There are a lot of things I don't miss about Europe - mainly German, the lack of decent crackers, and the euro-dollar exchange rate. Yet there are a number of things I actually do miss. I could go on for hours about the quality public transportation system and the more stable work-life balance most Europeans had seemed to achieve, but this is pretty much "I-did-study-abroad-in-Europe-and-here-are-the-things-I-totally-loved-about-Europe!!!!!" kind of stff. What I really miss the most? Mismatched couples.
One of the first things I noticed in Europe was that the "opposites attract" mentality was alive and in effect EVERYWHERE. Initially, I was shocked and appalled. And I didn't just see this phenomenon once; I saw it all over the place - from the subways in Vienna to the beaches of Greece to a bar in the Czech Republic. Here's how it looked: a moderately attractive man or woman, standing arm-in-arm with a significant other who was one, if not all, of the following things: 1) chubby 2) covered in piercings 3) wearing something ill-fitting and/or stained. But yet both people looked extremely happy. As if they didn't actually things there was anything wrong.
I stared at each and every one of these odd couples. Almost to the point where I knew throughout instinct (and clearly not language skills) that the couple was whispering to one another, "Which one of us is going to hit her first?" And it was during one of these awkward staring contests between myself and what looked to be Matt Damon and Janet Reno holding hands, it finally hit me. Maybe there's actually nothing wrong with this. Maybe it's me.
In the US, one look around a bar/graduate school classroom and you can be pretty sure who would give you the time of day and who would likely feign deafness if you tried to talk to them. And this is all based on physical beauty - nothing else. It's kind of an unspoken rule that you're limited to those with whom you share the most physical traits. Try having your friends set you up on a blind date if you don't believe me. You're a little curvy? Surprise, surprise. Mr. Blind Date has a spare tire that would put Homer Simpson to shame. And it goes on and on - height, style, etc.
But in Austria and the other places I lived and visited, while I'm sure physical beauty played a role in bringing people together, there's not the same sense of "conventionally pretty" as there is in the US. As a result, people get together who aren't necessarily in the same "league." I know, I know. This is a lot to digest. There are places in the world where people might need more than just "Is s/he hot?" or "If I'm a solid 7, is s/he at least a 6?" to consider dating? Places where amihotornot.com just doesn't have the same cultural pull as here in the States?
Possibly. Either that or Europe has a lot of couples who met when they were completely shit-faced, when traditional standards of beauty become a little blurred (literally). Unfortunately, this would negate my thesis. But at the very least we'd all have the satisfaction of knowing that beer goggles are a universal phenomenon.
