Need info on "normal" life outside of the USA

[shaggy]

in canada we live in igloos and eat whale fat

[havana_lover]

Originally Posted by shaggy

in canada we live in igloos and eat whale fat

I thought you just used the blubber for fuel to burn for heat..

[doctorcue]

Originally Posted by shaggy

in canada we live in igloos and eat whale fat

Hah, that me laugh.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by doctorcue

Hah, that me laugh.

"Me fail English? Unpossible."

[Mad Hatter]

I spent 2 weeks in Europe on two different occasions, once with a Swiss family and once with an east German family. Things I noticed were in Switzerland and southern Germany drinks were served without ice. Once I asked for ice in my Coke and when the waitress came back there was one lonely cube floating in the top. Eastern Germany was not like that. Drinks were refridgerated before serving. On both counts beer drinking was a common social event where almost everyone participated. Vacation spots are all over the place and often involve natural settings. When there are holidays or Sundays, you know it is a holiday or a Sunday, like it was here when I was little, businesses shut down, people relaxed for the weekend and not so much hustle-bustle. If a building is old it isn't demolished unless there is good reason for it. Old brick houses are stuccoed over and painted. Houses are built from concrete. Plastic roofing tiles are used rather than shingles. Living space is much smaller in many places than here in the US, affording less space for frivolous items. Every town of more than a few hundred people has an internet cafe. The general population has a greater respect for the laws and there are laws that encourage a clean, healthy and respectful atmosphere. Many people have a greater sense of cultural awareness. Many live in houses that are older than our country. And the beer is good.

[M1903A1]

Originally Posted by FlyerFanX

There are men in Guam whose full-time job is to travel the countryside and deflower young virgins, who pay them for the privilege of having sex for the first time. Reason: under Guam law, it is expressly forbidden for virgins to marry. (Now let's just think for a minute... is there any job anywhere else in the world that even comes close to this?)

Someone should tell those girls that the guys at the Guam USAF base will not only do it for free, but will buy THEM dinner first....

Santa Cruz, Bolivia it is illegal for a man to have sex with a woman and her daughter at the same time. (...presume this was a big enough problem that they had to pass this law?)

Are we sure this isn't a ruling from the Guamanian occupational safety office?

[M1903A1]

Lessee, a few things I remember from my weeks in France years ago...

Smaller living accomodations; more apartments than houses. Lots of VERY old (like 300-400 years) buildings. Less refrigeration. Daily shopping instead of weekly. FRESH food (sometimes still moving) instead of frozen/canned. Much higher reliance on public/mass transportation. People don't make as much as us (or at least didn't seem to). No eating in front of the TV. Some foods we consider strange, they consider normal. Fewer all-under-one-roof "hypermarkets" and more individual small stores. Things like soda come in smaller packages. Smaller cars, of what we might consider tin-can quality. Much higher level of public caution (armed police in subways, troops on street etc), since terrorism has affected some of these places for decades.

[AAlmeter]

I've lived in Germany and vacationed throughout Europe, but most of my time was spent in Belgium/Germany and eastward

In Germany/Poland:

The living spaces are very small in comparison to the US.
Disposable income is very small too
Unless you are in a large city, there is very little cultural diversity
European is to Arab as 1960 White Mississippi is to black man
No f'in ice
Good f'in beer
All water is carbonated
None of the cities (except those rebuilt after WWII) can handle automobile traffic




In Germany:
Most homeowners do not have what most Americans would classify as a yard
Most homeowners have ponds, even if they are no bigger than a bird bath
Cabs are Mercedes, not old Chevys
Often times different segments of society are intentionally singled out...for example, municipal workers all must wear the same uniform (green I believe)
Your future is very structured...good luck being a C/D student in high school and getting anywhere in life


Poland:

A pretty large amount of poverty
Very, very poor construction designs/methods/materials from the communist era can be seen in the 'architecture'
People selling anything, anywhere trying to get by
Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet

[BigFrankMD]

Most people in foreign countries hate Americans. Well most of the ones I talked to when I traveled some.

Don't forget that one

[Mad Hatter]

I forgot to mention air conditioning. Where I went air-conditioning was something that was only in stores, not peoples' homes...... and I didn't stay with poor people on either trip.

[GOAT LOCKER]

Originally Posted by BigFrankMD

Most people in foreign countries hate Americans.

Not in the many countries I've been to...

[dalerobk]

Originally Posted by GrtndpwrflOZ

To all my fellow Gorillas located around the world.
My Daughter is doing a project (actually she is helping her boyfriend with his school project) on life outside the United States. Pretty much day to day things that may vary from day to day in the US. I am thinking that there are not many variances BUT I said that I had access to a worldwide forum so here I am.

Anything in the normal day to day living that you know or you may think is different than what is done in the US.

Any and all replies would be greatly appreciated.
You can PM me or post here if you would like.

thanks again
B

This school assignment is really scary in that in shows with such clarity the utter worthlessness of some school teachers. But what I really love about this assignment is that it was obviously the intent of the teacher to teach kids about diversity in the world, but in fact, all it does is homogenize the rest of the world as the non-US. I find that particularly clever since it subtly reinforces the dominance and singularity of American culture versus the rest of the world rather than teach actual diversity.

OK, I’m off my soap box...

[M1903A1]

Originally Posted by BigFrankMD

Most people in foreign countries hate Americans. Well most of the ones I talked to when I traveled some.

Well, I was in France, a place with a terrible reputation for hating "ugly Americans"...and I never once had a problem, even out on the street among regular Parisians.

"When in Rome..." is a valid truth.

[dalerobk]

Originally Posted by M1903A1

Well, I was in France, a place with a terrible reputation for hating "ugly Americans"...and I never once had a problem, even out on the street among regular Parisians.

"When in Rome..." is a valid truth.

Yeah, most French still like Americans. In fact, there are still plenty of places in Normandy that will give a free meal to any American in uniform or veteran's gear. They love Americans in Normandy.

[smokinpoke]

Hong Kong has the best China Town in the world.