How prevalent alcohol culture is in the West. I’m Southeast Asian and it’s more common for us to drink sugary drinks and have food at the local corner restaurant at night instead of having alcohol when we spend time with friends.
When I studied in the West, it really struck me how the only place you really could hang out at night was the bar, and alcohol was often the preferred drink. And they normally closed at 12am, so you can’t even stay out that late.
Personally I’m not very fond of inebriation just due to the issues it creates (not that my friends were alcoholics and got blackout drunk every time we hung out), so I found it kind of bad that it’s so socially accepted to see a need to get drunk in order to tolerate socialising with friends.
as someone from Berlin, it’s wild that you even have a “last call” rule in so many places/countries. Bars and clubs here can just decide themselves, when they want to close. There are even a few 24/7 places.
I’m not much of a drinker myself but. Some people use alcohol because it makes them “open up” and it’s easier for them to have fun that way. (this is what the finnish song “cha cha cha” is about.)
And they normally closed at 12am, so you can’t even stay out that late.
Most of what you said is unfortunately accurate for Germany, but this part isn’t. I live in a medium-sized city and bars around here usually close around 1-2 am on normal weekdays and 3-4 am on weekends. And in the bigger cities they usually close later. From what I’ve heard it’s similar in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy), so I don’t think this is universal for “the West”. Maybe you’ve been to an anglo country? From what I’ve heard pubs in Britain and Ireland often close rather early, but I don’t know for sure.
Pretty spot on, I was in the UK for a bit lol. Their shops closing at 4pm on Sundays was also a pain. Yes, let’s make it so no one can run errands on the one day they’re most likely to have time if they sleep in…
Well, on that point you’d probably hate how we do it in Germany. With small exceptions for restaurants, bakeries, and small shops at train stations and the like, everything’s just closed on Sundays. Although some states allow a restricted number of “open Sundays” per year. But I have to say that while it does make shopping less flexible, it does have advantages, too. It makes sure that almost everyone has a day where they can see their family and where everyone has a day off, even poorer people who might not be able to choose a job as easily and would otherwise be forced to work on Sundays (or just everyday). It also makes sure that almost nobody has to work when there’s an election, which are usually on Sundays.
We are also used to it, and since most people also don’t work on Saturdays that’s mostly the day to run errands for us. But it definitely is a common culture shock or at least a surprise to those who are not used to it.
Plenty of people in the West find the alcohol culture frustrating, especially recovering alcoholics. Personally I can’t drink much, so I tend to find myself sipping on a cranberry juice.
How prevalent alcohol culture is in the West. I’m Southeast Asian and it’s more common for us to drink sugary drinks and have food at the local corner restaurant at night instead of having alcohol when we spend time with friends.
When I studied in the West, it really struck me how the only place you really could hang out at night was the bar, and alcohol was often the preferred drink. And they normally closed at 12am, so you can’t even stay out that late.
Personally I’m not very fond of inebriation just due to the issues it creates (not that my friends were alcoholics and got blackout drunk every time we hung out), so I found it kind of bad that it’s so socially accepted to see a need to get drunk in order to tolerate socialising with friends.
Australian here, we have the same culture but it doesn’t finish at 12am, I found the Cinderella rule in the USA weird.
Here in NYC last call is 4am. Whenever I travel I always find it really weird that most places in the US close so early.
as someone from Berlin, it’s wild that you even have a “last call” rule in so many places/countries. Bars and clubs here can just decide themselves, when they want to close. There are even a few 24/7 places.
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I’m not much of a drinker myself but. Some people use alcohol because it makes them “open up” and it’s easier for them to have fun that way. (this is what the finnish song “cha cha cha” is about.)
The Finnish song Cha Cha Cha is awesome. It should have won Eurovision!
Most of what you said is unfortunately accurate for Germany, but this part isn’t. I live in a medium-sized city and bars around here usually close around 1-2 am on normal weekdays and 3-4 am on weekends. And in the bigger cities they usually close later. From what I’ve heard it’s similar in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy), so I don’t think this is universal for “the West”. Maybe you’ve been to an anglo country? From what I’ve heard pubs in Britain and Ireland often close rather early, but I don’t know for sure.
Pretty spot on, I was in the UK for a bit lol. Their shops closing at 4pm on Sundays was also a pain. Yes, let’s make it so no one can run errands on the one day they’re most likely to have time if they sleep in…
Well, on that point you’d probably hate how we do it in Germany. With small exceptions for restaurants, bakeries, and small shops at train stations and the like, everything’s just closed on Sundays. Although some states allow a restricted number of “open Sundays” per year. But I have to say that while it does make shopping less flexible, it does have advantages, too. It makes sure that almost everyone has a day where they can see their family and where everyone has a day off, even poorer people who might not be able to choose a job as easily and would otherwise be forced to work on Sundays (or just everyday). It also makes sure that almost nobody has to work when there’s an election, which are usually on Sundays.
We are also used to it, and since most people also don’t work on Saturdays that’s mostly the day to run errands for us. But it definitely is a common culture shock or at least a surprise to those who are not used to it.
Plenty of people in the West find the alcohol culture frustrating, especially recovering alcoholics. Personally I can’t drink much, so I tend to find myself sipping on a cranberry juice.
Well, I personally get drunk quicker due to metabolism and my hangover starts the same day.
That is, compared to most Europeans, but I’ve heard that for SE Asia this would actually be the norm.
So one can say in this case culture just follows structural difference.
But - yes, it’s much nicer to be with friends when they are not drunk.
Except for beer, there are weaker sorts, and the effect of hops on people I actually like.
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