Ten features of life in the United States that you should know about before you travel
'15.01.2022'
Source: BigPicture.com
Well, who among us at least once dreamed of walking the streets of New York to see the bright billboards in Times Square, enjoy the grandeur of the Empire State Building, ride a yellow taxi and have pancakes for breakfast in a cozy coffee shop? However, going to meet your dream, you should learn something. There are features in the United States that can surprise tourists and migrants, and because of which they all get into awkward situations all the time. Read more about some of them Bigpicture.
All restaurants can be taken out except for oysters
American catering always serves very large portions of food. So big that almost no one can handle them in one sitting. Therefore, it is customary here to take food with you. All you need to do is ask the waiter to put the leftovers in plastic containers. This is a completely normal practice and is widely used in all states.
But, as you know, each rule has its own exceptions. No restaurant that values its reputation will agree to pack the leftover oysters for you. The fact is that these mollusks spoil very quickly, and if a client is poisoned by them, the establishment will have to answer.
National flag colors ... everywhere
On July 4, Americans celebrate Independence Day, and this holiday is even more important for them than for us our own birthday. On this day, everything in the city ripples with red, white and blue colors of the national flag. Every American considers it his duty to pay tribute to the country and demonstrate a thing of the appropriate color.
On the eve of July 4th, all shops are packed with flags, T-shirts, towels, swimwear and even socks with American symbols. Also on the shelves you can see various things depicting presidents, the Statue of Liberty or the US coat of arms.
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Housewives' work is almost completely automated
In the US, most housewives have robotic vacuum cleaners, automatic mops with disposable wipes, and many other gadgets to make housework easier. But even with such an arsenal, spoiled Americans often call for help in the form of a cleaning service.
If you ever have a chance to test their services, get ready that for several hours after cleaning (or even longer) persistent aromas of household chemicals will soar in your house. The staff usually cleans in masks, sometimes even in respirators, because it is simply impossible to inhale these aromas for a long time.
The first day of spring - March 21
Tourists are very surprised that in America the beginning of spring is officially considered not March 1, but March 21 - the day of the vernal equinox.
The same applies to autumn - it begins here at the end of September at the moment when the Sun seems to cross the celestial equator and moves south. This phenomenon is called the autumn or September equinox.
Alumni meeting tickets
Thanks to cinema, we present the American reunion as a crazy party with megatons of liters of alcohol. In fact, this is a rather boring event for which you need to buy a ticket.
Letters with the date of the meeting and the cost of the ticket are sent to all participants a few months before the start. As a rule, Class Reunion (as the reunion of graduates is called here) takes place in a relaxed atmosphere somewhere in a restaurant or conference room. And teachers are not invited there.
Tickets for a walk in the woods
In California, before you go for a walk in the woods, you must purchase a $5 entry ticket. You can buy it in almost all nearby kiosks or gas stations. Together with the ticket you get a map with the most popular routes.
Despite the fact that tickets are almost never checked, law-abiding Americans regularly buy them. And it will not hurt tourists, because for a walk without a ticket, you can easily get a serious fine.
Insurance or life
Medicine in the USA is very expensive. If you don't have insurance, a doctor's appointment can cost you between $1000 and $3000. But a good job (here we are talking about having insurance, not a salary) can solve this problem.
True, Americans try not to abuse the services of insurance companies. For example, they call an ambulance only in extreme cases, because if their call is considered not serious enough, the company may refuse to pay for treatment.
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Endless learning
In American universities, students have the opportunity to independently form their own schedule by gaining a certain number of subjects per semester. To get a bachelor's degree, you need to pass exams in 40 subjects, and with a high workload, you can cope with this task in 2-3 years.
But some stretch out studies almost indefinitely. For example, it will be more convenient for a mother with children to take 2 subjects per semester. Accordingly, she will cope with passing all the exams in about 10 years.
Date without flowers
The tradition of coming on a date with flowers in America is no longer relevant. Here, a guy can give a girl a bouquet only for graduation.
By the way, if a man nevertheless decided to present a woman with roses, then it will be an even number, for example, 6 or 12. Therefore, think what is better: to receive an even number of flowers as a gift or to be left without a bouquet at all?
Cold tea
When ordering tea in any institution, be sure to specify that you need exactly hot tea (Hot tea), otherwise you will be brought a cold drink with ice (Iced tea).
By the way, in the USA it is not customary to say: "Bring me tea." Instead, the customer should politely ask the waiter, "May I have some tea?" And this form of communication operates in almost all local catering establishments.
