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
9. Aditya Lesmana
- You really need health insurance – The cost of healthcare in this country is insane. It seems that all aspect of healthcare is designed with ‘patient must be insured’ assumption – read: charge as much as possible. Any uninsured small procedure will leave a lasting impression in your financial health for many years to come.
- Online money transfer between bank is done via cheque – In USA (at least in PA), whenever I want to transfer money to someone, the bank will issue a cheque and post it to the address of the cheque recipient. The recipient will then cash in the cheque. This procedure will take few days normally and applies even to customers who transfer money to another customers within the same bank.
- TSA – I am a citizen of a supposedly ‘terrorist’ country and for some reason got classified as ‘high threat’ individual. Thus every time I enter AND LEAVE the country, I need to go for ‘secondary inspection’ at some small room at the corner of the airport / border checkpoint. Let me repeat: every single time I enter and leave the country. Oh, to make thing worse: any people that go with me need to go for ‘inspection’ too. So when it comes to travelling, at least in airport / border checkpoint, I prefer to travel alone which will likely to fuel officer’s suspicion :p
- Apparently being a non-muslim Chinese studying in reputable school(s) outside of my ‘terrorist’ country for almost a decade was not enough to escape TSA’s terrorist profiling.
- Walmart (and other big supermarkets) – So much stuff for so little price. $2.99 for a pint of Häagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry. $6 for 24 cans of coke. Why get a $8 Hershey syrup if you can get TWO for $10.
- Credit Score WTF – The credit system in America will create a numerical value (credit score) to asses everyone’s financial fitness. No one know how the score is calculated but you need that to get a loan… or two… or three… and beyond.
- However, in order to get a credit score, you need to get a loan e.g car financing. In order to get a loan… well… you need a credit score (notice the circular reference). Your credit score can also be created by using credit card. You just need a credit score to apply for a credit card.
- Obesity and food portion – It is easy to find obese people in USA. Some people are so obese that they require a special electric scooter to carry them around. This sighting can be seen easily in Walmart where obese people use scooters to shop more … food.
- And yes, typical food portion in America is humongous. I can easily share one meal with another guy and do not feel hungry for hours to come.
10. Riona MacNamara
- Customer service. In Nordstrom, when a sales assistant says “Can I help you?” s/he actually means “Can I help you?” and not, say, “You’re distracting me from my phone. Can you please leave?”
- Free refills, matches, etc.
- Religion being an actual thing. Prayer breakfasts in the White House. Educated people believing in creationism. The number of churches and denominations. People actually going to church.
- No jaywalking. At least not in Seattle, no matter how empty the street.
- The emphasis on marriage, particularly the apparent pressure for women to get married in their 20s.
