Things I've had to explain about the U.S.

[Fischkoepfin 1]

Marlene had never driven before in her life. I let her get behind the wheel at a rest stop on the interstate and see how felt about driving. In a very short time I thought we were both going to need an undertaker. She didn't drive far before we thought better of it and I helped her ease to the shoulder of the road and let me take the wheel again. She's going to need lots of practice with her steering!

You let her start driving on the interstate? Wow. I've been driving for 16 years and I'm quite used to the autobahn, but American interstates are about the scarriest place I know...

[Fixer 0]

Oh good, I'm not the only one...

No, I was thinking the same.

Oh, hi y'all. Don't mind me. I'm just here for the coffee.

Hunts for a decent cup o' Joe

[mrswooten4ever 0]

Atlanta traffic scares the heck out of me! So glad we'll be moving to Arkansas

Adele

[john_and_marlene 162]

Marlene had never driven before in her life. I let her get behind the wheel at a rest stop on the interstate and see how felt about driving. In a very short time I thought we were both going to need an undertaker. She didn't drive far before we thought better of it and I helped her ease to the shoulder of the road and let me take the wheel again. She's going to need lots of practice with her steering!

You let her start driving on the interstate? Wow. I've been driving for 16 years and I'm quite used to the autobahn, but American interstates are about the scarriest place I know...

I lived in Germany for 3 years ... I never had a problem with the autobahn or the interstate. I shipped a car to Germany and wore it out there ... the speedometer only went to 80 on most U.S. cars back then (1980) but I used to wrap the speedometer around way past that on my Nova Rally Sport. That poor car didn't hold up too well

I suppose taking drivers training in Detroit might have been a good thing for me way back when I was getting my license ... the freeways there were usually quite "active". I even had a wonderful time driving in Italy when I was there for a couple of weeks. I found driving in Italy to be the most challenging.

[Jet_Lag 0]

garden tub dear - which u told me was some kind of bath tub..which sounds so weird to me, lol.

And yes, why ARE those water towers up in the air like that? Anyone know?

Water towers tend to carry spare capacity for the supplying water system to be used at ""peak" times before the advent of sophisticated high pressure pumps , having the "spare" storage high-up (in a tower) meant that pressure was maintained in the system.

The towers are replenished at off-peak times from normals sources after purification

Now you always wanted to know that didnt you :-)

As a London born brit who has an Indian heritage and as my cockney mates used to say "darker then a hole in calcutta" ....but suffered the misfortune of boarding school and a "toffee nosed accent" some what hugh grantish!!

The complete look of shock and confusion when I open my mouth and speak in WA , TX and CA is still a joy to behold <grin>

John

[scottyj36 0]

Hey,

Irene did get her license. She had to take the written test twice, but she passed the driving test easy. It took 90 days for her to get the actual license since now in Indiana it has to go thru the UCIS to check

immigration status and I don't have to tell anyone here about how slow they can be.....

Scott

[S&J tru luv 0]

I like this topic and I can think of a hundred things I've had to explain to my wonderful, and caring hubby, so here's a few just off the top

1) why we have gallons of milk, gallons of juice, gallons of water - heck gallons of anything for that matter

2) why everying over here is soooooooooooo huuuuuuuuge, (cars, houses)

3) yes you do have to stop at the "stop" sign even if no one is there and doubly especially if a cop is nearby

4) you can't just park in handicap spot because you think no one is there now

5) CREDIT CARDS - as a newcomer to the states its not a good idea to call every bank or credit company to try to get a credit card. it counts against you when you are established long enough and that's called 'inquires' to your credit. a great big NO NO

6) minimum pay due does not mean you pay only the minimum

7) just because you speak good english (which he does since he learned the British way ) doesn' t mean that we understand what you say all the time

8) yes its ok to go to IHOP at 3 in the afternoon and eat pancakes, you can even eat pancakes, eggs, toast at 3 in the afternoon if your at home

9) if you don't put the food in the refrigerator overnite, it'll go bad

10) you have to wait in line at restaurants, banks, grocery stores, there is no skipping

[Jaylen Brit 1]

garden tub dear - which u told me was some kind of bath tub..which sounds so weird to me, lol.

And yes, why ARE those water towers up in the air like that? Anyone know?

Water towers tend to carry spare capacity for the supplying water system to be used at ""peak" times before the advent of sophisticated high pressure pumps , having the "spare" storage high-up (in a tower) meant that pressure was maintained in the system.

The towers are replenished at off-peak times from normals sources after purification

Now you always wanted to know that didnt you :-)

As a London born brit who has an Indian heritage and as my cockney mates used to say "darker then a hole in calcutta" ....but suffered the misfortune of boarding school and a "toffee nosed accent" some what hugh grantish!!

The complete look of shock and confusion when I open my mouth and speak in WA , TX and CA is still a joy to behold <grin>

John

Why thank you John! Now I *do* know!

BTW - I know what you mean about the 'shock'..one of my great mates emigrated to the US years ago, and he was born in Blackburn, of Indian parents, tho he himself looks arabic and his accent is half northern and half cockney and he used to confuse all the Americans who found his accent (and the speed of his speech) coupled with his looks, completely baffling!

[thndrdancr 0]

I have a few more to add.

The other day, Lake said he was going to have to weed the yard. I told him, no, hon, you need to MOW the yard. He says..."It means the same thing"...nope....

I told him, well, it may mean the same where YOU come from, but HERE, if you say you are going to weed the yard, that means you are going out to kill all those yellow dandelions and stuff growing out there that is NOT grass. If you say you are going to MOW, then you are getting the lawn mower out and cutting the grass.

Also have had to explain and am STILL not getting it thru...why we cannot hunt deer just any time of year, or any critter for that matter, turkey, etc.

[joyeann 0]

I think one of the weirdest things I had to explain was the meaning of shush. I asked my husband one day to tell the dog to shush. He gave me weirdest look and asked what it meant. I told him it meant to be quiet.

He looked at me and said "Well that's good, I wouldn't want to go tell the dog to potty"

In his language it means to "piddle". Ha ha ha I can't wait until he gets here and I can see how many questions he has!!

[Wrenly 0]

One thing I haven't been able to explain to Mike is why everyone here assumes he must be from London when they hear that he is English...I'm not sure myself!

[pj1959us 0]

One thing I haven't been able to explain to Mike is why everyone here assumes he must be from London when they hear that he is English...I'm not sure myself!

David has encountered the same thing. We think it must be that it's probably the only city in England that Americans have heard of!

Edited May 12, 2006 by pj1959us

[mrc 0]

[You let her start driving on the interstate? Wow. I've been driving for 16 years and I'm quite used to the autobahn, but American interstates are about the scarriest place I know...

I lived in Germany for 3 years ... I never had a problem with the autobahn or the interstate. I shipped a car to Germany and wore it out there ... the speedometer only went to 80 on most U.S. cars back then (1980) but I used to wrap the speedometer around way past that on my Nova Rally Sport. That poor car didn't hold up too well

I suppose taking drivers training in Detroit might have been a good thing for me way back when I was getting my license ... the freeways there were usually quite "active". I even had a wonderful time driving in Italy when I was there for a couple of weeks. I found driving in Italy to be the most challenging.

Actually, the most deadliest place to drive, statistically, is South Korea. I've lived in Europe, South America, Asia and South Korea is by far the most frustrating and scariest place to drive. Sometimes you get downright mad.

Probably the funniest driving moment I had was when I was living in Panama and I was stopped on the Bridge of America's. I looked over to the car on my right and the guy had channel locks instead of a steering wheel. Needless to say, I quickly passed him when I was able to move.

[Indo_mommy 0]

Actually, the most deadliest place to drive, statistically, is South Korea. I've lived in Europe, South America, Asia and South Korea is by far the most frustrating and scariest place to drive. Sometimes you get downright mad.

Probably the funniest driving moment I had was when I was living in Panama and I was stopped on the Bridge of America's. I looked over to the car on my right and the guy had channel locks instead of a steering wheel. Needless to say, I quickly passed him when I was able to move.

Have you ever drive in Jakarta?