If you’re headed abroad for a semester, or already are abroad (lucky you!), one of the first things you’ll probably notice is that many European men are different from our typical American boys. They’ve got a whole new air about them than we’re used to. To help you navigate the waters of meeting and dating European men, we went straight to the source: the Euro-men themselves.
Along with tips from a few of our Campus Correspondents who’ve traveled abroad, you’ll have those Parisian men lining up to buy your next café au lait in no time.
For romance, try a café or museum…
Don’t be surprised if, while you’re out to lunch with friends, a guy strikes up a conversation, or asks for your number. When it comes to meeting guys in Europe, a croissant bakery is often just as good a place as a dance club.
“In France, we try to be romantic, so the guys try to find a good place to [meet],” Antoine Vasseur, 21, of France says. “It can be a nice restaurant, a bar, or a café.”
Antonin Genot, 21, also of France agrees that women want to be treated like princesses. European guys “pretend to be him, the man from fairytale,” Antonin says. They “make sweet attentions, surprises, dinner, are funny, look at her, listen to her, and are deeply interested in what she says.”
To keep this romantic feel to getting to know someone, cafés and restaurants tend to be less of just places to grab a bite, as in America, and more of casual meeting spots. In terms of dating, “this might be the biggest difference between our countries,” Antoine says.
Declan Cullen, 26, of Ireland says, “there are plenty of restaurants, shops, museums, music venues, not to mention the city centers in general, where there are guys queuing up to ask out foreign girls.”
Of course you can always meet guys at clubs, but if you’re looking for that true European dating experience, grab a book and pull up a chair at a café. Now all you have to do is wait for the Frenchman. Or, maybe, Frenchmen.
But the bars are fair game too…
Once the sun goes down, the meeting hot spots shift from the cute, casual, cafes to the more energetic bar and pub scene. It will likely be less “romantic”, but, if you get lucky on your friend’s pub choice, there will be plenty of potential foreign men to chat with.
After studying abroad in London, with travels to Paris, Ireland, Scotland and Amsterdam, HC Campus Correspondent for The College of New Jersey, Jessica Corry, says, “the pub and bar culture is huge and it’s not unusual to grab dinner in a pub then bar hop the rest of the night away.”
One difference, Jessica says, is that it’s not necessarily about consuming as much alcohol as possible. It’s more of a social event.
“Not only does this mean you get to explore a lot of different venues, but it increases the amount of people you meet in one night and the chances someone will catch your eye,” says Jessica.
Declan, of Ireland, says since the drinking age is 18, much more activity is centered around bars and pubs. “There’s no such thing as frat parties,” he adds.
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Your smile tells him you’re not a local…
If you’re worried about standing out as an American because of your clothes, although the UGGs might give a hint, a bigger give-away may actually be your teeth!
“The smile is one of the biggest clues for knowing if a girl is American,” Antoine says. “Most [American] girls show their teeth when they smile and for most of them, they have perfect white teeth.”
You can thank your orthodontist, and your parents, for that one.
Show an interest in his country…
Prove you’re not just abroad for the drinks (or the European men – you’re not, right?), and impress him with a few questions about his homeland.
“Most guys are flattered to be asked about their culture and country, and the conversation can leap from there,” says Jessica.
Kathryn Sullivan, editor of the HC branch for the University of Tennessee, dated a British guy while abroad in London, and says she and her foreign boyfriend never ran out of things to talk about. They could always discuss another aspect of his life outside the United States.
“There are so many things you get to teach each other, and so many things to talk about that may not be relevant or fun to talk about with a guy from the states,” Kathryn said.
Ask him what it was like to grow up there. Does he have a favorite city? A favorite restaurant nearby? What was his schooling like? Then share your own experiences, and comment on how different or similar they are.
They’ll love your accent…
After your alluring American smile, the next best way get his attention is to say something. Anything. It’s the same ‘awww!’ feeling we get when we hear Jude Law in The Holiday. Accents are adorable. Enough said.
“The fact that you are an American is usually enough of a novelty to strike up a conversation,” Jessica says. “Even better, most guys find the American accent to be ‘cute.’”
This applies to girls from Maine to California, and everywhere in between.
Not only will he find your accent intriguing (and most likely, you will feel the same about his!), but also, “you can have hilarious conversations for hours just on how differently you pronounce things,” Kathryn says.
“No one from the states thought my voice was so attractive, or my look was exotic. It’s nice to feel interesting,” Kathryn says.
If you’re playing the coy game of smiles and eye contact, make the first move just by saying something. Say hello, or introduce yourself. It will probably be more than enough to spark his interest.
They love that you’re a “Yank”…
Here’s a secret: In Europe, Americans are the exotic foreigners.
You may not feel quite so exotic on the bleachers at a football game in your hometown, but in Europe, you’ve got a whole new appeal.
“If you want to meet a guy abroad, be yourself,” Kathryn says. “Be the fun, sexy, flirty American girl that they’ve only gotten to hear about.”
It’s about the excitement of what’s different. Everything about Americans is unique to Europeans: our accents, our look, and our personalities.
Spotting an American in Ireland is like picking out a poodle in a pack of greyhounds.
“They stand out,” Declan says. “Not in a bad way, but Irish people are particularly adept at telling one of their own.”
Declan says he and his Irish friends enjoy playing a game they call “Spot the Yank.” “The dead giveaway is a North Face Jacket,” he says.
But, he adds, don’t worry too much about blending in: being foreign raises your cuteness! Well, what could be easier than that?
Sources
Antoine Vasseur, 21, France, studying at Francis Marion University
Antonin Genot, 21, France, École des Mines de Douai
Declan Cullen, 26, Ireland, studying at Syracuse University
Jessica Corry, HC Campus Correspondent, The College of New Jersey
Kathryn Sullivan, HC Campus Correspondent, University of Tennessee at Knoxville