32 Quotes Revealing What Foreigners Find Amazing About America

[B_J 2,752]

I wanted to edit this to make it shorter, but I just couldn't figure out which parts to leave out. Sorry.

Quora.com recently asked ”What facts about the United States do foreigners not believe until they come to America?”

What followed was a compilation of things that make our country unique, provided by those who experienced it when they or their relatives came to the United States for the first time.

I sifted through the extensive list of responses and pulled quotes, particularly those concerning money, that I found interesting, thought-provoking, charming or otherwise noteworthy. Following, in their own words, are things about America foreigners find amazing:

We’ve got a big country

“Foreigners cannot believe how vast the country is. I am from the West Coast of the U.S. and my Italian relatives come here thinking they can visit me in Seattle, plus also see New York City, Miami, the Grand Canyon and Hollywood all in a week — by car.”

Our priorities are different

“At least until the 1980s in Guyana, dog food was not a thing that existed. Dogs got table scraps and mostly were outside. They are surprised by how in America, people actually avoid feeding their dog “people food.”

“There is almost no public transportation except in a few large cities. People actually have to have cars to get places. Cars are necessity, not luxury.”

“Bottles of water. For some reason, people carry huge bottles around. And the funny thing is, there’s a (refrigerated) water fountain in almost every corridor.”

“Biased media: Political bias, economic bias, geographic bias, etc. Clear misuse of freedom of speech. If all I hear is inaccurate news, my perception of the world will be grossly inaccurate. How hard is it to realize this?”

“The U.S. preserves its nature: I was thrilled to see how far ahead America is in preserving its beautiful nature. Absolutely terrific, kudos to you guys.”

We have some weird rules

“Coming from India, I found it amazing the way traffic behaved without any intervention from traffic policemen. Just everyone following the rules.”

“You’re not allowed to just cross the road when it’s safe? Crazy. You’d get nowhere in a city like London if you had to follow the rules you do in the US. No one believes you can get arrested for crossing the street.”

“An intern at work was saying he couldn’t go to the pub with us. I assumed it was because he was allergic to something or religious or something. It turns out he wasn’t 21. So you can vote, get married and serve in the military but can’t have a beer? Seriously?”

“The credit system in America will create a numerical value (credit score) to assess 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. The irony: despite all this credit score stuff, 2008 Financial Crisis still happens.”

We’re heavily into ads

“My god how do people watch anything on TV in America without going insane? We watched half a movie, about an hour in length, but it took nearly two hours due to the adverts popping up every 8 or 9 minutes for 6 or 7 minutes. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but it was the same adverts EVERY TIME.”

We’re both friendly and trusting

“The niceness of strangers. Nicest people in the world, even in New York which is supposed to be one of the rudest cities in the world.”

“In bars I’ve been in the situation where everyone hands over their credit cards and the bar staff keep track of how much everyone has spent and will hand you back a bill at the end of the night. This doesn’t happen anywhere else. In England you’d not trust the bar staff to do this at all – they’d probably steal your card.”

“Every cashier will greet you with “How are you today? You find everything okay?” with a smile, and you’re quite thrown off the first few times.”

“There is no culture of philanthropy in Russia and many view American philanthropy either as a waste of money or as some intricate plot to get some additional benefits.”

“That Americans make what they call “friends” in a matter of minutes — and ditch them just as fast.”

“How people feel it’s important to immediately know your first name and use it.”

“Two of my friends were visiting from Moscow, and they quickly grew to appreciate the concept of valet services. Voluntarily giving your car keys to a complete stranger is a risky proposition in many other countries.”

Some stuff is cheap, some expensive

“Petrol is around $9 a (US) gallon in England. No one from England can believe how cheap fuel is in America. Stop complaining when it’s $3.50 a gallon.”

“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.”

Family life is different

“Many Americans would rather stay in a hotel, or at least the Americans we know. Guyanese people (or at least my family) think it’s strange that you would pay money when you have relatives to stay with, even if you can afford it.”

“Many children, even in well to do families, work in fast food, car washes and do a lot of other things to get money and it is not an embarrassment.”

“You haven’t spoken to your family in more than a month?”

“The children here are allowed to do whatever they want, without corporal punishment, and are largely disrespectful to their elders. In Philippines, there were four generations of one family living under the same roof — sometimes the same bed. Here, children leave home and put their parents in nursing homes.”

We have it pretty darn good

“I’ve noticed that most Americans roughly have the same standard of living. Everybody has access to ample food, everybody shops at the same supermarkets, malls, stores, etc. I’ve seen plumbers, construction workers and janitors driving their own sedans, which was quite difficult for me to digest at first since I came from a country where construction workers and plumbers lived hand to mouth.”

“I don’t think there’s any such thing as a car seat in India. And parents carry their children mostly, most people can’t afford strollers here.”

“How well elderly live, even those on SSI and Medicaid. How many services are available to them.”

“My Russian in-laws were shocked when they found out that we get packages left on our doorstep and no one steals them. They were also shocked by buffets. My father-in-law told everyone back in Moscow, “No, really! You just pay to enter!”

“The typical supermarket has at least a hundred varieties of frozen pizza, 50 brands of trail mix, etc. I was just astounded by the different kinds of products available even at small gas station convenience stores.”

“The cashier gave me an empty cup when I ordered soda. The concept of virtually unlimited soda refills was alien to me, and I thought there was a catch to it, but apparently not.”

“Why individual houses are so large? We always get into discussion that house is not just a shelter, but also a manifestation of one’s financial achievements.”

“My garbage disposal eats better than most of the children in the world.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/32-quotes-revealing-foreigners-amazing-150030107.html

[Karee 4,189]

That's pretty funny.

[TBoneTX 43,254]

At least until the 1980s in Guyana, dog food was not a thing that existed. Dogs got table scraps and mostly were outside. They are surprised by how in America, people actually avoid feeding their dog “people food.”

Mrs. T-B. was quite thrown off by the reality that, here, dogs and cats aren't merely animals, as they are in Ecu; they're members of the family. Fairly soon after her arrival, she found a copy of "Cat Fancy" magazine, looked through it briefly, and exclaimed "You mean that you have whole magazines about cats?!"

Every cashier will greet you with “How are you today? You find everything okay?” with a smile, and you’re quite thrown off the first few times.

I don't know where this immigrant shops, but it obviously doesn't overlap with most places to which I go, no man.

"You haven’t spoken to your family in more than a month?”

This could have come from Mrs. T-B.'s mouth. The analogy isn't exact, but in her first month here, she ran up $440 in long-distance bills for calls to Ecu. That very nearly got her shapely hindquarters shipped out on the next plane to Ecu, si man.

Edited November 24, 2013 by TBoneTX

[luckytxn 2,263]

$440 in phone cards?

Mrs. T-B. was quite thrown off by the reality that, here, dogs and cats aren't merely animals, as they are in Ecu; they're members of the family. Fairly soon after her arrival, she found a copy of "Cat Fancy" magazine, looked through it briefly, and exclaimed "You mean that you have whole magazines about cats?!"

I don't know where this immigrant shops, but it obviously doesn't overlap with most places to which I go, no man.

This could have come from Mrs. T-B.'s mouth. The analogy isn't exact, but in her first month here, she ran up $440 in long-distance bills for calls to Ecu. That very nearly got her shapely hindquarters shipped out on the next plane to Ecu, si man.

[TBoneTX 43,254]

On the land line.

(Moderator hat on)

Because this thread is more general-interest than a current event or hot topic, and because it fits closely with a similar interesting thread in Off Topic, it's being moved from the Current Events forum to the Off Topic forum.

[luckytxn 2,263]

Whew. Maybe cheaper for her to fly back monthly.

On the land line.

(Moderator hat on)

Because this thread is more general-interest than a current event or hot topic, and because it fits closely with a similar interesting thread in Off Topic, it's being moved from the Current Events forum to the Off Topic forum.

[NikLR 13,220]

Since I've starting living here, I've heard some interesting things from other immigrants; most of whom are now citizens but are longing to go back to their home countries.

[Neonred 3,454]

My wife was very surprised there were so many blacks and Mexicans here.

[christeen 966]

Clothes dryers fascinated my Italian family... "You mean you just put it in the machine and 30 minutes later its dry"? No need to hang clothes and check the weather...

Also... The weather channel... They were amazed at the specialty channels on TV.

[Karee 4,189]

I showed my wife the dishwasher when she got here 5 years ago, and she thought that was for lazy rich people. She still hasn't used it once.

[Dan from MI 23]

My wife was surprised that the clothes dryer actually make clothes DRY

[christeen 966]

My wife was surprised that the clothes dryer actually make clothes DRY

My FAther in law actually complained that his pants did not have enough "stiffness" to them from the dryer and insisted on hanging them outside to dry! I HATE the fact my jeans can walk themselves around after air drying !! My Mother in law LOVED it!