16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here
A lot of people around the world have ideas of what America is like, possibly thanks to Hollywood, or their local news channels, and maybe from what they've heard from families and friends. But then, they came here, to the grand old United States and their minds exploded.
By 
Michael Koh
14. John Levingster
- Drive-thru ATMs and stores. It left me speechless. And then to think that most purchases in the U.S. are on credit ;). You can even do drive-thru shopping, drive-thru oil-change, drive-thru massage(?). Everything is drive-thru!
- Cars, cars, cars. It’s a big country and public transport is lacking. Hence, everybody owns at least one car and uses it for the smallest distances. It’s like people forgot how to walk or bike. Although I saw many people bike, it was to do sports, not for day-to-day transportation.
- Use of slang OMG! NO WAY!! So, apparently people really do say O.M.G. a lot (in california that is) and other slang you hear on t.v. I thought that was simply T.V. stuff.
- Extreme sensitiveness towards race and religion. People tend to be very sensitive about racial and religious topics. I was embarrassed to ask a Costco employee where the white chocolate was because I was afraid she would tell me I was a racist.
- Huge serving portions. I’m a big guy and love eating, but 50% of the time I could only finish half the food on my plate (how do you guys do it?!).
- Gigantic cars. WOW, I thought a Land Rover was big until I saw the average pickup truck in the U.S.
- Many payment options. You can pay with check, credit, debit, cash, or anything else of value. Unbelievable. I’m used to either paying in cash or with my debit card. It’s really smart business wise – you simply cannot say you don’t have the money, because even if you don’t.. you can still pay.
- Widespread obesity. I was shocked to see the amount of obese people in the U.S. I can fully understand it though: the portions are big, everything has cheese in it, refills are free, purchases in bulk are cheaper, etc.
- Franchise, Franchise, Franchise. In California it’s hard to avoid franchise restaurants or stores. Although I’ve heard that in many other parts of the country this is absolutely not the case (e.g. Texas).
- Amazing presentation skills. A 7-year-old kid from the U.S. would beat any European in a sales pitch. I find the average American amazing in presenting themselves, doing sales, explaining how things work, etc. I’m jealous.
- The U.S. preserves its nature. I was thrilled to see how far ahead America is in preserving its beautiful nature. Absolutely terrific, kudos to you guys.
