Some of these things are so region specific. It's funny that he found everything to be so big in NEWARK though.
Culture shock
41–50 of 260 posts
Re: Culture shock
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There are, just not in big coastal cities. I'm biased, but I generally tell people that big coastal cities are not a proper representation of American cultures vastness. They provide a boxed and abridged experience of a very opinionated nature. Instead, traverse the states and see what each geography has to offer. You'll find those things are still alive in the Midwest and South. I find this literally to be the exa…
> Driving to the south and midwest, I mostly just saw immensely massive parking lots for Walmart, Dollar Generals, some liquor store, and other big box markets. If you're just driving through, as you stated, and never actually stopped or lived in any of these towns then I'm not surprised you have that impression. What OP was mentioning is this: > There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that sell grains an…
> What immediately came to my mind was feed stores mixed with a farmers market which there's an abundance of in rural areas.
What. Where are you getting any of interpretation this from?
The post mentions:
> small local stores
> that sell grains and rice and vegetables here
> small stationery shops
> or shops of any kind
https://meaningin.com/urdu-to-english/kiraana-in-english
Doing a blind translation, kiraana comes up as.
> consumer goods sold by a grocer
> a marketplace where groceries are sold
> specialized little mom and pops
> something in-between like a feed storeRe: Culture shock
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate, fancy cars, shirtless dudes, book-reading in public. I mean, he was on a university campus, so fit young people reading books isn't that much of a surprise. But I agree with you, US is a nation of extremes in some ways. There are places I've been in the US where quite l…
As an Indian in the states - my observation was that obesity in the US seems like a class issue. Most well-off folks are fit and working out is woven into their lifestyles. Others can't as they're probably working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.
Indeed - the U.S. has some of the most extreme health differences between the top end and bottom end of the income spectrum (roughly correlated to class). At the top end, the outcomes (and health measures) are better than anywhere in the world, while at the bottom end they are below most first-world nations:
Re: Culture shock
#44Is the car respecting pedestrians a thing everywhere in the US, or just where this person has been? My very limited experience in the US (NYC, San Diego and Miami) has been hit or miss regarding traffic, and I wouldn't trust drivers to stop.
I know the story in some European cities is different. I was impressed in London, and a Belgian friend of mine often crossed the streets of Brussels without stopping to look at the traffic, with blind faith they would just stop -- and they did.
In Buenos Aires (Argentina) crossing the street without looking thrice at the approaching cars to make sure they've seen you and intend to stop at the red light is simply suicide. If there's no semaphore, good luck crossing, even if you're carrying a baby. I hear the Italians are like us, which makes sense because of our Italian immigrant DNA.
I hear the author about the toilet water jet -- we Argentinians can be religious about the bidet. Though there is a trend to get rid of it (to copy other countries, but mostly for cost savings I guess), and I hope I'm dead and buried when it finally takes over.
Re: Culture shock
#45What a fun read! I've never been to India but it's fun to infer what the reverse culture shock would be for me from the points here. Like, can you not sit on the grass at a university there?
As someone from Europe, who's visited the states many times, the idea that the US is comparatively pedestrian friendly to India to a level worth commenting on is surprising.
I think I'd definitely be run over if I ever went to India now
Re: Culture shock
#46I worked at a multi-national company that frequently flew people to the United States HQ offices for short visits or sometimes longer stays. For many of the younger developers this was their first direct exposure to the United States. Interestingly, most of them had built up a lot of preconceived notions about the United States from social media sites like Reddit. Many of those sites project an extremely pessimistic…
The United States gets a disproportionate amount of attention online. That could be interpreted as some sort of endorsement.
But outside of that, and looking at specific judgment of the country, the opinions are overwhelmingly negative. Like, impossibly negative.
It's really inevitable that people's preconceived notions will be challenged if they spend much time in the US given how incredibly negative the claims about the US are, despite being the premier immigration destination.
Re: Culture shock
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Don't get me wrong: Obesity is still a problem and the United States is incrementally worse than most countries. However, the way it's talked about leads a lot of people to believe that the United States is some sort of extreme outlier and nearly everyone they encounter will be obese. I imagine it is that extreme for people from south or east Asia.
Really depends where you go. I grew up in NYC, then moved to SF and then Boulder, and it always shocks me when I see a fat person in my day to day life. But road tripping through Iowa, I see more fat people sitting in a diner than I do my entire year in Boulder.
I went to a Walmart once in Iowa and good god it was just a mass of flesh. It was honestly one of the more disgusting experiences I've had in my life
Re: Culture shock
#48Once was flown from the UK to Chicago and then to Denver and then a car to Boulder for a one-day meeting, and then back. At Christmas. I have never felt so ill.
Luckily, I'm retired now, but never, never again.
Although I actually like the USA. People, food and such.
Re: Culture shock
#49I worked at a multi-national company that frequently flew people to the United States HQ offices for short visits or sometimes longer stays. For many of the younger developers this was their first direct exposure to the United States. Interestingly, most of them had built up a lot of preconceived notions about the United States from social media sites like Reddit. Many of those sites project an extremely pessimistic…
Don't even have to go as far as Reddit. Try HN comments threads about SF or "Silly Valley" (Silicon Valley).
Thing is, for those that are here as interns at a FAANG, things really aren't that bad, because, well, around 6-figures they're rich, and America really isn't that bad for the rich. Never has been. It's the poor that are continually screwed and unless the internship has a module on SNAP/EBT, the interns aren't learning that the US isn't so bad to its poor, they're learning how great it is to be rich here.
Re: Culture shock
#50Is the car respecting pedestrians a thing everywhere in the US, or just where this person has been? My very limited experience in the US (NYC, San Diego and Miami) has been hit or miss regarding traffic, and I wouldn't trust drivers to stop. I know the story in some European cities is different. I was impressed in London, and a Belgian friend of mine often crossed the streets of Brussels without stopping to look at t…
You look up the street because the Driver might be distracted, not because you think he might do something malicious.
99.99999% of the time the car will respect pedestrians (assuming of course the road is marked properly. If not, maybe say a prayer)