What surprises foreigners when they come to America

[Yeagermeister]

Driving on the Autobahn for the first time was an eye opener. You're cruising along at 80 mph when WHOOOOOOSH you get passed by something blue. You can't even make out the type of car just the color. :laugh2:

 

[ethiostar]

Driving on the Autobahn for the first time was an eye opener. You're cruising along at 80 mph when WHOOOOOOSH you get passed by something blue. You can't even make out the type of car just the color. :laugh2:

http://i386.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo303/pumango/funny-gifs-meanwhile-on-the-autobahn.gif

 

[DallasCowpoke]

Driving on the Autobahn for the first time was an eye opener. You're cruising along at 80 mph when WHOOOOOOSH you get passed by something blue. You can't even make out the type of car just the color. :laugh2:

Hey, I flashed my high beams at you, which is the universal signal for, "SLIDE IT OVER GRANDMA!"

And my Benz wasn't "blue", that was just what was coming out of the tailpipe. We was burning a little rich that particular day! :

 

[Yeagermeister]

http://i386.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo303/pumango/funny-gifs-meanwhile-on-the-autobahn.gif

Yeap looks familiar :laugh2:

Hey, I flashed my high beams at you, which is the universal signal for, "SLIDE IT OVER GRANDMA!"

And my Benz wasn't "blue", that was just what was coming out of the tailpipe. We was burning a little rich that particular day! :

Hey I was in an Army vehicle be glad I was able to do 80 :laugh2:

 

[rynochop]

Ditto on the people who make out with their dog. I see people let their dog lick them on the mouth, disgusting.

 

[jobberone]

Driving on the Autobahn for the first time was an eye opener. You're cruising along at 80 mph when WHOOOOOOSH you get passed by something blue. You can't even make out the type of car just the color. :laugh2:

http://i386.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo303/pumango/funny-gifs-meanwhile-on-the-autobahn.gif

There are also highways in France that have unlimited speed limits as well. I was driving from Paris to Monte Carlo and doing about 120mph or so. I saw headlights way behind me. Very quickly a Ferrari then a slant nosed Porsche 911 came flying by me. At least 40 to 60 mph faster than me. Maybe more.

I once had a European 911 Turbo that I put an adjustable waste gate on and then used helicopter fuel in. I got on 95 in Bridgeport CT heading south and was immed passed by a slant nosed 911. I followed both of us doing 120 plus up to 150 traffic allowing. I followed that car all the way to middle VA at those speeds occasionally faster from Bridgeport and never saw a policeman or had the radar detector go off. Got to SC in record time. I'd never do something so stupid now.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Ditto on the people who make out with their dog. I see people let their dog lick them on the mouth, disgusting.

why wouldn't you? They are like our children.

 

[Phoenix]

Driving on the Autobahn for the first time was an eye opener. You're cruising along at 80 mph when WHOOOOOOSH you get passed by something blue. You can't even make out the type of car just the color. :laugh2:

Yeah, this is mostly what I was thinking of with my original comment about the driving. Germans are really good about staying on the right, and I imagine driving here must be frustrating for many of them. But I do get about a lot of places being chaos to drive....I remember getting stuck on the inside loop of that damn circle intersection by the Arc De'Triumph in Paris, going round and round and round that stupid thing trying to get the heck out of it! Crazy!

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I've been to Europe and Japan.

Generally Europeans are shocked at the convenience we have, particularly with our refrigerators which are nothing like the refrigerators over there. Same with showers which are far more elaborate and convenient. Europe is much more into having people taking baths and it was one of the things I hated about being in Europe.

I didn't get to talk to many people in Japan since we didn't have a language commonality and those who could speak English speak it about as well as I speak Japanese. The big thing I found is that they actually think of Americans as being Cowboys, wearing the 10-gallon hats and such. They also had video games that they were playing well before they even hit stateside. So I would imagine that if they came over here they would look at the video games as antequated.

Transportation is completely different in Europe and Japan as well. In the US, if a person owns a bicycle, they usually have it for leisure and exercise. In Europe and Japan it's actually a very important piece of transportation.

Of course, there are always exceptions.






YR

 

[burmafrd]

Spent a year in Kuwait and anyone claiming the US has the worst drivers needs to go there.

 

[Jammer]

A few years ago when I was still in the Air Force one guy who worked for me married an East German girl. This was just a few years after the fall of the wall. I asked her what most surprised her about being in America and she said she was surprised people actually worked. All her life she was told Americans sat in big office chairs while peasants did all the work for scrape wages. She said Americans worked much harder and got paid so much more than her country’s people did. She said the reality was so much different than what she was led to believe.

She also enjoyed the sizes of homes and especially apartments. She said the first place she lived when they moved the United States was so large. She kept thinking another richer family would kick them out or at the least another family would move in with them.

 

[rynochop]

why wouldn't you? They are like our children.

Do I really need to answer that for you?

 

[trickblue]

What always surprises me is how no matter what airport you are at, there are always a ton of soldiers travelling around. I am also shocked how a country born out of revolution and whose citizens want the govt out of their lives, willingly roles over for "security" measures and how the richest country in the world has citizens who will do whatever they can NOT to check luggage including shoving the equivalent of grand pianos in the overhead bins.

That's not the case... there is a huge row over TSA in the states and it makes daily news...

You are spot on on the overhead luggage... I think it's because the airlines (except for Southwest) charge a pretty penny to check bags. I know Continental is currently mulling over charging fees for using the overhead bin...

 

[arglebargle]

....
I can't believe I forgot to mention this. The idea of the isolated and self-sufficient nuclear family is very particular to the US and a few other countries/culture groups. In most places, nuclear families are imbedded in larger units, i.e., extended families including uncles, aunts, cousins, grand parents, etc... who maintain contact almost on a daily basis and in some cases living under the same roof. Neighbors also play a very active role in each others daily lives.

I think this is a relatively recent occurence. I know when my grandmother was growing up in rural Tennessee, extended family was still a major thing. As in, kids who didn't get along with their parents moved in with aunts, uncles and cousins, mobility between households was higher, and people in the family helping out a bunch. Etc.

The nuclear family thing is a result of the post-WWII urbanization effect, imo. It's not really a traditional thing, it just seems that way due to folks being raised that way more and more.

I have heard this observation about family from visitors and new arrivals as well.



Had a friend who was a missionary kid, raised in East Africa, and when he came back to States as teenager, he really didn't like the pace of life in America. He eventually ended up leaving the country because of it.

 

[Phrozen Phil]

One thing I've noticed over the years when I cross the border are the large billboard sized signs telling me to REPENT! (It didn't work)
Political campaign signs in the cities are huge and omnipresent leading to an election.
It's difficult to get in-depth news from American TV stations about other locations unless violence is involved or as a novelty (ie the running of the bulls in Pamplona) The people reading the news are generally tall, attractive (perfect teeth) and deliver news in short bursts of information.
The hospitality industry is incredible, with a very high standard for service. I do notice that the wait staff are genreally older than up here, but their skills are great. The reason for obesity? The enormous portions at restaurants. Tons of food at reasonable prices, most of it quite fattening.
As I don't live there, my perspective is different than one who emigrates there, but the U.S. is a fun place to visit.

 

[WoodysGirl]

That's not the case... there is a huge row over TSA in the states and it makes daily news...

You are spot on on the overhead luggage... I think it's because the airlines (except for Southwest) charge a pretty penny to check bags. I know Continental is currently mulling over charging fees for using the overhead bin...

Man, don't get me started on TSA. 3 out the last 4 times I went through security, I think I've had to get patted down. Two because I wore dresses they couldn't see through. Hello! I don't want people seeing through my dress. And another because the shorts I wore had an attached belt, so that got me felt up.

I've never used the overhead bin. I put my laptop bag and purse under the seat. And if it doesn't quite fit, they don't see it because I'm sitting by the window and my feet are on top of them.

 

[vta]

why wouldn't you? They are like our children.

Our children don't use their tongues as toilet paper...

And let's not get on with how their saliva is cleaner than ours, as everyone likes to spout off. Dog feces isn't clean.

 

[jobberone]

One thing I've noticed over the years when I cross the border are the large billboard sized signs telling me to REPENT! (It didn't work)
Political campaign signs in the cities are huge and omnipresent leading to an election.
It's difficult to get in-depth news from American TV stations about other locations unless violence is involved or as a novelty (ie the running of the bulls in Pamplona) The people reading the news are generally tall, attractive (perfect teeth) and deliver news in short bursts of information.
The hospitality industry is incredible, with a very high standard for service. I do notice that the wait staff are genreally older than up here, but their skills are great. The reason for obesity? The enormous portions at restaurants. Tons of food at reasonable prices, most of it quite fattening.
As I don't live there, my perspective is different than one who emigrates there, but the U.S. is a fun place to visit.

Way, way too much food. Part of the reason there is an obesity problem here. You seldom see a fat person in China and even the fat are at worst a little chubby.

 

[ethiostar]

I think this is a relatively recent occurence. I know when my grandmother was growing up in rural Tennessee, extended family was still a major thing. As in, kids who didn't get along with their parents moved in with aunts, uncles and cousins, mobility between households was higher, and people in the family helping out a bunch. Etc.

The nuclear family thing is a result of the post-WWII urbanization effect, imo. It's not really a traditional thing, it just seems that way due to folks being raised that way more and more.

I have heard this observation about family from visitors and new arrivals as well.



Had a friend who was a missionary kid, raised in East Africa, and when he came back to States as teenager, he really didn't like the pace of life in America. He eventually ended up leaving the country because of it.

That is very true.

Mobility due to rapid economic development and the availability of jobs associated with it has been responsible for dispersing extended families over time and to various parts of the country because economic centers/employment opportunities were available in many parts of the country. Furthermore, the fact that the US is such a large country means that when family members relocate they are often too far away making it inconvenient to visit each other more than a few times a year.

Also, most of the time, when people talk about US 'culture' they are usually talking about the urban/suburban middle class and more often than not, European Americans. Life in rural areas is still very different and to some extent has retained its pre WWII favor. Even in cities, extended families are still relied upon to some extent in some/perhaps most predominately African American communities.

 

[rynochop]

Our children don't use their tongues as toilet paper....

Mine dont either, lol. And i quit kissing them on the mouth years ago, though they are 15 and 11.

A friend of mines wife has dachsunds, and i'll go over for a game or ufc fight, she'll make food and dips, then i'll see these dogs all over her and she's almost frenching them...yeah i'll grab whataburger thanks. And i'm not some germophobe, its just offputting.