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from a foreigners perspective :-)

A

anonymous_111514

Oct 24, 2006
231
0
#1
well I've come to America from my home in Switzerland for 1 month to this day to help my brother get his studio started and for the "culture experience" :rolleyes: and I thought I'd share with you what I've learned:


1. you have no idea how cheap petrol is here (around $4.60 per gallon when I left) yet you still complain about it?

2. how much fast food, and how greasy it is here is amazing. we have mcdonalds in switzerland but its not at all as greasy as it is here

3. how cheap everything is here! not really a shock because i know how expensive switzerland is but it finally struck me after living somewhere else

4. what you guys call a fanny pack and what it is in england and even here is VERY VERY different, your "fanny" is a womens "private zone" and so a fanny pack would be...well use your imagination.

5. how god awfully humid it is here, maybe its just where I am?

6. how much bigger everything is here, I feel like an ant compared to your "walmarts" which brings me to

7. WALMART, its amazing, everything I could ever need in a store and a hundred things i wouldnt need.

8. and now I realize why you guys drive everywhere too! everything is so far apart from eachother! people in europe complain that americans use so much gas and should really walk more, but its a good 15 minute drive to everything around here.

EDIT:9. I remembered another one! everyone has microwaves, i am fairly well off back in switzerland and its never even crossed my mind to buyone

anyway I'm not really sure the point of this but I hope you find it entertaining. I guess its my way of letting out my home sickness, thank you for letting me in your country all you yankees out there, which reminds me, what exactly is a yankee? why do we call americans yankees?
 
#4
Blavelle said:
5. how god awfully humid it is here, maybe its just where I am?
Click to expand...

Or maybe it's because you're from Switzerland. ;)

Anyways, try to get North of the Border to Canada! It's amazing up here. Niagara Falls (where I am from) is a sight to see, and it's not too far!

-Mark
 
#5
It's not humid at all in Washington. I love it here.

And yes, we HAVE TO drive everywhere, pretty much. It really sucks, because I miss being able to walk 5 minutes to a local grocery store if I needed some butter or what have you, like you can in Poland. I have to get in my car, THEN drive like 10 minutes to my local Safeway, and drive 10 minutes back. :(
 
#7
Welcome, Every-time I've been overseas I'm amazed at how different cultures are but how similar people are. And how much more understanding we would have if we actually spent some time with one another. The multi-cultural experience is one thing I love about Talk Bass. I get to turned on to some great music from outside of the states.
 
#8
Glad you're enjoying it. Allow me a little comparison. Pennsylvania is "humid" in the same way our gas is "expensive". Pennsylvania is humid relative to your experience. Last summer's gasoline prices were expensive relative to ours. Everyone complains about what they're not used to.

You can show me outrageous gas prices....I'd love to show you what real humidity is.

Mike
 
#9
Unfortunately, the fact that many things are relatively cheap and in great abundance in the U.S. encourages a culture of over-consumption. This increases our trade deficit with the rest of the world. China in particular holds a mountain of our IOU's in the form of U.S. treasury bills in order to keep us consuming their products at a (un)healthy rate. But for now, the party’s still goin’ on! Welcome, and thanks for the obervations.
 
#11
Thanks for those thoughts. I often forget that the rest of the world is not like the 100 square mile portion of it I spend most of my time in.

So are microwaves considered a luxury item in Switzerland?
How close is everything where you are from? Can you really do without a vehicle for your daily errands and tasks?

-Mike
 
#12
thanks for the replies!

haha no microwaves arent considered luxuries, we just don't use them, everyone usually cooks something for themselves, so naturally when i came here i was amazed by the concept of "hot pockets" and microwave popcorn and my family thought i was some idiot. I live in a fairly large city so i take the subway to work but 3 grocery stores, a music store, and 2 fairly nice bars are within a two minute walking distance from my apartment. so i really have no need for a car. Also to get a drivers license anywhere in europe you must pay around 800 dollars and go through about 7 months of training.
 
#13
Blavelle said:
thanks for the replies!

haha no microwaves arent considered luxuries, we just don't use them, everyone usually cooks something for themselves, so naturally when i came here i was amazed by the concept of "hot pockets" and microwave popcorn and my family thought i was some idiot. I live in a fairly large city so i take the subway to work but 3 grocery stores, a music store, and 2 fairly nice bars are within a two minute walking distance from my apartment. so i really have no need for a car. Also to get a drivers license anywhere in europe you must pay around 800 dollars and go through about 7 months of training.
Click to expand...

800 dollars and 7 months of training for a driver's license!? You gotta be kidding me!
 
#15
xcental34x said:
800 dollars and 7 months of training for a driver's license!? You gotta be kidding me!
Click to expand...

No joke. I wonder if they have better drivers over there. Perhaps the USA should start charging $1000 for a DL?

The city I live in has made attempts to make small mini-cities all over town so people can just walk to do their shopping. It seems to be working here and there. I just wish there were more options closer to me. I'd much rather walk than drive.

-Mike
 
#17
MJ5150 said:
No joke. I wonder if they have better drivers over there. Perhaps the USA should start charging $1000 for a DL?

The city I live in has made attempts to make small mini-cities all over town so people can just walk to do their shopping. It seems to be working here and there. I just wish there were more options closer to me. I'd much rather walk than drive.

-Mike
Click to expand...

That sounds pretty cool.

It's a good thing Washington still has a bunch of land that isn't used (Well, used by anything that can fight back HAR HAR HAR), so they can actually try and make those things. The more crowded parts of the state and other states don't get a choice anymore.

With mini-cities, you could also spread the population around more, instead of having huge cities surrounded by nothing.
 
#19
Headroom said:
Unfortunately, the fact that many things are relatively cheap and in great abundance in the U.S. encourages a culture of over-consumption. This increases our trade deficit with the rest of the world. China in particular holds a mountain of our IOU's in the form of U.S. treasury bills in order to keep us consuming their products at a (un)healthy rate. But for now, the party’s still goin’ on! Welcome, and thanks for the obervations.
Click to expand...
Uh, thanks. Not really the direction I was going, but ......

Mike
 
#20
Welcome to the US! Thanks for making that post positive. I half expected it to be a rant about the US. Sad that I expect that anymore. For all the problems we have it's great to hear the good things. :)
 

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