Ah, America, with its stars, stripes, and everything super-sized! People from other countries often find the U.S. fascinating and a bit puzzling. Imagine being surrounded by tall buildings, giant meals, and love for fireworks – what’s not to like about the good old U.S. of A.? Maybe it’s the Hollywood magic, where dreams come true, and celebrities are like national treasures. Who wouldn’t want a front-row seat to the excitement of American pop culture, where real life and entertainment mix as much as they do in a Hollywood blockbuster?
So, to our friends from other countries, whether you’re captivated by the dazzling lights of the Las Vegas Strip or simply amused by the quirks of American English, there’s no denying that the United States offers a variety of experiences as diverse and captivating as the nation itself.
I’d say your space program. I know it’s not at its mightiest era, but there’s no denial on the global impact it’s made. Those Hubble images are insane. As a non-American, I really wish America (NASA) dares to dream again and do the amazing stuff it’s known and makes us dare again.
When I traveled around Europe, I did quite a few walking tours. The American guides were the best, as they were the most enthusiastic. The locals were a lot more boring.
The US Army, I’m not American, but seeing the passion and respect that surrounds the US Army, it’s amazing. If anyone that is part of or was a part of it reads this thank you for your service, I have a lot of respect for you.
Americans have an extremely individualistic society. At the same time, American bi/millionaires are the most generous. The Middle East and Asia are societies that revolve around family and community, but you don’t hear of Saudi or Chinese millionaires building funds to encourage bi/millionaire philanthropy (Warren Buffett), or dedicating years of research to building toilets aimed at revolutionizing water sanitation. I’ve seen latrines contaminate well water, and I couldn’t be more excited that Bill Gates gives a crap and understands the implications of WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene).
Going back to the “pay it forward” mentality. On a trip to Good Will, while I studied in the US, the lady who was standing before me at the register, asked the cashier to include the item I’d put on the counter on her bill. I was looking the other way and didn’t hear her make the request, so when my turn came to pay, I was informed that the lady who’d just left the store had already paid for my item. I was dumbfounded.
I ran outside, to thank my anonymous benefactor, but the lady in question just brushed it off as nothing. “Just pay it forward”, she yelled from across the parking lot, as she got into her car. That was my first time hearing this phrase.
I later noticed other people doing similar “acts of kindness.” The father of the girl I was nannying, paying for the order of the next person at the drive-through, joining Reddit years ago, I remember someone telling a story about a benefactor helping them when their car broke down, and being instructed to “pay it forward,” or browsing through a sub called “random acts of kindness”…
Back home, we’ll occasionally buy lunch or a nice pastry for a homeless person, I’ve seen my dad contribute to someone’s grocery bill when they appeared short on change, but I never once witnessed these “random acts of kindness”, like you have in the US. People will help those who appear to be in need, but not pay for a random person’s meal/coffee/etc, when, for all they know, that stranger could be better off than them. The idea that you’re just doing this “random act” to brighten a stranger’s day, knowing that they’ll likely return the gesture to another person, and so on and so forth, genuinely amazes me.
they have way more breakfast cereals, and everything is cheaper. Canada is like America, but we have half the available products/services, and everything costs more, except maple syrup. Does anyone want some maple syrup? we got lots of maple syrup. I’ll trade you some maple syrup for some fruity pebbles and funyons, we don’t have a lot of the stuff America has, but we have maple syrup. yup, no shortage of maple syrup
Americans, at least compared to Germans (my point of reference), are incredibly friendly. I still remember the day when my bus driver wished me a nice day. I had just moved here and stared at him for seconds because I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Still brings a smile to my face.
Americans are very, very welcoming. Despite the nutcases that make the news and the usual bastions of prejudice – and I know they exist -, mostly, no matter where you’re from, you are accepted as an equal pretty much right away. At work, in your social life, there is no awkwardness because you are foreign. You are here. You are a part.
Americans work hard. They have to. Sometimes, though, I want them to fight for better conditions like more vacation time, better pay, and sick days by law without fear of getting fired.
Americans think “in trial balloons”. They always explore new ideas and ways of doing things. A lot of times, silly and mediocre stuff comes out of it, but when a balloon flies, boy, does it go a long way.
Educated Americans can leave you in the dust. It’s true. A lot of Americans may be uneducated, or undereducated. But if you meet a person who has studied hard, you better know your stuff, because they are good. And since they are used to thinking in “trial balloons” (see above), chances are, they have thought about the topic in question in ways that you have never even considered.
Americans (still) dare to dream. This goes with what some other people said: If you fall, you get up and go on. There is not such a great social stigma associated with failure, and the notion that it’s a learning experience is much more pronounced. In Germany, failure is not an option, and ever since I moved to the US, I breathe easier because of this.
The houses. They’re so big and like….. Fancy. We have a street we all call “millionaire road” here, and the houses are like American ones. In saying that, I know not all American houses are nice and fancy and big, but you know the ones I’m on about.
I see average Americans being able to afford cars and homes. I live in Canada, and along with my girlfriend, we earn higher than average collectively. There’s no way we could ever buy a home in the city we live in without having a terrible quality of life.
I’m not super upset because I enjoy freedom and traveling, but it’s concerning that we could be financially displaced one day.
The trails, I am a huge backpacker who’s travelled to a lot of places just for a week in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, but I’ve never been to the US. I live in Scotland and there are more than enough trails, but I live deep in the highlands, and most trails are pretty mountainous, and not very many forests in my general area. I had a huge interest in some of the Appalachian trails, and I was seriously considering taking a huge trip over to the US just to be able to walk some of the popular trails with my dogs. If there are any more little-known trails that other trail walkers have walked and want to share, I’m very open to suggestions in Scotland and the US
So I love donuts and I would always eat them on middays. We don’t have any shops that sell donuts specifically ( or something my English is bad). Since 2 weeks ago, the first dunking donuts was announced. There were more than 200 people there in line. ( remember, we were still in quarantine) They promised the first 100 people with a life supply of donuts which they didn’t do. Still mad about that, but we have donuts now.
I spent a great deal of time touring all up and down the American East Coast in my childhood, and my father took me to countless museums. I’ve also been to Museums in Europe and North Africa, and I have to say America has some of the very best museums in the world. We spent an entire week in Washington visiting the Smithsonian, Air and Space, and Natural History museums. The NASA tour in Florida. The Guggenheim in NYC. There’s a heap of small towns with world-class museums scattered all around New York State. Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame is so good even if you have no interest at all in baseball, I would still recommend seeing it. It’s that good. Not to mention Cooperstown itself is a beautiful town, like literally visiting a Norman Rockwell painting. All around Cooperstown there’s a bunch of nearby small town museums. There’s a history of fire trucks museum that goes all the way back to the 19th Century with steam-powered pumps (that actually still work). About 75 miles from Cooperstown is the home of Franklin D Roosevelt, a superb historical site. If you’re in that area, just don’t waste your time touring those silly caves that keep advertising on roadside attractions. Boring. You could spend a lifetime going through the Museums in NY. I went there for one week visiting the Guggenheim, Modern Art, and Metropolitan Arts (this was just before I started a year studying art history in college), and I barely scratched the surface.
I think one of the most underrated and most underpromoted museums in the world has got to be the Ford Museum. Unfortunately, it’s in Detroit. I haven’t seen that museum since the 80’s and I sincerely hope in that time, it hasn’t burned down or gone to the underworld. It is sincerely one of the greatest and most historically significant museums in the world. This museum holds the history of the technological revolution of the automobile. It has a massive collection of steam locomotives. Literally all the early Ford cars of the 20th century. Right next to the Ford Museum is Green Village which houses the workshops of the Wright Brothers and Thomas Edison.
Job hunting is so much easier and more attractive compared to Europe. Here if I don’t have a great degree with great internship experiences, I can f*ck right off, and even if I do, I still start with crap pay despite a high level of education, and I’m not sure I’ll actually get the job until the end of a long trial period.
The downside, though, is you have crappy job security and little public service.
Not only do they have awesome theme parks, but for Halloween, the whole park is transformed. I will spend a year there one day and experience all the holidays!
You guys have carved a very special thing out of an afternoon at the ballpark. Its zen with semi-reasonably priced beer is what it is. Even when your team is hopeless and just constantly… well, for lack of a better word: crappy (Mariners fan here), it doesn’t matter. It’s just plain therapeutic to go to the park for a few hours and watch the great game write another chapter in its storied history.
I’m sure that was marred with grammatical and punctuation errors, but I’m way too chillaxed to care; I was just thinking about baseball.
I searched for this in the thread, and I couldn’t find it. The eradication of smallpox.
Americans should sit back and think about that. Smallpox was a very common disease for thousands of years, and the US led the way to its eventual eradication. It is something to be immensely proud of.
Swedish here. If I had to choose just one thing, it would be your trucks. Not many outside of the US seem to understand what the appeal is. Most people around here think I’m crazy for not choosing a small, compact, and economical car. Full-size pickups are too large, too loud, too obnoxious, and too expensive. So that’s why I got one.
First time in the US my brother and I (from Norway) went on a road trip around New England and upstate New York. By chance, we spent our first night in Mystic, CT (a year or so after the movie Mystic Pizza). It was the night of my twenty-third birthday, and we ended up in a small bar full of locals, pretty much the only tourists/out-of-towners in the place. During a trip to the bathroom, my brother had told the bartender it was my birthday, and when I came out, the entire bar was singing Happy Birthday to me, and I was served a giant piece of cheesecake. I was completely taken by surprise, and it was a great experience!
Most Americans are very friendly to strangers in my experience. We had three great weeks in CT, MN, NE, and NY.
To clarify the state abbreviations (I’m leaving them unaltered below), I meant Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. We made it as far north as Ogunquit, ME, ate lobsters almost daily, crashed the car in Salem outside Boston (took down a telephone pole, too), and on our last day, two hookers stole my wallet right outside our hotel in NYC (when someone is literally squeezing your balls, you tend to not notice someone else emptying your pockets). It was an awesome trip, nice to relive it through Reddit, but now I feel like actually repeating it!
I went into a video store in San Francisco about 6 years ago and asked for the Australian film section, which of course, didn’t exist. But, the dude working there, was super friendly and let me talk to him about Aussie films for 10’s of minutes. I guess I was homesick… he really made me feel welcome. I walked out at least an inch taller.
I’m Canadian, and about 10 years ago, our city hosted some kind of BBQ competition or something… I happened to wander into it and was hungry, so I walked up to this table where these three southern men (angels?) were serving up their BBQ. I casually ordered their brisket, and I swear to god angels sang when I bit into it!!! In my 49 years, I have never, EVER eaten anything so magnificent in my life! I nearly wept while I ate it, I swear to god.
I dream of someday going to the southern US, finding those men, and making them cook for me again.
Your road signs and signalization in general. Over the years, I’ve driven rental cars throughout about 2/3 of the US on various vacation trips. Driving in the US is so much more relaxed than in Europe. Especially long distance, having road numbers clearly labeled, along with ‘North/South.’ Around here, signs give you the names of local places. If you haven’t heard of any of them, there’s no way you’ll figure out if you’re heading in the right direction if you don’t consult the map. Also, hanging traffic lights on the far side of a crossroads is genius. Here, if you’re the first car in line, the lights are literally right above your face, making them hard to see.
I’m happy to live on my island, but it means a lot of beauty and skincare isn’t as available, and what is is more expensive than the drugstore America gets. And shipping it is expensive too. I think it would be overwhelming, though.
I’m amazed by the people who manage to survive in Florida, and similarly hot places. I’ve seen a picture of a girl standing next to this table that displayed the temperature, the post titled “It’s just the beginning of summer,” or “It isn’t even summer yet,” or something similar. I started sweating just seeing the number. I don’t know how you guys do it, but hats off, I would literally die.
Living in a third-world country makes you sad when you compare the efficiency of the services available in your country with those of first-world countries such as the United States or Canada. The fact of being able to do almost everything over the Internet without having to go to a stupid government office to wait hours because of the inefficiency of the people who work there is just… horrible. Being able to have access to credit with a social security number is another thing that I admire. In my country, you need to go through an odyssey to be able to get access to credit.
Even stores, like Office Depot, in my country are crap. In the US, stores are able to have all the stock you can imagine, regardless of whether things are sold or not. Here, I have to settle for what people buy the most and even improvise to be able to finish any project.
Has anyone here ever worked with an MDF or plywood board? … Well … Even those little things are hard to find in my country because the only ones who use them are the big companies. People here don’t even know what I’m talking about when trying to find things like those.
Also, money here is worth a crap… In the US, you can buy any tool in an emergency without making a huge hole in your pocket. In my country, even buying the crappiest brand of a product is expensive; I’m talking about jigsaws/drills/computers/smartphones/a ducking bed lol…
If I’m allowed to say this (not wanting to insult Americans), with my national perspective, average American daily problems seem to be so small… But I haven’t lived there to confirm that. I only know a few friends but nothing more than that. I wish someday I could contribute to your society, guys… I envy you in a positive way.
Obviously, the US is the leader when it comes to innovation. The current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which use mRNA technology, are simply a lot easier to manufacture than other older techniques used by many other vaccines. It is also touted as a possible treatment for many other illnesses, including certain types of cancer. And this gave the US the edge in the current pandemic.
As a result, you guys have been one of the worst hit by the pandemic, but you bounced back the earliest. In my country, we’re still under lockdown, and it may continue till the end of the year when we complete our vaccination drive.
The vast, beautiful nature with national parks and the journey to get to them. We, a European couple, were going for a camping trip starting in SF and visiting all the beautiful sites along the way through Arizona and Nevada. I now get the “freedom” feeling of going for hours in a van and seeing the horizon everywhere. Coming from Germany, we have the autobahn, of course, but that’s all you see for hours straight, asphalt, cars, and trees directly on the sides.
Most memorable for me was going from Death Valley with overheating brakes at 40°C to Yosemite in one day with snow on the mountains.
Camping was really easy anywhere. We even stayed overnight in Walmart parking lots with other campers and trucks. Might have to do with the sheer massive space you guys have, but that would also never happen in my country.
Also, the kindness of people, as Europeans, we sometimes have the cliche of Americans fake kindness, but it was really not the case. One time in Yosemite, I needed cash for the campsite, and there wasn’t any working ATM, so the cashier at the nearest gas station offered to just buy a small snack for 100 bucks with a card and get the “change” as cash. That would never happen here 😅
All the NPS rangers were the nicest folks ever. In the big cities, it was a mixed bag. We stayed at an Airbnb with a young couple in SF, and they came home late at 3 pm, continuing to party as we tried to sleep in the next room, and they didn’t apologize the next day. but that could happen anywhere in the world.
Americans just get stuff done. They do it themselves without much difficulty or concern.
An example. I am British but have lived in the USA with my American husband for about a decade. A few years ago, we were in the UK for Christmas when there was a massive Christmas Eve storm that blew down trees everywhere, blocking several driveways and the main road through our town. It was the council’s job to fix this, but because it was the Christmas holiday, they said it would take at least two weeks to remove the trees. Our neighbor called to postpone a party, the church was discussing canceling services since nobody could drive into the town from either end, my parents were resigned to going nowhere together for the rest of our stay, and generally, everybody in the whole village was prepared to sit at home for two weeks waiting for the council to fix their problems. In the meantime, my American husband found a fellow who owned a chainsaw (he went around asking at every house, letting himself in at the gates and such, which every English person found very rude and awkward, I’m sure) – and then he personally cut up the tree blocking our driveway, the trees blocking the high street (main road), and then he cleared all the neighbors’ driveways too. It took one day (with some help from local folks, eventually). To me, it really signified a profound difference in attitude toward life. All the locals thought him a little rude, a little abrasive, too willing to brazenly walk up and ask for things from total strangers, too active, too loud, just a little too American – but then, in the end, he was the only one who actually did anything about the downed trees, and he pretty much single-handedly reopened the whole town. There’s just a can-do attitude about America that I love.
The strength of your universities and how diverse they seem. Not only are they all better structured than most and have excellent academics, but I’m also a big fan of the sports department. Living in a Third World country, I wish there was an easy path to become an athlete here.
And your roads. That thing of making a car trip with your friends through the Summer Vacation is pretty much only possible in the USA. I remember reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac back when I was still finishing High School and I really wanted something similar was possible in my country.
(Also, your trains and general infrastructure in the countryside)
I live and work around the internet and technology, and when I stop to think about the world without it, I “thank” the USA for everything regarding information technology available today.
I admire how you managed to develop Universities, scientists, and researchers around the entrepreneurship that created revolutionary companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Facebook, among many others.
It might be silly of me, but places like Silicon Valley fascinate me for the variety of high-tech business development, as well as as a center of incredibly creative and inspirational minds daily working around there. There’s no place in the world like America, with such a “fertile field” for start-up companies and tech innovations, and I really envy that from you.
The Constitution. Having your rights all laid out in one document is amazing, and it is legitimately given credibility. In the UK, we have the Magna Carta, that kinda outlines some rights but doesn’t carry much weight if you try to reference it in court as it is outdated. Updated rights are strewn across other sources, and it can be difficult to know exactly what our rights are.
Liberty and freedom. It’s not perfect or complete, but you guys care about it more, and do a better job of it than any other nation on earth.
I live in a 1st world country that many Americans use as an example of a better, safer place to live. There’s a lot to love here, but we don’t have all the same protections and freedoms that you do. Liberty is not seen as a fundamental human right outside the US. Free speech isn’t really free in most of the world. In a lot of places, you can be imprisoned for comedy or criticism of government.
Americans are free to go against the grain, and it’s written into your constitution. You have the right to bear arms and defend your families and communities.
I also admire the USA for exporting capitalism, freedom, and security to the world. I’m not pro-war and don’t agree with everything the US does, but you guys are like our big brother who protects us from bullies on a global scale. Without the military power and protection of the USA, many other allied nations would be sitting ducks for hostile takeover by authoritarian regimes.
If you guys weren’t buddies with us guys we’d be studying Mandarin in re-education facilities right now. It’s become popular to criticize and hate American culture, but you lift up people all over the world.
The right to own, carry, and use a firearm to defend yourself.
I live in Canada and think it’s ridiculous that self-defense with anything other than your fists is illegal.
Fists are useless if somebody is coming at me with a knife, or, worse, a gun.
The most messed up part about it is not only are guns illegal, but you can’t use any self-defense tools. No tasers, knives, etc.
Basically, all you can do is invite the person inside for a cup of tea and hope to settle things verbally, which is honestly messed up.
It should be 100% legal for me to carry any self-defense tools, even guns, assuming I acquire them legally and jump through the proper legal hoops (background check, mental health evaluation, training, etc.)
People try to use the argument “Canada is safe” or “that won’t happen,” but nobody ever expects to be the victim… Until they are.
When seconds count, the police are minutes away. I’d certainly rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
The first floor you walk on in a building is Floor 1. I’m in the UK. It throws me, having lived here since birth. Yes, I know it’s the ground floor as it’s on the ground, so as it is a floor, it is Floor 1. Up a flight of stairs, that’s Floor 2. One more, floor 3. A three-story building has three floors (ground, 1, 2), so call the floors by the American numbers.
I am insanely jealous of your online ordering and shipping systems, and just how easy it seems to get into any hobby. even niche hobbies will have dedicated stores and swarms of groups of interested people. I have a fairly niche hobby, and it is impossible to get the resources I want without paying exorbitant amounts in postage to get it delivered. I dream of being able to find such a group of like-minded people as is possible in the States.
The openness. It might sound strange, because I see some Americans complaining about how America needs to accept more things and change several issues in the country, like homophobia, xenophobia, racism, etc. I’m not trying to take away from these issues, because they honestly do deserve to be resolved. But, I can’t help but feel that people, in general, are a lot more open-minded than in my country. Note that not everyone/ everywhere in India is like this, just the place I live.
The caste system exists too. I’m not sure if it’s as relevant or even present in America. But I usually don’t see people refuse their children of marriage if the person is of a lower caste.
Feminism, too. If you say the word, you are glared at. I remember one girl in my school gave a speech on it. She was immediately penalized.
Also, the extreme patriotism. If you say anything, anything, even remotely criticizing your country, you are shouted at with the same old phrases, “This is the place where you were born, don’t insult it,” and “This country gave you a home.” Even if you are thinking of emigrating, the same things are said, “how can you go to another country? Help your mother country!” “So unappreciative ”
This isn’t to say that India is bad and America is good. They both have their issues. But I love that America seems more open-minded, and people are willing to give things a second thought and say, “Wait, I have been taught this, but is it true?”
Has to be customer service in restaurants. Sure a lot of the enthusiasm and peppiness is to garner more tips, but have you experienced customer service in other countries? The staff acted like they were doing you a favor by allowing you to pay to eat there.
Its cultural and artistic contribution to the world. No country in the history of mankind has done as much to enrich global culture. It’s a bit closed-minded to see culture as merely religious rituals and traditions. Popular culture is also culture. Music, video games, movies, and series, they’re all aspects of culture and art. No country has ever provided as much entertainment as the USA. Thanks to its cultural hegemony popularising this form of culture, other countries like Poland and Russia are also releasing great new video games, etc, into the market. Fantasy originates from the UK, but the US made it popular around the world. I find this form of culture to be preferable to traditional forms, because with entertainment and consumerism, everyone creates their own culture, their own little pocket, based on personal taste instead of rigid tradition. It’s liberating and, in my opinion, creates far more meaning than traditions ever could. There’s something for everyone.
I’m a dual citizen of Canada and the US. Really, there isn’t a vast difference in terms of the culture. Even my family, being francophone Québecois, is culturally very compatible with the US (or at least the secular New England region that I call home)
What do I admire most about Americans? They work hard. I know there’s the stereotype of laziness, but I think that this is inaccurate. Most Americans work their butts off, and many never complain.
I also like that in the United States, nobody is above or below you socially. Someone might think they’re above you, but in the end, Americans will not hesitate to personally call out a butthole, whether that butthole happens to be Bill Gates, Steve Spielberg, Hilary Clinton, Danny Bonaduce or Dale – – the guy from the trailer park a few blocks away.
Also, Americans love innovation. It’s a great place to take a novel idea and run with it.
They are more free-spirited, open, and understanding, and can be fun to converse/hang with when they are learned (all these in comparison to the ‘learned’ European girls – where I’m at). My last major crush was an American, and I definitely won’t mind dating one in the future.
Apart from that, I like a lot of what you have invented, your hustle, and of course, your music, movies, and such.
Politics, Foreign policy, Economy, and all is far from perfect, but I can think of much worse superpowers.
(American) I was visiting NY City last fall and was out at night with my wife waiting in line to get some ice cream in a park. The guy in front of me, Frenchy, pulled out his wallet to pay and dropped a 50 Euro note (I think it was 50, anyway a decent amount of cash). I picked it up, tapped him on the shoulder, and gave it back to him. He was shocked. And it made me feel good for the rest of the night. Cheers to international relations on a human scale.
I like many things about the US. You have great minds and great traditions, but what I like the most right is your former President! Yes, Obama is the best thing that happened to the US. In my humble opinion, I’m not a guy who understands politics, but that man brought some charisma to the United States of America. Seeing him speak, as I’ve seen recently at the White House dinner (sorry can’t remember the event), was bliss. The are other things I like, but this was the one that crossed my mind first! I apologize for the rude English! Cheers!
Customs Officer Westcarr, Christmas ’07 – my family and I had just spent 6 hours on a flight from London, which was packed to the brim and full of screaming children. Arriving at Newark, tired and irritable, we were greeted by the most friendly Customs officer I have ever met in my entire (and fairly vast) traveling experience. Not only did he welcome us, make us feel completely at ease, enquire about our flight, and actually genuinely care about what we had to say back, but he also gave us a bunch of information on the best place to go shopping in NJ (a place we did indeed go and it was amazingly good) and even told us how we could get there!
Hospitality and general optimistic outlooks – plus the love of English accents; that’s what I like about Americans.
