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Canadian checking in.
Biggest oddity to me is that the default for restaurants is one bill, and waiters get annoyed if you ask them to split it by person.
Like why would I want to either:
It's complete insanity to me.
The firearm culture, and how normalised it is.
I went into a Walgreens in Chicago, and waited in line behind two other people. There was a cashier free but the person in front of the line was waiting to be called. The guy behind the person in front politely said, “ma’am, the cashier is free” ‘I’m waiting to be called” was the response.
So the guy behind her just walked past her, and she pushed him and said, “Careful buddy, you’ll get shot for doing something like that”
I was taken aback at how quickly a simple discourtesy escalated to shooting someone. It just blew my mind that shooting someone over queue jumping was verbalised, and seemingly normal to each other.
That is not a normal interaction anywhere that I've been in the States and not in Chicago. Despite what the press says Chicago is a very beautiful and relatively safe city. The people tend to be civil.
Yeah, that is definitely not normal. Never heard anyone say anything like that (western US)
based on knowledge of the US : many things that other places take for granted or fight to preserve, you guys struggle to obtain.
based on my trip : fucking nothing, I visited new york and stayed at a run down, pre paid hotel. I ate food from stores or carry out. I can't exactly critique the healthcare system, tipping culture, driving culture when I had access to a fairly modern public transport system, didn't need medical assistance and didn't need to tip 50 people just to eat one thing.
EDIT: it's like asking tourists in antalya at the beach what they think of turkey, they're fucking tourists, they aren't affected by the dictator and his bullshit
To name a few:
Calling yourself Americans, after the entire dual continent. There are two continents and many other countries in the Americas, you know... [I know you know. And, what are you supposed to call yourselves, 'USAians'? 'Americans' makes more sense and is easier to roll off the tongue. But it's weird.]
Holding the door open for me. Smiling at me on the street. Those are sure signs of a swindler, but it's the norm in the USA. [I am not suggesting USA folks are swindlers, only that those actions are what swindlers in much of the world use. USA people are generally super nice and a genuine pleasure to be around.]
Turning right on red light. Red means stop. It's weird and confusing.
Edit: I added a third thing.
Edit2 in []
Guns. Paying for being medically treated / not having a proper healtcare system. Weird relationship to Socialism.
I only stopped there for transit on a flight to Mexico. Just before boarding my flight I was told that I need a visa for the US, which is extremely weird because normally airports have transit zones where you don't need any visa. But apparently the US is special, so you actually have to enter the country before going right back into the airport. This nonsense made me miss my flight.
Also I remember in the airport there was a security guard doing nothing but shouting nonstop that it's not allowed to carry water. Why not simply put up a sign?
Donald Trump. I mean seriously WTF?