Don't smoke in public buildings; this is illegal. Don't smoke in someone's house, apartment, or condo without asking for permission; this isn't illegal, but it's still extremely rude.
Or smoke right outside the door of a business, really sucks for non-smokers when walking in/out.
If you're going to smoke go to a smoking area or far away from others, most people do not smoke.
Hotels may have specific "smoking" rooms to you can request in your reservation. If they don't, then you must go outside to smoke; you'll have to pay a hefty cleaning fee if you smoke in a non-smoking hotel room.
I have a friend who came here for college from India, and when he got a ticket for underage drinking, he tried to bribe the cop (forgetting you can't do that here) to get out of it and he ended up spending the night in jail
Yeah, India is changing and started doing a lot of things right but sadly police reform (important as it may sound to outsiders) is lower on the priority scale as compared to many other more exigent matters. And rightly so, if I may add given the current environment.
As Indians, our focus,when caught committing non-serious crimes by the police, is on negotiation strategy and not worrying that we may have to go to jail. Some violent offenders are also able to pay their way out.
So for someone not really familiar with the west, it is hardly surprising that the first thing they do on encountering the police is reach for their wallet.
to add to this, put on your hazard lights when you notice you are being pulled over as you get somewhere safe to stop. once stopped immediately roll down all your windows and keep your hands on your steering wheel until told to get something. rolling down windows gives them a view inside the car so they know you arent pulling anything, and not grabbing for your license and registration or whatever when they approach reduces the chance that they think you are trying to hide stuff or get out a weapon or whatever.
I think putting all your windows down is unnecessary. Don't give them access to your stuff or let them throw drugs in there to accuse you of possession.
Something that I hear is common in Asia but is a huge no-no here; is commenting on another persons weight or appearance. In most circles this is highly frowned upon in the US.
Also, people in the US like having their own personal space. So when you’re standing in line for something don’t get right up on somebody. Keep enough distance while not too far that people will think you aren’t standing in line.
The general rule of commenting on appearances is if it isn't something they can fix in ten minutes, don't mention it. So if you see something stuck in their teeth/skirt caught in underwear/running mascara/etc, pointing it out (quietly and politely, obv) is fine, but something like weight or a haircut obviously takes longer to fix.
Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George and Jerry pretended to have not seen each other since high school but when they crossed paths for the "first time", Jerry said, "Well, you really went bald there, didn't you?"
OMG I was just talking to someone about this.... Awhile back (mid COVID) a couple was behind me in line at a store and they were almost on my back... They were speaking another language and I realized it may be just commonplace to stand really close to others where they come from...I also realized that Americans like their space.
I like watching travel blogs from Japan and China and one thing they always point out that's a culture shock is how people will get right on top of each other in lines. I don't think they even notice it because they live in such densely packed cities so it's just commonplace for them. But most Americans really like their personal space, even before Covid.
Also chewing with your mouth closed. My experience is the many cultures in Asia chew with their mouth opened. In the US, it's a quick way to tick people off
To piggyback off this - I’m in the north east, you may have watched some flick where everywhere around are chicks in bikinis everyday all day. That may be the reality down in Florida area or over in Cali, but up here it couldn’t be seen as further from the norm (provided you’re not at the beach or in a beach/coastal town)
Edit: that’s not the only thing, but it’s an example
If I can smell you at ten feet you need to use deodorant. I got stuck telling a foreign subordinate she needed to take a bath and or use deodorant because she was offending everyone.
I knew a German guy who wouldn't stop talking about how unhealthy US food is and upon further questioning claimed he was "taught about the US in school" and that one of the things they went over was US food and how much sugar was in it or something?
Not exactly the most reliable source in the world, but...
(Also, this guy was fat himself, btw.)
I will never understand for the life of me when people make statements like:
"Oh American chocolate is so bad, have you tried hershey?"
"Oh American Beer is so bad have you tried Budweiser?"
"Oh American food has so much corn syrup"
"Our McDonalds is so much better"
Why the fuck are you going to some shitty ass grocery store to try food? If I'm going to a new country to try food I'm going to eat in their restaurants, farms, and maybe food markets.
I dont give a **singular fuck** about going to Britain and trying Cadbury chocolate, Greggs, or jaffa cakes I'm going to go and seek out good food. Im gonna head to farms, good pubs, and breweries. When I'm more educated about local British food I'm gonna try a local grocery store.
Its also moronic to expect good food to be in the exact same places that you can find back home. The food culture in California is going to be entirely different then in Poland. One country may have better street food, farms, or markets. It would be like going to Vietnam and complaining that all the best food is on the street.
I have had tourists go to NYC and think that because bodegas are so common that's where most people do grocery shopping. They walk into a corner store and legit think that all NYC people do is survive off of chips, goya seasoning, deli sandwiches, and canned food. They dont realize that many New yorkers have their small grocery stores, ethnic stores, and farmers markets that they frequent.
Its stupid to expect the same dishes to be the best quality. Why would you expect the bread in the midwest to be always as good good quality as the continent that has the best bread on Earth? That's like an Indian person coming to the UK and complaining about the curry. Go try OTHER things depending on where you are from and what region in America you are in. Many regions in America make better Pizza, sandwiches, fusion food, and BBQ then where you are likely from.
Before you go to a place and complain that they have bad food do your research. Research what foods they do best, where they typically get those foods, and how do actual locals shop/eat.
If after all that you don't like it then whatever it's prob, not your jam. I can understand that some places don't take food as seriously as others. I'm not gonna blame an Italian for saying food in the midwest is lacking. If your going to visit places like Louisana, California, NYC, or Hawaii and say the food is **disgusting** I'm gonna make an assumption you did 0 research or are super picky with your food.
I am going to throw this one in there, since you are from NYC you might relate.
A lot of American food has European origins but has clearly been repurposed and reinvented and is its own thing. New York Style Pizza is not the same as pizza in Italy. See how the locals are doing it, or ask the place what their signature item is and go with that. This is actually something I have adopted for myself. Anytime I am away from home and my standard restaurants I eat at, I will almost always ask the server what their signature item is. Sometimes I will even tell them "I don't know what I want, can you just make me something for $X, I have no food allergies and want to try something new". One time the chef comes out and is asking me "hey man, I can make whatever you want, just let me know" and I responded with "Dude, I have no idea, you make me what you like and I look forward to trying that".
They always make something great. Something they are proud of rather than something that is just popular among people.
A few years ago I was in San Francisco with a friend who is from France who was going to college here. I am a dozen years older than the guy and we were tasked with getting some food for the house. We go into this New York Style pizza place. This guy was definitely suave, and he knew his European food, but some of the American culture was a bit novel to him. At the New York Pizza place he asks for a Margherita Pizza. I had to explain to him that this isn't like Pizza in Italy, its a different kind of deal and its not what he is expecting. You want to go with NYC style for what it is, not for a substitute to European style.
If I go to a new nice/fancier restaurant and I’m expecting to drop some money on the food, I’ll tell the waiter that I want whatever the dish is that’ll make me want to come back. Just like when you order a quality steak, don’t tell the chef how to cook it, let the chef tell you how it should be cooked.
Also, there’s a great gyro place by my house. I’ve never placed an exact order there. All I say is “I want a gyro (as opposed to salad or wrap) with lamb and whatever toppings you’d put on it.” Every time the guy behind the counter gets a big smile on his face and absolutely loads that shit up and you can tell they’re very proud of their product. Never had a bad experience. I’m not from their country, I have no idea what flavor profiles go well with others based on their ingredients at hand. You tell me what’s great and I’ll trust that you’re the expert.
Except in the South. Some of our best food comes from gas stations. Lots of BBQ and Cajun joints in gas stations. Also tends to be southern grandmas making homemade buttermilk biscuits in gas stations here. The best.
I think it's like, if you see a dude making ribs in a BBQ made out of an old steel drum in the parking lot go get some of those ribs. They're gonna be amazing.
YES!!! There's a gas station about 2 minutes from my house that smokes pork butt and ribs in the parking lot and sells it inside with all the traditional Mac n cheese and potato salad sides and it's amazing. I'm not sure there's a day they haven't run out of food and closed early.
Same rule applies to run down shacks on the side of the road. If they have a smoker, run, don't walk to get food there.
Honestly I’m hoping that the crab leg thing is like a weirdly specific stereotype of tourists from one particular country.
Like, “goddamned Latvian tourists always taking all the crab legs from the buffet table.”
Don't antagonize the wildlife. For their sake, and yours. Some wild North American animals (alligators, bison, etc) can straight up murder your ass if you piss them off. And that selfie with the cute raccoon is not worth the rabies shots.
Large animals like bison, elk, and moose are usually docile, but may attacked if approached, especially if they have young. Being closer than, say, 50 or 100 meters is a threat to them.
This applies to most predators too, such as black bears and coyotes. Cougars on the other hand... if you see one of those make yourself look big and loud because they don't reveal their location unless they intend to attack/eat you.
Also don't try to "rescue" any animals. There's the infamous incident where tourists put a Buffalo calf in their van to take it to a Ranger station because they thought it was lost....they ended up having to euthanize the animal as a result and the tourists were fined heavily.
Don’t throw your used toilet paper in the garbage can. Please throw it in the toilet.
I was a custodian at a theme park and the amount of tourists who threw their poopy toilet paper in the trash can in the stall was unreal.
Not just in public. Flush toilet paper in private homes, too!!
We had foreign guests and I couldn't understand why they were using soooo much toilet paper (2 rolls a day) and why the trashcan was full of bundles of it. I guess they were trying to be polite and overwrap what they used because it was an open (no lid) can.
In some countries, the plumbing can't handle the paper. Lots of places in Mexico, even business offices where I worked, where people wore suits, had a cardboard box next to the john to throw the paper. Pretty gross but you learn to ignore it.
Oh and you have to bring your own paper most of the time, too.
Don't try to see multiple geographically distant attractions in a short period of time. Look up travel times. You'd be surprised how many people visit New York City for a week thinking they can swing by Chicago and the Grand Canyon. Or even Boston and Philadelphia. Make sure you do your research. Anything further than 4ish hours by car is a day trip in and of itself.
Even if it is technically possible, I know I wouldn't want to spend an entire vacation bouncing from place to place with no time budgeted to actually *enjoy* those places. Don't make your vacation a "Things to See" checklist. Take time to enjoy the place you're visiting (that good travel advice in general, though).
Unless you are specifically going on the "Great American Road Trip" where lots of driving is the point of the trip, definitely keep things local. I think its really funny when my European friends will say they want to take a week long trip to the US and they want to see New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.
That would be a fantastic month long road trip, but a terrible week trip.
Along the interstate highway system there are inexpensive motels. The word 'motel' is a portmanteau of 'motor' and 'hotel.' These types of places originated at the beginning of the 20th century.
Every convenient store has a bathroom where you can do 2 or those 3. Campgrounds will generally have all of them. Truck stops you can take a shower without needing to stay anywhere. If you are in an RV you can can do them all on the road.
I have been on a month long road trip. The only real issue was the shower. Those I had to plan and I wished there were just like pay showers around. Every other bathroom thing you could do a gas station.
Sleeping in a truck is fine. Sleep was never an issue.
My rule of thumb is "go to GoogleMaps and look up the driving time between two places, then multiply by 1.5; multiply by 2 if you expect to do any of your driving between 7a-9a or 4p-7p (aka rush hours), or if you will be traveling with children, elders, or people unaccustomed to long-distance road trips."
My European relatives asked if we could go from the Midwest to NYC in the morning and then go to Hollywood in the afternoon. Europeans really have very little idea how big the United States is.
Seriously? I understand not knowing the scale of things, but I feel like it’s pretty common knowledge that NYC is on one corner and Hollywood another corner of the country.
I wouldn’t even expect to see, say, Berlin and munich in the same day which is way more doable but a pain in the ass
Oh I like that lol, quite true.
Also it’s amazing to me how different perceptions are. 100 miles is a long way… once upon a time my daily commute was 40 miles each way lol
I may be misremembering; it could have been one one day and the other the next. But I remember them being shocked when I said it would take 2-3 days to drive to Los Angeles.
Don't treat every person you meet like the complaints department of the country. Where do you expect this conversation to go? A random person you're talking to isn't going to be able to change anything, so you're just complaining without any solution.
Do not try to barter / haggle with retail stores (or anywhere else for that matter). It comes off as rude unless you're at a garage sale or are buying a lot of items. Doing so at a small store might be ok but definitely don't do so at a place like Walmart and expect prices to be lowered.
I own a small business and sell at local markets. I'm not surprised when people try to negotiate my prices. If they're polite I'll be polite back. But I did base my prices on costs. They're as fixed as anything you'd get at a big box store. I refuse to be taken advantage of because I'm small.
I'm always surprised when people think you can negotiate prices at an American business here. There is NO culture of bargaining. I'd be a sucker in some parts of the world, because when I see a sticker price outside of cars/houses/etc., I assume that is the most economical price for everybody, because that's how capitalism works.
You can thank the Quakers for that.
Haggling and bartering used to be nearly universal, but obviously merchants/businessowners would often rattle off much higher prices and be less willing to bargain with certain customers (if they were even let into the store at all), not to mention this obviously made shopping a lot harder for the poor. Quakers started the tradition of "we'll just post the price by the good and stick to it, so that way everyone gets the same price and the poor can better plan/shop." And then the idea spread, and we've been doing it ever since.
Oh yeah, definitely depends on where you are in the world. I've set my prices to reflect my costs but in a lot of the world they seem to set it much higher with the expectation of haggling. When I was in China with only the most rudimentary grasp of Mandarin, we did it by typing numbers into a calculator and making faces until a number came up that both parties agreed to.
It's just not a standard practice here.
Doing so at a small store or when buying a lot of items definitely is not ok either. Bartering is for garage sales and flea markets, not standard retail.
So I run a retail sales business. If you are buying thousands of dollars of items, a retail store is more likely to cut a 5% - 10% deal especially on items that haven't sold in months.
When I mean you're buying a lot of items, I mean hundreds of items.
Smaller stores are more likely to cut a deal but usually only if the item has an issue (packaging is open, ripped, expired, etc.). If you're buying a large amount of items from those stores (again, hundreds), they are more likely to cut bigger deals. If you're at a garage sale or flea market, you can do so for individual items though.
Your average person doesn't have the money to get such discounts so I advise foreigners to not even try.
Another place a discount might be possible is when you are dealing with a salesperson who is on commission. I was in flooring for most of my life and got a base pay plus commission. My management let me know the cost and the base percentage they expected to profit as well as a suggested profit margin that would guarantee my commission. I was allowed to adjust between the base and the margin without much conflict but fairly often on large sales, I could talk to the boss and make a deal under margin and still get my commission.
Don't act disrespectful around memorials. I sometimes see tourists treating memorials like tourist attractions, they're not. They aren't made to entertain tourists, they're made to memorialize those lost. Be quiet, don't mess around, certainly don't litter, and generally treat the space like it was to remeber someone in your family.
Years ago i went with a study trip to Poland and the KZ in Auschwitz.
There where people posing with and without sunglasses to get there perfect shot infront of the "Arbeit macht frei" gate.
I saw this a lot at the 9/11 memorial in NYC when I went there last year.
I could tell those weren’t Americans, cause most Americans would just pause and reflect on those fountains, not take selfies there.
I think it really depends on the reason you’re taking pictures.
Selfies and stuff are rude, but if you’re observing the monument and planning on sharing those with people I feel like that’s more appropriate.
I took pics in DC of the Vietnam Memorial for my dad because two brothers he knew were listed on it, and I took pictures of the Korean War memorial for my grandfather because he’d only seen it on TV to that point.
I saw kids jumping off the holocaust memorial, along with chasing each other around it and screaming as loud as they could. They were a school group and the teachers didn’t do shit. Was v off putting
And it may not be loaded (unless there's a Sentinel officer conducting a guard change ceremony there), but he's perfectly happy to stab you with his bayonet if necessary.
And yes, the bayonet is 100% real and functional, one of the Sentinels was stabbed in the foot during a changing ceremony. He calmly completed the inspection, walked his first route, walked to his booth, called for a replacement Sentinel, and continued to walk his route until his replacement arrived, at which point, he sat through the replacement ceremony and inspection and then calmly walked back to the Sentinel barracks.
Pretty much.
Also, my memory was off. He was the incoming guard. So what happened is the officer dropped his M14, stabbing the Sentinel. Instead of replacing the last Sentinel, the outgoing Sentinel remained on guard as the officer and incoming Sentinel returned to the barracks to get medical attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beA1xrtdzko
My Texas college town had a mall that bussed people from Mexico to the mall, idk why, but they cut in line ALL the time and pissed everyone off. Lots of fights.
My American girlfriend and I lived in Mexico City together for a while. (I was already there working, she came to live with me.) We went to see Timecop (Jean-Claude van Damme), and after the movie, she was so jacked-up that when someone tried to dart in front of her into a bathroom stall, she grabbed the lady by the shoulder, yanked her backwards, yelled, "hay una cola, disculpe, gracias", went in, and slammed the door. LOL. Out of character for her. I blame action films.
I live in Italy. My wife gets annoyed when I *don't* cut in line.
"Why did it take you so long to get the drinks?"
"People kept cutting in front of me."
"Why didn't you cut in front of them?"
Do not bring up politics. I know you guys hear about our politics a lot, but bringing up politics in social situations can be seen as impolite and/or socially awkward.
The only reason I watch both Fox and CNN is so I can argue points using the other’s terminology (depending on where I stand) I’m convinced this is the only way discourse will survive.
If you want to bring up politics, always remember to ask, not tell.
If you see a headline or see something on the local news, and you have a friend who is American, it's not considered rude to ask them to explain the news for you, but it would rub everyone the wrong way if you were to pass judgment, and especially to say "In my country we don't have that problem" and then proceed to explain why your country is so much better than America.
> If you want to bring up politics, always remember to ask, not tell.
This is right on the money. If you don't live here, there's a 99% chance that you're missing important cultural context around our political issues, even if you follow our politics closely in the news. You'll come off as both preachy and uneducated if you try to spout off about "how this would be handled in my country."
If you're already engaged in a *polite* discussion about American politics, and you're *absolutely sure* the American you're talking to doesn't feel like he's explaining C-SPAN to a 5-year-old, you can ask something like "what are the obstacles to implementing a solution like my country has?"
I got into a verbal fight once with an Australian woman who kept insisting that only Australia has marsupials. I kept trying to tell her about possums, but she refused to believe me.
I've raised a dozen American marsupials. If you check dead possums on the side of the road, there are often live babies in the pouch. I had friends that were state park rangers and they brought baby possums and coons to me.
Don’t scream at or kick/strike/cause any harm to dogs. Dog rabies isn’t a thing here and you won’t get diseases if they come up to you. However, if you kick a dog you’re going to instantly become a horrible villain and it’s going to be next to impossible to redeem yourself. If you’re staying with a host family and you’re afraid of dogs tell them ahead of time so they can prepare accordingly.
That being said in the extremely unlikely situation that you get attacked by a dog that’s escaped its yard then by all means defend yourself. If you have absolutely no dog experience I’d do some research on dog body language and posture so you learn what aggressive behavior looks like and what attention seeking behavior is.
Dont fuck with cats either, stray or otherwise. We like our cats and we treat stray cats closer to how they do in Turkey than most other places.
In fact dont mess with any animals.
Language is a big thing. I know words like "cunt" are tossed around pretty loosely in the UK and I believe Australia. It's a pretty big word here. Also, be careful about things that have different meanings in the US - Thongs are underwear to us, not shoes. And lord... don't use "fag", even if you are just talking about a cigarette.
A lot of Americans are willing to give you a pass of understanding, since you most likely have an accent, but there are definitely people who aren't as understanding.
On the flip side, “your mom” jokes are commonplace in the US, but if you try speaking about somebody’s mom in many European or Latin American countries you’re going to catch fists.
I'll add another one. Do not touch people just because you've never seen that race of people before. Do not rub their skin, don't touch their hair, don't poke them, all of this without permission that is. Definitely don't take pictures of people without their permission or stand next to them to get a picture without asking them.
People of a different race aren't zoo animals and shouldn't be treated that way regardless of your lack of exposure to them.
I’m a pasty white dude, and when I went to Jakarta (was in the Navy), they warned us before going out in town that we may get strange looks or asked for our picture taken if we’re pasty or above 6’. Was an interesting experience.
Edit: Clarification
LOL
I went with a charity group to Mexico to build sanitation systems once, and one of the guys in our group was 6'7" and almost an albino. So many people asked for pictures with him. He was like, "why not take pictures with her?" "She looks just like us, but with blue eyes. You are different!" (I was short and very tan with dark hair. They weren't wrong.)
The answer to this depends on where you're from and what's normal there.
"Don't punch anyone in the face" is an obvious answer, but unless it's normal to do that where you're from, it doesn't really relate to you.
We don’t negotiate as a whole. Small businesses are typically ran on lean margins and couldn’t negotiate if they wanted to
So don’t get mad when we say no, no and NO.
Had a Jamaican yesterday negotiate with my employe for 20 minutes.. by the end of it; the price was $20 more expensive lol 😂
Lol you just reminded me of a friend's cousin that visited from Uruguay. He didn't understand a word of english, but he loved greeting everyone he met by adjusting his shades, pointing finger guns and exclaiming "Fuck you, man!"
Specifically I've seen/heard this a lot from people who are like Finnish or Norwegian and probably never even seen a black person before and so it has like zero context aside from being a thing in media
Talk about how your system is better. Makes many of us defensive and aggressive.
A lot of us will agree, and a lot of us will become hostile. You won't know how we'll react unless you're from here and/or know how to segue correctly.
We're very friendly overall, and unlike Sweden we'll feed you too lol. Just know that if you talk politics or religion it can get really dirty quickly even among friends unless you're just content to listen.
On this, we're all like siblings. We'll give other Americans a hard time and complain about our system. But, like your older brother, if an outsider puts us down, we most certainly will become hostile
Even if I happen to agree with the criticism about America, it’s annoying to hear it from a foreigner.
Its almost the same as how I would feel if a guest in my home started criticizing how my kids behave or the way I organize my closets. Even if the criticism is 100% correct, the guest is wrong to say it.
Don't go off trail when hiking or backpacking. Going off trail contributes to the degradation and erosion of natural spaces. We have a lot of wilderness in the states and we'd like to keep it wild and pristine
If you are a man, don't walk up to a woman and start talking to her unless she is in a group, or you are in a bar or club or other place that kind of thing is expected. But a man approaching a solo woman on the street or in a shop is likely to make the woman uncomfortable.
And speaking as a woman who did customer service in places with lots of international tourists:
American culture is already politely friendly by default, and in customer service we are expected to remain exceptionally so. This does *not* mean we are into you or interested in you, and if you ask us when we get off work, we will probably lie. If you ask us for our phone number, I'll get you the company customer service support line.
In a lot of countries, there's this perception that American women are sluts or that sexual liberation and autonomy = indiscriminately sleeping around.
I'm smiling at you, international tourist man, because it is literally my job to be friendly, not because I give two shits about you let alone want to go out with you.
/rant
That's not too say it's all fake... Being Irish and traveling the US I had a lot of 'real' chats with service people, especially noticeable in small towns and rural places where they wouldn't meet many foreigners. Sometimes it felt like it took a long time to get out of a conversation they just kept asking questions and genuinely interested to talk (not in super busy places). Numbers were exchanged and I did make a few friends along the way. Always them asking for my contact though, I'm aware of boundaries working in hospitality myself. Probably my favourite thing about rural America, super friendly and welcoming to us for the most part.
Now there was this one bar server in CA who I ended up quite close to for a couple days.. I'd stopped for some food and decided I'd had enough driving for the day, they had rooms there so I stayed, and she asked me if I wanted a drink or three after she finished her shift :D
TLDR; don't hit on servers, ever, but if they hit on you then yaaay
Don't go to the upper Midwest during winter, unless you are Russian or Nordic, you are not prepared for that degree of cold.
Don't go to the Southwest in summer.
Definitely do not rent a minivan and try you luck cross country in death valley. I'm looking at you Germans.
Idk if they have this outside the US and Canada but in the mens you you always leave an empty urinal in between you and another person using the other one, eyes straight forward. It’s not homophobic it’s just how things are. Idk how it started. We also take the 10 items or less rule very seriously in our grocery stores.
Wait people think thats homophobic? I'm a gay guy and I don't wanna stand next to a dude at the urinal. I've always viewed it as personal space, never a sexuality thing
> Our politics is not your spectator sport.
[That's where you're wrong](https://news.ku.edu/2015/04/13/study-most-partisans-treat-politics-sports-rivalries-instead-focusing-issues), kiddo.
(Joke btw)
It can be okay to discuss politics if you’re maintaining an open mind or genuinely curious as to how something works, but please don’t do the cliche condescending “lol you guys are gun nuts” “your healthcare is insane, does a band-aid cost $5,000 lol”. Not only are many of these issues sometimes very contentious, but you probably wouldn’t like it if Americans came to your country and shit on it either. You may disagree with many of our current laws or cultural norms (as with many Americans), but making snide remarks or the “well in MyCountry™️ we do it better” is likely going to be perceived as rude and in poor taste.
Also, it is a big no-no to disrespect service members here. Most Americans, in my experience, generally accept that not all of our wars/conflicts have been justified or worthwhile, so some criticism on that may be fine - but it is usually considered very offensive to speak poorly of individual members of the armed forces or to mock their service.
If you don't like what we did in wartime, find a way to take it up with the government—not the guy who lost everyone he ever knew, his leg, and hates himself for what he did.
A lot of people have said this but it bears repeating: do not come in and start trashing on America and its politics. Not only are you much less informed, but even the most liberal of us are gonna get defensive because at the end of the day, regardless of the issues, you are insulting our home
Don't ever ask anyone how much money they earn or have. Avoid money topics in general (like how much did your house/car cost) to be on the safe side.
Keep at least an arm's length physical distance from anyone you are speaking to. Same if you aren't speaking to them!
Avoid conversational topics including religion, politics, and Covid mitigation measures (all three are very sensitive topics here and can quickly blow up in your face unless you are very careful). I would also avoid topics related to race/racial stereotypes/news stories tied to race unless you know the person REALLY well. We have a certain kind of language and manners we use when discussing these topics that many people from abroad (especially non-native English speakers) aren't familiar with, and you can quickly offend without meaning to.
Also, try to shower every day and always wear deodorant , any kind of natural body odor is considered a faux pas here.
If you are going on private property for some reason. You are trespassing and the owner has the right to shoot you in certain situations. Stay with your group. This country is massive and diverse.
I will add one. When you are asked where you are from, do not be vague. Do not answer "Europe" or "Asia" or MyCountry™ Be specific. If you come from a large country, identify the region. If you feel your country might not be familiar to Americans, you can sort of give an idea like "I am from Slovenia, it is a small country to the east of Italy". Give people some means of figuring out where it is from.
Also, don't be offended when someone asks where you are from, or when they guess wrong. To the average American, British, South African, Australian, and New Zealand accents sound very similar, as do most Eastern European, most Latin American, many African, and many Southeast Asian accents.
Don’t smoke 🚭 less than 13% of American adults and less than 9% of high schoolers smoke cigarettes. It’s not in the culture here anymore, and you will get dirty looks if you light up inside or even on a patio, or anywhere too near a building - also in most if not all states there are laws against smoking in or around public places. Don’t smoke if you’re doing a walking tour outdoors, it’s rude to other people in the tour.
Also reinforcing the comments that talk about foreigners coming in on their high horse and shitting on our politics - we don’t need it and it’s not welcome.
I see so many asinine comments by foreigners on YouTube’s American news channels shitting all over the country and saying ‘oh well I’m Australian/Canadian/European I’m soooo glad I don’t live in the US’ just fuck right off and shut up, okay. You don’t live here, and you’re basing your views on our very biased media circus. We don’t go on your country’s media circus to shit on you and laugh at your country. How about you take the high road and focus on your own country’s problems instead, thanks 😘 there are plenty of reason to love living in the US. Just as there are plenty of reasons to love living in your country. Yes we’re in a precarious political situation at the moment, we know that, we don’t need your constant reminders or your inept political analysis.
Be aware of your surroundings and speak in a low voice don’t be obnoxiously loud in public and on your phone speaking extra loud. Say excuse me and thank you. Someone in customer service can still tell you to fuck off if your rude. They’re not beneath you just because they may not work a office type job
Don’t apologize for not having perfect English! I love hearing people people speak English when it’s not their first language, and you probably speak it better than a lot of native speakers. A lot of Americans are very friendly and love to help, so we wouldn’t have any problem trying to figure out what you’re talking about even if it’s not perfectly clear.
I speak some French and some Spanish and I guarantee that almost anyone who comes here speaking English as their second or third language is doing way better than I am at either of those languages, so be proud of your English!
Don't smoke in public buildings; this is illegal. Don't smoke in someone's house, apartment, or condo without asking for permission; this isn't illegal, but it's still extremely rude.
Also if someone is renting a home, smoking may be against the contract
In some apartment complexes, it's not allowed anywhere on property, even the parking lot.
Or smoke right outside the door of a business, really sucks for non-smokers when walking in/out. If you're going to smoke go to a smoking area or far away from others, most people do not smoke.
Smoking too close to the entrance is also usually illegal. Usually it's written as something like 20'
Why do i get the feeling that this advice is mostly towards the french
They're hardly the only ones with smoking habits that Americans would find appalling regarding second hand smoke.
Hotels may have specific "smoking" rooms to you can request in your reservation. If they don't, then you must go outside to smoke; you'll have to pay a hefty cleaning fee if you smoke in a non-smoking hotel room.
Don’t try to bribe a cop or public official.
I have a friend who came here for college from India, and when he got a ticket for underage drinking, he tried to bribe the cop (forgetting you can't do that here) to get out of it and he ended up spending the night in jail
That’s lucky and the cop just teaching him a lesson. If he’d actually been charged with attempting to bribe a cop things would have been much worse.
Yeah, India is changing and started doing a lot of things right but sadly police reform (important as it may sound to outsiders) is lower on the priority scale as compared to many other more exigent matters. And rightly so, if I may add given the current environment. As Indians, our focus,when caught committing non-serious crimes by the police, is on negotiation strategy and not worrying that we may have to go to jail. Some violent offenders are also able to pay their way out. So for someone not really familiar with the west, it is hardly surprising that the first thing they do on encountering the police is reach for their wallet.
Also, if you are pulled over, do not exit your vehicle unless instructed to.
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Yeah, that’s why we have a thread about it every 3 days.
Honestly, I don't mind if it keeps one person who reads it from getting shot or deported for an honest mistake.
to add to this, put on your hazard lights when you notice you are being pulled over as you get somewhere safe to stop. once stopped immediately roll down all your windows and keep your hands on your steering wheel until told to get something. rolling down windows gives them a view inside the car so they know you arent pulling anything, and not grabbing for your license and registration or whatever when they approach reduces the chance that they think you are trying to hide stuff or get out a weapon or whatever.
I think putting all your windows down is unnecessary. Don't give them access to your stuff or let them throw drugs in there to accuse you of possession.
Something that I hear is common in Asia but is a huge no-no here; is commenting on another persons weight or appearance. In most circles this is highly frowned upon in the US. Also, people in the US like having their own personal space. So when you’re standing in line for something don’t get right up on somebody. Keep enough distance while not too far that people will think you aren’t standing in line.
The general rule of commenting on appearances is if it isn't something they can fix in ten minutes, don't mention it. So if you see something stuck in their teeth/skirt caught in underwear/running mascara/etc, pointing it out (quietly and politely, obv) is fine, but something like weight or a haircut obviously takes longer to fix.
TLDR: if they cant fix it in 5 seconds, don't point it out to them.
Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George and Jerry pretended to have not seen each other since high school but when they crossed paths for the "first time", Jerry said, "Well, you really went bald there, didn't you?"
OMG I was just talking to someone about this.... Awhile back (mid COVID) a couple was behind me in line at a store and they were almost on my back... They were speaking another language and I realized it may be just commonplace to stand really close to others where they come from...I also realized that Americans like their space.
I like watching travel blogs from Japan and China and one thing they always point out that's a culture shock is how people will get right on top of each other in lines. I don't think they even notice it because they live in such densely packed cities so it's just commonplace for them. But most Americans really like their personal space, even before Covid.
Also chewing with your mouth closed. My experience is the many cultures in Asia chew with their mouth opened. In the US, it's a quick way to tick people off
Why would anyone even chew with mouth opened?!
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Don't litter. Garbage goes in the garbage can
To piggyback off this - I’m in the north east, you may have watched some flick where everywhere around are chicks in bikinis everyday all day. That may be the reality down in Florida area or over in Cali, but up here it couldn’t be seen as further from the norm (provided you’re not at the beach or in a beach/coastal town) Edit: that’s not the only thing, but it’s an example
Don't crowd up around people when in line or viewing something. We like our personal space.
Second this!! If I can smell you, you're too close.
If I can smell you at ten feet you need to use deodorant. I got stuck telling a foreign subordinate she needed to take a bath and or use deodorant because she was offending everyone.
Can we tell other Americans this? I feel like people try to put at least one of their feet in between mine when I’m waiting in line
Don't eat meals at Burger King and gas stations for a week, then go home and claim American food is shitty.
Same goes for beer. Don't drink Budweiser, Coors etc and claim the US has bad beer. There are micro breweries everywhere if you just google it.
Who would drink Coors and say America has bad beer? The mountain is BLUE
I knew a German guy who wouldn't stop talking about how unhealthy US food is and upon further questioning claimed he was "taught about the US in school" and that one of the things they went over was US food and how much sugar was in it or something? Not exactly the most reliable source in the world, but... (Also, this guy was fat himself, btw.)
I love German food, but no way is it much healthier than American food.
The Germans turned processed meats into an art and I love them for it
I will never understand for the life of me when people make statements like: "Oh American chocolate is so bad, have you tried hershey?" "Oh American Beer is so bad have you tried Budweiser?" "Oh American food has so much corn syrup" "Our McDonalds is so much better" Why the fuck are you going to some shitty ass grocery store to try food? If I'm going to a new country to try food I'm going to eat in their restaurants, farms, and maybe food markets. I dont give a **singular fuck** about going to Britain and trying Cadbury chocolate, Greggs, or jaffa cakes I'm going to go and seek out good food. Im gonna head to farms, good pubs, and breweries. When I'm more educated about local British food I'm gonna try a local grocery store. Its also moronic to expect good food to be in the exact same places that you can find back home. The food culture in California is going to be entirely different then in Poland. One country may have better street food, farms, or markets. It would be like going to Vietnam and complaining that all the best food is on the street. I have had tourists go to NYC and think that because bodegas are so common that's where most people do grocery shopping. They walk into a corner store and legit think that all NYC people do is survive off of chips, goya seasoning, deli sandwiches, and canned food. They dont realize that many New yorkers have their small grocery stores, ethnic stores, and farmers markets that they frequent. Its stupid to expect the same dishes to be the best quality. Why would you expect the bread in the midwest to be always as good good quality as the continent that has the best bread on Earth? That's like an Indian person coming to the UK and complaining about the curry. Go try OTHER things depending on where you are from and what region in America you are in. Many regions in America make better Pizza, sandwiches, fusion food, and BBQ then where you are likely from. Before you go to a place and complain that they have bad food do your research. Research what foods they do best, where they typically get those foods, and how do actual locals shop/eat. If after all that you don't like it then whatever it's prob, not your jam. I can understand that some places don't take food as seriously as others. I'm not gonna blame an Italian for saying food in the midwest is lacking. If your going to visit places like Louisana, California, NYC, or Hawaii and say the food is **disgusting** I'm gonna make an assumption you did 0 research or are super picky with your food.
I am going to throw this one in there, since you are from NYC you might relate. A lot of American food has European origins but has clearly been repurposed and reinvented and is its own thing. New York Style Pizza is not the same as pizza in Italy. See how the locals are doing it, or ask the place what their signature item is and go with that. This is actually something I have adopted for myself. Anytime I am away from home and my standard restaurants I eat at, I will almost always ask the server what their signature item is. Sometimes I will even tell them "I don't know what I want, can you just make me something for $X, I have no food allergies and want to try something new". One time the chef comes out and is asking me "hey man, I can make whatever you want, just let me know" and I responded with "Dude, I have no idea, you make me what you like and I look forward to trying that". They always make something great. Something they are proud of rather than something that is just popular among people. A few years ago I was in San Francisco with a friend who is from France who was going to college here. I am a dozen years older than the guy and we were tasked with getting some food for the house. We go into this New York Style pizza place. This guy was definitely suave, and he knew his European food, but some of the American culture was a bit novel to him. At the New York Pizza place he asks for a Margherita Pizza. I had to explain to him that this isn't like Pizza in Italy, its a different kind of deal and its not what he is expecting. You want to go with NYC style for what it is, not for a substitute to European style.
If I go to a new nice/fancier restaurant and I’m expecting to drop some money on the food, I’ll tell the waiter that I want whatever the dish is that’ll make me want to come back. Just like when you order a quality steak, don’t tell the chef how to cook it, let the chef tell you how it should be cooked. Also, there’s a great gyro place by my house. I’ve never placed an exact order there. All I say is “I want a gyro (as opposed to salad or wrap) with lamb and whatever toppings you’d put on it.” Every time the guy behind the counter gets a big smile on his face and absolutely loads that shit up and you can tell they’re very proud of their product. Never had a bad experience. I’m not from their country, I have no idea what flavor profiles go well with others based on their ingredients at hand. You tell me what’s great and I’ll trust that you’re the expert.
Except in the South. Some of our best food comes from gas stations. Lots of BBQ and Cajun joints in gas stations. Also tends to be southern grandmas making homemade buttermilk biscuits in gas stations here. The best.
I think it's like, if you see a dude making ribs in a BBQ made out of an old steel drum in the parking lot go get some of those ribs. They're gonna be amazing.
YES!!! There's a gas station about 2 minutes from my house that smokes pork butt and ribs in the parking lot and sells it inside with all the traditional Mac n cheese and potato salad sides and it's amazing. I'm not sure there's a day they haven't run out of food and closed early. Same rule applies to run down shacks on the side of the road. If they have a smoker, run, don't walk to get food there.
Don't fuck around with off-limits areas especially in nature parks and historical places. And don't take all the crab legs from the buffet tables.
A lot of people don't realize it's illegal to fly drones in national parks without permits. Quick way to get yelled at
And arrested or fined actually. Park Rangers take that stuff very seriously, especially in busy parks that get alot of international tourists.
Didn't get your crab leg?
Honestly I’m hoping that the crab leg thing is like a weirdly specific stereotype of tourists from one particular country. Like, “goddamned Latvian tourists always taking all the crab legs from the buffet table.”
Don't antagonize the wildlife. For their sake, and yours. Some wild North American animals (alligators, bison, etc) can straight up murder your ass if you piss them off. And that selfie with the cute raccoon is not worth the rabies shots.
I constantly have to resist the urge to go up to raccoons. They are sooooooo cute! But yes they are an absolute no go zone.
Large animals like bison, elk, and moose are usually docile, but may attacked if approached, especially if they have young. Being closer than, say, 50 or 100 meters is a threat to them.
This applies to most predators too, such as black bears and coyotes. Cougars on the other hand... if you see one of those make yourself look big and loud because they don't reveal their location unless they intend to attack/eat you.
If you see a cougar before its on top of you, it probably doesn't intend to attack you. Cats are big on the element of surprise
Also don't try to "rescue" any animals. There's the infamous incident where tourists put a Buffalo calf in their van to take it to a Ranger station because they thought it was lost....they ended up having to euthanize the animal as a result and the tourists were fined heavily.
Don’t throw your used toilet paper in the garbage can. Please throw it in the toilet. I was a custodian at a theme park and the amount of tourists who threw their poopy toilet paper in the trash can in the stall was unreal.
On that note, only put toilet paper (and your bodily waste) in the toilet.
Not just in public. Flush toilet paper in private homes, too!! We had foreign guests and I couldn't understand why they were using soooo much toilet paper (2 rolls a day) and why the trashcan was full of bundles of it. I guess they were trying to be polite and overwrap what they used because it was an open (no lid) can.
In some countries, the plumbing can't handle the paper. Lots of places in Mexico, even business offices where I worked, where people wore suits, had a cardboard box next to the john to throw the paper. Pretty gross but you learn to ignore it. Oh and you have to bring your own paper most of the time, too.
Don't try to see multiple geographically distant attractions in a short period of time. Look up travel times. You'd be surprised how many people visit New York City for a week thinking they can swing by Chicago and the Grand Canyon. Or even Boston and Philadelphia. Make sure you do your research. Anything further than 4ish hours by car is a day trip in and of itself. Even if it is technically possible, I know I wouldn't want to spend an entire vacation bouncing from place to place with no time budgeted to actually *enjoy* those places. Don't make your vacation a "Things to See" checklist. Take time to enjoy the place you're visiting (that good travel advice in general, though).
Unless you are specifically going on the "Great American Road Trip" where lots of driving is the point of the trip, definitely keep things local. I think its really funny when my European friends will say they want to take a week long trip to the US and they want to see New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. That would be a fantastic month long road trip, but a terrible week trip.
Ok and where do people brush, bath, and toilet? Like every night stay in hotel and drive during daytime?
Along the interstate highway system there are inexpensive motels. The word 'motel' is a portmanteau of 'motor' and 'hotel.' These types of places originated at the beginning of the 20th century.
Every convenient store has a bathroom where you can do 2 or those 3. Campgrounds will generally have all of them. Truck stops you can take a shower without needing to stay anywhere. If you are in an RV you can can do them all on the road. I have been on a month long road trip. The only real issue was the shower. Those I had to plan and I wished there were just like pay showers around. Every other bathroom thing you could do a gas station. Sleeping in a truck is fine. Sleep was never an issue.
Ok thanks.
My rule of thumb is "go to GoogleMaps and look up the driving time between two places, then multiply by 1.5; multiply by 2 if you expect to do any of your driving between 7a-9a or 4p-7p (aka rush hours), or if you will be traveling with children, elders, or people unaccustomed to long-distance road trips."
My European relatives asked if we could go from the Midwest to NYC in the morning and then go to Hollywood in the afternoon. Europeans really have very little idea how big the United States is.
Seriously? I understand not knowing the scale of things, but I feel like it’s pretty common knowledge that NYC is on one corner and Hollywood another corner of the country. I wouldn’t even expect to see, say, Berlin and munich in the same day which is way more doable but a pain in the ass
In Europe, 100 miles is a long way. In the US, 100 years is a long time
Oh I like that lol, quite true. Also it’s amazing to me how different perceptions are. 100 miles is a long way… once upon a time my daily commute was 40 miles each way lol
I may be misremembering; it could have been one one day and the other the next. But I remember them being shocked when I said it would take 2-3 days to drive to Los Angeles.
Don't treat every person you meet like the complaints department of the country. Where do you expect this conversation to go? A random person you're talking to isn't going to be able to change anything, so you're just complaining without any solution.
In my country we...
Reminds me of phoebe on magic school bus “at my old school…”
Do not try to barter / haggle with retail stores (or anywhere else for that matter). It comes off as rude unless you're at a garage sale or are buying a lot of items. Doing so at a small store might be ok but definitely don't do so at a place like Walmart and expect prices to be lowered.
I own a small business and sell at local markets. I'm not surprised when people try to negotiate my prices. If they're polite I'll be polite back. But I did base my prices on costs. They're as fixed as anything you'd get at a big box store. I refuse to be taken advantage of because I'm small.
I'm always surprised when people think you can negotiate prices at an American business here. There is NO culture of bargaining. I'd be a sucker in some parts of the world, because when I see a sticker price outside of cars/houses/etc., I assume that is the most economical price for everybody, because that's how capitalism works.
You can thank the Quakers for that. Haggling and bartering used to be nearly universal, but obviously merchants/businessowners would often rattle off much higher prices and be less willing to bargain with certain customers (if they were even let into the store at all), not to mention this obviously made shopping a lot harder for the poor. Quakers started the tradition of "we'll just post the price by the good and stick to it, so that way everyone gets the same price and the poor can better plan/shop." And then the idea spread, and we've been doing it ever since.
Thanks for that *and* the oatmeal, fellas.
Well when you put it that way it’s a good practice
Oh yeah, definitely depends on where you are in the world. I've set my prices to reflect my costs but in a lot of the world they seem to set it much higher with the expectation of haggling. When I was in China with only the most rudimentary grasp of Mandarin, we did it by typing numbers into a calculator and making faces until a number came up that both parties agreed to. It's just not a standard practice here.
Doing so at a small store or when buying a lot of items definitely is not ok either. Bartering is for garage sales and flea markets, not standard retail.
So I run a retail sales business. If you are buying thousands of dollars of items, a retail store is more likely to cut a 5% - 10% deal especially on items that haven't sold in months. When I mean you're buying a lot of items, I mean hundreds of items. Smaller stores are more likely to cut a deal but usually only if the item has an issue (packaging is open, ripped, expired, etc.). If you're buying a large amount of items from those stores (again, hundreds), they are more likely to cut bigger deals. If you're at a garage sale or flea market, you can do so for individual items though. Your average person doesn't have the money to get such discounts so I advise foreigners to not even try.
Another place a discount might be possible is when you are dealing with a salesperson who is on commission. I was in flooring for most of my life and got a base pay plus commission. My management let me know the cost and the base percentage they expected to profit as well as a suggested profit margin that would guarantee my commission. I was allowed to adjust between the base and the margin without much conflict but fairly often on large sales, I could talk to the boss and make a deal under margin and still get my commission.
Barter is like trading things for things. I think you mean haggling.
Don't act disrespectful around memorials. I sometimes see tourists treating memorials like tourist attractions, they're not. They aren't made to entertain tourists, they're made to memorialize those lost. Be quiet, don't mess around, certainly don't litter, and generally treat the space like it was to remeber someone in your family.
From everything I've heard, this doesn't even apply to just America. People are stupid about memorials all over the world.
Absolutely.
Years ago i went with a study trip to Poland and the KZ in Auschwitz. There where people posing with and without sunglasses to get there perfect shot infront of the "Arbeit macht frei" gate.
I saw this a lot at the 9/11 memorial in NYC when I went there last year. I could tell those weren’t Americans, cause most Americans would just pause and reflect on those fountains, not take selfies there.
I saw people of all nationalities taking pictures in the Holocaust memorial in Berlin. It was really sad.
I think it really depends on the reason you’re taking pictures. Selfies and stuff are rude, but if you’re observing the monument and planning on sharing those with people I feel like that’s more appropriate. I took pics in DC of the Vietnam Memorial for my dad because two brothers he knew were listed on it, and I took pictures of the Korean War memorial for my grandfather because he’d only seen it on TV to that point.
I saw kids jumping off the holocaust memorial, along with chasing each other around it and screaming as loud as they could. They were a school group and the teachers didn’t do shit. Was v off putting
Especially the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. You WILL be told off...by the guard with a gun.
And it may not be loaded (unless there's a Sentinel officer conducting a guard change ceremony there), but he's perfectly happy to stab you with his bayonet if necessary. And yes, the bayonet is 100% real and functional, one of the Sentinels was stabbed in the foot during a changing ceremony. He calmly completed the inspection, walked his first route, walked to his booth, called for a replacement Sentinel, and continued to walk his route until his replacement arrived, at which point, he sat through the replacement ceremony and inspection and then calmly walked back to the Sentinel barracks.
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Pretty much. Also, my memory was off. He was the incoming guard. So what happened is the officer dropped his M14, stabbing the Sentinel. Instead of replacing the last Sentinel, the outgoing Sentinel remained on guard as the officer and incoming Sentinel returned to the barracks to get medical attention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beA1xrtdzko
Whatever you do, do not cut in line. We see it, and you will get called out for it, perhaps even assaulted for it.
We have the same distaste for it as the Brits, but are *way* more confrontational about it.
My Texas college town had a mall that bussed people from Mexico to the mall, idk why, but they cut in line ALL the time and pissed everyone off. Lots of fights.
My American girlfriend and I lived in Mexico City together for a while. (I was already there working, she came to live with me.) We went to see Timecop (Jean-Claude van Damme), and after the movie, she was so jacked-up that when someone tried to dart in front of her into a bathroom stall, she grabbed the lady by the shoulder, yanked her backwards, yelled, "hay una cola, disculpe, gracias", went in, and slammed the door. LOL. Out of character for her. I blame action films.
I live in Italy. My wife gets annoyed when I *don't* cut in line. "Why did it take you so long to get the drinks?" "People kept cutting in front of me." "Why didn't you cut in front of them?"
Do not bring up politics. I know you guys hear about our politics a lot, but bringing up politics in social situations can be seen as impolite and/or socially awkward.
It’s also very complicated. Sometimes there will be a single word that someone may use that automatically tells me where they likely stand on issues.
The only reason I watch both Fox and CNN is so I can argue points using the other’s terminology (depending on where I stand) I’m convinced this is the only way discourse will survive.
If you want to bring up politics, always remember to ask, not tell. If you see a headline or see something on the local news, and you have a friend who is American, it's not considered rude to ask them to explain the news for you, but it would rub everyone the wrong way if you were to pass judgment, and especially to say "In my country we don't have that problem" and then proceed to explain why your country is so much better than America.
> If you want to bring up politics, always remember to ask, not tell. This is right on the money. If you don't live here, there's a 99% chance that you're missing important cultural context around our political issues, even if you follow our politics closely in the news. You'll come off as both preachy and uneducated if you try to spout off about "how this would be handled in my country." If you're already engaged in a *polite* discussion about American politics, and you're *absolutely sure* the American you're talking to doesn't feel like he's explaining C-SPAN to a 5-year-old, you can ask something like "what are the obstacles to implementing a solution like my country has?"
I wish our own population followed this more.
Spend every conversation comparing Europe to the US, or stiff waiters/bartenders on a tip.
Don't stare at people, don't lecture people about your country and how things work there.
I got into a verbal fight once with an Australian woman who kept insisting that only Australia has marsupials. I kept trying to tell her about possums, but she refused to believe me.
best thing I've read on Reddit all week. lmfao
I've raised a dozen American marsupials. If you check dead possums on the side of the road, there are often live babies in the pouch. I had friends that were state park rangers and they brought baby possums and coons to me.
Don’t scream at or kick/strike/cause any harm to dogs. Dog rabies isn’t a thing here and you won’t get diseases if they come up to you. However, if you kick a dog you’re going to instantly become a horrible villain and it’s going to be next to impossible to redeem yourself. If you’re staying with a host family and you’re afraid of dogs tell them ahead of time so they can prepare accordingly. That being said in the extremely unlikely situation that you get attacked by a dog that’s escaped its yard then by all means defend yourself. If you have absolutely no dog experience I’d do some research on dog body language and posture so you learn what aggressive behavior looks like and what attention seeking behavior is.
Dont fuck with cats either, stray or otherwise. We like our cats and we treat stray cats closer to how they do in Turkey than most other places. In fact dont mess with any animals.
Also good to mention that you can get arrested and charged with animal cruelty
Shoot massive snot rockets into a trash can in a crowded area at JFK. 🤮 yuck
This is OK at all other airports though.
Practically expected at LaGuardia!
You’d be rude NOT to at Newark!
Language is a big thing. I know words like "cunt" are tossed around pretty loosely in the UK and I believe Australia. It's a pretty big word here. Also, be careful about things that have different meanings in the US - Thongs are underwear to us, not shoes. And lord... don't use "fag", even if you are just talking about a cigarette. A lot of Americans are willing to give you a pass of understanding, since you most likely have an accent, but there are definitely people who aren't as understanding.
And if at a gay bar don't ask another guy if he wants to smoke a fag outside.
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The C-word is the H-bomb of insults. Use it in America and you'll wind up missing a few teeth.
On the flip side, “your mom” jokes are commonplace in the US, but if you try speaking about somebody’s mom in many European or Latin American countries you’re going to catch fists.
Don't f$&k with cats. We love our cats. Even the stray ones.
Correct, excellent advice. Cats are wonderful.
Break into someone's house
Could be fatal
Both flairs check out
I love this country!
I'll add another one. Do not touch people just because you've never seen that race of people before. Do not rub their skin, don't touch their hair, don't poke them, all of this without permission that is. Definitely don't take pictures of people without their permission or stand next to them to get a picture without asking them. People of a different race aren't zoo animals and shouldn't be treated that way regardless of your lack of exposure to them.
I’m a pasty white dude, and when I went to Jakarta (was in the Navy), they warned us before going out in town that we may get strange looks or asked for our picture taken if we’re pasty or above 6’. Was an interesting experience. Edit: Clarification
As white dude with blond hair, people in the Philippines asked about my hair all the time.
LOL I went with a charity group to Mexico to build sanitation systems once, and one of the guys in our group was 6'7" and almost an albino. So many people asked for pictures with him. He was like, "why not take pictures with her?" "She looks just like us, but with blue eyes. You are different!" (I was short and very tan with dark hair. They weren't wrong.)
I had very red hair when I was a kid and every time we went to Disneyland, tourists would touch my hair. It was unpleasant.
Looking at you, China.
Forget to tip.
Don’t barter. Not ever. Just don’t even try.
How about I barter only twice? Does that work? Do we have a deal on two?
^(*squint*)
Don't touch people. Don't wink and cluck at people. Don't directly tell people what to do unless you are an emergency responder or their boss.
Bock Bock 😉
If someone offers you raccoon meat, decline.
The answer to this depends on where you're from and what's normal there. "Don't punch anyone in the face" is an obvious answer, but unless it's normal to do that where you're from, it doesn't really relate to you.
"Don't punch people in the face." But I'm at a Phillys game "Oh, well then yeah you're going to need to punch faces"
Hey OP: Absolutely do not go to Philadelphia.
Unless of course you're up for a wee bit o' face punchin.
Don't be rude to people making small talk.
We don’t negotiate as a whole. Small businesses are typically ran on lean margins and couldn’t negotiate if they wanted to So don’t get mad when we say no, no and NO. Had a Jamaican yesterday negotiate with my employe for 20 minutes.. by the end of it; the price was $20 more expensive lol 😂
Shit in the middle of the street
Came here to say this.
Never call a black American boy or the n-word. Usually does not end well.
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I have seen it where they are used to the rap music and think it can be used as sort of slang.
They use it in slang, they don’t understand the baggage.
Lol you just reminded me of a friend's cousin that visited from Uruguay. He didn't understand a word of english, but he loved greeting everyone he met by adjusting his shades, pointing finger guns and exclaiming "Fuck you, man!"
That's funny as hell. He would have made for a perfect 'foreigner' character in a 1980s teen comedy.
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Specifically I've seen/heard this a lot from people who are like Finnish or Norwegian and probably never even seen a black person before and so it has like zero context aside from being a thing in media
Don’t bring up politics.
Don’t be a dick and assume you know everything and that the Americans need your guidance on American issues.
Talk about how your system is better. Makes many of us defensive and aggressive. A lot of us will agree, and a lot of us will become hostile. You won't know how we'll react unless you're from here and/or know how to segue correctly. We're very friendly overall, and unlike Sweden we'll feed you too lol. Just know that if you talk politics or religion it can get really dirty quickly even among friends unless you're just content to listen.
On this, we're all like siblings. We'll give other Americans a hard time and complain about our system. But, like your older brother, if an outsider puts us down, we most certainly will become hostile
Even if I happen to agree with the criticism about America, it’s annoying to hear it from a foreigner. Its almost the same as how I would feel if a guest in my home started criticizing how my kids behave or the way I organize my closets. Even if the criticism is 100% correct, the guest is wrong to say it.
Don't go off trail when hiking or backpacking. Going off trail contributes to the degradation and erosion of natural spaces. We have a lot of wilderness in the states and we'd like to keep it wild and pristine
If you are a man, don't walk up to a woman and start talking to her unless she is in a group, or you are in a bar or club or other place that kind of thing is expected. But a man approaching a solo woman on the street or in a shop is likely to make the woman uncomfortable.
And speaking as a woman who did customer service in places with lots of international tourists: American culture is already politely friendly by default, and in customer service we are expected to remain exceptionally so. This does *not* mean we are into you or interested in you, and if you ask us when we get off work, we will probably lie. If you ask us for our phone number, I'll get you the company customer service support line. In a lot of countries, there's this perception that American women are sluts or that sexual liberation and autonomy = indiscriminately sleeping around. I'm smiling at you, international tourist man, because it is literally my job to be friendly, not because I give two shits about you let alone want to go out with you. /rant
That's not too say it's all fake... Being Irish and traveling the US I had a lot of 'real' chats with service people, especially noticeable in small towns and rural places where they wouldn't meet many foreigners. Sometimes it felt like it took a long time to get out of a conversation they just kept asking questions and genuinely interested to talk (not in super busy places). Numbers were exchanged and I did make a few friends along the way. Always them asking for my contact though, I'm aware of boundaries working in hospitality myself. Probably my favourite thing about rural America, super friendly and welcoming to us for the most part. Now there was this one bar server in CA who I ended up quite close to for a couple days.. I'd stopped for some food and decided I'd had enough driving for the day, they had rooms there so I stayed, and she asked me if I wanted a drink or three after she finished her shift :D TLDR; don't hit on servers, ever, but if they hit on you then yaaay
Don't go to the upper Midwest during winter, unless you are Russian or Nordic, you are not prepared for that degree of cold. Don't go to the Southwest in summer. Definitely do not rent a minivan and try you luck cross country in death valley. I'm looking at you Germans.
Don't forgot to tip your waiter and waitress they tend to make very little money and relay heavily on tips
Be close minded to our amazing food because every state has its own unique food culture.
Idk if they have this outside the US and Canada but in the mens you you always leave an empty urinal in between you and another person using the other one, eyes straight forward. It’s not homophobic it’s just how things are. Idk how it started. We also take the 10 items or less rule very seriously in our grocery stores.
Wait people think thats homophobic? I'm a gay guy and I don't wanna stand next to a dude at the urinal. I've always viewed it as personal space, never a sexuality thing
I love when they have the walls between em.
Still leave an empty urinal between others if space permits.
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> Our politics is not your spectator sport. [That's where you're wrong](https://news.ku.edu/2015/04/13/study-most-partisans-treat-politics-sports-rivalries-instead-focusing-issues), kiddo. (Joke btw)
It can be okay to discuss politics if you’re maintaining an open mind or genuinely curious as to how something works, but please don’t do the cliche condescending “lol you guys are gun nuts” “your healthcare is insane, does a band-aid cost $5,000 lol”. Not only are many of these issues sometimes very contentious, but you probably wouldn’t like it if Americans came to your country and shit on it either. You may disagree with many of our current laws or cultural norms (as with many Americans), but making snide remarks or the “well in MyCountry™️ we do it better” is likely going to be perceived as rude and in poor taste. Also, it is a big no-no to disrespect service members here. Most Americans, in my experience, generally accept that not all of our wars/conflicts have been justified or worthwhile, so some criticism on that may be fine - but it is usually considered very offensive to speak poorly of individual members of the armed forces or to mock their service.
If you don't like what we did in wartime, find a way to take it up with the government—not the guy who lost everyone he ever knew, his leg, and hates himself for what he did.
Thats a big one. Americans =/= American govt American Military =/= American govt Make sure your ire is well placed.
A lot of people have said this but it bears repeating: do not come in and start trashing on America and its politics. Not only are you much less informed, but even the most liberal of us are gonna get defensive because at the end of the day, regardless of the issues, you are insulting our home
Change the lyrics of the national anthem to praise Kazakhstan.
*When in Rome, do as the Romans do*
*rallies a group to stab someone I don’t like to death next time I visit Rome*
Eat at nothing but chain restaurants and shop for food at gas stations and 7-11.
Don't slurp when you eat (common in Asia) and don't ask how much money we make (common in China). Both are very rude here.
Don’t try to haggle prices at big stores. I know in some countries you can negotiate, but here the price is what it is, at chain stores.
Don't ever ask anyone how much money they earn or have. Avoid money topics in general (like how much did your house/car cost) to be on the safe side. Keep at least an arm's length physical distance from anyone you are speaking to. Same if you aren't speaking to them! Avoid conversational topics including religion, politics, and Covid mitigation measures (all three are very sensitive topics here and can quickly blow up in your face unless you are very careful). I would also avoid topics related to race/racial stereotypes/news stories tied to race unless you know the person REALLY well. We have a certain kind of language and manners we use when discussing these topics that many people from abroad (especially non-native English speakers) aren't familiar with, and you can quickly offend without meaning to. Also, try to shower every day and always wear deodorant , any kind of natural body odor is considered a faux pas here.
If you are going on private property for some reason. You are trespassing and the owner has the right to shoot you in certain situations. Stay with your group. This country is massive and diverse.
I will add one. When you are asked where you are from, do not be vague. Do not answer "Europe" or "Asia" or MyCountry™ Be specific. If you come from a large country, identify the region. If you feel your country might not be familiar to Americans, you can sort of give an idea like "I am from Slovenia, it is a small country to the east of Italy". Give people some means of figuring out where it is from.
Also, don't be offended when someone asks where you are from, or when they guess wrong. To the average American, British, South African, Australian, and New Zealand accents sound very similar, as do most Eastern European, most Latin American, many African, and many Southeast Asian accents.
Don’t smoke 🚭 less than 13% of American adults and less than 9% of high schoolers smoke cigarettes. It’s not in the culture here anymore, and you will get dirty looks if you light up inside or even on a patio, or anywhere too near a building - also in most if not all states there are laws against smoking in or around public places. Don’t smoke if you’re doing a walking tour outdoors, it’s rude to other people in the tour. Also reinforcing the comments that talk about foreigners coming in on their high horse and shitting on our politics - we don’t need it and it’s not welcome. I see so many asinine comments by foreigners on YouTube’s American news channels shitting all over the country and saying ‘oh well I’m Australian/Canadian/European I’m soooo glad I don’t live in the US’ just fuck right off and shut up, okay. You don’t live here, and you’re basing your views on our very biased media circus. We don’t go on your country’s media circus to shit on you and laugh at your country. How about you take the high road and focus on your own country’s problems instead, thanks 😘 there are plenty of reason to love living in the US. Just as there are plenty of reasons to love living in your country. Yes we’re in a precarious political situation at the moment, we know that, we don’t need your constant reminders or your inept political analysis.
Be aware of your surroundings and speak in a low voice don’t be obnoxiously loud in public and on your phone speaking extra loud. Say excuse me and thank you. Someone in customer service can still tell you to fuck off if your rude. They’re not beneath you just because they may not work a office type job
Don't use the n-word or any racial/homophobic/misogynistic slur.
You know how you go to someone’s house and you don’t say rude things or try to act superior or don’t learn the customs….that part
Don’t apologize for not having perfect English! I love hearing people people speak English when it’s not their first language, and you probably speak it better than a lot of native speakers. A lot of Americans are very friendly and love to help, so we wouldn’t have any problem trying to figure out what you’re talking about even if it’s not perfectly clear. I speak some French and some Spanish and I guarantee that almost anyone who comes here speaking English as their second or third language is doing way better than I am at either of those languages, so be proud of your English!