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Questions for American and other international/non uk mners

236 replies

Graphista · 26/06/2019 23:04

I love learning about other cultures and lifestyles. Lived in Europe myself for a while but a long time ago now. Never been outside Europe though.

Pure curiosity prompted by watching tv shows and films made outside uk.

What's the difference between a condo and an apartment?

Do you have semi detached houses in America? Terraced? I ask because I think they must be called something else there.

What's the equivalent of our going to Spain & similar on package holidays where you are? What type of holidays do ordinary families have?

What about things considered traditionally British? Do other countries do Sunday dinner? On Sunday's or different days?

As someone who was a mature student twice I've also noticed that this isn't something that's portrayed on American tv, or even particularly on Australian or New Zealand output so is that because it's not a "thing" outside the uk or just a weird skewing due to scriptwriters?

What about gap years? Again American shows seem to have youngsters going straight to uni from high school if they're going to go.

Also there's a lot of talk of saving for kids to go to uni but I'm guessing there's support for students from poorer backgrounds? How does that work?

What are bank holidays like where you live? What do people do for them? Are they called public holidays or something else?

Drink driving seems to be very socially acceptable in the states, is that accurate?

Is "soccer mom" slang for sahm?

I got the impression going to summer camp was a thing a lot of American kids did, but then a friend said she'd been a camp counsellor years ago (not American) and that they're quite expensive so it's better off families that do this?

What's childcare like where you are? Again seems to be that in America and also Canada that pretty much anyone can set up a daycare business or be a Daytime "babysitter" (what we'd call a childminder)? Is it not well regulated?

Do American families really tend toward having cooked breakfasts of some description? There seems to be a lot of making pancakes, waffles, eggs & bacon in tv shows (makes me hungry!)

For other mners living in various countries what is the usual breakfast where you are?

When I lived in Europe when I was in hospital the meals were of course based on the norm for where I was living, but for me as a Brit it still felt odd having breads/crackers, cheeses, relishes and pastries for breakfast (I'm veggie, for non veggies there was also deli meats, sausage). I'm fascinated when I read articles on breakfasts around the world and see things like pickled fish, rice dishes even stews!

But then as a Scot I'm reminded of that "highlander" movie script section (a bizarrely cast film where a Frenchman is playing a Scot and a Scot an Egyptian with a Spanish name and a broad Edinburgh accent!) where Connor describes haggis to Juan and Juan is disgusted at the sound of it! So yea I appreciate a glasgow fry which can of course include fried slice of haggis, along with Lorne sausage, tattie scones, black pudding, white pudding, bacon, fried eggs, fried bread, mushrooms, tomatoes and baked beans.

Baked beans - that's another thing. It was one of the few things I bought at the naafi because British baked beans don't taste like baked beans from anywhere else. I Also bought marmite, white sliced (I liked European bread but sometimes our doughy white bread toasted and buttered was needed for the perfect beans on toast or fried egg sandwich)

So...tell me about real life in the rest of the world? I'm sure other mners will also have questions.

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SenecaFalls · 30/06/2019 14:56

I wouldn't say it's quite popular. Some people do it, and in the US it's largely for religious reasons. Legal requirements will vary by state, but the free exercise of religion clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution allows a lot of leeway for parents.

SenecaFalls · 30/06/2019 14:58

Homeschooling in the US tends to be heavily associated with conservative and fundamentalist Christianity.

Graphista · 30/06/2019 16:08

Yea I've noticed even those responding re states and drink driving they're saying it's frowned on but also saying that people do it without really feeling guilty or irresponsible for doing so.

I'm in Scotland where it's now zero tolerance. And quite honestly for me personally I think it's a disgusting thing to do and don't understand anyone who does, I've friends and family who've been hit by drunk drivers and left permanently disabled, inc one friend who lost her baby at 8 months pregnant as a result.

I'd never do it I'd be too scared of causing an accident and permanently damaging someone's life or killing them and having to live with that.

That's way worse to me than the legal penalties.

The Middle East poster - I understand to a point the attraction of living there (money, high standard of living) but again to be quite honest, me personally that wouldn't be enough to assuage the guilt of supporting govts and cultures where women, gay people, non-locals etc are treated in appallingly unfair even barbaric ways. I did find your post interesting but it also made me grateful to live in a country where things are at least a bit more equal. Some would argue a lot

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SenecaFalls · 30/06/2019 16:16

In my state, the legal limit is .O8. I think that's the limit in England, too. Scotland has gone to .05, I think. Good for them.

chemenger · 30/06/2019 16:16

I would say the attitude of Americans to drink driving is similar to Scotland in the 70’s. It’s illegal but not socially unacceptable. My parents, and everyone else’s would happily drive to the pub and drive home, or drive to friends’ houses for drinks. I’m not sure when this stopped being the norm.

AcrossthePond55 · 30/06/2019 16:38

It's absolutely socially unacceptable to drink and drive in the US unless you're absolute trash or an arrogant toe rag. Most people I know would call the police if they saw someone who appears to be intoxicated behind the wheel. And most of them would do all they could to stop someone they were out with (take keys, etc) and would call the police on them if they were unable to stop them.

Here's a basic chart of DUI penalties in my state. Counties and cities have the ability to vote in their own (additional) penalties.

www.shouselaw.com/drunk-driving-penalties.html

AcrossthePond55 · 30/06/2019 16:41

Oh... and the fines and penalties in the chart don't include court costs and traffic school. A friend of ours got a DUI and by the time he was done it cost him over $10,000 in fines, court costs, mandatory classes, and paying the county for the (mandatory) 48 hours in jail.

Outsomnia · 30/06/2019 16:41

@SenecaFalls

Thanks. I often wondered about US home schooling.

chemenger · 30/06/2019 16:47

The US is a big place and Massachusetts is obviously different from California. Unless I and pretty much every British expat I’ve met here has been unlucky in the very middle class Americans we’ve met there drink driving is not met with horror.

I’ll give you a specific example (although this particular horror story took place in Texas). I was visiting a high school to do a presentation. Due to the timing we arranged that a teacher would pick me up from a restaurant so I could grab something to eat. She and a colleague duly arrived and sat down to have a chat. She drank two double bourbon and cokes in about half an hour then drove us to the school. Her colleague didn’t bat an eyelid. I probably should have said something, I admit, but I was pretty taken aback by the situation.

dreichuplands · 30/06/2019 16:57

The US is a big place but I live in a major city and the professionals DH works with and we both socialize with routinely drink and drive in a way that wouldn't be okay in the UK.
They aren't drunk and weaving about the road but they have half a bottle of wine at a dinner party and then drive home, or 3 drinks at a bar after work. They would all say they don't drink and drive because to them they associate that with drunk weaving etc.
If we followed these norms in the UK particularly Scotland we would get into serious trouble but nothing happens here.
DH and I work at not falling into the local mindset.

chemenger · 30/06/2019 17:14

dreichuplands that mirrors my experience here in Boston.

feesh · 30/06/2019 17:28

@Graphista we aren’t here for the money (honestly!), and a lot of your extremely strong prejudices are very misinformed. The UK looks like an absolutely shitty awful place to live from afar, increasingly so, and I’d actually go so far as to say that in many ways we have more freedoms here than we would in the UK.

Andylion · 30/06/2019 17:43

It's interesting to see the different definitions of a semi. I lived in the house on the right in this pic, in the basement apartment. It is a semi detached house, because it is attached on only one side. The owner spit it into two apartments, ground/first floor and second floor, and it because a duplex. Then he made the basement apartment, and it became a triplex. It is both a semi and a triplex. This is in Toronto.

Questions for American and other international/non uk mners
IntoValhalla · 30/06/2019 17:48

I agree with others about the beans Hmm
I lived in Canada for a little while, and there was a little shop in the town run by a British couple that stocked all the British things people missed - hula hoops, paxo stuffing and Yorkshire Tea were my things I always used to buy! They did stock Heinz baked beans, but the price of them was extortionate Shock Apparently it was because Heinz baked beans were available in Canadian supermarkets but as they were manufactured outside of the U.K., the recipe was different Sad and I’m sorry to say, Canadian beans just weren’t the same. And I couldn’t bring myself to pay something like £3.50 a ton for the British ones!

IntoValhalla · 30/06/2019 17:54

And I’ve plucked this from a realtor’s website, but this is very similar to the house I lived in when I was in Canada. I lived with family who had bought the plot and moved in when it was a new build. At the time there were tons on these new build developments popping up all over the place, and this style of house (the one I lived in was 4-bedroom, 3 bathroom) was a very commonplace sight as a typical family home goes.
It looked like some sort of mansion to my weird British eyes when I compared it to my parents’ modest 3-bed semi in rural England!!

IntoValhalla · 30/06/2019 17:54

Oooops, photo fail Blush

Questions for American and other international/non uk mners
BestIsWest · 30/06/2019 17:58

Funnily enough I had an Indian meal in Canada a couple of weeks ago (we were on holidays there). It was in a small town popular with tourists. The menu was very similar to the standard UK menu and the food was similar too.

I realise that this is possibly not representative of the rest of Canada.

(Loved it BTW, envious of all of you who live in such a great country).

BestIsWest · 30/06/2019 18:02

Sashkin I was in Toronto for the Raptors parade. Crazy!

OralBElectricToothbrush · 30/06/2019 18:02

The rise of Uber has made drink driving a lot less prevalent, especially among the young, in the US.

chemenger · 30/06/2019 18:23

This encapsulates the problem of two countries separated by one language- these are not Smarties!

Questions for American and other international/non uk mners
chemenger · 30/06/2019 18:32

I think drink driving died out in younger people first. I know my FIL still pushes the boundaries while people my age are much more aware. So maybe it will be the same here. Uber and Lyft do make it so easy not to drive.

Andylion · 30/06/2019 18:38

This encapsulates the problem of two countries separated by one language- these are not Smarties!

We, in Canada, agree wholeheartedly.

Andylion · 30/06/2019 18:41

Is there a branch of MADD in the UK? (Mothers Against Drunk Driving.) It was founded in Texas, according to wiki.

Graphista · 30/06/2019 19:20

It's just occurred to me on the topic of drink driving that possibly the language is affecting or reflects how it's viewed.

We say drInk driving here in uk meaning driving having imbibed ANY alcoholic drink

Whereas I think in states/Canada it's drUnk driving and so perhaps people think "well I'm not drUnk so I'm fine"

I'm also genuinely curious is there a lot of publicity and campaigns on drinking and driving and how are they framed?

Because I notice here in the U.K. It's very much framed, even though strictly speaking in England and Wales there's still a higher legal limit, that even one drink puts you at risk of driving dangerously and legal consequences.

Police here now have a "fatal 4" campaign ongoing - where drivers undertaking these particular risky behaviours are targeted in order to reduce road fatalities:

Drink/drug driving
Using a mobile phone while driving
Speeding (I very much feel in U.K. We are thankfully starting to get to a point where this is also socially unacceptable - long way to go though)
Not wearing a seatbelt (which reminds me - I think most parts of USA and other countries this is still not seen as a big deal?)

Those 4 were chosen as they are the most likely factors in increasing the risk of an rta being fatal.

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Abra1de · 30/06/2019 19:28

Not sure about this. If I have a small glass of wine over a lengthy meal out in England (125ml) I would not say I was drink driving as that implies I was breaking the law. Drink driving for me implies drinking over the limit. I would not do this—apart from the moral and ethical aspect I need my licence.

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