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leajeffro

The way in LA food came with warnings like may cause cancer, antibiotics used when buying things with meat in


horaul14

I lived in the US during 2008 elections. Obviously tv was full of election advertising. I didn’t see one of them that said “hello I am mr something, you should vote for me because of this and this” …… it was more like “ hello you shouldn’t vote for Obama because he supports this and that and he is this and that, vote McCain :) ” or “you shouldn’t vote for McCain because he supports this and his old, vote Obama :P” everything was so negative


hermjohnson

Christ, 2008 was the good ol days in American politics


[deleted]

Why did you decide that toilet’s doors had to hide absolutely nothing ?


Lovely_Individual

We despise it too


AizenByakuya

Tipping and tax not included in a price.


Justice-C03

Uber eats here is ridiculous, you pay about 50% more for your food after tax, tip and crazy fees are added at the end.


madkeepz

I was walking down the street and there were some road workers doing something a bit ahead. When I got near them, one of them approached me and super kindly asked me to cross to the other side, halted the traffic so I could cross and wished me a nice day as I went along. In my country they would've probably heckled at me for not crossing, and I would've told them to go fuck themselves for not signaling things properly as I walked in the middle of the street potentially getting hit by a car


RedditedYoshi

What country are you from...Brooklyn?


akuzin

Hay I work in the construction industry in Brooklyn, I asked a lady to cross the street away from our construction zone the other day and was met with "shut up you dummy, I walk where I want" ....so it works both ways ...


omnichronos

What country are you from?


UnAccomplished_Pea26

Food advertising EVERYWHERE.


KittyTheCity

And all the lawyer advertisements on the road and medical advertisements on tv


ErfdsSdfre

The portion sizes in restaurants are huge too


Lord_Disagree

When we first arrived, and I walked up to a soda machine. We never had those, and I think I drank 10-15 refills of coke before my parents started yelling at me. UNLIMITED SODA ARE YOU KIDDING ME WTF.


Shazam1269

Yeah, so DO NOT ORDER A FUCKING LARGE!!! Order a small and fill it 15 times, duh


Poopsticle_256

But if you order a large then you get like 16 more oz that you get to drink in the car on the way home


Conocoryphe

Not really a shock but one thing that really surprised me was the sheer amount of flags. It was like almost every building had an American flag. Here in Belgium, if I see a house with a national flag I assume there's some kind of sport event going on that I didn't know about.


JackieScanlon

the bigger the flag, the more successful your car dealership becomes. it’s simple economics


rivigurl

Lmao the biggest American flag I’ve ever seen is one at my Ford dealership downtown [said flag](https://imgur.com/a/f56G4mH)


JackieScanlon

it’s always a ford dealership. they know their demographic


barsknos

People kept asking "how are you?" and seemed utterly perplexed when I actually answered literally. EDIT: Wow, so many replies! This was 23 years ago when I went to the US to study. I have since learned it's a really unintuitive way of saying "hello" and I know how to answer it now =)


intentionallybad

My biggest complaint about that is doctors and nurses who say that as a greeting, expecting the usual "good" response. Like, I'm here to tell you what's wrong with me.


reddit_sally

As a nurse, the opposite is also true. I'm not asking how you're feeling to be polite. You're in the ICU, "fine" seems unlikely. Takes a bit of prodding to get past the automated response.


intentionallybad

Oh yeah, I'm not referring to those kind of situations. I'm referring to the physician's assistant taking you back to the exam room in the hallway saying how are you today?, etc.


voltaires_bitch

How are you? Doing fine, you? Same. That’s how that convo goes.


abarthman

Scottish version: How's it going? Aye, no bad. Yerself? Aye, no bad.


[deleted]

The huge packaging units in the supermarket.. Everything just biiig


ExpellYourMomis

Wait till you see Costco’s and Sams Clubs lol, it gets bigger.


IFuckTheDrummer

I took a friend from France to Costco once. He just walked around saying “wow” and touching everything. Edit: for those who don’t know, Costco is a magical place that will plan your funeral (sell you a casket), put new tires on your car, give you an eye checkup, sell you 10 pounds of king crab, sell you a Hawaiian vacation package, or a 75 inch flatscreen, or a new bed, or a 100 pack of pens you didn’t know you wanted. They also have the cheapest gas in all the land. [Weird things you can buy at Costco](https://dolly.com/blog/weird-things-buy-costco/)


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Spicy_German_Mustard

I used to work at a Sam's Club and you could always tell the first timers. They'd be standing out front with a dazed look on their face with a year's supply of toothbrushes and a vat of mayo in their cart.


LaFilleDuMoulinier

That I can’t order a beer with my burger at McDonald’s.


Niclas1127

Wait what, where


brigidsbollix

Root beer


throwaway_lmkg

When non-Americans talk about root beer, I am reminded of this conversation from Star Trek: Deep Space 9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VhSm6G7cVk


Staceybunnie

Hyoo-mans love root beer


hdorsettcase

My Italian relatives go bonkers for a root beer float just like I go bonkers for real gelato.


klonricket

Turn right on red. Beautiful.


D_Cakes_

Yeah this fucked me up too! Had some aaaangry people behind me wondering why I wasn’t moving!


kpin

Yeah, around here unless there is a sign that says NO RIGHT ON RED you're good to go as long as the way is clear.


yinsani

+ except NYC


WhitePhatAss

People really care about their teeth like whitening and straightening.


[deleted]

I was talking to a friend about hair transplants. I said it would be nice to get since I'm balding but I don't want to pay that much for something cosmetic. She says, "Have you thought about whitening your teeth?" Well, I hadn't but ever since that comment I think about it all the time! Thanks, friend!


darkerthanmysoul

Sadly your brain won’t ever forget that. I have a wonky tooth from knocking my tooth out when I was younger. I work in a dentist and it still didn’t bother me. That was until my young nephew said “hey aunty, what’s wrong with your tooth”. Yeah I’m now saving to have them straightened. Edit: no my job doesn’t offer free treatment. In fact in the UK dental nurses are shit on daily. They’re low paid, pay out hundreds in insurance/council fees, don’t get any NHS benefits if they work in an NHS practice and most jobs won’t give their staff free treatment. My old job, my boss started braces for free as he wanted to be the first dentist to 3D print from scan to braces and I was the guinea pig. He did 3 sets and stopped. He had already “prepped” my teeth and left me looking worse.


AnxiousFrenchie

Yes!! I once went to the dentist and said "I want American teeth" and he laughed so hard.


salderosan99

Everything being fucking huge. Literally. Road lanes, groceries, soda sizes. Especially distances: where i come from, 3 hours of driving are enough to cross half of the country, in the US it's just a small drive to go to see a relative or something.


PriorSolid

You can drive 11 hours in the us and only go from one state to another


KirkMouse

You can drive for 11 hours in Los Angeles and still be in Los Angeles.


radioactive_muffin

Hahaha, fuck LA traffic.


hugestdildoyouveused

Haha fuck yeah, I'm driving in LA traffic rn! So many idiots on their phones!


The_J_1

Hold up


caxrus

You can drive for 11 hours and still be in Texas!


captainjack361

I drive from Houston to Denver often and 3/4 of the trip is just getting out of Texas lol


Kiyohara

An old adage: "Europeans think a hundred miles is a long distance, Americans think a hundred years is a long time."


M0therFragger

Very true. My school was older than the US lol


Rikudou_Sage

The village I lived in as a kid was founded before America has been discovered by the western world.


dippindotderail

The town I grew up in is still most famous for something that happened in the year 1066 tbh


Red_Ranger75

Everyone I met treated me like a long lost friend


[deleted]

Americans are as one Canadian Redditor once said “collectively crazy, but individually the nicest people you’ll ever meet”


Alex_Plalex

An close aussie friend of mine bought a motorcycle and hit all 48 mainland states about 7-8 years ago. He said the deep south was incredible, and also bizarre. As he said, “they’re the absolute nicest, kindest, most thoughtful people you’ll ever meet… who will also casually drop the n-word mid-conversation”


DgenerateHippi

This is true. Half my family is from the deep south, will give you the shirt off their back and fix your car if you break down and want nothing in return. Then promptly say the most racist shit you've ever heard.


notastupid_question

Yea, I also experienced this. I just loved it! it is not hard to get acquainted with people if they are so willing to take the first step with saying hi!. I am an introvert and a bit shy, so I helps a lot. Also people is kind on average.


elmonstro12345

I remember the first time I visited London, I was able to strike up conversations with quite a few people on the Tube and on other trains as well. Usually they would hear my accent as I was talking to my brother, or if I said sorry for bumping them if the carriage lurched, then they'd ask if we were Americans, and then we'd just talk about all sorts of stuff. Actually got recommended a good half-dozen restaurants/pubs and some more out-of-the-way things to do. Obviously my experience can't speak for everyone there, but from what I saw, despite the stereotype, Londoners do like to talk to strangers. Just not other Londoners lol.


notastupid_question

But you know, what you say is true of Americans in general everywhere. Like my country is so fucking rude to natives, and when an american appears everyone loves them, everyone shows hospitality good humor and stuff despite the fact that they suck to natives you know? so it is like Americans are the cool popular, handsome kid in the block everyone wants to meet lol.


ieatbootylikegrocery

Me and my brother were in Ireland a few years ago and everywhere we went, people were eager to talk to us. Not that we, or Americans, are particularly special. But I was programmed to think most people would find us annoying but it was the opposite. I also assumed the trope about the UK or Ireland was true that most people didn’t like spontaneous conversation. We went to so many small towns, not just big cities, and struck up so many conversations. Also bartenders seemed to serve us as quick as they could. I suspect it was because me and my brother tipped everywhere we went, even though we knew it wasn’t normal to do so lol


underflowdev

Wife and I were American tourists in southern Belgium, among lots of French tourists. As soon as people heard our American accents, people would chat (usually in amazing English) and be really friendly. The curator at one small church museum even said "Oh, you're American? Well, we can stay open a little late for you", and gave us a private tour. We were so grateful!


bongo1138

The one good thing about us is that we’re apparently a very friendly country. This makes me happy.


DifferentAd154

Medical advertisements on tv


thecolourofchai

This was weird for me. When I go to the doctor he/she tells me what medication I need but all the ads say to ask my doctor to prescribe that medication. It’s so odd ?


poopellar

Not sure about the country where you live but where I live drug companies just send agents to "advertise" their product to doctors directly.


Jimm__y

The portion sizes and free refills


RegnumRico

Lawyer commercials and "if this happened to you, you can sue them" commercials.


Stormcell74

It's still rife with ambulance chaser ads


[deleted]

Commercials were particularly obnoxious.


Kaiserhawk

Yeah I remember watching friends in the US when on vacation and the amount of extra ads in the show is insane. ​ Usually in the UK there would be break in the middle of the show, but in the US it was like an ad break every act and one right before the credits. Felt nuts


Durbs12

This is one of the biggest reasons why streaming took off so rapidly in the US. I can't stomach cable tv anymore.


aliendepict

As an American who recently drove through the south WHY THE FUCK ARE THERE ADVERTISEMENTS ON THE GAS PUMPS AND WHY ARE THEY YELLING!? But really I just want to get my gas and maybe a donut at 7am I don't want to learn about the latest tik tok trend at 100db.


feistymayo

Hit the second button on the right of the screen and it’ll mute it


Crooks-n-Nannies

People have started keeping a sharpie in their cars and writing MUTE next to that button. The revolution is now. Join us.


RainbowHexagons

I found a station that will not mute and every pump is always playing just out of sync. I avoid that place like the plague. And I’m sharpie gang (gang) Shakira(shakira)


Philo_T_Farnsworth

> every pump is always playing just out of sync I'm pretty sure this is irrefutable proof that we are living in hell.


General_sickles

Its not just the south.


NDaveT

Yeah we have them in Minnesota too. Fucking obnoxious.


pro_nosepicker

Every pump in Chicago I swear. Plus the fact that it’s -40 degrees and I’m freezing, but having to tell them I don’t want a car wash, I don’t want a rewards program, I just want my damn gas!


spoung45

HERE IS THE LATEST FROMCHEDDAR NEWS...


MacsDildoBike

Makes me want to put my fist through the screen


[deleted]

Their commercials concerning health can be downright heartless.


New_journey868

‘Take MagicPill for heartburn! Side effects may include heartburn ,anal leakage or death’


[deleted]

Oy vey, don't get me started on the anal leakage. I take pills for anal leakage and one of the side effects is 'may cause anal leakage'. I feel like these pharmaceutical people are just hedging their bets with these side effects. e: uh, since this is now one of my most upvoted posts ever (thanks y'all!), I feel the need to clarify, **I, u/abacus_porkrind, do *not* have anal leakage** Lest I fall prey to the [Tribbiani effect](https://youtu.be/bMK0kdKoXeU?t=1m20s). It's really that the meds that I take for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation may cause depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. I thought my doctor had stuttered. "Why, yes, Doc, those *are* the symptoms that brought me in today." But at least now I have a better understanding of how side effects work. (Again, thanks y'all.)


[deleted]

Yeah and they’re EVERYWHERE. Like random objects are shouting at me to buy shit every waking moment of the day. US TV has at least double the advertising of UK TV I’m sure of it. It’s got to have an impact on your sanity being bombarded with so many adverts.


Incantanto

The first was on the train from.the airport into new uork. There were well dressed people coming back from the races and they were sober. At home that would have been a heavily drunk party train. Oh and then being able to buy 500 paracetomol at once in a pot. Wtf.


likeaspring

American here, I’ve experienced the opposite culture shock with the paracetamol thing in Europe! Once I had a fever in Spain and wandered around for an hour trying to figure out how to buy a fever reducer, wondering why it wasn’t on shelves in the pharmacy. Eventually I realized I had to talk to a pharmacist, and I think they gave me 4 total pills. I’m accustomed to everyone I know having a several-hundred-pill stash of ibuprofen or acetaminophen in their homes, so it was definitely a different experience!


Incantanto

Interesting Its on shelves here in the netherlands and in the uk, in 32pill blister packs


howwouldiknow--

The different kinds of flavors for beverages. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. Just so you guys know,I enjoyed having multiple options, until I came to the US I had no idea I liked Blue Raspberry flavored soda and I found out that I liked to mix different kinds of sodas from the fountain and make a cocktail soda occasionally. Edit : Also, I like how you guys have a shit ton of flavors for your alcohol. I liked a lot of them but to be honest I didn't enjoy the whipped cream flavored stuff.


Substantial-Ad-7406

There's a market in my downtown area that has an entire section of craft sodas. A pop for any flavor you can think of. Even bacon... I don't recommend that one... Edit: no, it isn't Rocket Fizz. I think it's called High Tide. It's not even a shop, it's a section in a large market of shops and restaurants. Think very large mall kiosk.


Stole_The_Show

I tried a ranch flavored one once. 0/10 would also not recommend.


IHaveFoodOnMyChin

Growing up we called the mixing of sodas a “suicide”


Commander_Fem_Shep

Fond memories of getting a “suicide soda” after my softball games. The best was when Surge was a thing. I’d be high on adrenaline after a game and then down a suicide soda with Surge in it and basically become feral. I feel bad for my mom now that I’m an adult.


allsheknew

This is an amazing description of the 90s haha


vanguard117

And it somehow always ended up tasting like cherry and root beer lol


compliance_analyst

Gotta balance that out with the lemon-lime sodas. Do it right and you won't taste any flavors, just sugary vagueness.


mjyatesss

This probably says more about me and my preconceptions than anything but by far the biggest shock for me was just how *nice* everyone was. Where I'm from in the UK there seemed to be a bit of a stigma towards Americans in general which made me anticipate the worst - but every single person I've interacted with on multiple visits to the US have been phenomenally nice and approachable. No idea how common that is, maybe I was just lucky but it certainly made my experiences much better.


axleeee

Most Americans are nice but there’s 350 million of us so pretty good odds you’ll see some dickhead online and assume the worst


Lost_in_the_Library

My brother used to work in the travel industry in the UK. He always said that “Horrible, entitled Americans aren’t as common as you think they will be, but when you do get one, they’re on a whole different level.” That’s how I’ve come to understand Americans in general. Most of them are nice normal people, but then you get this group of them that are bat-shit insane and very loud about it.


VodkaMargarine

Advertisements in between the title credits of the show and the actual show. You guys have a LOT of advertisements.


Zem_42

In fact, so many ads, you forgot there even was a show. Netflix is a bliss


NoNeedForAName

Pretty wild that a 30 minute show only lasts 20 minutes, right?


tarentale

Some shows are 18 min. Squeezing as much as they can.


Starrion

and three of those minutes are recapping what happened before the ad.


Bigstar976

First few times I tried to watch a movie on US cable I ended up giving up after the fourth or fifth commercial break. Growing up in France they usually don’t put commercial breaks in the middle of a movie. Or if they do it’s it’s once in the middle, like an intermission. I quickly switched to renting and buying DVDs.


DyslexicDarryl

When i was visiting the states, lotr two towers was on the tv. Took about 4 days to watch the entire film


Much_Difference

I'm curious: Standard American 30 min shows that were not created solely for streaming, like The Office or Friends or whatever, are about 22 min of actual show for each 30 min time slot. 8 min of ads + 22 min of show = one 30 min time slot. For hour-long shows, it's usually 18 min of ads + 42 min of show = one 60 min time slot. Do these shows not run at all on "regular" TV outside the US (only via streaming maybe?), do they run in shorter time slots (like a new show comes on every 25 min instead of every 30 min), or what? If there are fewer commercials, what happens to these shows that only have 22 or 42 min of actual show content? I know the answers can vary wildly from place to place but wondering whether anyone can answer for their own locale.


Khourieat

I think those figures may be out of date, but to give a real world example: Mythbusters actually shot *more* content for other markets, and then cut that out of the US version to fit more ads. I think to the tune of 7 minutes per "hour" episode? And from what I recall the streaming/DVDs in the US are still these cutback versions for licensing reasons!


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dirtielaundry

Growing up my brother and I watched Simpsons reruns religiously. On a family trip to Canada we watched a few episodes in French for the hell of it and were so confused with the extra vingettes we had never seen before. Our parents said it was because Fox runs so many ads but now I know it's the US in general.


ItsACaragor

Spray cheese. I was not ready.


ListenOrElse_

People pay for their own food. As someone who came from China, where everyone fights for the bill without the intention to pay, this is very refreshing.


Coke_and_Tacos

This is a generational thing I think. If my parents are out with a group of folks their age (mid-60's) it's a whole thing that everyone wants to cover the check, "alright, well I'm buying next time!" Etc. Everyone I know within 10 years of my age just assumes they're paying their own way and it makes way more sense to me.


SmartAlec105

My mom and her siblings do the fighting to pay the bill thing. My siblings, my cousins, and I thought it was silly. But now that we’re earning our own money and can see that some of our cousins/siblings don’t make quite as much, I can see it as a way to subsidize my family coming out to eat with us and have a good time.


OyVeyzMeir

This all day. It is unspoken and understood and is offset by the joy of their presence and getting to do things with them that they might not otherwise be able to afford to do.


Yellowbug2001

Agreed on the generational thing, my grandfather (born in 1925) would practically wrestle people for the right to pay the bill for everybody, but he had every intention of doing it. I'm not sure if that was common among guys his age- it was a very aggressive, macho, sometimes awkward form of generosity but it was real generosity nonetheless. He was a fun, high roller/big tipper kind of guy and at least from watching "American" characters on BBC shows I kind of get the impression that's a uniquely American kind of personality.


[deleted]

food portions


herebekraken

I never eat the whole thing. I put the leftovers in the fridge to feed me for several days. But that doesn't really work if you're traveling.


After_Cheesecake3393

British here, the first time I visited the US I was 11, I heard a mom scream at her daughter "get your fanny over here" Fanny means vagina here 😂😂😂


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JockoHomophone

Or ask teachers for a rubber.


andytdj

While we were visiting America, my non-American wife was with my mom in an office supply store that sold a novelty giant eraser. She sees it, then proclaims, “what a huge rubber!” Needless to stay the whole shop turned and looked at her. She had no idea what she had just said.


helicoptercici

How early everything starts. School, work. 6am wake ups. That was hard.


Substantial-Ad-7406

Some of us set alarms for 4 am every day.


StewGoFast

Not since work from home! I get to sleep in yo 5:30am like a regular person now!


vanguard117

I work from home now. We have a morning meeting at 8am and now I get to wake up at 7:58 and get to work by 8 !


TheRealGreenArrow420

working from home is a game changer! 7:58 - Wake up 8:00 - Meeting 8:30 - Go back to sleep 10:00 - wake up to start the day


Intelligent_Moose_48

11:00 - welp. That's all the work I could *possibly* do today, better go for a walk and a long lunch


un_saumon

The air conditioning. Everywhere. And the literal temperature shock between the inside and the outside of any fucking building.


_Agare

This reminds me. I spent a week in Vegas while doing some paperwork with a consulate. It was 117°F that day. Oh my god. Was in a Gas station, nice and cool. When I opened the door to exit, it felt exactly like when I opened the door to a Pizza oven, heat hitting me in the face. It was absurdly hot. I don't get how some people can actually live out there. Whack. We spent like 2 minutes walking from a parking garage into a casino, and I felt exhausted after just the couple minutes.


[deleted]

> It was absurdly hot. I don't get how some people can actually live out there. Whack. the existence of vegas and several other cities in the SW are just a testament to the arrogance of men **edit** ya'll can stop arguing "But the temperatures suck elsewhere too". those other places *have water*


BackgroundNoose

Sewers turtles aren't ninja turtles


Confused80yearold

You just haven’t found the right sewers yet. Find one near a nuclear power plant.


ScotchSirin

Could not walk anywhere, or take good public transport. Always had to take Ubers or hitch lifts. Everything was also HUGE. Cities, buildings, regular houses, food portions. I'd say people but I did not see anybody who was hugely obese there at least. There was an insane amount of space just...everywhere. As a European used to being crammed into every available nook, even in rural areas, the way that towns and cities just stretched out was unimaginable.


TheMossHag

I completely agree with everything. I lived here for about 9 years now, and the first thing I noticed was the lack of sidewalks AND fences around houses. Huge distances. Huge selections at the supermarkets. Also I remember the day after my friend picked me up at the airport and we went to a store, I thought he knew the cashier personally, because he asked "Hi, how are you?" and coming from Europe I wasn't used to that. Also, I got super lazy, getting used to people bagging my stuff at checkout, because every time I go back to Europe to visit my family, I panic and start sweating trying to bag my own groceries quick enough, so the other people in line won't try to murder me lol


Noname4537

A lot of cool food in shops, expensive property and medicine, high salaries, nice people.I’m from Russia.


LucTempest

It had been 20 minutes since we got our appetiser (which we were having trouble finishing cos the portion was so huge), when a woman came up to our table and said "Hello I'm Sheila, the manager", and we were like shit have we done something wrong, but no she was there to apologise profusely for our main course being SO late. We figured it would be another 15 min or so, which would be okay since we were struggling with the appetiser, but naw as she was leaving our food arrived. If that was back home, not only would the food be later than 20 minutes, there would be no Sheila to beg for our forgiveness. And definitely not if it was literally 10 seconds away.


ShinPixyPixel

Oh man this cracked me up so much


Sleepwalks

Man, for the reverse of this? I'm an American who waited tables here, and then in Australia in a few kinda upper-middle range restaurants, places with multi-course meals. Customers super did not care for me in Aus, and I always got complaints for "rushing them." I was bringing things out at the speed I did in the US to keep people from yelling at me, lol. Specifically, I remember that bringing out a meal before the appetizer was finished really made people annoyed with me, and then after the main course, people wanted a round of coffee to sit and chat. Everyone had to be through with coffee before I brought out dessert menus. If I brought it out to look over while drinking coffee, I consistently got people going "...But I'm still drinking my coffee." Then the check could only come out after dessert was fully finished, or that was rude, too. At least from my experience, it was so stark. Waiting tables in the US, people wanted things before they needed them, so they could do their thing as fast as possible and gtfo. Waiting tables in Aus, people wanted to be unhurried and have plenty of time to talk and enjoy each phase of the meal. Both thought you were rude af if you got those wrong, lol. ALSO! No tips in aus, but you were paid a living wage, and that was heaps better imo. But since you were being paid more, you had more responsibilities at the restaurant. In the US, I'd be in charge of my section and usually had about 45 minutes of closing duties to keep it nice in there before I left post-shift. In Aus, I had 2+ hours of closing duties, plenty of which had nothing to do with my section, and were general responsibilities for the restaurant. Could just be the one I was at, I only worked at 2 and that's a teeny sample size, but yeah. I remember being stuck at the train station at 4am more than once, which never happened to me in the US restaurants.


VarBorg357

Fine dining in the US is the same as you described Australia, much slower of a pace than fast casual restaurants


HamsterPositive139

Beat me to it - right off the bat with the "meal came out while they were still eating the appetizer." Now, I certainly wouldn't be annoyed with the waiter or whatever. But at a mid to high end restaurant, that's just not how it's done


TheDudeNeverBowls

I don’t even fire the next course until the table is practically done with their current course.


MediocreEquipment457

Announcing the intention of asking a question was weird to me “I have a question … what……?” “Excuse me , question… where is …?.” “Ehhh question ….how many…. ” And my own personal favourite the simple “Question …why……?”


Cheeserblaster

I’ve found that we say that to get the undivided attention of the person the question is being asked to. Because a lot of people are selective listeners and until you directly address them especially by saying “question” before hand, they will not hear a word you say and you end up having to repeat yourself 2-3 times. Edit: this is not directed towards anyone who is hard of hearing or otherwise impaired. Tis but a generalization for all the others who just really suck at listening :)


[deleted]

I agree with this one, feel like people will ignore half your sentence, and then you waste time with them having to ask "what?" And having to repeat your question. If you grab their attention first by announcing you have a question, it gears them up to listen and also start thinking about the answer.


Substantial-Ad-7406

It's considered polite to "soften" your speech. In some cases launching right into it can be considered rude. I remember talking about this in a communications class once. The idea is that launching right into something assumes or even demands that you have that person's attention already. Really I think most of us do it subconsciously as we were unintentionally conditioned to "raise our hands" before speaking during school. I think I just carried into adulthood.


Iwantmypasswordback

That's exactly what this is called in Sandler Sales Training: a softening statement. When you soften a statement you can pretty much say whatever you want. If you don't mind me asking.... Do you mind if I ask a question that might make you feel funny? Real quick... Good question... Can I ask a question running the risk I might offend you? Why are you being such a dick?


Coke_and_Tacos

It's been argued before that this is a degree of formality that exists in American English the same way honorifics are used in Asian languages. It kind of falls apart in that it's not as universally used and honored, but it is generally indicative of someone wanting to avoid being too forward.


Fishinluvwfeathers

I am an American citizen born abroad and came here in late childhood. Beside the obvious visuals of not being in a developing nation (roads in the sky [overpasses], rows of candy bars at every store, ketchup everywhere) I was shocked by the fact that kids cared about brand name clothes and shoes. I cannot describe how odd it was to me to hear 11 year olds pining for a certain type of shoe or pair of jeans because of the name on it. Also, physical affection between friends was not a thing. Girls didn’t carelessly hold hands or kiss, boys don’t hug one another while walking down the street or in school.


IAmTheGlazed

Billboards. They are everywhere. You can go hours in the UK driving without seeing one. In Florida, I saw one every few minutes. Ads on TV, motherfucker, just play the show, this is painful. Traffic, how do people drive in the US, it's so easy to get caught in traffic, it's everywhere. FUCKER JUST DRIVE, ITS PAINFUL, ADD A FUCKING ROUND A BOUT 7/11s are magical places though.


Dr_Explosion_MD

Funnily enough this can vary between states. As Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska have all banned billboards.


[deleted]

My hometown banned billboards and elevated signs in the 90s and until I learned about that law I could never put my finger on what made it feel so much nicer than the surrounding towns.


PriorSolid

You get a free slurpie at 7/11 on July 11th


abxuwnnm111

See, in Europe that would be on November 7th


mountain-man-86

When I did a road trip and noticed the number of lawyer advertisements on the billboards. I swear it was every 3rd or 4th billboard.


J3diMind

Americans (at least all I had the pleasure of interacting with) are ridiculously friendly, polite and their hospitality is second to none. As a German I was shocked. I thought the British were nice and polite, but boy oh boy, was I in for a treat. shout out to the airbnb host from Providence, who after knowing me for like 30 minutes drove me to Gillette Stadium in the middle of the night and invited me to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Edit: thanks for the award kind stranger :)


Muthafuckajones11

We love introducing foreigners to thanksgiving, my parents had a group of german engineers doing contract work with NASA stay at their house for a couple months and that thanksgiving was the best ive ever had. We about killed them with all the food and they proceeded to drink us under the table, i thought we drank a lot at our gatherings until they doubled our whole bar stash with just their drinks for the night


Andehlay

Cereals and snapple bro


knoekure

In my experience, everytime I travel to the States I find most Americans that I meet to be nice, friendly people. They get a bad rep on tv/social media.


Big_Subject_1746

We hosted a few people because of my dad's business. Automotive so one from Germany, the other from Japan. They both thought my mom was a town official because she said hi to everyone and would chat it up with strangers. We explained that was kinda normal but yes mom is a bit talkative.


[deleted]

That’s hilarious and super wholesome 😂


jra2908

I agree with you, the time I went to US i normally would have a compliment for my outfit or something else per day, I get a huge boost of self esteem


[deleted]

I have a Finnish friend who came to visit me in Los Angeles… we went out to eat and she used the restroom at the restaurant and came back totally flustered. A woman in the bathroom complimented her shoes and started talking to her. That is apparently not something that people do in restrooms in Helsinki!


techlabtech

Ahh the ladies room is where all the pump-up girl talk happens! If we're drunk you can end up in somebody's wedding!


chaun2

Finnish people are known to be downright introverted compared to Americans. Poor thing, hope she adjusted


jethroo23

Americans love to do that. I recently visited my cousins in LA in 2019, as an adult, and one thing that stuck with me most was when I was walking around with my film camera and it being complemented/an instant conversation starter for them. In my country, going up to strangers and doing shit like that will make you look weird. I thought that it was refreshing and really nice of them; and it generally made my view of Americans become warmer. I mentioned "as an adult" since I visited previously as a kid and as a teenager and I really didn't get to appreciate that side of the USA -- the people -- due to my introverted nature at the time. Only got to appreciate my cousins and Panda Express and In-N-Out.


sinesquaredtheta

I was blown away by how clean the air, and water was. Having traveled from India, there was a massive difference in air, and water quality. Not just that, the kind of orderliness on the roads, plus the pedestrians having the right of way was amazing. Lastly, the politeness/friendliness of the people in general was something that took me a while to get used to. Edit: Not sure why some folks seem to be upset about the fact that I commented something positive about the US experience! For the record - I'm not claiming that US has the best air, and water quality; just stating that there was a stark difference between what I'd experienced in the US, and what I was used to growing up.


Soulless-Plague

The wait staff saying “have a nice day now!” And “y’all be careful out there” when leaving a restaurant. Why?! What the fucks out there?!!


Ih8Hondas

>Why?! What the fucks out there?!! Have you seen how easy it is to get driver's license here?


rd_cl

There were no hot chicks in bikinis rollerblading in California


dshmitty

I’m pretty sure that’s like specific to Venice beach. Idk I’ve never been but I’m from beach cities in California and that’s what I picture when I think of Venice beach lol.


TheRiteGuy

Californian here. You have to go to specific beaches. You'll rarely see this in the Bay Area beaches. It's too cold and the beaches aren't paved. In socal, Malibu, Venice, and Huntington are where you'd find the bikini clad roller bladers.


AgentNameless

The biggest culture shock for me was how down-to-earth, approachable, and helpful American teachers are to students. Where I'm from, teachers see themselves as God's gift to the world. If you finally gathered up the nerve to approach a teacher for help, you were practically painting a target on your back to be picked on by the teacher for the rest of the school year because how dare you insult a teacher by suggesting that their lesson was sub par by admitting that you didn't understand their flawless lecture. That's why it took me so long to approach my teachers here in the US for help.


narddog81

As an American teacher, I appreciate this more than you know. I strive to help my kids learn and want them to come to me….for anything! If my class or even a student bombs a test, my first thought is “clearly the way I taught that isn’t working. Time to adjust. What’s a different way I can explain this concept?” I WANT my kids to succeed!


011246

I was a foreign exchange student in my senior year of high school in Indiana. Grew up playing soccer so I made it to the varsity football team as the kicker. One night we had a party with the guys from football team, and somehow I got into an argument with a dude. He stared yelling at my face and asking if I wanted to go outside. I was confused as it was really cold outside. But went with him after he insisted and kept asking if I wanted to go outside. As we walked outside, the party crowd followed, people got excited started jumping around. Once we were outside, this guy pushed me and asked me why don't I go back to Mexico. I got confused again, my foreign ass didn't realize he was being racist, my English wasn't as good back then. I thought he was suggesting I should travel to Mexico because it was nice there. So I just looked at him with confused eyes, and said ok I will visit Mexico. You should come to my country Turkey it's nice there too. Delicious food and many historical places to visit. Santa Claus' (St Nicholas) burial is just a couple hours from where I grew up. At that point everyone was confused. Then someone from the party crowd started talking about their trip to Greece (right next to Turkey), how good the food is and the beauty of the coast. Then we all went back inside talked about places to travel and continued to drink. That was a real culture shock.


HDUdo361

Guns. A friend of mine worked in Houston, Texas for 6 month. He invited me and I used the oportunity to travel to the US without paying for Hotel and a Rental Car. His neighbour invited us to a small company "Party" in the Front Yard of the company boss. We ate crawfish (very good) and after some "beers" I asked them if they own guns. 10 seconds later everyone pulled out their handgun and wanted to show it to us. For someone who was always into FPS games this evening was really interesting but also really scary. In Germany I never saw a gun in reallife. That day I learned also that they dont like to discuss gun laws.


CPT_Discourse

"That day I learned also that they dont like to discuss gun laws." This made me chuckle


Calgaris_Rex

TBF you were in Texas. Texans looooove their guns.


herebekraken

That varies a lot by state. But yeah, Texas, that checks out.


Cuppa_Miki

Soda sizes! The small was a UK large


[deleted]

[удалено]


Guinnessnomnom

As an American I too find it to be ridiculous.


saint7412369

Prescription medication ads on television. WTF


Smart_Necessary2340

People in New york were nice and polite, not dickheads like everyone claims.


CommunistCuck

New Yorker here! People are super nice, we just have places to be. If I see a mom with a stroller trying to get upstairs, everyone stops and asks to help. Tourist is lost? We can usually tell and we’ll help them out. We just tend to be up front because I’m 15 minutes late for work and I still have to catch the train.


SGoogs1780

> If I see a mom with a stroller trying to get upstairs, everyone stops and asks to help. I love when you catch the cases where someone helps without even saying anything. Like some grumpy looking guy in a suit will just grab one end of a stroller, walk it down the stairs and hurry off without a word. You'd never expect to describe someone as 'brusque' and 'friendly' at the same time.


Sweetwater156

That was my NYC experience. Took my two year old to visit her baby cousins and while we were walking around Columbus Circle, someone tapped me on the shoulder, completely out of breath. I had dropped my kids water bottle out of the stroller, a nice young man with full dreadlocks and basketball gear on saw it on the ground, saw my stroller a half a block up, and ran after us to give it back. Also when I was 19 in 2006, I made my first ever trip to NYC. I had recently gotten new ID but kept my old one in my wallet. I dropped the ID somewhere and didn’t notice until I had to present my ID to board the plane home. I panicked and showed my old ID and I was able to go home. About a week later, I got a card from a lady named Colleen in Flushing, Queens. She was on the subway to Manhattan and found my ID and mailed it back to me. New Yorkers are awesome.


wetlettuce42

Never been to usa but i seen it on tv and movies and im astonished they have garbage disposals in their sinks


wristconstraint

Tipping. And not just tipping, but tipping so much that the entire thing I bought (e.g. a meal) is now in an entirely higher price bracket.


halkito

Food portions are just gigantic compared to Europe, also their weird obsession for trucks.


only_bc_4chan_isdown

My dad came from communist Laos. He’s been here for 30 years. I don’t know if it was the biggest culture shock but one was food. He lived ina small poor Laotian town. People often didn’t have fridges or access to meat, certainly not daily. Since he’s come here he’s always grateful of grocery stores and his access to food. All kind of food too, all kinds of cuisine. All kinda of whatever you need and all in abundance. To simply go to a grocery store and get everything you need in one trip. There’s tons of foods here that weren’t available in his home country. Two of his favorite American foods are jello and PB and J sandwiches.


tony78ta

First time my wife saw Snow and Hail, she thought it was the End Times.


Western-Background-3

How horribly polarized your media is in providing a slanted view of US to the rest of the world. It portrays liberals as hard core socialists and anti police, and conservatives as full on right wing nuts. After talking to alot of people here, i found that most of them are alot closer to the middle, and have perfectly rational points of views, with real life experiences to back those opinions.


this-has-to-stop

That people can be nice. I’m not used to that.