What gets me every time is all the other places where you are expected to tip, and where I have absolutely no idea of how much I'm expected to tip or that I'm supposed to tip in the first place. Pizza delivery? What? Cab drivers? Seriously? The omelet chef in a hotel's breakfast restaurant? Are you kidding me?!?
The weirdest one yet was when me and some friends were leaving the US, we got to the airport, and passed some sort of exterior baggage drop. We went to that, but there was a guy there in an airport uniform who took our bags and put them on the conveyer belt when we tried to do it ourselves. So we said "thanks" and walked away.
And he got so angry at us for not tipping him. So confusing.
Now that I'm older and more callous I have simplified the process. I look at the receipt to check if there is a tip already included. If it is, we're done. Sure, I had discussions with waiters who insisted this is the bare minimum and I have to give something extra on top of that but now I simply leave and never go to that place again. If the tip isn't on the receipt, they get 10-20% depending on the quality of service. So far, this works well in every country.
I believe foreigners get a lot of abuse and are sometimes scammed by obnoxious staff who like to take advantage of the cultural insecurities of visitors. In my opinion, a good strategy is to always be friendly, but don't let yourself get bullied.
I'm a native, but don't think it's so obvious for us either. One time I got a stern talking to by my barber. I now tip every time I get a haircut.
I used to work installing audio and video equipment as a kid and got tipped all the time.
If somebody renders any kind of service, tips are frequently expected.
I wouldn't feel bad about not leaving a tip and whilst a waiter/waitress might be disappointed they be overly wouldn't insulted.
In the US I've seen much wider range of people expecting a tip. Eg in the uk you might sometimes round up a taxi fair, but I've had a new York cab driver get positively aggressive (initially refusing to give us our bags) when we didn't tip after he his inability to find a major hotel had added $30 extra on the meter.
After one year here it still annoys the hell out of me. In Germany you only give a tip if you consider it appropriate. Your service costs exactly what the bill lists, not more. Especially in crappy places a 'forced' tip feels bad and wasted.
Everybody was nice. Nobody was mean about it (I got a lot of hassle over being a vegetarian though) but it was felt odd for two reasons.
First that it came up. I'm from the UK and we just don't get onto the topic of religion that much. Especially with complete strangers from other countries that you've just met.
Second the "brave" thing obviously... I've occasionally found some of the more extreme ends of the religious community over here annoying... but never anywhere close to the extent that I would feel stating my (non)religious views would be any kind of brave or courageous thing...
An odd difference.
1) I have never been asked that question in my whole life.
2) I haven't been baptised.
3) I didn't want to offend him, so after some time I figured it would be more offensive if he caught me lying.
4) It still was uncomfortable because the german stereotype of the religeous american is one of a superficial radical. This stereotype would be tested the moment I'd answer him. Would he drop his friendlliness towards me? Would he treat me differently?
He was strucked by my atheism in third generation. His mood went down. He was honestly concerned for me. I think I ruined his day.
In conclusion: My impression of the religious american (the most religeous one that I've met so far) was a good one. He was open about his believe, believing it consequentially (from what i've saw) and not a bigot (he didn't drop his friendliness).
But I'm also an atheist and British... and despite growing up in an oppresively religious community I don't really understand these things.
The same is true of most suburbs around major cities.
City folk like to walk. The others not so much. Suburbanites DRIVE to the gym.
We had some visitors from another office, took them to lunch, made it to the crosswalk (200ft), they asked "How far away is this place? We should have just driven."
Semi-related: Do other countries have fragments of speech used as filler such as "like" and "you know"?
I firmly believe all countries do this.
Also there's a one-to-one relationship between english's use of "like" as a filler by our use of "genre". In this case, "genre" means "similar to". So one could say "J'ai genre... mangé une criss de grosse poutine" in the same way an english speaker would say "I have like.. eaten a fucking huge cheese-and-gravy covered bowl of french-fries".
In the South it's "noo", and it vaguely means "why don't you?". Or "allore", from Italian allora.
huh, really? Whenever I get back from traveling I feel the opposite.
Sure in places like NY you can get any kind of food. But in my mono-cultural hometown there is little besides hamburgers or pizza.
Even in my (relatively) small-medium town in New Hampshire[1] there's an amazing variety of high quality restaurants. A lot of people abroad in their own similiar-sized towns don't get to ever try authentic Mexican, or Cajun, or American comfort, or sushi, or Greek, etc, all of which are available here.
For most tourists, especially tourists from small towns going to NYC or Boston or SF, America is a cultural delight of food.
I think it's more about the stereotype that is expected of the restaurant rather than actually being authentic. For example, Greek gyros is almost always pork, never lamb. If you get lamb gyros, it's middle-eastern.
The US has, overall, amazing food. In large cities there is not only immense diversity (after all, the US is more diverse than most Western nations), but also a culture of experimentation at all price ranges. It's possible to eat amazingly in most major cities for anywhere between $5 and $500.
In the country and small towns there is a tremendous variation across the nation. The food of the Northwest vs. the food of the Southwest vs. the food of the South vs. the Northeast.
It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural, and just plain not good.
A famous economist / foodie has written an entire book about how you've got it EXACTLY backwards:
http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/05...
The best food, he asserts, is in strip malls. You just have to know a few tricks to find it.
Great book. Go read it.
For example - at the time (early nineties) almost no Indian food anywhere. In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. On the flip side - in the US you have texmex everywhere. It's still fairly rare over here (and of a.... erm.... different level of quality :-)
Bread was another one. At even small rural shops you had soughdough, rye, bagels, etc. In the UK you get white bread and brown bread ;-)
And the portion sizes... wow... so different. I remember going out with a family chatting away snacking away and suddenly realising that I was now "full" on the "free stuff you eat before your meal"...
Amazing how a minor thing like running India as a colony for 400+ years can have that effect!
Similarly, I imagine that Tex-Mex is a bit more common here than in Wales...
Yes, Umberto Eco wrote an interesting article on the cultural significance of "more" to Americans. This is quite obvious in restaurant portion sizes among other.
Sincerely, I don't know how the US manages to be the second most touristic country in the world. Travelling to the US can be a nightmare - customs, TSA, metal detectors, body scanners, etc. As a tourist, I've never felt as unwelcomed as when travelling there.
Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but I seriously got the feeling that people who work at airports, subway, or any other place that is by definition essential to tourists are unable to communicate without shouting. The fact that in spite of working at such a place most of them don't even speak a second language may contribute to that - it's like people will understand better what you say if you just say it louder. Not to mention that you are expected to know exactly how everything works, from the local language (which sometimes becomes Spanish) to how much you have to tip, otherwise people will look at you with that "oh, you must be new here" look.
Strangely enough, the common american that you find in the street tends to be relaxed, friendly and always willing to help. People will sometimes start talking to you in a pretty natural and informal way (this wouldn't happen in Europe).
So, tl;dr: services suck but once you are through the trial of idiocy that is getting into the country, you'll most likely have a good time.
On that note, the personal space thing is spot on. When speaking to friends and colleagues, they enjoyed getting a foot or so away from my face...when drinking this distance would dramatically decrease.
I follow his instructions and can't find the platform, so I come back and ask him (very politely) "Hmm, I couldn't find the platform, was it through that door there?". His answer? He looks at me as if I had pissed on his lunch and asks "Sir, are you asking me a question, or questioning my reply?".
WTF? What had I done to piss him off? I'm obviously new to the place, I've asked similar questions in countless train stations/airports/bus stations around the world and never ever has anyone treated me like that. All I told him was "I was asking for confirmation, but thank you, I'll go ask someone else."
We can't stand them either.
Hell, the TSA even gave me a free massage!
That is mostly a small BS business that ends in, like, 15 minutes. Then you are in the US and you can start your travel.
I've visited the US six times, road-tripping for 40 days each time, and visited (more than once) all states but Vermont (just for lack of time, next time).
You can opt for a traditional holiday (i.e pick a place, like NY, Chicago, Miami, L.A, S.F etc) or have excellent road trips, or go explore huge natural parks.
In any case, you will find great city life, places untouched by tourism at all (e.g. I remember Langtry, TX, where the nearest shop was like 50 miles away, or Avalon, MS, where only 2-3 blues buffs a year ever venture), and generally helpful and curious folk (with the occasional idiot).
Everywhere you go with a small drive you can find 99% of anything you want (just walk into the nearest Walmart for example), and you can find places to sleep ranging from $3000 a day hotels to $30 a day motels, with even the latter being just fine compared to shitholes you can get in other countries.
What I want to say is, this TSA/Airport business is an INSIGNIFICANT part of the trip. Act along with the security theater, and it is over in a few minutes.
In contrast, there are countries where you even have to bribe some officials to get in (or to avoid trouble).
Uuhhh... I don't think so. I travelled around Europe in the 7 years I lived in two countries there, and I found it very easy to go from country to country (even to Eastern Europe countries like Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia).
Now, due to my job, I must go the US and man... all the stuff we have to put up. For starters, to get a VISA I have to go to the ASC to give my fingerprints and photo (and I am afraid they'll ask for a surprise anal probe). THEN I have to go to the embassy to convince the officer that I am not going to stay there (who would like to, when they treat you like that?).
In contrast, going to live in Germany was a breeze, no photos, no fingerprints, a very straight and to the point questionnaire (not the huge online form in which I have to specify when was my great-great-great grandmoher in the USA).
Anyway... I have ranted too much. Now I am just hoping that it is worth it and that the visit I must do to the US is so great that I forget all this stuff.
That is absolutely not my impression of America. Americans I have met have a shockingly casual attitude to drink driving. I've also seen it been portrayed in a positive light on American TV (e.g. fictional protagonist regaling a tale).
In Ireland drink driving is still fairly pervasive amongst my parent's generation and in rural areas. But with younger people drink driving is totally taboo thanks to strict laws and a lot of education. Our media would never broadcast anything that was positive of drink driving in any way.
Whatever you see on TV or even however you see people behave, if the police pull you over, you will definitely suffer serious consequences. There will not be any tolerance.
People do it, yes, because they think they'll get away with it. But if they don't there's hefty fines and/or jail time awaiting them.
That's aside from the risk of crashing, which should be enough for anyone.
I feel it's much more commonplace and acceptable in the US to drive alone to a bar, drink, and then drive home. Cities are much smaller in Australia and the UK so catching a taxi, public transport or walking is feasible.
So Ireland is just like "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", then? :-)
In virtually all U.S. states, driving while intoxicated will result in a stiff fine, the loss of driving privileges for a very long time, and quite likely some jail time to boot.
This has changed dramatically over the last 20-30 years.
Were these Americans cops? Their opinion is the only one that counts. Getting caught with a DUI = jail, mandatory suspended license for 3 - 12 months, thousands of dollars in fines. And unlike in other countries, slipping the cop some money will = more jail and probably a beating. That's for natives. A foreigner? LMAO!
And I'm not sure what you are suggesting with the comment about getting a beating from cops, and it being much worse for foreigners? Are you defending the US as a tourist destination or attacking it? :-)
As for the air, it is generally clean in the US. Sort this chart by "above or below world average": [2] Also note the line about the US being very well sampled, so if there's an error it's not there.
It isn't 1965 anymore.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_standard...
[2]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2011/sep/26/g...
"Pollution" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvYec6AnCU
As a part of the relocation package I was sent a book "Culture Shock: USA".
Quite an entertaining read. The most memorable quote was "In the US, it is usually typical for a husband to accompany his wife to the hospital when she gives birth".
I remember reading one of the guides created by an American University to their foreign student
It goes in such excruciating details to things like dating, etc
I suppose this is for the benefit of students from some forgotten city in southeast asia that may think of getting a goat to impress the ladies
Still, it sounds awfully patronizing sometimes.
Are there any good wikis or Internet Communities - guiding Visitors to learn new cultures, behaviors, ethics in different places?
It's nice to see a comparison chart on - cost of living, labor costs, a basic meal, hotel rooms(Comparison charts should be - City vs Another-city and Country Level comparisons)
And I would definitely pay $$ for such a service.
