Collegiate gothic, for example, is only a sad attempt at making real gothic look happy. This defeats the whole purpose of gothic architecture. Rhodes is beautiful, yes, but Chartes Cathedral put the fear of God into many a medieval pilgrim's heart. After experiencing its dark and frightful splendor, peasant and feudal lord alike went begging for redemption. Today tourists can just go begging for prozac.
Everyday life is different, too.
Supermarkets, however, are much bigger on this side of the ocean, and the selection of juice beverages with unnatural fruit flavors declines steadily the farther East you travel. People really do speak other languages, however inconsiderate this may seem. Even worse, they often don't even know English, and won't speak it to you even if you speak it to them, a fact which some European Studies students simply refused to accept. The notable exceptions to this are the French, who all speak English but prefer to lie about it and watch you make a fool of yourself trying to speak their language. This probably helps them reaffirm the national opinion that they're better than the rest of us.