We like everything big here in the United States.
Big gas-guzzling cars, food portions, our toast, buildings, you name it... we like it big. If you've spent a majority of your time only in the United States and didn't travel much, it's hard to see how different (and similar) we are to other countries. To put things into perspective, only 35% of Americans hold valid passports... which means a lot of us aren't getting out much.
A recent discussion on Reddit asked people who had visited the United States to share their thoughts and experiences.
Here were some of the comments:
- 'The toilets are so wide. Why is the water in the toilet bowl right up near the seat? Why does it need to be so high?'
- 'Why isn't tax added on to the item initially? It means you never know how much you're actually going to pay.'
- 'They put ice in every single thing they drink!'
- 'Showers without detachable shower heads is so weird in a first-world country like the US.'
- 'Gaps around toilet doors. Why?'
- 'On your health menu there are waffles and pancakes and they're defined healthy because you add a strawberry or they come with some fruit. Also, everything is so big.'
- 'Tips are aggressively expected because many places pay their workers "slave wages"' while another person wrote, 'Tips are aggressively expected. Even if it wasn’t good service.'
- 'Apparently quality bread is not valued, all you can buy is this toast-like white bread. No whole-grain bread or other variations.'
- Portion sizes in restaurants are 'huge' and 'gigantic'. Another person wrote, 'McDonald's small portions are my country's big'
- 'From extra large meals to the Grand Canyon. Everything is just big,'
- 'I was surprised at how talkative everybody was. Like, random strangers would strike up a conversation for no reason.'
- 'What's this obsession with cheese on everything?'
- 'I love that jerky is available everywhere'
- 'Chicken and Waffles... Delicious but sounded like pure lunacy when I first saw it on the menu.'
- 'Just about NO foods without some sort of sugars in them'
- 'How so many people are so uneducated despite the country having some of the best universities in the world.'
- 'Everyone having an opinion even if they have no idea what they’re talking about.'
- 'I find it weird that people of European decent say that they are German, Swedish, Irish or whatever. I understand that they mean they are of x nation's descent or whatever, but it's kinda strange to say are Danish, when you are a fourth generation American who doesn't speak the language, and has very limited knowledge about the country and it's culture.'
- How friendly people were, if you have an English accent.
- The main one was how many people could not understand what I was saying. I’m Australian and don’t have the thickest accent (I sound more british). I went to Outback SteakHouse and they didn’t even serve Kangaroo. THE REAL SURPRISE.
- Why would you deionise water and then reintroduce minerals to it, what's wrong with spring/natural mineral water?
- Your milk is disgusting
- The amount of waste that you produce. Everything seems to be disposable. I couldn't take my own cup to coffee places.
Photo: Unsplash