Blog Post #2 - Sammy Pisano - Expanding Worldview

 I knew that there were big differences in Europe in terms of local behaviors, but I did not expect it to be this different. I went to Europe for the first time during spring break of my senior year, when my family and I visited Italy and France. Having never come across the Atlantic before, It genuinely opened my eyes. Aside from the food, which is much better and cleaner, and which I could talk about for hours, the local differences were a lot more surprising to me than I thought. For one thing, taking the train everywhere was a big difference, as it reduces car use and congestion, especially in cities. Compare that to Texas, where we emphasize owning a truck and a petroleum-heavy state that has been intertwined in its economy for a long time. This difference is important because it highlights how Europeans have prioritized sustainable, eco-friendly living to protect the planet from the impacts of climate change. So, instead of taking cars, Europeans have emphasized walking much more than Americans do, resulting in people who look much healthier. I think this walking culture and the reduction of cars have shaped the way European behavior emphasizes protecting the climate and moving away from fossil fuels, even though it varies across countries.


As I mentioned in my last blog post, I did not know much about the German energy landscape and was very interested to learn how it differed. In Freiburg specifically, it was very interesting how it was a green city and what they do to emphasize renewable energies in very different ways. Our tour of the Vauben eco district, including visits to different houses and how they generate their own energy. I also admired how people would come together to build diverse communities to generate as much renewable energy as possible and avoid traditional energy sources. One thing that stood out to me during the tour was how they had a community pizza oven for everyone to use, which burned wood. I also thought that their not being able to park on the street was a unique aspect of the trip, in which it tries to limit the number of cars in the district. Seeing Freiburg showed me how sustainability can be achievable for the United States, even in the small things, which would be a huge step forward. This is why I truly believe you cannot fully experience someone else’s culture through a book, and you actually have to go to that place to experience it for yourself. 

Comments

  1. KevinMay 25, 2026 at 2:35 AM

    Sammy, The Vauben district also stood out to me a lot during our walking tour of Freiburg for how cooperative people seemed to live. Families would willingly engage in building a house together with shared living rooms, community pizza ovens, a sense of shared roads amongst bikers, pedestrians, cars, and trams all showed how connected the district felt. Community is a really powerful tool when building sustainability as it takes a village to fight climate change. It takes everyone pulling their own weight and working for the betterment of the community. This community sentiment used to be more prevalent around the world, and in the United States as well, but somewhere along the way I believe we lost some of these tight-knit values. If we want to see more sustainability around the world, I think policy changes are just as important as changing community sentiments and building back the bonds between people.

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  2. Alessandra AndradeMay 25, 2026 at 6:00 AM

    I like how you mentioned the fact that even other cultures within Western society differ from one another. It's easy for many people to think that all Western countries, and/or all European nations, have the same or similar cultures. As you mentioned, this is not always true. Spanish culture vs German culture, for example, differ quite a lot from each other. Although there are similarities between Western cultures, they share some values, their are also differences which are important to highlight.

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  3. DanielMay 28, 2026 at 5:42 AM

    Hi Sammy!

    I certainly agree with you about the food in Europe! I really like your idea about the importance of visiting somewhere else to understand the culture. It certainly is different to think about areas of the globe using trains vs actually taking the trains. I’m curious what you think needs to be done to spur changes in American culture so that things like this can take hold. I’m sure they could have real impacts!

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