What did you notice the first time you came to the US.

[Anonymous]

I'm American and lived in the 4th poorest country in the world in Africa for one year. When I returned, I went to Pentagon City Mall. I was overwhelmed by the amount of STUFF being sold & bought that one really does not need but get sucked into buying.

[Anonymous]

I loved the supermarkets and drugstores, and was also a bit floored by the number of overweight people.

Everybody who has mentioned these two things ... you know they are directly related, right?

[Anonymous]

The biggest thing for me was how fake people are. Like the typical greeting "How are you?" that in other cultures would reply that someone actually expects to get an answer. Eastern Europe here.

[Anonymous]

I came here at 17 and couldn't (and still can't) believe how fat people are in this country.

[Anonymous]

I came to Indiana in March/81 and it was so cold! The first day I saw the sun through the window and I went outside and I almost died!! in my country when u see the sun it is hot not cold!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing for me was how fake people are. Like the typical greeting "How are you?" that in other cultures would reply that someone actually expects to get an answer. Eastern Europe here.

I wouldn't take this to mean people are fake or disingenuous, it may be the exact phrase one uses elsewhere in the world but it's intention is culturally different. "How are you?" is a pleasantry in the US. A greeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything was bigger and people were just faster and kept more to themselves.

Would be interesting to know where everyone came from. I came over from Germany.

This is interesting- I came from Germany. People were slower, and were much..friendlier in a more forced way. I came from Berlin, and moved to the South. What about you?

Fashion was years behind (late 70s/early 80s). Candy/chocolate wasn't nearly as tasty. Gum was much better. Tons of choices in chips, lousy cheese selection....great burgers, bad bread. (yeah, it's all about the food!).

And yes, people were much heavier.

PP referencing 70s/80s fashions. Curious to know when you came to the US?

'78. From Berlin, via Tokyo and Paris.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing for me was how fake people are. Like the typical greeting "How are you?" that in other cultures would reply that someone actually expects to get an answer. Eastern Europe here.

I wouldn't take this to mean people are fake or disingenuous, it may be the exact phrase one uses elsewhere in the world but it's intention is culturally different. "How are you?" is a pleasantry in the US. A greeting.

Thanks, but I have a firm grasp on the obvious after 17 years in the US.

[Anonymous]

NP here: I was really struck by how confident people were. I'm still working on realizing that confidence doesn't necessarily mean or imply competence..

[Anonymous]

Ha, ha. I remember the first few times I actually answered the question with: "Actually, my stomach isn't doing too well", before I realized the obvious as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing for me was how fake people are. Like the typical greeting "How are you?" that in other cultures would reply that someone actually expects to get an answer. Eastern Europe here.

I wouldn't take this to mean people are fake or disingenuous, it may be the exact phrase one uses elsewhere in the world but it's intention is culturally different. "How are you?" is a pleasantry in the US. A greeting.

Thanks, but I have a firm grasp on the obvious after 17 years in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing for me was how fake people are. Like the typical greeting "How are you?" that in other cultures would reply that someone actually expects to get an answer. Eastern Europe here.

I wouldn't take this to mean people are fake or disingenuous, it may be the exact phrase one uses elsewhere in the world but it's intention is culturally different. "How are you?" is a pleasantry in the US. A greeting.

Thanks, but I have a firm grasp on the obvious after 17 years in the US.

Yes, but did you get your teeth fixed yet?

[Anonymous]

I am American and have lived in both the Midwest, East Coast and Europe. I moved to PG county and was amazed how quickly I was dismissed by people because of where I had chosen to live. I live in a beautiful 5 bedroom home in a great neighborhood, but, I may as well be a crack whore in the eyes of those in the better neighborhoods.

I am overweight and realized I am the fattest person I know, by far, and it's not like I will need to be cut out of the house after I die from a heart attack. I run in the mornings and I do see other fat runners but I swear they come from all over to run on the same shaded path I run on.

The fact that Republican is an insult not a political choice.

The fact that people here tend to believe their opinions are facts. I have never come across so many closed-minded people and they were the ones preaching that we need to be excepting of everyone. As long as they are pro-choice, believe in welfare, went to Ivy League schools, make $300k a year, don't work from home, and wear yellow only on Tuesdays when theirs a full moon. It's all very complicated.

The poor drivers.

The diversity

The good places to eat and the Asian Markets.

The amount of green spaces.

How eco-friendly people are, with the exception of their cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing for me was how fake people are. Like the typical greeting "How are you?" that in other cultures would reply that someone actually expects to get an answer. Eastern Europe here.

I wouldn't take this to mean people are fake or disingenuous, it may be the exact phrase one uses elsewhere in the world but it's intention is culturally different. "How are you?" is a pleasantry in the US. A greeting.

Thanks, but I have a firm grasp on the obvious after 17 years in the US.

Alrighty then...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I noticed how sexist the men are, even the 'educated' ones.

Compared to where?? I've been a lot of different places, and can't think of a single place where women have better standing. Maybe Sweden...

It is better for women in France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands...I could go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, the whole overweight thing, there are no overweight people in different countries? I see quite a few, lots of overweight old grandma's and such. I only bring this up becuase someone I know from a European country always talks about all the overweight people here and how she is so shocked by it, but she is overweight so I don't really get it.

I am PP from FSU. Sure, we have many overweight people, my mom is one. But THAT overweight looked so unnatural. It scared me. However, someone told me, you never know if the person is fat because he/she is lazy and eats junk or because of the medical conditions. So I learned not to judge at least trying.

I think overweight can refer to a wide spectrum: fat, obese, and grossly obese. People from outside the US may have seen fat people in their countries but they don't see 500lb+ people waddling around in public.