Page 3 | AIBU to ask you some questions about the USA?

Youngatheart00 · 06/08/2020 12:40

The boxing up leftovers at a restaurant is very common in the US and pretty unheard of in the U.K. in fact the servers in the US are pretty proactive in offering it. Kind of helps to justify why the portions are so large as can easily last 2 meals

x2boys · 06/08/2020 12:47

Yes I have only been to America once and it was over 20 years ago ,but I remember being offered left overs in a box ,I found the tipping culture very different too ,I remember going to a bar and was told to tip a doller every time I ordered a drink so the bar man would keep coming back to serve us is this common ? It was 20 odd years ago so things might change , and I know it's a sit com and quite an old one but Ross makes a big deal of tipping waiting on staff ,15% in one episode ,is it expected customers will tip?

steff13 · 06/08/2020 12:48

One thing that always amazes me about America is how many people drink and drive, I guess it's because everywhere is so far apart so taxis and buses probably aren't practical.

How many people drink and drive?

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 12:57

@x2boys

Yes I have only been to America once and it was over 20 years ago ,but I remember being offered left overs in a box ,I found the tipping culture very different too ,I remember going to a bar and was told to tip a doller every time I ordered a drink so the bar man would keep coming back to serve us is this common ? It was 20 odd years ago so things might change , and I know it's a sit com and quite an old one but Ross makes a big deal of tipping waiting on staff ,15% in one episode ,is it expected customers will tip?

Very much expected to tip. I'm many states wait staff are only paid 2.13 an hoir. Tips are expected to help make up.their salary. Now it's expected to tip 20%

lljkk · 06/08/2020 12:58

I passed my test 2 weeks after my 16th birthday. My parents only had 'stickshift' so that's what my test was in. I still vastly prefer manual. I believe manual remain much more common in non-flyover states. I have learned the hard way when we hire a car (in any country) to DEMAND that we get the smallest vehicle possible, not be "upgraded" to some inconvenient monstrosity.

Frats/sororities provide social networks, do charity work, are diverse. People like me worked multiple jobs to fund our way thru Uni. You keep your college debts until you die or they are paid off.

yummmmm fluffy pancakes for breakfast is definitely something I have not had enough of lately.... imho, lifestyle dictates whether you get fat. All my close relatives and most of my extended family have had chronic overweight problems. I don't. Guess who has the active lifestyle and who doesn't?

I joke that I was kicked out of CA for not meeting the beauty standards, but actually, there are plenty of very chemical/sun-weathered fat-slob-racist Californians.

My dad (CA) keeps going on about DVR... they seem to have all sorts of TV watching options we don't. He has his TV set to record dozens of programmes every week. He can't understand that I almost never watch TV at all... even though I live in the place with dodgy weather & his weather is amazing almost every day....

Americans are bombarded with political adverts + direct advertising for medicines and medical treatments, which you don't appreciate unless you live there.

Youngatheart00 · 06/08/2020 13:02

Yep, tipping is expected BUT as a result I find it drives far better service. Here in the U.K. where restaurant / bar staff are paid a (better but still low) flat rate and there’s far less of a tipping Culture, I feel like the service is very very poor in comparison.

Youngatheart00 · 06/08/2020 13:03

Oh god yes, the prescription medication advertising!! That’s always shocked me.

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:04

@lljkk

I passed my test 2 weeks after my 16th birthday. My parents only had 'stickshift' so that's what my test was in. I still vastly prefer manual. I believe manual remain much more common in non-flyover states. I have learned the hard way when we hire a car (in any country) to DEMAND that we get the smallest vehicle possible, not be "upgraded" to some inconvenient monstrosity.

Frats/sororities provide social networks, do charity work, are diverse. People like me worked multiple jobs to fund our way thru Uni. You keep your college debts until you die or they are paid off.

yummmmm fluffy pancakes for breakfast is definitely something I have not had enough of lately.... imho, lifestyle dictates whether you get fat. All my close relatives and most of my extended family have had chronic overweight problems. I don't. Guess who has the active lifestyle and who doesn't?

I joke that I was kicked out of CA for not meeting the beauty standards, but actually, there are plenty of very chemical/sun-weathered fat-slob-racist Californians.

My dad (CA) keeps going on about DVR... they seem to have all sorts of TV watching options we don't. He has his TV set to record dozens of programmes every week. He can't understand that I almost never watch TV at all... even though I live in the place with dodgy weather & his weather is amazing almost every day....

Americans are bombarded with political adverts + direct advertising for medicines and medical treatments, which you don't appreciate unless you live there.

You guys don't have SHE yey? I laugh because not too long ago I was being berated here because of our lack of technology regarding chips and direct deposit

BarefootHippieChick · 06/08/2020 13:06

How many people drink and drive?

I read a LOT of American books, mainly true crime and biographies, and in pretty much every one people go to bars, have enough to drink that they're definitely over the limit, then drive home. I read it enough that every time it strikes me that it's quite normal. There was an article a while back written by (I think) a professor, apparently the US has 20 times more fatalities due to driving while intoxicated compared to Britain, even though the population is only something like 4/5 times more.

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:06

That was suppose to be DVR....Not She

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 06/08/2020 13:16

It's odd to me that when you eat In somewhere you don't really know how much it'll cost til the end. Once you've added taxes and tips, at varying rates, it's like "put a pin in it". At least in the UK the price you see is the price you pay.

Chemenger · 06/08/2020 13:17

How many people drink and drive?

I lived in Boston for a while and still spend time there. European expats all comment on their American friends’ dinking and driving. Totally normal to drive back from dinner and drinks at someone’s house, or from a restaurant. It’s like the 1970s in the U.K. was. We did a roving Thanksgiving dinner, each course in a different house, only the British had a designated driver, everyone else just downed their drinks and jumped in their cars.

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:22

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

It's odd to me that when you eat In somewhere you don't really know how much it'll cost til the end. Once you've added taxes and tips, at varying rates, it's like "put a pin in it". At least in the UK the price you see is the price you pay.

It's no different than your CAT and service charge. But instead of the service charge going to the estabkishment ,.Tips go.straight to the server. It's very,very common for wait staff to.walk out of a mid priced steakhouse with 2 or 300 dollars tax free dollars in the pocket every night

lljkk · 06/08/2020 13:27

@Leaannb, we probably have DVR, but called something different. I don't watch TV so I am extra handicapped about TV things.

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:28

@Chemenger

How many people drink and drive?

I lived in Boston for a while and still spend time there. European expats all comment on their American friends’ dinking and driving. Totally normal to drive back from dinner and drinks at someone’s house, or from a restaurant. It’s like the 1970s in the U.K. was. We did a roving Thanksgiving dinner, each course in a different house, only the British had a designated driver, everyone else just downed their drinks and jumped in their cars.

That is.one of those things that I have.seen.more in the UK then in the US. Don't.get me.wrong we have plenty of DUIs. I don't want to.say blame here because the only person at.fault for drunk driving is the driver but most places outside of major cities do not have public transportation. We don't have tubes,taxis,ubers etc. But there is absolutely no.excuse for not.having a.DD. When I'm living in UK I.see a lot.of.people get.completely.shitfaced and then drive home because after all it's just right around the corner.

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:30

[quote lljkk]@Leaannb, we probably have DVR, but called something different. I don't watch TV so I am extra handicapped about TV things.[/quote]
I think you do too. I think I even had it through SKY at one point in time. But I'm burning up my phone lines trying to get a hold of my son,dil,mom and man to find out. Damn them for having lives

Proudboomer · 06/08/2020 13:31

What is spring break ?
You hear of thousands of college kids decending on some beach and getting pissed for a couple of weeks but why is spring break the time that college kids go mad?

And why is there colleges who have segregated housing And gradation for black students? I thought America had federal laws against racial segregation after the Jim Crow laws were banned.

Xiaoxiong · 06/08/2020 13:33

@Leaannb there is DVR, but it's a bit old-school to record shows using the set-top box to watch later, I don't know anyone who has one now - even my MIL got rid of hers once they had fibre broadband and got a smartTV instead. You just go directly to the relevant online streaming service to watch things later, so iPlayer for BBC shows, 4oD for channel 4, netflix, amazon prime etc, either through your smart TV or your computer.

TheoneandObi · 06/08/2020 13:34

my top US tip? Never ever eat biscuits and gravy. We thought it was a good idea to go local while living in Alaska. BIG mistake. Worst thing ever to eat. The biscuits are particularly heavy scones, and the gravy is more of a gloopy white sauce. Just awful. I think its a hangover from the days when people in remote places had to buy in lots of dried goods and you could make this horror from said goods

HelloToMyKitty · 06/08/2020 13:35

What's the big deal with joining a fraternity house at College? What is the benefit of it? Why the Greek frat house names?

Most students don’t join a frat or sorority. But it does give you connections which might prove useful when job hunting.

Is public access television still a thing?

Not really

Why do they call savoury muffins English Muffins when I'm more likely to see a blueberry or chocolate muffin when I'm out and about?

English muffins are crumpets I was told? We already have savory muffins, which are actually muffin shaped and much tastier, things like cheddar garlic muffins 😋

How do Americans eat things like thick pancakes with cream for breakfast, even the people who are slim?

That’s like a Saturday morning special family breakfast, absolutely no one is eating that every day.

What are grits?

No idea not from the South

Why are Automatic cars so prolific in the US, rather than manual/stick shift?

I literally can’t understand why anyone would drive a stick shift. Too difficult and no driving school actually teaches that to 16-year-olds. They are already bad enough at driving 😱

Purpleartichoke · 06/08/2020 13:35

Manual card are awful in stop and go traffic. Automatics are also more fuel efficient at this point so driving a manual is seen as the non-environmental choice.

x2boys · 06/08/2020 13:36

So regarding tips ,do restaurant,s divide all tips between staff or do individual staff get their own tips?Also do staff pay tax on tips?

HelloToMyKitty · 06/08/2020 13:36

Never ever eat biscuits and gravy

Pearls before swine, I tell ya!

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:36

@Proudboomer

What is spring break ? You hear of thousands of college kids decending on some beach and getting pissed for a couple of weeks but why is spring break the time that college kids go mad?

And why is there colleges who have segregated housing And gradation for black students? I thought America had federal laws against racial segregation after the Jim Crow laws were banned.

Spring break is a school break in the spring. It's just a time to party before the stresses of finals. Hmmmm I love in the South where there were actual Jim Crow and I have never heard of this. Not unless you are talking about a black fraternity or what we call Historically Black Colleges or Universitoes. Those would be segregated just for the simple fact that not too many white people attend these colleges or universities

Leaannb · 06/08/2020 13:38

@HelloToMyKitty

Never ever eat biscuits and gravy

Pearls before swine, I tell ya!

Nope. That is the breakfast of champions and I cannot wait until Saturday where I can make some homemade buttermilk biscuits with gravy and crisp Y fried hash browns...Yummy