Every country I visited had some sort of manifestation of counter culture.  Variations of weirdly cut and colored hair, dangling chains, screaming banshee music twanging out of cellphones, piercings in painful-looking locations, baggy and ripped clothes were sported by the populace’s rebellious youth.  While each subculture was trying to be unique and as shocking as possible to the “normal” people, they were nearly all the same across borders.  Teens will always be teens, finding ways to defy authority and distinguish themselves.  And America is no exception to this either.  We have just as strong of a counter culture.

I wasn’t expecting to notice this global commonality, so I suspect that’s why I find it interesting.  As much as I knew Europeans wouldn’t be that different, I was anticipating some awkward (or enlightening, depending on your view) interactions and culture clashes.