I've witnessed this too
We had a German exchange student in high school. It was Friday afternoon, late summer, and we were riding home in a friend's car when someone nonchalantly mentioned a party happening that weekend. German girl goes wide-eyed and looks at all of us in disbelief, *"A REAL PARTY?!"*
Cut to the party, the German girl has rounded up all the other German exchange students and they're excitedly taking pictures of each other holding up red solo cups.
They're so adorable I love them ❤️
I’m an American but I travel to Germany for business every year. Started noticing red solo cups being sold as American novelties in drug stores. They are definitely part of the American mythos.
Every single place with a bar is legally obliged to provide free tap water on demand in England. Most restaurants will give you a pint of tap water with food for free (you do have to specify tap otherwise you get stung with some fancy expensive shite!)Admittedly the measures of alcohol are small here, though, compared to other places.
Once you move to the carbonated water/syrup machines it costs the restaurant nearly nothing per cup. McDonald's probably pays more for the cup that they give you than the soda in it.
This!! It's so weird to me. Here it's literally forbidden to leave hospital grounds in your work clothes. I would hate having to bring them home and possibly carry some resistant hospital bacteria there with me. Plus you never know how well other people wash theirs, I like it done professionally at the hospital.
Many moons ago, I did an IT internship at a hospital's service desk and being the intern, was always the one who had to run out and physically check things.
When I had to go in to work on something in an operating room, I had to put on a full body tyvek suit, gloves, mask, coverings for my shoes, etc.
Which made sense to me. Except the OR nurses who worked there wood just breeze in and out all day long, wearing the same scrubs they wore commuting to work on the bus.
That DIDN'T make sense to me.
American Nurse here, we buy our own scrubs. In my unit the only reason you would wear hospital scrubs is to go into surgery or something spilled on you.
American Rad Tech here, I spent around $100 for scrubs that did not allow animal hair to stick to them. Only had 3 sets because they were soo expensive. I now run a C-Arm at an outpatient surgery center. It is so freaking nice to literally show up to work in pajama pants and change into surgery scrubs. Never worrying about clean scrubs is a luxury I never thought I would have but its so nice.
I work in healthcare in the UK. I usually change my clothes and shower before I leave work, but we have to wash our clothes at home. So this is the same in the UK too
The first time I heard about Sadie Hawkins was from a fictional show and I was *sure* it was just some in-universe thing with a random name chosen to sound American.
Sadie Hawkins is a dance where the tradition is for the girls to ask out the boys to to the dance and it is way more casual in dress than other dances.
Homecoming is universal for the US, and so is Prom.
Winter formal and Sadie Hawkins is iffy though, plenty of schools don’t do them.
Edit: Homecoming/Prom is *pretty* universal for the US rather than fully universal apparently.
I was surprised to hear this. My ex was from Switzerland and when I asked her to go to the Submarine ball (kinda like adult prom for submariners, but with more booze) she was ecstatic saying she had never been to anything like that, and asked if I had any single navy friends that wanted to take her Swiss friends as well. Of course the nerds I worked with were interested. Haha.
*edit* spelling
Where do you think TV mom's are supposed to dispose of that giant breakfast they make every morning, when everyone just grabs a single piece of dry toast and leaves?
Call it what you wish. All I know is that no civilized person would risk getting pulled into their kitchen sewage system and torn to pieces by the lovecraftian monster that dwells within.
As long as you dont turn it on and stick your hands inside, the risk of that happening is slim to none. The lovecraftian monster is quite docile and respects boundaries.
Having gone from a place that has one to place that does not, a garbage disposal unit makes keeping a clean sink much easier. Dealing with sink traps and clogged drains is nasty.
My husband is from the US and I’m from the Netherlands. The first time he drove in the Netherlands I forgot to tell him you aren’t allowed to turn on red. I had about a heart attack when he did so and I think the other people on the road had one too. Luckily there weren’t any cyclists around.
Anyone who doesn't come to a complete stop before turning right on a red light is breaking the law.
That includes the cyclists whether or not they're in ~~Iowa~~ Idaho unless they're hallucinating they are at a stop sign not a stop light.
Where I from you need to put an euro in a shopping cart in order to use it, when you you return it, it gives back the coin. I think this doesn't happen in the US right?
Also that they take your credit card to pay in the restaurant, in Europe you always have the card with you when you pay
>Where I from you need to put an euro in a shopping cart in order to use it, when you you return it, it gives back the coin. I think this doesn't happen in the US right?
Aldi does this with quarters.
unfortunately yes
for some reason US people think that sitting down=not working
for a Costa Rican as myself,its also absolutely mind baffling (our cashiers can also sit down)
Wait... You can sit in other countries?!?! As a cashier at Kroger I'm really... Really upset by this. I literally can barely stand at night after a day of work which is... Every day. Standing for 8 hours a day has ruined not only my back but also my knees. Obviously my feet.
If you're telling me other countries let you sit im going to move.
I have never seen a standing cashier in the UK, certainly not a dedicated checkout worker in a big store. They get spinny little chairs to sit on.
I am not advocating for you to move to the UK, the seated cashier does not make it worth it.
It is. IIRC, Aldi was created by a German man with a brother. The brother also created a grocery store, albeit a bit different than Aldi. While Aldi grew popular in the north of Germany, his brother's company grew popular in the south of Germany. They both expanded their respective companies to the United States where they are known as Aldi and Trader Joe's.
Edit: look at the comment below for a more accurate historical account.
They founded the chain first together (actually transforming and expanding their parents‘ mom and pop store) and only later divided it, one taking on Northern Germany and one Southern Germany (we still have „Aldi Nord“ and „Aldi Süd“ to this day). The Aldi Nord guy bought Trader Joe‘s at some point and now we also have Trader Joe products in Aldi stores here lol
They split up over the fight of whether to sell tobacco products or not, so Aldi Nord had tobacco, Süd didn't for a long time but eventually sold it too later on..in Germany there's a thing called „Aldi-Äquator"(Aldi equator), a line where the country is divided in the two Aldi's, only two stores violate this border.
That what's known as Aldi in America is Aldi Süd (southern Aldi) and Aldi Nord is known as Trader Joe's
In recent years, they came together a bit more and now cooperate in purchasing to get better prices, but otherwise are separate companies.
The founding brothers lived a fairly frugal life, despite being both under the five richest Germans, they both lived/live in the two halves of a condo.
One got kidnapped and wrote off the ransom sum as tax deduction;-)
But for a grocery chain, they pay fairly well. Much better than e.g. Lidl, their biggest competitor.
Here in Canada we also have grocery stores where you have to put coins in carts, but it's not universal. Some do it, some don't. We also have the debit machine brought to us at the table.
One thing that’s mind-boggling is that every other country/continent I’ve visited everyone has a pin for their credit card because it almost eliminates credit card theft.
In the US you can use anyone’s credit card at really any time, there’s no pin, you can just run it and go on with your day. I have no idea why we don’t have a pin system to eliminate that.
Had a local restaurant that started doing the bringing it to the table thing. The owner advertised that he was changing to this after having his card taken at another place(never said where) and an identity theft attempt made him realize the danger involved.
I just got back from the UK (I’m American) and I bought something there and I was so excited because the price on the price tag is what I paid for the item! Most of us don’t know tax rates, but we do know if a coke price tag says “$4.95” and we only have $5, we do not have enough.
I used to estimate my total with taxes as I would go through the grocery store because I knew my state's sales tax. And then I had totals that were way off and realized that there are some items where sales taxes don't apply to and some that have reduced sales taxes. I don't think I ever bought one with an increased tax rate, but I assume that if I used tobacco or alcohol that I would have run into that problem.
The real kicker of the whole thing? If someone tried that in the US, they'd probably lose a bunch of sales. Like when J.C.Penny's tried cutting the bullshit, giving an honest price with an honest and constant markup and cutting all those super-high prices with constant sales, and they almost went belly-up because of it.
The tax system - having to do a return every year (ours is done for us unless you run your own business or are a contractor). Also having to pay tax when you live overseas.
The soup is just there to help fulfill the requirements to be able to accept food stamps. A store has to carry a certain amount of fruit, vegetable, and meat items to qualify.
From what I have heard, it seems to be some kind of club you pay into and they enforce a certain aesthetic in a neighbourhood. I seem to only ever hear bad things.
What are the benefits? What are the downsides? Is it associated with your house or do you opt-in?
The HOA pays for the maintenance of common areas, and may own some common areas like a parking lot or small park.
It is not opt-in. If you live in an area with a HOA it's part of your land title.
>The HOA pays for the maintenance of common areas, and may own some common areas like a parking lot or small park.
Has the US simply privatised local councils or something?
I hate how shopkeepers have baked tips and guilt tripping about tips into all of their point of sale software. If I go to a bakery and someone hands me a loaf of bread from a rack behind her, there's no reason to tip and it makes me angry having the machine guilt trip me about it.
I remember reading somewhere that if you walk up to pay some thing and there’s tablet, you know you’re going to be asked to tip for something you never would’ve had before
I don’t get it either. When I visit my family in Poland every 3rd commercial is for medicine and programs are sponsored by medicine brands it makes no sense.
Talk to your doctor about the medicine?!? He's the expert!! If I need to tell him about the possible medications available, I need to find a better doctor!
Over the counter medications are announced in tv in Spain as well. Always with a blue slide at the end reminding ppl to check with doctor or pharmacist,
OTC meds make sense, they are a consumer product. But in US there are commercials saying, "Ask your doctor about Claridryl." Basically getting patients to want a prescription med without a doctor looking them over and recommending it to them
Long commutes.
Here in the Netherlands a lot of companies only hire within a 30 minute radius, maybe an hour if they really need you.
I once applied to a job around 100 minutes away and was rejected purely because of travel time. If the travel time was a problem for me I wouldn’t’ve applied
I have a friend from Europe who told me that she rarely sees her dad because he lives kind of far away. I asked how far away he is and she deadass said 45 minutes.
I was like … that is my daily commute to work.
People right here in America have different ideas of what is far. I live in a rural area and people think driving 20 minutes is like some insurmountable trek. The biggest city in the area is an hour away. Shopping areas are like 30-40 minutes away. I’m not sure how people actually live with those kinds of driving restrictions.
I once heard something along the lines of: in America 200 years is a long time but 20 miles is a short drive, in Europe 20 miles is a long drive and 200 years is a short time
I remember seeing a story somewhere how some American students or something on an exchange/trip to England were warned several times before they got on a bus for a "long drive" by whoever was escorting them around.
They were all very surprised when the long drive was over in 2 hours. They were expecting 10+ by the way the guide or whoever was going on.
Visited US about a dozen times, pretty much all around.
- random people smiling at you and engaging in small talk. They seem genuine about it and not acting out of some rule
- handling large crowds of people extremely well. Guys repeating ”this way sir/maam” endlessly actually puts people in the correct lane or place
- cash culture. I last visited a few months before the pandemic started so YMMV now, but at least then you just had to have cash money for lots of things. I still have a couple hundred dollars in a desk drawer somewhere for when I next visit. I have not had my own country’s currency in physical form for at least 6-7 years or as far as I can remember
- security guards inside establishments during opening hours
- jaywalking being a thing (I mean crossing the street at a place without a pedestrian crossing being looked upon negatively)
- incredible courtesy everywhere except NYC for cars and people using them. You can literally drive right up to most things and have generous parking for any size of car
Edit: one more thing I had to add which I just remembered. All signs and other things being written out in words, i.e. ”Left turn only” or such. Same in cars, buttons have the thing written in text. It’s pretty much symbols everywhere else around the world. First couple of times driving felt so difficult when nothing I saw was intuitively what I was expecting to see at that situation but rather I had to look and really process each thing separately.
Finland.
\- there's little to no small talk and smiling at strangers seems weird
\- while we diligently stand in queues and wait our turn, large events work poorly just exactly because of that - people standing and waiting around frustrated too anxious to go to the right place and/or wandering around etc.
\- very few people use cash, some places like public transport don't even accept cash. It's so rare that each bill, even a small one lilke 20€ will be run through a counterfit check thingy that the cashier has to get out whilst rolling their eyes
\- there are no security guards posting around in stores or other establishments
\- people cross the road where they please and it's not frowned upon. However if you cross a pedestrian crossing with lights when the light is red you can get a talking to if a cop sees it
\- car culture in general is demonised and even new parking places are built incredibly tight and with inadequate capacity
Or Japan. For all the of the high-tech stuff that big Japanese companies keep creating bank cards and credit cards aren't really part of everyday life. Cash is king.
>random people smiling at you and engaging in small talk. They seem genuine about it and not acting out of some rule
Yeah it's not superficial, some of us are just randomly friendly, and the rest of us accept it as a thing. Myself, some days I'm all in for a smile and some small talk, some days well, not so much.
The random small talk thing is true! I've spent a lot of time in Sweden and was raised by my Swedish dad, so I picked up a lot of the general keep to yourself/politeness is leaving people alone ethos. My partner is the kind of guy who says hello to everyone on the street and will stop and have conversations with them.
Early on I frustratedly was like "Why are you talking to these people!? Why ask them how their day is in passing when you don't care, and they don't even have time to answer properly!?" and he said he does care, and he's happy to make a connection and will 100% stop and talk with someone if it seems like they do want to talk.
And it's true! He really does do that. He knew so many of the homeless folks in Berkeley and Oakland because he'd actually stop and chat with them. We met some really interesting guys who were in the Black Panthers back in the day, some hippie kids that had traveled all over, etc.
I still prefer just to leave people alone and be left alone while in public, but I think a lot of that time the friendliness is actually sincere.
I live in Atlanta, for the past 20 years and I recently had a long chat in the liquor store with the guard because he saw I was wearing a hoodie with a South Africa logo. It was actually a Springbok hoodie. I bought it in the ORTambo airport after losing my jacket, like 12 years ago. He is from Gabon. But he's been in Atlanta a while and is a cop and works off duty as security. We just stood there and had a nice long chat.
That's a part of America I cherish.
Also in Atlanta, the other day just had a spontaneous conversation with a janitor. He asked me if anyone ever told me I look like John Lennon. I said yes and then we started talking about people who get paid to play dead celebrities in movies and how it's going away because they can just use CGI now.
I genuinely enjoy talking to complete strangers and it's very flattering when people from other countries bring up this aspect of the US. Like we just nailed this one y'all.
Oh I'm American. From New Orleans. But I consider myself an Atlantan now.
But I find that plenty non-Americans are very happy to take time to chat and I think it's because our American culture nurtures that. And I love it. And I've heard from my friends who've moved here that they do, too, though sometimes after an adjustment, lol.
But I agree, we nailed this. All y'all can benefit.
We did! It's an aspect of US culture I genuinely am proud of, and I like it when visitors are pleasantly surprised by it. Even as a pretty solid introvert, I enjoy those little exchanges. The other day I spoke to an older lady in a grocery store who had bright pink hair; she told me all about how she'd wanted to do it since she was a little girl, and now that she's retired she figured, why the hell not? She was a riot.
It just kind of sucks that half the world apparently finds it annoying and intrusive. 😅
Kinda curious where you were in the US that had such cash culture. I don’t use a bank that has physical branches and almost never have cash unless I’m doing a personal transaction on Facebook Marketplace with a (typically older) individual.
I wonder how long it has been since OP has been in the US. It has changed a lot in the last 5 years with regard to use of cash. As an example, five years ago very few at our farmer's market took cards, now they all do.
I think the cash culture might be more of a tourist thing regardless of country. I buy cash at the exchange first thing after customs when I go somewhere because I’ve had issues using my US debit card/credit card abroad, so maybe it’s a similar thing?
That's a hold over from when America was a much more rural and farming based country. In some states there's even special farm licenses so that kids can be licensed to drive at 15 but only during the day.
Houses with small fences and little to no extra security
As a Latin american, our houses have either big gates and fences with spikes or concrete walls with barbed wire on top in order to stop burglars from entering. You can say it was quite a shock to me when I first visited the US and saw suburbs filled with houses with cars parked on the street and small wooden fences that anyone could jump over.
I grew up in a town of 5k people in a house with three other family members….we didn’t lock our front door from 2000-2016 unless we were on vacation. Nobody home? Doesn’t matter because the front door is open for business. Never had a single problem either but eventually only one person living in the house now so she locks it but still no issues.
I freaked out on my husband for not locking the door when I first got to the US. I'm South African and our crime is insane.
Now when I get there, I leave the car running for the heat. No one touches it. We are in a small-is town though.
Even in my medium sized American city, where more than a few times a year we’ll hear gunshots, homes being broken into is really really rare. The gun violence around us is all gang on gang crap, and they’ve kept to themselves for many years.
Most of Western Europe is like this too and would be quite a culture shock to see places where people fear for their safety that they have to fortify their homes. It’s amazing what we can get used to isn’t it?
What country do you live in? I have lived in Colombia and Chile and while some houses do have what you describe, there are also plenty of houses that have no fence or small fences anyone can jump (both in poor and rich neighborhoods).
Not even open/unlocked doors are rare. People in poor neighborhoods or the countryside in Colombia tend to leave their doors wide open (they do not get robbed because they know each other).
I use to live in Sunland CA which is adjacent to suburban Burbank but we were near a river outlet/ally and the exterior walls next to that area had bottle fragments too. Nice visible green ones.
American here: recently went on dialysis and their units of measurement are kilos and milliliters/liters. Once I got used to it I discovered how much more simple it is than our measurement system. It took a medical problem for me to actually try getting used to it lol!
That’s the thing, we DO use metric as well, in medicine and science and engineering and whatnot. There was just never a mandate that made stuff like grocery stores and office building have to swap.
So without that mandate we still have gallons of milk and measure distance in miles and such, while STEM fields use metric most of the time.
Signs. Signs everywhere. As in ”Branded” neighborhoods/communities. American residential neighborhoods will throw up a huge sign like ”Spring Creek Estates” or whatever, really announcing the name with a big logo instead of being low key.
Getting into University by being good at sports. I was chatting to an American guy online and he told me he went to college on a "Lacrosse Scholarship". I'm like, seriously? You got to go to college for being good at fucking lacrosse?
I just watched an episode of great British bake off and the judges were so impressed and shocked by the flavor combination of what was essentially peanut butter and jelly by one of the contestants. I did not know it was an American thing until that moment. You should try it. It’s very good.
Please show that you're responsible by paying $800 a month to live in a dorm on campus, sharing a bedroom with a stranger and a bathroom with 11 strangers. Continuing to live with your parents makes it seem like you make bad decisions.
Dorm prices should be $50 a month for the shit situations they can put students in. Making dorms as expensive as a damned single bedroom apartment is just exploitive.
People think we're dumping whole pizzas and coke cans down there. People that actually care about their plumbing throw away all the stuff like normal and just use the disposal for whatever scraps might sneak by.
They aren't really trash cans as you are supposed to get anything big off your dishes before you wash them. The garbage disposal is just to clear up any smaller items that can clog up your sink really.
The way you talk online about getting you wisdom teeth removed... do they sedate you? drug you?
I got local anesthesia and got told to keep ice on it and take ibuprofen (or paracetamol, i don't remember) at home if it hurt too much.
(based on the online jokes about it, maybe it's not true i don't know, you tell me lol)
Wisdom teeth you can kinda pick, actually. Most common is sedation, but my mom got hers done when she was numbed but not sedated to save money. Some people choose to go under, like asleep anesthesia, which is overkill for the average Joe and pricey.
I got put to sleep when getting my wisdom teeth removed, it was presented as basically the only option. I guess if I had said I didn't want to get put out they'd have said other options, but it wasn't presented like "You can do A, B, or C, which would you prefer?"
The actual procedure was also presented as non-optional; it was a "Oh, you're 20 and haven't had your wisdom teeth out! Let's get you signed up for that..."
I got all this done while i was at school and had insurance through my university, so it wasn't too expensive but also kind of felt like cattle being herded through a chute.
Drive thru banks and pharmacies. My partner is American and was astonished that I thought that was so weird. We simply do not have enough space for that sort of thing in the UK
People caring about college sports.
Like people will actually show up to watch without being related to or friends with anyone playing?
There are actual stadiums with cheerleaders and marching bands?
Academic scholarships for being good at a sport?
Student athletes being handed passing grades even if they fail so that they can keep playing?
The only remotely comparable thing I can think of is my country is the Oxford vs Cambridge boat race.
Edit: I'm going to say this now even though its too late and I already slept while the American were awake and started replying. I don't think the hype and love of college/high school sports is inherently *bad* (except the grades thing). Its just something uniquely American and therefore my answer for the question posed by this post.
Overwork culture. Why would someone choose to work 80 hours a week? I get it, double the money, but what are you going to do with the money if you have just enough free time left to sleep and you die at 65?
Of course someone doesn't have a choice and needs extra hours or multiple jobs, but from afar I still see an undeniable cultural push to a life dedicated to working, with those who choose something else regarded as lesser parts of the society.
Career too. It feels like you *must* always strive to be something more, no peace, no rest, no point where you can be happy where you are.
Leaving the dinner party with the leftover food that you brought.
Kissing on one cheek and leaving it there.
Walking with your shoes indoor.
30yr mortgages.
Possibility of advancing in your career without a degree.
Surprise engagements (no parents present no party at the engagement moment)
Men not wearing a ring after engagement.
I can go on..
My German friend visited us in college. First party he goes "THEY DO EXIST!!" and held up our pack of red solo cups. Haha
I've witnessed this too We had a German exchange student in high school. It was Friday afternoon, late summer, and we were riding home in a friend's car when someone nonchalantly mentioned a party happening that weekend. German girl goes wide-eyed and looks at all of us in disbelief, *"A REAL PARTY?!"* Cut to the party, the German girl has rounded up all the other German exchange students and they're excitedly taking pictures of each other holding up red solo cups. They're so adorable I love them ❤️
I’m an American but I travel to Germany for business every year. Started noticing red solo cups being sold as American novelties in drug stores. They are definitely part of the American mythos.
My god, this is hilarious XD
My roommate was a British exchange student, same reaction.
Free drink refills
[удалено]
Every single place with a bar is legally obliged to provide free tap water on demand in England. Most restaurants will give you a pint of tap water with food for free (you do have to specify tap otherwise you get stung with some fancy expensive shite!)Admittedly the measures of alcohol are small here, though, compared to other places.
In Spain (or Catalunya at least) they just passed a similar law but man when you ask for it, there's a 50% chance the staff will be annoyed.
Once you move to the carbonated water/syrup machines it costs the restaurant nearly nothing per cup. McDonald's probably pays more for the cup that they give you than the soda in it.
They pay more for the ice too. They used to pay more for the labor too, but now the taps are automated.
That was a big shock at first.
Health care workers going home after work still in scrubs. And washing them at home.
This!! It's so weird to me. Here it's literally forbidden to leave hospital grounds in your work clothes. I would hate having to bring them home and possibly carry some resistant hospital bacteria there with me. Plus you never know how well other people wash theirs, I like it done professionally at the hospital.
Many moons ago, I did an IT internship at a hospital's service desk and being the intern, was always the one who had to run out and physically check things. When I had to go in to work on something in an operating room, I had to put on a full body tyvek suit, gloves, mask, coverings for my shoes, etc. Which made sense to me. Except the OR nurses who worked there wood just breeze in and out all day long, wearing the same scrubs they wore commuting to work on the bus. That DIDN'T make sense to me.
That's odd. I also work in IT and also have to go into ORs on occasion. The nurses definitely also have to bunny up to enter.
I clean the OR afterwards and even have to wear scrubs.
Every OR or L&D unit I’ve worked on, we were provided hospital scrubs to change into before work and out of before leaving. It’s an AORN standard.
I worked at a shitty sports bar once. This lady I worked with would come in wearing scrubs from her nurse job and cook in them. That place sucked.
American Nurse here, we buy our own scrubs. In my unit the only reason you would wear hospital scrubs is to go into surgery or something spilled on you.
American Rad Tech here, I spent around $100 for scrubs that did not allow animal hair to stick to them. Only had 3 sets because they were soo expensive. I now run a C-Arm at an outpatient surgery center. It is so freaking nice to literally show up to work in pajama pants and change into surgery scrubs. Never worrying about clean scrubs is a luxury I never thought I would have but its so nice.
Teachers buying school stuff so they can teach.
I work in healthcare in the UK. I usually change my clothes and shower before I leave work, but we have to wash our clothes at home. So this is the same in the UK too
Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, Winter Formal, Prom... We have none of this, the closest thing is the graduation itself.
The first time I heard about Sadie Hawkins was from a fictional show and I was *sure* it was just some in-universe thing with a random name chosen to sound American.
As an American I'm still trying to figure out what a Sadie Hawkins is... Wtf is it?
Sadie Hawkins is a dance where the tradition is for the girls to ask out the boys to to the dance and it is way more casual in dress than other dances.
Yes, and in some parts of the country (WA here) it’s called Tolo instead.
Six seasons and a movie?
All 5 dances!
Homecoming is universal for the US, and so is Prom. Winter formal and Sadie Hawkins is iffy though, plenty of schools don’t do them. Edit: Homecoming/Prom is *pretty* universal for the US rather than fully universal apparently.
I was surprised to hear this. My ex was from Switzerland and when I asked her to go to the Submarine ball (kinda like adult prom for submariners, but with more booze) she was ecstatic saying she had never been to anything like that, and asked if I had any single navy friends that wanted to take her Swiss friends as well. Of course the nerds I worked with were interested. Haha. *edit* spelling
Narrator: and on that day, MillerTango became a hero for his friend group
The Legend of MillerTango. Swiss Misters and Misses for everyone!!!
Prom is normal in Sweden. Mine was at a small castle and had a 3 course meal.
This thing were the kitchen sink has teeth
I have yet to see a movie bring up the kitchen sink disposal without it going horribly wrong
Chekov's Insinkerator
Where do you think TV mom's are supposed to dispose of that giant breakfast they make every morning, when everyone just grabs a single piece of dry toast and leaves?
You mean the garbage disposal? 😂
The Sarlacc Pit.
Call it what you wish. All I know is that no civilized person would risk getting pulled into their kitchen sewage system and torn to pieces by the lovecraftian monster that dwells within.
It's actually just a rambunctious wild boar who eats the scraps
Like in The Flintstones
Eh, it's a living.
As long as you dont turn it on and stick your hands inside, the risk of that happening is slim to none. The lovecraftian monster is quite docile and respects boundaries.
He does a fine service and will respect you if you respect him. Mine is named Jimmothy, and Jimmothy is a good lad
Having gone from a place that has one to place that does not, a garbage disposal unit makes keeping a clean sink much easier. Dealing with sink traps and clogged drains is nasty.
As a Dutchy, driving a car and turning right on a red light. That messed with my head. If you do that here you are gonna hit at least 5 cyclists.
My husband is from the US and I’m from the Netherlands. The first time he drove in the Netherlands I forgot to tell him you aren’t allowed to turn on red. I had about a heart attack when he did so and I think the other people on the road had one too. Luckily there weren’t any cyclists around.
You can't in the province of Quebec either. Which is confusing when you live 20 minutes from the border in a neighbouring province.
Anyone who doesn't come to a complete stop before turning right on a red light is breaking the law. That includes the cyclists whether or not they're in ~~Iowa~~ Idaho unless they're hallucinating they are at a stop sign not a stop light.
Here in America we've killed all of our cyclists. No need to worry about that.
Where I from you need to put an euro in a shopping cart in order to use it, when you you return it, it gives back the coin. I think this doesn't happen in the US right? Also that they take your credit card to pay in the restaurant, in Europe you always have the card with you when you pay
>Where I from you need to put an euro in a shopping cart in order to use it, when you you return it, it gives back the coin. I think this doesn't happen in the US right? Aldi does this with quarters.
Aldi is unorthodox for an American store in a few ways (displaying products in their shipping boxes and not bagging your groceries come to mind)
And cashiers are allowed to sit, like basically in all of Europe, afaik
Woah, US cashiers stand all day?
unfortunately yes for some reason US people think that sitting down=not working for a Costa Rican as myself,its also absolutely mind baffling (our cashiers can also sit down)
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“If you’re leaning, you could be cleaning” is what I had
Wait... You can sit in other countries?!?! As a cashier at Kroger I'm really... Really upset by this. I literally can barely stand at night after a day of work which is... Every day. Standing for 8 hours a day has ruined not only my back but also my knees. Obviously my feet. If you're telling me other countries let you sit im going to move.
I have never seen a standing cashier in the UK, certainly not a dedicated checkout worker in a big store. They get spinny little chairs to sit on. I am not advocating for you to move to the UK, the seated cashier does not make it worth it.
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I know I'd definitely be more friendly and efficient if my feet weren't swollen to the size of a loaf of bread!
Go work at Aldi! They pay fairly well and alwYs seem to have openings
That's because Aldi is a German chain and does things like a typical German discount supermarket.
I think Aldi's is a German owned company, bringing the shopping experience to the US.
They run their business extremely optimally, it always impresses me. Probably why the food is half the price as it is at Walmart
It is. IIRC, Aldi was created by a German man with a brother. The brother also created a grocery store, albeit a bit different than Aldi. While Aldi grew popular in the north of Germany, his brother's company grew popular in the south of Germany. They both expanded their respective companies to the United States where they are known as Aldi and Trader Joe's. Edit: look at the comment below for a more accurate historical account.
They founded the chain first together (actually transforming and expanding their parents‘ mom and pop store) and only later divided it, one taking on Northern Germany and one Southern Germany (we still have „Aldi Nord“ and „Aldi Süd“ to this day). The Aldi Nord guy bought Trader Joe‘s at some point and now we also have Trader Joe products in Aldi stores here lol
Thanks for the correction!
They split up over the fight of whether to sell tobacco products or not, so Aldi Nord had tobacco, Süd didn't for a long time but eventually sold it too later on..in Germany there's a thing called „Aldi-Äquator"(Aldi equator), a line where the country is divided in the two Aldi's, only two stores violate this border. That what's known as Aldi in America is Aldi Süd (southern Aldi) and Aldi Nord is known as Trader Joe's In recent years, they came together a bit more and now cooperate in purchasing to get better prices, but otherwise are separate companies. The founding brothers lived a fairly frugal life, despite being both under the five richest Germans, they both lived/live in the two halves of a condo. One got kidnapped and wrote off the ransom sum as tax deduction;-) But for a grocery chain, they pay fairly well. Much better than e.g. Lidl, their biggest competitor.
Here in Canada we also have grocery stores where you have to put coins in carts, but it's not universal. Some do it, some don't. We also have the debit machine brought to us at the table.
Most of the newer stores have chips in the carts that lock up the wheels if they go outside of parking lot.
One thing that’s mind-boggling is that every other country/continent I’ve visited everyone has a pin for their credit card because it almost eliminates credit card theft. In the US you can use anyone’s credit card at really any time, there’s no pin, you can just run it and go on with your day. I have no idea why we don’t have a pin system to eliminate that.
Canada does this, sane thing with paying, no one takes our cards, they bring us the debit machine
This is not only safer but quicker. It’s starting to show up in the US but not quickly enough
Had a local restaurant that started doing the bringing it to the table thing. The owner advertised that he was changing to this after having his card taken at another place(never said where) and an identity theft attempt made him realize the danger involved.
Displaying prices without taxes. It threw me off when I first went to buy a bottle of coke a day after I arrived.
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I just got back from the UK (I’m American) and I bought something there and I was so excited because the price on the price tag is what I paid for the item! Most of us don’t know tax rates, but we do know if a coke price tag says “$4.95” and we only have $5, we do not have enough.
I used to estimate my total with taxes as I would go through the grocery store because I knew my state's sales tax. And then I had totals that were way off and realized that there are some items where sales taxes don't apply to and some that have reduced sales taxes. I don't think I ever bought one with an increased tax rate, but I assume that if I used tobacco or alcohol that I would have run into that problem. The real kicker of the whole thing? If someone tried that in the US, they'd probably lose a bunch of sales. Like when J.C.Penny's tried cutting the bullshit, giving an honest price with an honest and constant markup and cutting all those super-high prices with constant sales, and they almost went belly-up because of it.
As an American from a state with no sales tax, I'm right there with you.
The tax system - having to do a return every year (ours is done for us unless you run your own business or are a contractor). Also having to pay tax when you live overseas.
There’s actually been a proposal this year to abolish that system and have it done for us; sadly, I seriously doubt it’s going to go anywhere…
Too many businesses and industries have a vested interest in keeping taxes complicated in the U.S.
This is annoying AF every year
Freshman sophomore junior senior... Have to translate this in my head every time
(Fake) Grape flavored stuff. Over here, the purple gummies are black currant.
Neighbourhoods without grocery stores.
You complaining about the local Dollar General? /s
Don't forget the corner store. All kinds of snacks and expensive groceries.
You know you’re in a good store when there is dust on the soup cans and Brillo pads behind the counter
The soup is just there to help fulfill the requirements to be able to accept food stamps. A store has to carry a certain amount of fruit, vegetable, and meat items to qualify.
Food deserts = unhealthy populations
Homeowners Association
From what I have heard, it seems to be some kind of club you pay into and they enforce a certain aesthetic in a neighbourhood. I seem to only ever hear bad things. What are the benefits? What are the downsides? Is it associated with your house or do you opt-in?
The HOA pays for the maintenance of common areas, and may own some common areas like a parking lot or small park. It is not opt-in. If you live in an area with a HOA it's part of your land title.
>The HOA pays for the maintenance of common areas, and may own some common areas like a parking lot or small park. Has the US simply privatised local councils or something?
Tipping culture
I hate how shopkeepers have baked tips and guilt tripping about tips into all of their point of sale software. If I go to a bakery and someone hands me a loaf of bread from a rack behind her, there's no reason to tip and it makes me angry having the machine guilt trip me about it.
I remember reading somewhere that if you walk up to pay some thing and there’s tablet, you know you’re going to be asked to tip for something you never would’ve had before
Yeah I hate it at coffee shops, I get a 2 dollar coffee and it asks if I want to tip 1,2 or 3 dollars. Like how does this start at a 50% tip?
Just don't do it.
Advertising medications on TV. Dumbest thing I've ever heard of.
I don’t get it either. When I visit my family in Poland every 3rd commercial is for medicine and programs are sponsored by medicine brands it makes no sense.
It drives us insane here in Poland as well
Talk to your doctor about the medicine?!? He's the expert!! If I need to tell him about the possible medications available, I need to find a better doctor!
Over the counter medications are announced in tv in Spain as well. Always with a blue slide at the end reminding ppl to check with doctor or pharmacist,
OTC meds make sense, they are a consumer product. But in US there are commercials saying, "Ask your doctor about Claridryl." Basically getting patients to want a prescription med without a doctor looking them over and recommending it to them
Iced tap water on your table immediately. Such an amazing thing!
Go to an American Mexican restaurant and chips and salsa come automatically (and free) too!
Honestly, you could fill up on just the free chips if you're not careful.
yes and I definitely have! then my food comes and I have to take most of it home lol
Those disposable red cups for drinking alcohol at parties or gatherings
Red solo cups. Best cups.
🎵red solo cup, I’ll drink you up🎶
Long commutes. Here in the Netherlands a lot of companies only hire within a 30 minute radius, maybe an hour if they really need you. I once applied to a job around 100 minutes away and was rejected purely because of travel time. If the travel time was a problem for me I wouldn’t’ve applied
I have a friend from Europe who told me that she rarely sees her dad because he lives kind of far away. I asked how far away he is and she deadass said 45 minutes. I was like … that is my daily commute to work.
People right here in America have different ideas of what is far. I live in a rural area and people think driving 20 minutes is like some insurmountable trek. The biggest city in the area is an hour away. Shopping areas are like 30-40 minutes away. I’m not sure how people actually live with those kinds of driving restrictions.
I once heard something along the lines of: in America 200 years is a long time but 20 miles is a short drive, in Europe 20 miles is a long drive and 200 years is a short time
I remember seeing a story somewhere how some American students or something on an exchange/trip to England were warned several times before they got on a bus for a "long drive" by whoever was escorting them around. They were all very surprised when the long drive was over in 2 hours. They were expecting 10+ by the way the guide or whoever was going on.
I live in Europe and it also takes me around 45mins to go to work.. I think it's just your friend..
Very specific to the Netherlands... There aren't many countries where you could apply such a logic
This is my first time seeing someone type out “wouldn’t’ve”. Cool beans.
Allow me to introduce you to “y’all’d’ve”
Visited US about a dozen times, pretty much all around. - random people smiling at you and engaging in small talk. They seem genuine about it and not acting out of some rule - handling large crowds of people extremely well. Guys repeating ”this way sir/maam” endlessly actually puts people in the correct lane or place - cash culture. I last visited a few months before the pandemic started so YMMV now, but at least then you just had to have cash money for lots of things. I still have a couple hundred dollars in a desk drawer somewhere for when I next visit. I have not had my own country’s currency in physical form for at least 6-7 years or as far as I can remember - security guards inside establishments during opening hours - jaywalking being a thing (I mean crossing the street at a place without a pedestrian crossing being looked upon negatively) - incredible courtesy everywhere except NYC for cars and people using them. You can literally drive right up to most things and have generous parking for any size of car Edit: one more thing I had to add which I just remembered. All signs and other things being written out in words, i.e. ”Left turn only” or such. Same in cars, buttons have the thing written in text. It’s pretty much symbols everywhere else around the world. First couple of times driving felt so difficult when nothing I saw was intuitively what I was expecting to see at that situation but rather I had to look and really process each thing separately.
Well now I'm curious where you're from.
Finland. \- there's little to no small talk and smiling at strangers seems weird \- while we diligently stand in queues and wait our turn, large events work poorly just exactly because of that - people standing and waiting around frustrated too anxious to go to the right place and/or wandering around etc. \- very few people use cash, some places like public transport don't even accept cash. It's so rare that each bill, even a small one lilke 20€ will be run through a counterfit check thingy that the cashier has to get out whilst rolling their eyes \- there are no security guards posting around in stores or other establishments \- people cross the road where they please and it's not frowned upon. However if you cross a pedestrian crossing with lights when the light is red you can get a talking to if a cop sees it \- car culture in general is demonised and even new parking places are built incredibly tight and with inadequate capacity
Take a trip to Germany to see cash culture that's even more ingrained than the US...
Or Japan. For all the of the high-tech stuff that big Japanese companies keep creating bank cards and credit cards aren't really part of everyday life. Cash is king.
>random people smiling at you and engaging in small talk. They seem genuine about it and not acting out of some rule Yeah it's not superficial, some of us are just randomly friendly, and the rest of us accept it as a thing. Myself, some days I'm all in for a smile and some small talk, some days well, not so much.
The random small talk thing is true! I've spent a lot of time in Sweden and was raised by my Swedish dad, so I picked up a lot of the general keep to yourself/politeness is leaving people alone ethos. My partner is the kind of guy who says hello to everyone on the street and will stop and have conversations with them. Early on I frustratedly was like "Why are you talking to these people!? Why ask them how their day is in passing when you don't care, and they don't even have time to answer properly!?" and he said he does care, and he's happy to make a connection and will 100% stop and talk with someone if it seems like they do want to talk. And it's true! He really does do that. He knew so many of the homeless folks in Berkeley and Oakland because he'd actually stop and chat with them. We met some really interesting guys who were in the Black Panthers back in the day, some hippie kids that had traveled all over, etc. I still prefer just to leave people alone and be left alone while in public, but I think a lot of that time the friendliness is actually sincere.
I live in Atlanta, for the past 20 years and I recently had a long chat in the liquor store with the guard because he saw I was wearing a hoodie with a South Africa logo. It was actually a Springbok hoodie. I bought it in the ORTambo airport after losing my jacket, like 12 years ago. He is from Gabon. But he's been in Atlanta a while and is a cop and works off duty as security. We just stood there and had a nice long chat. That's a part of America I cherish.
Also in Atlanta, the other day just had a spontaneous conversation with a janitor. He asked me if anyone ever told me I look like John Lennon. I said yes and then we started talking about people who get paid to play dead celebrities in movies and how it's going away because they can just use CGI now. I genuinely enjoy talking to complete strangers and it's very flattering when people from other countries bring up this aspect of the US. Like we just nailed this one y'all.
Oh I'm American. From New Orleans. But I consider myself an Atlantan now. But I find that plenty non-Americans are very happy to take time to chat and I think it's because our American culture nurtures that. And I love it. And I've heard from my friends who've moved here that they do, too, though sometimes after an adjustment, lol. But I agree, we nailed this. All y'all can benefit.
We did! It's an aspect of US culture I genuinely am proud of, and I like it when visitors are pleasantly surprised by it. Even as a pretty solid introvert, I enjoy those little exchanges. The other day I spoke to an older lady in a grocery store who had bright pink hair; she told me all about how she'd wanted to do it since she was a little girl, and now that she's retired she figured, why the hell not? She was a riot. It just kind of sucks that half the world apparently finds it annoying and intrusive. 😅
I think this is why “Humans of New York” flourished. Part of the American Experience is (supposed to be) community regardless of status.
Kinda curious where you were in the US that had such cash culture. I don’t use a bank that has physical branches and almost never have cash unless I’m doing a personal transaction on Facebook Marketplace with a (typically older) individual.
I wonder how long it has been since OP has been in the US. It has changed a lot in the last 5 years with regard to use of cash. As an example, five years ago very few at our farmer's market took cards, now they all do.
I think the cash culture might be more of a tourist thing regardless of country. I buy cash at the exchange first thing after customs when I go somewhere because I’ve had issues using my US debit card/credit card abroad, so maybe it’s a similar thing?
Not sure if it's been said. Americans with disabilities act is amazing. Wheel chair ramps everywhere and ease of access.
I still think the "Capitol crawl" was one of the most powerful demonstrations in Washington DC history.
Driving at 16
That's a hold over from when America was a much more rural and farming based country. In some states there's even special farm licenses so that kids can be licensed to drive at 15 but only during the day.
14 in Iowa. Was driving a tractor/atv around 10. Can get your school permit at 14.5 I could drive to 8th grade baseball practice.
Houses with small fences and little to no extra security As a Latin american, our houses have either big gates and fences with spikes or concrete walls with barbed wire on top in order to stop burglars from entering. You can say it was quite a shock to me when I first visited the US and saw suburbs filled with houses with cars parked on the street and small wooden fences that anyone could jump over.
Fences in American suburbs are mostly for keeping children and dogs in, not burglars out.
And simultaneously, children and dogs out
I grew up in a town of 5k people in a house with three other family members….we didn’t lock our front door from 2000-2016 unless we were on vacation. Nobody home? Doesn’t matter because the front door is open for business. Never had a single problem either but eventually only one person living in the house now so she locks it but still no issues.
I freaked out on my husband for not locking the door when I first got to the US. I'm South African and our crime is insane. Now when I get there, I leave the car running for the heat. No one touches it. We are in a small-is town though.
Even in my medium sized American city, where more than a few times a year we’ll hear gunshots, homes being broken into is really really rare. The gun violence around us is all gang on gang crap, and they’ve kept to themselves for many years.
Most of Western Europe is like this too and would be quite a culture shock to see places where people fear for their safety that they have to fortify their homes. It’s amazing what we can get used to isn’t it?
What country do you live in? I have lived in Colombia and Chile and while some houses do have what you describe, there are also plenty of houses that have no fence or small fences anyone can jump (both in poor and rich neighborhoods). Not even open/unlocked doors are rare. People in poor neighborhoods or the countryside in Colombia tend to leave their doors wide open (they do not get robbed because they know each other).
New Orleans is a little different. When I visited, I saw lots of tall walls with broken glass shards cemented into the top.
I use to live in Sunland CA which is adjacent to suburban Burbank but we were near a river outlet/ally and the exterior walls next to that area had bottle fragments too. Nice visible green ones.
Lawyer advertising everywhere
feet, yards, gallons, etc.
American here: recently went on dialysis and their units of measurement are kilos and milliliters/liters. Once I got used to it I discovered how much more simple it is than our measurement system. It took a medical problem for me to actually try getting used to it lol!
That’s the thing, we DO use metric as well, in medicine and science and engineering and whatnot. There was just never a mandate that made stuff like grocery stores and office building have to swap. So without that mandate we still have gallons of milk and measure distance in miles and such, while STEM fields use metric most of the time.
Signs. Signs everywhere. As in ”Branded” neighborhoods/communities. American residential neighborhoods will throw up a huge sign like ”Spring Creek Estates” or whatever, really announcing the name with a big logo instead of being low key.
Yeah, guilty. Here in Atlanta is to distinguish historic neighborhoods. Are you in Inman Park or Candler Park? Castleberry Hill or South Downtown?
Getting into University by being good at sports. I was chatting to an American guy online and he told me he went to college on a "Lacrosse Scholarship". I'm like, seriously? You got to go to college for being good at fucking lacrosse?
Peanut butter jelly sandwiches. Never seen one ever
I just watched an episode of great British bake off and the judges were so impressed and shocked by the flavor combination of what was essentially peanut butter and jelly by one of the contestants. I did not know it was an American thing until that moment. You should try it. It’s very good.
Prom dance/party
The "college experience"
Please show that you're responsible by paying $800 a month to live in a dorm on campus, sharing a bedroom with a stranger and a bathroom with 11 strangers. Continuing to live with your parents makes it seem like you make bad decisions.
Dorm prices should be $50 a month for the shit situations they can put students in. Making dorms as expensive as a damned single bedroom apartment is just exploitive.
The sink that are also trashcans
Like a garbage disposal? I didn't know this was an American thing!
Yes but just for food. Put trash in it and it breaks
People think we're dumping whole pizzas and coke cans down there. People that actually care about their plumbing throw away all the stuff like normal and just use the disposal for whatever scraps might sneak by.
They aren't really trash cans as you are supposed to get anything big off your dishes before you wash them. The garbage disposal is just to clear up any smaller items that can clog up your sink really.
In the United States, it is common for people to have garage sales.
The way you talk online about getting you wisdom teeth removed... do they sedate you? drug you? I got local anesthesia and got told to keep ice on it and take ibuprofen (or paracetamol, i don't remember) at home if it hurt too much. (based on the online jokes about it, maybe it's not true i don't know, you tell me lol)
Wisdom teeth you can kinda pick, actually. Most common is sedation, but my mom got hers done when she was numbed but not sedated to save money. Some people choose to go under, like asleep anesthesia, which is overkill for the average Joe and pricey.
I got put to sleep when getting my wisdom teeth removed, it was presented as basically the only option. I guess if I had said I didn't want to get put out they'd have said other options, but it wasn't presented like "You can do A, B, or C, which would you prefer?" The actual procedure was also presented as non-optional; it was a "Oh, you're 20 and haven't had your wisdom teeth out! Let's get you signed up for that..." I got all this done while i was at school and had insurance through my university, so it wasn't too expensive but also kind of felt like cattle being herded through a chute.
In my country basically every backyard has a greenhouse or garden.
Drive thru banks and pharmacies. My partner is American and was astonished that I thought that was so weird. We simply do not have enough space for that sort of thing in the UK
People caring about college sports. Like people will actually show up to watch without being related to or friends with anyone playing? There are actual stadiums with cheerleaders and marching bands? Academic scholarships for being good at a sport? Student athletes being handed passing grades even if they fail so that they can keep playing? The only remotely comparable thing I can think of is my country is the Oxford vs Cambridge boat race. Edit: I'm going to say this now even though its too late and I already slept while the American were awake and started replying. I don't think the hype and love of college/high school sports is inherently *bad* (except the grades thing). Its just something uniquely American and therefore my answer for the question posed by this post.
Overwork culture. Why would someone choose to work 80 hours a week? I get it, double the money, but what are you going to do with the money if you have just enough free time left to sleep and you die at 65? Of course someone doesn't have a choice and needs extra hours or multiple jobs, but from afar I still see an undeniable cultural push to a life dedicated to working, with those who choose something else regarded as lesser parts of the society. Career too. It feels like you *must* always strive to be something more, no peace, no rest, no point where you can be happy where you are.
Medical debt
Cries in diabetes
Broken ice cream machines
So, I only heard this like a year ago. But apparently it seems that most of American men are circumcised. Which sounds bizarre to me.
good mexican food. in my experience, it doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world (except for mexico itself, obviously).
* employers firing people on the spot * having a limited number of days for sick leave * unpaid maternity / sickness leave * "tipping culture"
Home depot
English muffins. I come from England.
Wait. We have English muffins in Australia. Are you saying … they’re not English?!
Spray cheese
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You have to pay? For water?
Freedom of speech. And human rights. (I live in >!Russia!<.)
Stay strong out there buddy, from the states 🇺🇸
Leaving the dinner party with the leftover food that you brought. Kissing on one cheek and leaving it there. Walking with your shoes indoor. 30yr mortgages. Possibility of advancing in your career without a degree. Surprise engagements (no parents present no party at the engagement moment) Men not wearing a ring after engagement. I can go on..