the doctor if they are sick or injured with no out of pocket expenses.

[steinthoroliable]

a thing that really surprised me in the USA was the lack of sidewalks outside of the downtown areas of cities. spent some time in the suburbs and I had to walk on grass and the road to get to the nearest shop, would've been an easier walk with a sidewalk hahaha

[GeekFurious]

#1: Yeah, it's very confusing for my Icelandic family when they speak English. They will either say cousin to everything or uncle/aunt, depending on which one they're trying to remember they're supposed to use. And the idea of getting them to say niece or nephew is just out of the question. Though, they will say something that is similar to "my sister's son" etc. #2: As an Icelander it was very confusing coming to the US & realizing how little Americans understood about their government. Like, the less Americans know, the more passionate they seem to be about what they don't know. #3: When I moved back to Iceland I was quickly reminded how Icelanders don't coddle their children because they teach them basic survival skills early in life... something American tourists seem not to have. #4: Whenever my Icelandic family brings this one up & mention that NY & NJ have some of the lowest death by gun rates in the country because they have some of the strictest gun control laws. Individual states are not necessarily representative of others. This is difficult for Icelanders to wrap their heads around because they live in one country not 50 countries with their own laws. #5: Whenever my Icelandic family comes here they get so nervous about tipping. It's cute.

[cbpd]

The gun stuff confuses me too, Iceland. I'm from the US and it is disheartening. If it makes you feel better, most people actually want tighter restrictions, but politicians are worried about losing the money from the gun lobby, so they do nothing.

[petergustafsson]

That thing about kinship terminology was surprising to me. I speak Swedish, another North Germanic language, but much less conservative than Icelandic. However, we have retained kinship terminology that Latin has, but most other Indo-European languages in Europe have discarded over the centuries. We have 2 different words for Aunt, depending on whether she is the sister of your father or mother. We have 4 distinct words for great-grandmother, and likewise with great-grandfather. Whereas English has 2 words for the children of your siblings - nephew and niece - we have 7 distinct words. BTW, none of those 7 words are exact translations for either nephew or niece. And so on and so forth.

[camhabibi]

I’m so glad you mentioned gun culture. My friends in Norway are just amazed that we continue to allow mass shootings to take place without meaningful reform. Sadly, the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings took place while I was in Bergen and the Norwegians were so worried about us.

[Halli]

While I am more seasoned now, as an Icelander I used to worry about tipping when traveling in countries where tipping is expected. My main worry was doing a boo-boo by tipping too little so I tended to be liberal with the tips. I still do, just to be on the safe side.
My most embarrassing tipping experience was actually the reverse: I was a domestic airline pilot and on one occasion, on returning from a sight-seeing flight with a bunch of American tourists over the Holuhraun eruption, and elderly lady hung back when we were disembarking. With stars in her eyes she thanked me profusely for the flight and pressed a $100 bill in my hand! I was a bit flustered (my first and only tip received, and a generous one at that), but I decided not to possibly embarrass her by declining the tip, this flight had evidently been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her.

[mv_n]

My sister & I were in Iceland back in May of this year. We tipped because the areas we stayed had plenty of non-native Icelander servers who travelled back & forth to work for at least an hour. We figured something extra for their days off hard work would be nice.

[tacrewgirl]

I always enjoy your videos and sweaters.
You're gorgeous and I love your hair. Are their salons for maintaining your dreads there?
Your kitchen is very nice.
Thanks for the informative video as always.

[Westfjordian]

To me, one of the biggest things to get used to is "home canning"... We're used to other (older?) preserving methods

[constance]

Very informative video. I’ve been to Iceland a few times and absolutely love the Icelandic People and their beautiful country. Not tipping was a difficult one for me, felt like I wasn’t recognizing their superior service in restaurants. Thanks for sharing all of the information.

[rochellek]

Very interesting. I can see how the relationship names can get confusing 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[lesliecouncilor]

Still watching your videos! Thank you for teaching us about cultural differences during this tumultuous times in the U.S.

[Kim-mzco]

Great video. I live in Cambodia and have also lived in Thailand, and Laos after leaving the US in 2013. I teach English here and was constantly "assisting" and correcting students who call pretty much everyone their brother/sister, or uncle/aunt whether they are related or not. I found this when I lived in Hawai'i too. I don't offer the relationship label in English now unless someone asks. I am older so I get called uncle, father or grandfather and I know that is a show of respect and connection. They want to call their classmates and football mates brother and sister, that's fine by me! I think it's a much better way of relating to the World.

I learned about differences in tipping going with a Korean friend to a Korean restaurant in Hawai'i. He warned me against tipping especially in restaurants that don't usually cater to Western tourists because it can easily be seen as an insult--like you're considering them to be a prostitute or someone who can't take care of themselves.

So what it pretty much comes down to is that many people around the World are seeing that workers in the US aren't paid a livable wage, that many of us take stupid risks and don't use common sense even to the point of putting our lives in danger, that our political system isn't democratic or representative, and that we are very violent and don't use guns to hunt, but look for guns and ammo that can pierce any shield and kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. I pretty much see the situation in our country of origin the same way.

[GinaCriv]

Yeah Brooklyn!! Hey Jewells, love your walk-thru shots of your home, and backdrop of your kitchen. Very nice

[ericfluellen]

I enjoyed this video very informative regarding the subject matter.

[patrickquinlan]

It’s funny you brought up that issue about tipping. The first time I visited Iceland five years ago, I told a bartender at Bravo about an online article I read that claimed that if you tip servers in Iceland they will be offended. He looked at me incredulously and said “Oh no no, we gratefully accept tips. Yes siree, here’s my tip jar right here. Feel free to contribute any time!” Also, regarding gun violence in America, you wouldn’t think they’d be so perplexed by it based on some of the Icelandic gangster films their movie producers have made over the years, such as Svartur Á Leik, and Reykjavík-Rotterdam.

[LunaciaBooks]

The thing you say about frændi/frænka is really interesting. In Norwegian we have a word "frende", which I guess means the same thing, but it's super old fashioned and rarely used anymore. Also, in some parts of Norway, they still say "faster" (father's sister), "morbror" (mother's brother), etc. I've never given it much thought until this!

And, yes, only two parties are a head scratchers for Norwegians as well. As well as the danger signs/rope fences, poor American gun laws, and tipping. 🙂

Seems like Icelandics are a lot like Norwegians! Shouldn't be a huge surprise, knowing where Icelanders came from originally. 😉