Things that are OK in USA but not in ICELAND 

“We don’t tip, we pay people” was that a intentional roast? Because if it was, lmaoo...

Hrafna: I haven’t seen a country put their flag everywhere like U.S.A Turkey: umm...Ok

One heck of a timing.

I teach ESL. "Hello, how are you?" "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" "I'm great, thanks for asking." It's one of those cultural things I can teach about. Not one single person is asking how you are really, and when they are beginners they are rather confused by the question.

In Ireland we say hi how are you and the response is I'm good, how are you no matter how your really feeling

We say how are you, and everyone just lies and says they're fine no matter what! Yeah, it's pretty weird!

"Hi how are you" is kind of like saying good day to people, most people just respond with "good” even if they are feeling upset.

Can’t wait till corona is over so I can travel to Iceland!

"Hi, how are you?" does not require a real or detailed response. "I'm good, and you?" is the standard response and means absolutely nothing more than an acknowledgment.

carpets absorbing noise, that sometimes a big advatage. Themal isolation as well. Happy new year from Germany

All the differences you have mentioned apply to other European countries as well, meaning they are similar to Iceland and don’t understand the US standards. I would add a 12h vs 24h clock. In most of the Europe we operate on a 24 hrs clock so 4 pm in the US is 16 in Europe as an example.

In the UK we also say like " hi, how're you?" or "alright?" especially in a taxi or something. Also in the UK only a doctor can prescribe prescription drugs. We can buy certain things over the counter at a pharmacy but not things that are strictly prescription only. I cannot understand their healthcare system either, I feel very lucky that we have the National Health Service in the UK. Retail in the UK you get A LOT of customers who are rude and disrespectful, I could never work in retail again after my experiences. This was a very interesting video though!

Has anyone ever complimented you on your voice? It is unique Icelandic, very understandable, laced with character and absolutely perfect for the videos you produce. Great job.

When someone say “hi how are you” I think the immediate response for most people is to say “good” even if your not

Month-day-year Because when you're on a farm, the month is the only part of the date that really matters.

The United States was supposed to already be phased out to metric by now, but they felt that too many wouldn't be able to learn it. I think they should have followed through with switching to metric. You're right, way too many complain and are extremely rude to people.

Here in America we always bottle up our feelings and tell people were having a great day no matter what... I don't know why. But we do. It's really annoying.

There are some states without sales tax. I live in one, Oregon. Usually the price is the price marked unless there are extra bottle deposit charges or certain things like hotel rooms.

Im in Michigan, and I tore the carpeting out of my house that ran through the entire house(except for the kitchen)not long after buying it, it was built in 1949, and when I did I was pretty happy to see that the flooring in the house was oak, and I was like, "why would someone carpet over oak floors?"

On suing: USA = Litigation Nation, there's even a book about it called "Litigation Nation: A Cultural History of Lawsuits in America"

I’m a big time carpet fan here!

saying "I'm going to europe" just sounds fancy

Our food portions are big but we don't waste any food. We eat it. Just look at the size of the average American.

I’m so used to everyone saying “hi how are you” one time I was at a store and the cashier only said “hello” and I still said “good” I wanted to smack myself. Also the suing thing is really only a tv thing but I did see a crazy Karen yell about suing an airport after her daughter slipped and fell on some spilled water.

I don't get how people can wear shoes inside. Wouldn't it get super messy?

"how are you doing?" "LIVIN THE DREAM! HA...HA...HA...I want to die"

I want to visit Iceland one day 🥺😍

The problem with saying "Hi, How are you" is that some people will actually tell you how they feel, and tell you, and tell you, etc.

Regarding the 24 hour stores, you seem to think that the employee stays there 24 hours. The work day gets broken up into shifts, so no employee suffers. If truck stops did NOT run 24 hours, shipping expenses and times would increase.

I TOTALLY agree about saying “Hi, How are you?” That’s so weird. I never say it unless it’s a close friend. I don’t care how strangers are doing 😂 I try to say “How’s your day going?” instead.

I love hearing about the differences. Hope to go to Iceland some day

Greetings from USA. Really enjoyed your video!

After this video I think I'd be very comfortable around Icelanders❤

Hi, my name is Andrew. I'm from Ukraine. I admire so much your videos on RU-vid.... Especially your lcelandic language videos... With your parents very amusing... I love to learn foreign languages... My native language is Ukrainian but besides it, I speak English, German, Polish, Russian and a little bit of Spanish.... I am able to understand Czeck, Slovakian, Bolgarian, Serbian, Belorusian languages because they are quite similar to my native one. I wish You all the best and am looking forward for your new videos... Thank You very much

That's it. I'm moving to Iceland- land where workers are paid, healthcare is a human right, and Karens aren't a thing.

Happy New Year from Germany! We have carpets in every room of our flat because the floor is warmer and it´s softer and cozier than just a wooden or stone ground! And in Germany it´s common to give a tip to the waitress or the service staff in a restaurant, bar or cafe.

When people ask me "how are you"? I say " Terrible! my haemaroids are playing up"

So I think we say “we’re going to europe” because most of the time you’re not going to just one country when you visit Europe so a normal response to saying that would be “where are you going in europe” and then you can list off every country you’re hitting

I'm Spanish and i've lived in Spain for almost my entire life. Here in Spain is so common to ask "Hello, how are you?" to everyone, regardless of how well you know that person. And I still never know what to answer 🤨

The carpet thing here in America is a hold over from the 50-70's mostly... It was a sign of wealth for many families and just became tradition. But if you look at modern or recently renovated homes for younger families, most will have hard wood or LVF. It's a good thing if you ask me... And after raising 2 toddlers and several puppies and kittens in my house, I cannot wait to be rid of our carpet too!

I mean a lot of us don't even eat breakfast 😂

I think I can answer the flag question. (I'll try to explain this the best way I can) I think there are 2 similar reasons. Speaking as an American, I believe the prominent display of flags just about everywhere you look became customary because many immigrants who came to this country were seeking a new life and a fresh start. It wasn't that they wanted to abandon their old country or heritage but they wanted to be identified as something/someone new. So a lot of the immigrant families who came here encouraged their families to adapt to American culture quickly and to display it whenever possible so they wouldn't stand out as being different. It was about doing things the American way. I also think the other reason was to be able to bond with others, whether its neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc. Being that many folks were from different backgrounds, finding that one common trait of "Hey, we're Americans now, you're my fellow citizen. I got your back" You wanted people to know that you were apart of this country and would contribute to it's success. It was customary to display your flag so that everyone knew what you were about. So because of all that, I believe generations of families simply carried on the tradition of displaying the flag wherever possible because it just became so common to see... I hope that made sense.

I think the 24 hour stores benefits people like me who live in Louisiana. I work at a chemical plant, that has 12 hr rotating shift work. It makes it easy for people like us to get supplies, food, drinks, etc. when we are working at 2-3 am.

So many of the items on your list have me wondering why they are ok here in the US. This was a great topic, thanks for uploading.

We like to be different in the USA. And here in Texas we’re way different.

“Tips” used to stand for “ to insure prompt service” and used to be a small jar at the concierge desk to encourage the staff to give more privileges. Now it happens after the service as an appreciation for good service

Oh, so what you’re saying is that practical common sensing is a thing in Iceland. Got it!

Thank you! I hope to visit Iceland some day sooner befor later!

The point of oversized meals is to have plenty to fill you up plus leftovers for another meal that you can reheat later

i went to iceland last summer and the things that you guys do are very similar to the ones we do in portugal so i never once felt like an outsider. i'm finishing uni and then my bf and i will move to iceland!

Hrafna: "Don't take this video seriously." Me: I'm definitely taking this video seriously since I'm from the USA. 😂

Welcome to America! You hit on some very painful and true observations.

Saying ‘Hi how are you?’ is common in the UK, Spain and France as well. It’s perfectly acceptable to not answer the ‘how are you?’ part. It’s just a way to come across more friendly

Wow I agree with a lot that is done in Iceland. Thanks for sharing.

I'm canadian and we are always saying "hi how are you" as a greeting. Even when we are passing each other in a hallway! But the funny thing is that we don't stop walking to wait for their response. So when the other person responds by saying say "hi, I'm good! What about you?" The other person is long gone if they're a fast walker hahah 😂😂

It's okay Hrafna. We don't know why people sue over nothing either.

Tipping is a big deal in the USA: it's a way of saying "Thank You". In restaurants, tips are shared typically out from the wait staff to the cooking staff. The kitchen staff were rewarded for cranking things out fast and right for the servers.

I recently discovered your channel and very much enjoy it. I hope you choose to continue. You do a great job and it's such a good business for you.

When people go to Europe they generally travel to many European countrys So they generalize it to just europe.

I live in the US and growing up, we did not wear shoes in the house. Same for me now as an adult. My wife and I remove our shoes at the door. This is what we expected of our children. Our house has wood floors in the kitchen where spills are likely. In the carpeted areas, we do not eat or drink. We vacuum the carpets regularly and have them professionally cleaned once a year or more. In the US, saying "Hi, How are you". is really just a greeting. People don't really expect you to reply with anything more than "Hello", or maybe just " H!, I'm good".

I’m from Lithuania, and we write the date day-month-year

Shoes on is not typical in Minnesota where I am from. Like Iceland, we have very cold winters where salt from the streets would be bad and of course mud after rainy days. When I bought my house 31 years ago the whole main floor was hardwood, but raising kids they have taken some abuse and now only my office has exposed wood. I have thick black carpeting in my living room with corn silk woven in that helps cleaning and hides most spills (and puppy accidents) while keeping us from needing slippers on constantly when drafts on -20F days (-29C).

When people say "Hi, how are you?" I say "Do you care?"

You are 100 percent right about themetric system. We need to get onboard with thay!

Imperial vs Metric in the USA: We use both, but due to entrenched business interests ... well you can imagine. lol

tipping is a nice gesture to our waiters and chefs to show thanks

Usually we say we're going to Europe because you'd go to multiple countries. With how big the US is and traveling distances Europe is smaller and easier to go to a couple countries. I'll never understand carpet either or why some people wear shoes inside

Hello! I'm an American. I agree with you on many of these points: 1. Agree - A sugary breakfast should be a rare occurrence. 2. Disagree - When I served in a restaurant in the U.S., I made a lot more money with tips than I would have if the restaurant hadn't allowed tipping and just paid a salary to me. I love the American tipping system. 3. It sounds like you already understand the reasoning behind this. 4. Agree - Walking on a carpet in a home with shoes on is disgusting. To be fair, many Americans do this, but many don't. Also, carpets are quickly going out of style in the U.S. 5. Agree - Saying, "Hi, how are you" to complete strangers is very strange. I don't do it either. 6. Agree - Americans will take someone to court for the most ridiculous reasons. 7. Agree - It should be written D/M/Y. 8. Disagree - Companies should have the freedom to advertise. Individuals should have the freedom to see what drugs are available. Responsibility should be on the individual to educate himself or herself and consult his or her doctor to make appropriate medical decisions. 9. Agree - The metric system is better. The current theory on why we still use it is because it would be extremely costly to switch over. 10. This is an anecdote, but most Americans I've spoken to have been more specific when discussing traveling to Europe. 11. Disagree - It isn't fair to ask one group of people to pay the bills of another group of people. I love the insurance plan provided to me through the company I work for. However, before I got this job and couldn't afford to pay for insurance on my own, I found healthcare through private charity, and they provided me with excellent care. Additionally, universal healthcare systems work much better in small populations. 12. Agree - Americans complain WAY too much. We have a lot of entitled Karens in our society. 13. I LOVE 24-hour stores! I have more of a late afternoon to night work schedule, and I love being able to leave work and get all of my grocery shopping done around midnight when the crowds arent there. You have to remember that we have very large populations in some American cities. Stores can get very crowded during the day. Another thing I love about 24-hour stores is that I can go get medicines or anything else that I may need late at night. 14. Most of us are very proud of our nation. We're patriotic, and we want to show it. More nations should show their patriotism more often and fly their flags proudly. 15. Agree - Our portions are WAY too large. It's a very real problem that should be solved through better nutrition education. Great video! Sorry that I'm late to see it. Also, thank you for sharing you perspective!

I was born, raised and currently live in Argentina, and we say "hi, how are you?" to everyone. I lived with this my whole life and i still dont understand why! 😂 After all you said, i would probably be comfortable with icelandic people

Hey love your videos! Quick tip to blow up your channel with a big broad new audience: Do a video trying to speak brazilian portuguese, or reacting to something related to Brazil, like videos of the most beatiful cities/places or something like that, with ''Brazil'' or ''Brazilian'' in the title and see the magic happens. Invocating Brazilians to your videos is no joke. Congratz and good luck!

Watching with your necklace on my neck🥰✨

At my job I have people threaten that they will get their lawyer involved all of the time. It usually tell them that it would be great if I could talk with their attorney. So far, I have never spoken with someone's lawyer. I think what happens is that they do this at a retail location and the shop just gives them free stuff just to avoid the headache.

LOL. The answer to "how are you?" is usually always "I'm fine, thanks" even if you're not.

I am loving this video! I agree with you!

Being naked on shag is just amazing! Seriously, it cold there! How is Icelanders not into fur rugs heavy carpet. Its easy to clean. Im in Salt Lake - snows a lot here. Love carpet.

Here in Australia, we do things very similar to Iceland too. 1. Our breaky's differ depending on the person - for example, if you're a fitness person, they'll eat like bacon and eggs - a very hearty meal; some people just have a bowl of cereal. Some have either a tea or a coffee. 2 & 3. Tips are an option for the service, but isn't included in the price of an item either. 4. The shoes and carpet - that's another thing that differs per household. Some houses don't have carpet, some houses or apartments, actually have either floorboard (wooden), or just ceramic tiles. But it all depends on who lives in that house, that allows shoes on any kinds of floor types. 5. The "Hi, How are you" greeting isn't exactly meaningful down here, we just say that as the greeting itself; even when we aren't feeling our best, we just respond with "Hey, I'm good thanks" because no-one really cares too much about our wellbeing. 6. With Sueing a person or company down here in Australia, we only do that for LEGAL matters. Such as a health risk, or something extremely illegal. 7. We do mark our dates as the Day/Month/Year. 8. Our medical presprictions are the same as Iceland too. Only our doctors are LEGALLY binding to do this. 9. Our system of measurement is Metric. 10. With a vacation to Europe, people usually say that if they decide to go to more than 5 countries within the Europeon area. But if it's just 1 or 2 countries, they'll say those destinated countries. 11. Universal kind of Healthcare is more about the Healthcare Insurance agency, that can expand to such lengths. Not all Healthcare agencies down here can do that. 12. With the complaints, if someone complains about the smallest or stupidest of things, it would mostly to do if they had a bad day, or week. Or even if what they ordered, wasn't what they were served with. Australia is HUGELY multicultural, so we have a huge variety of different types of cultural differences. But in the end, we still come together to achieve the end result even if it's been done in different ways...

LOL it’s insane how I’m Chinese and my culture has all the same the norm as Iceland in all of her points. Even the no “hi how are u” part.

The sweet breakfast is not usually a weekday thing here (America) either. Also, many Americans prefer hardwood floors to carpets. Carpets are a relic of the mid 20th century. When people remodel, they usually get rid of old carpets and put down solid floors.

Honestly I have no idea why we don’t use the metric system, once you learn it it’s super easy. Have a better year!

She is so correct on so many levels

Regarding the metric system. When I was 9 years old we were taught it in school because the imperial system of measurement was going to be obsolete, “Everyone else in the world uses the metric system.” 😂 Yea, I am 52 and we STILL use the imperial system. We only ever used the metric system in science classes.

As an American, your questions are legitimate lol. Which is why I am planning to move to either Japan or Norway within the next two years. :)

Storming of Capitol is OK in USA, but not in Iceland

Hello Hrapna, I'm Andrew. I've only recently found your channel and I enjoy your content so far. for this video i'm commenting on I wanted to share my perspective on the things you have mentioned. in the same fashion as you intended i'm not offended or trying to offend just sharing my views even if they may be misinformed or incorrect. -sweet breakfast: while I did have either cereal or something equivalent for breakfast most of my life, most everyone else I've ever known won't eat breakfast or any sort of meal before lunch. for me i preferred this because growing up i hated school lunch. so i tried to eat so that i could manage to go until i got home again without food. whereas the people that i know of that didn't eat before school mostly did so because they were grateful for the school lunch being better than what they had available in their home life. so you could say i've been plenty privileged to be picky as i am. -tipping: I've not understood tipping very well myself i think it would be better to just pay our workers. -sales tax: I agree that it would be nicer to pay exactly what the price tag says but it probably won't happen soon. -carpets: i personally prefer carpets. i dont know if locale is a factor but it would seem that uncarpeted floors here get really cold here in America for multiple reasons. and it would seem like you would have to sweep the uncarpeted floors more often. especially with pets and hair and dust. whereas we would just vacuum a few times a week. and there are many solutions to cleaning up spills from carpet first and foremost is simply not to spill. -greetings: as a lifelong introvert i've preferred not to greet people. but as my worldview has grown and i've become more empathetic to those i come across in my life I can say that when i come across someone and ask "what's up? or how are you?" it gives them a chance to get things off their chest they might be letting build up that don't really matter (an example "this customer was such a pain earlier and i'm really irritated" i might respond with yeah that sucks man but at least (insert much worse situation) didn't happen. I've noticed this seems toss aside whatever was bugging them. we have a tendency to let things build up and hold on to negative things here and if i can help someone by convincing them to toss an irrelevant issue aside i find it helps. or they just as well could respond really quickly positively or negatively just to be informative. -suing: this does happen all the time. in my narrow understanding of it I would say on the lower end of the spectrum people have a desire to do this because they hear stories of it and fantasize it as a get rich quick scheme as if money could solve their problems. while on the high end of it all it attempts to keep companies from completely taking advantage of peoples health and or wellbeing. i believe all companies here only care about making money and any appearance otherwise is merely a façade in an attempt to make more money. -month day year: yeah idk why we do it this way. but it seems odd to do it any other way. granted while i was in the military on the daily inspection forms we had to write year month day. why? because someone said so. -prescription ads: well you know how i was just talking about companies trying to make money without any other concern? this why this is a thing. I think it would be terrific if health could be something seen as necessary and not something to profit from. -imperial vs metric: while i agree it would make sense to convert to metric i not only don't want to myself, but also don't see it happening. part of the issue is trying to get 390million people to agree to it. as well as we just don't have any was off associating these things. most people have a semi accurate awareness of how much 1 pound weighs or how far 1 mile is or how much a gallon is or how cold 50'F is. but any of those in metric most people can't picture it or wrap their head around it. -going to Europe: the few people i've know that have gone Europe usually say it that way because they are going to a different country every day so if they are being quick about it would make sense to just say i went to Europe. then if the person talking to them cared about them going to Europe then they might ask for details. -universal health care: again i refer to the parts about suing and prescription ads. it's all for money and would be great if it weren't. -complaining to get free stuff: i don't like that anyone does this. but it can suck when something you order doesn't go right. while i have had to complain to correct certain things i've done so kindly and feel as if i made their day for being kind about it and may have been more likely to get things corrected. but it seems people with go to any length to get things for free. - 24/7 business: this again to me seems to be part of the "any means necessary to make money" but as someone who works a night shift many of the other businesses are a support to those like myself who work a night job. because there are just things can't get done during the daytime. alsoeconomically there is a kind thing that says if you own a business you don't stop paying for the business because it's night time so why not make your business make money also at night time. -flag and allegiance: these i believe are intended to unite and bring us together. especially because we are 50 states things can get heated between one another or neighboring states but the flag is a constant reminder that we ARE 1 country 1 people united or at least we should be. -giant food portions: as i mentioned earlier i am a picky eater and i also don't eat in quite large portions like many people. but at the same time i've heard that part of what can make our soldiers better that SOME countries soldiers is that they are well fed, which already avoids potentially many problems that other might not have. that being said their is a terrible tendency to just overconsume and i'm not a fan of it. i think part of it somehow circles back to making money off peoples bad health. again thank you for your content. I enjoy it. lastly thank you if you did read this massive comment.

"we actually pay people" massive oof 😂

Hrafna has had a pure soul

I think I heard your boyfriend playing video games with me in the background ! Show him to us !

Nice video ! Lots of flags on windows in Catalunya also.

Me after watching this video: cries and complains in Karen

Wow every single thing u said rite up to number 15 u said is the same as in Scotland!!!! Maby as we are underneath you and also vikings settled near where I live in Scotland and every year we all do an amazing festival we all meet and a giant boat is placed on the water and we all put effogys n things we want burnt for the new year it's an amaing super fun event and sadly the last 2 years 2020 n 2021 it had been cancelled due to covid but this year we are all back in business as they say ! People come from all around. England to French n Spanish n Irish people come and watch the boat getting set on fire 🔥 and we all have the best time btw I adore ur videos 📹 ❤ xxxxx

Tipping, hidden taxes, and the imperial system; as an American I still don’t understand why it’s being done it’s so ridiculous

thank u for the 'hi how are you' makes me crazy n wish it would go away

As an American im going to have to sue you for this video

I live in the US, but don't understand or agree to half of the things going on. Health care, tipping, suing, carpets, awkward greetings, random prescriptions, temperature rating, complaining or being rude, food portions or not defining your European travel. I have never been to Iceland, but love it and it is at the top of my list for travel. Love your channel and thanks for taking the time to talk about these topics!

I'm American and I 1000% agree with this video, America does so many complicated things

When I’ve said “I’m going to Europe” it’s meant that I was going to several different places in Europe.

OMG I'm so early elska þig💖🇮🇸

Thanks for the 14 day free trial hrafna!! Love your videos by the way! I've been watching all your videos recently one after the other. I now consider my self an expert on Iceland despite never actually visiting🤣 keep it up👍

8:30 I think a lot of it has to do with urban vs rural. Most of Iceland is sparsely populated, and even your largest cities would only count as large towns in the US. When you have a million people in a metro area, the mentality is just so, so different. Everything is so much less personal. There's also the fact that most of the big stores are owned by or franchises of major corporations, which further dehumanizes them. This just creates kind of an unhealthy environment, and I think it creates an atmosphere where bad behavior is much more likely.

In the US we say Hi how are you there is a small percentage of us that genuinely care we really want to know how your day is or how you're doing in general we may not be able to fix whatever is going on in your life but for that brief moment we can help carry some of the burden emotionally at least or we can share in some of your joy but I also live by the concept of you never know who may be that one person that makes a difference for you. I have had so many random people help me and I've helped so many random people just based on Hi how are you