to think there is something wrong with Americans?

[TheBloodManCometh]

In Colorado, here for 5 weeks.

Why the HELL is there a half inch gap on either side of the door in all public toilets?? You can see everything going on!!!
This has been the case everywhere I've been in America?
AIBU to be both baffled and embarrassed

lighthearted btw. I don't really think there's something wrong with the Americans

Also does "homemade" have a different meaning in US restaurants? In the UK it means freshly prepared on site from raw ingredients. I ask because I had "homemade" chowder in a Californian restaurant that tasted like CuppaSoup and even had lumps of dried soup mix still in it. I complained but the waiting staff seemed mystified about why I was bothered.

I was asked if I could cook macaroni cheese for the children I was babysitting in the States.
I said I was sure I could although I would need instructions on how to use their very complicated oven.
I was lost for words when they showed me a packet containing dried powder and pasta to make this disgusting instant bright orange macaroni cheese.
Just add hot water.
But then eating out the children would eat lobster, artichoke ,spinach and sushi without thinking

Here I find most parents try and cook if not from scratch then better than so etching akin to pot noodle. Yet eating out is all nuggets and chips.

I once went to Belgium where they had outside urinals ??

Back to American foodstuffs, what does Hershey chocolate taste like if you've grown up on it? Is it pleasant?

Well, it's not fancy chocolate that's for sure. It's mostly used for recipes. Like s'mores, cooking, etc.. Not really to eat just by itself. But some people do, it's just not the chocolate of choice.

Think of it like the McDonald's of the chocolate world. It's cheap and easy to get. But we know it's not high quality, but we don't expect much out of it just like we don't expect a McDonald's burger to taste like a good burger would.

Personally, I love See's chocolate, and when I have money to burn Godiva chocolates are divine.

It works well in Smores but the taste is masked by scorched marshmallow flavour.

Revealall I've been amazed since I moved to the US 7 years ago by what children eat. I live in a fairly well off area and most of the parents I know are well educated, yet they still seem to mostly feed their children mac & cheese, hot dogs or pizza. For lunch it's often white bread sandwiches, often with Fluff or Fluffernutter on them. When I have kids over and I offer them brown bread they are usually horrified.

I once nannied for a woman who owned a really nice, chic restaurant where they served (expensive) genuine homemade food. She was both chef and owner actually. Her fridge at home was full of frozen pizza, breaded chicken, preformed burgers-plus-filler-ingredients, and convenience meals including microwave breakfast sandwiches of sausage and 'egg'. Her child ate Kraft Mac n Cheese for lunch several times a week. I had never made it before.

Chocolate in America is just grim, on the whole. See's/Godiva is ok but rather sweet and not enough cocoa solids if you ask me. Cheesecake more than makes up for it though!

The bathrooms are a disaster. Gaps all around cubicles, loo too low, automatic flush (so you can't check what you've done, to see whether you are dehydrated or what your poo looks like...sorry if TMI but I think it's important!), and no loo seat covers so there are probably particles of dirty loo water all over the cubicle. Bleurgh!

Sandwiches are ridiculous. Especially when they're deli sandwiches. More than once, I've stood in line, stumped as there is just soooo much choice! More than once, I've asked for ham, tomato and lettuce, and been met with a puzzled stare by the person preparing the sandwich... "which type of bread would you like?" "what kind of ham?", "which type of lettuce?", "anything else?", followed up with "would you like chips with that?". And they smile while they're doing it...and it's cheaper than a soggy sandwich in London!

Medication being advertised. Medicated food NOT being advertised (unless you look closely at the label...milk with added Vitamin D, x, y and z, homogenized, etc. Humungous fruits and veg which seem incredible until you realize they are GMO and taste like flavoured water. Fat free everything, right next to the jumbo pack of Oreos.

Homeless people all over in certain cities, with tent cities on the grass verges next to city highways. Massive drug, alcohol and mental illness problems. Then they go and legalize cannabis in 2 states.

Then you get the little gems...fluffy pancakes from heaven, rent control in some big cities, social housing in many others, amazing philanthropy (okay they get tax breaks, but it's still giving money away), more racial diversity than in Europe (ok only in some places).

Just a very different place, but I always expect it not to be. Sorry that was muuuch longer than intended.

Sash the cutlery thing has always confused me. Whenever we went to a restaurant (bog standard chain) when they saw DS aged 4 they would take away the cutlery and replace with a spoon. I would then ask for the cutlery back and only the fork would be returned.

I had to convince the server it was perfectly ok for a 4 years old to have a knife...one time she really didnt want to give it to me and we just looked at each other in total confusement

Well, it's not fancy chocolate that's for sure. It's mostly used for recipes. Like s'mores, cooking, etc.. Not really to eat just by itself. But some people do, it's just not the chocolate of choice.

But but but... If its cooking chocolate, what are Hershey Kisses (bleurgh) destined for? {still confused}

I do like the wacky M&M flavours though.

I'm quite find of Hershy's kisses. I prefer Hershey's hugs though

Fond. Not find.

Are electric kettles still a rarity in the USA?

And I've heard conservatories are unusual?

Hershey chocolate is rank...

One of my cousins lived in the US. They didn't have a kettle as they had very hot water on tap. The thing is, lovely tea requires freshly boiled water, so they had to search high and low for a kettle. They are a rarity.

Hersheys is yuck, but these people eat all kinds of unspeakable crap. It's probably the same people eating Hersheys who eat cinnamon buns :) There are plenty of normal Americans too though!

I like Hershey's chocolate and I like cinnamon buns. I wouldn't bake with either though

I think most supermarkets (aside from Aldi) do have a section of organic produce now.

We don't label our milk as "medicated" b/c the homogenization and addition of vitamins is the norm here; it's USDA standards. A good number of people don't agree with those standards and will buy organic or even raw milk, or buy directly from a neighbor with a small dairy if in a farming area.

I have an electric kettle, myself (lovely ceramic one, I adore it). Stovetop kettles are more common in homes, but you'll often find an electric kettle in an office kitchen.

Conservatories here are long/longish rooms on the outside of the house with glass walls. They are often called sun rooms or even sun porches, though sun porches ime. are not quite the same as sun rooms as sun porches are just glass-enclosed porches, not rooms; they stick out from the house like, well, porches. They're not all that common, no, but they're not rare -- depends on what part of the country you're in b/c of the weather.

And the legalization of marijuana, for which I voted in Massachusetts, is not going to worsen our problems re: criminal drug trade, illegal drug dependency, or mental illness. Not at all.

Sorry, "legalization" was not very accurate of me. The law decriminalized possession of one ounce or less iirc. Selling marijuana is not legal in Mass.

One of my cousins lived in the US. They didn't have a kettle as they had very hot water on tap. The thing is, lovely tea requires freshly boiled water, so they had to search high and low for a kettle. They are a rarity.

No they're not. They sell them at Walmart for $15. They have an entire shelf of them to choose from.

Fair one, but they had a fully furnished flat in NYC, and it didn't include a kettle. It would be one of the staples in London. Perhaps it's just harder to find one in NYC?

Perhaps it's just harder to find one in NYC?

If they're looking for one in Times Square shopping area, I suppose it would be. But they don't sell practical items there anyway. :)

There's run of the mill shops all over NYC, I'm not sure how they could have missed it. Or maybe they were looking for a certain type or brand?

They could have gotten one off the internet too

I

And I've heard conservatories are unusual?

Yes. I think most of us would freak out in a room full of windows that everyone could see into.

mumminio We also use a lot of exaggerated language here (As I'm told by our African friend). So instead of "I tripped on the sidewalk today" it could easily be said as "I almost died today" or "The sidewalk literally tried to kill me today". So if she said they searched high and low, it could just mean it wasn't at the first fancy kitchen shop they tried. Things are often embellished to add flavor to a story.

Why would Americans need kettles? They don't drink hot tea, they actually make coffee that doesn't come out of a jar.

We drink plenty of hot tea, at least most people I know do. And you can't make iced tea without having hot tea first. Unless you use instant, but, bleh.