Austria vs. America

The other night, Nicole and I were working on our German homework. The task in sight: create two different dialogues about two different situations. I decided upon a restaurant and shopping situation, thinking these would be the most helpful. I started to work on the restaurant dialogue first. I was thinking about what a waiter in the US would say, not in Austria. In the US, after bringing out a plate of food, it would be considered rude if the waiter did not reply with something similar to: lassen sie mich wisse, wen ich noch etwas für Sie erhalten kann. (let me know if there is anything else I can get for you). Nicole, talking to her Austrian boyfriend Thomas through Skype (as he is on exchange in Norway) proceeded to ask Thomas if this was the correct translation. His response? "No. Well, yea, it is correct but no one would say that." So there you go, a major cultural difference between the US and Austria. According to Thomas, Austrians find the super polite way of Americans annoying. Well, some Austrians come off as just plain rude. I guess we are just nicer in the US. I find it amazing that something so simple as ordering food can be so complicated. Welcome to Austria, and the ultra reserved (sometimes to the point of rude) lifestyle.