After a full semester and summer away from this place, it’s great to be back here and writing for The Sun again. This past spring I studied abroad in Seville, a city in southern Spain, and I did a good deal of traveling through Europe while I was there. It was an incredible time, to say the least, but don’t worry. I’m not about to use my first column to unveil some profound insights that I acquired overseas. Nor am I going to showcase the details about my wild escapades with Belgian beer and a fine-looking Italian stallion …

But what I will do is share with you some practical observations I made while I was gallivanting throughout (nay, I mean studying hard in) Europe. Here I present to you: The Things They Do Better Than America.

Why now? Well, because I think our country needs a little make-over in various departments. We’re not exactly on the world’s Top Ten list these days, and more importantly, I think we (Americans) are finally starting to admit that our lifestyle has its flaws. If we’re ready to tweak some things, why not look to our neighbors for new ideas?

And you, dear readers; you’re the bright young minds who might some day implement these rather inspired changes. So here are just a few:

Europe as a whole is much more waste-conscious than we are here. Even though environmental issues have managed to creep their way into recent media headlines and even Hollywood, there are things — small things — we could be doing to change our gluttonous ways. We don’t necessarily need to exchange our SUVs for hybrids to be waste conscious (although it wouldn’t be the worst idea).

In Copenhagen, grocery stores charge their customers an extra fee to bag their groceries in new plastic bags. An incentive for people to reuse their old bags, the system saves money and plastic.

At hotels in Spain and Portugal, your room key also serves as a light switch. You insert your key card into a slot on the wall to turn on the lights in your room. That way you’re forced to turn the lights off when you leave, plus you’ll always know exactly where you left your room key. Not only is their method easier for the customer and environmentally friendly, it cuts down on the electric bill for the hotel.

In general, mass transit systems in Europe are used a lot more than they are here in the States. Trains and buses are the most popular forms of transportation, not only in cities but in the areas surrounding them. Why? First of all, it’s cost effective. Gas is expensive and keeps going up in price. Second, mass transit is more efficient and widespread there than it is here. It might be time for us to improve mass transit in the States so we can get out of our cars and force down the price of gas.

Amsterdam’s public transportation system is definitely creative. The government sets up bicycle racks stocked with unlocked bikes on street corners. People can ride a bike to their destination and leave it on another bike rack for the next person to use!

Most Europeans also walk. Everywhere. So not only are they less wasteful, they’re also less obese.

This brings me to another area in which we could learn some things from our European counterparts: eating. In Spain I lived with a host family. They pretty much ignored breakfast, grabbing a piece of toast or coffee in the mornings, but that was all. Lunch was the biggest meal of the day: a 2-3 course feast served at 3:30 every afternoon.

Dinner, a smaller meal, was always served around 9:30 at night. This eating schedule was, frankly, pretty weird. I have to admit I prefer the American routine: a large breakfast, a small mid-day lunch and a larger early dinner. However, the types of foods I ate while away surely made me reassess my eating habits in America.

My “señora,” or host mom, shopped for groceries nearly every day. She bought fresh milk, produce, meat, cheese and bread, all of which she used to cook that day’s meals. No super-sized packages of 100 Calorie Packs. No Sweet & Low. Those Spaniards bring on the fat in full force and yet they are all so skinny. Maybe their fresh, natural, easily-digestible food selections are the right way to go.

Some other neat things that people do over there: nearly everyone speaks multiple languages, which they start learning at young ages in school; they walk slower; they greet you with a kiss on each cheek (the more love the merrier!); they have universal health care.

Hey, I’m not a self-loathing American. I’m fully aware that there are plenty of things at which we dominate, like movies, music, bagels, baseball, waiters who don’t wait two hours to bring the check and hair styles that don’t resemble mullets. But for the things in our culture that do need fixing-up, there’s nothing wrong with borrowing a few ideas.

Europe has certainly borrowed some ideas from us. The clubs and bars all play American music, and the non-English-speaking citizens somehow seem to know all the words. Starbucks stores line the streets in Spain and a big McDonald’s sits right outside the Pantheon in Rome.

Europeans might hate our foreign policy but at least they are open to our culture. I think it might be time for us to return the compliment.

Missy Kurzweil is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be contacted at mek37@cornell.edu. Don’t Miss Out appears alternate Thursdays.