What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S. • Hacker News Board

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#101

Post by bmelton » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 1:32 PM UTC

marcosvm wrote: post #60

ericb wrote: post #6

No mention of our odd restaurant tipping practices? I thought they are unusual compared to the rest of the world...

Well, in Brazil 10 percent is already included in the check, it's "optional" but everybody accepts it. Usually that's not related to good or bad service, it's the common practice. And this money doesn't go to the server but to the 'proprietor'.

That's especially interesting to me, as it's generally considered bad form in the US to tip the proprietor, and even worse form for the proprietor to accept the tip if offered.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#102

Post by dguaraglia » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:19 PM UTC

_pferreir_ wrote: post #77

I don't mean to generalize, but this is my own experience. Sincerely, I don't know how the US manages to be the second most touristic country in the world. Travelling to the US can be a nightmare - customs, TSA, metal detectors, body scanners, etc. As a tourist, I've never felt as unwelcomed as when travelling there. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but I seriously got the feeling that people who work at airports, s…

True story: first time I'm at San Jose Diridon waiting for the Caltrain to SF, I notice the platform specified in the ticket was closed. I go to the counter, and the guy there tells me to "go through that door, walk to the left, the train should depart from that platform".

I follow his instructions and can't find the platform, so I come back and ask him (very politely) "Hmm, I couldn't find the platform, was it through that door there?". His answer? He looks at me as if I had pissed on his lunch and asks "Sir, are you asking me a question, or questioning my reply?".

WTF? What had I done to piss him off? I'm obviously new to the place, I've asked similar questions in countless train stations/airports/bus stations around the world and never ever has anyone treated me like that. All I told him was "I was asking for confirmation, but thank you, I'll go ask someone else."

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#103

Post by joelhooks » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:34 PM UTC

henrikschroder wrote: post #50

ericb wrote: post #6

No mention of our odd restaurant tipping practices? I thought they are unusual compared to the rest of the world...

I think the restaurant tipping is the least strange, because at least in Europe you usually tip at restaurants if the service or food is really good, but you don't have to like you do in the US. What gets me every time is all the other places where you are expected to tip, and where I have absolutely no idea of how much I'm expected to tip or that I'm supposed to tip in the first place. Pizza delivery? What? Cab driv…

Those guys are "porters" and essentially make their money from tips. I always just drag my gear inside.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#104

Post by tjic » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:34 PM UTC

dguaraglia wrote: post #102

_pferreir_ wrote: post #77

I don't mean to generalize, but this is my own experience. Sincerely, I don't know how the US manages to be the second most touristic country in the world. Travelling to the US can be a nightmare - customs, TSA, metal detectors, body scanners, etc. As a tourist, I've never felt as unwelcomed as when travelling there. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but I seriously got the feeling that people who work at airports, s…

True story: first time I'm at San Jose Diridon waiting for the Caltrain to SF, I notice the platform specified in the ticket was closed. I go to the counter, and the guy there tells me to "go through that door, walk to the left, the train should depart from that platform". I follow his instructions and can't find the platform, so I come back and ask him (very politely) "Hmm, I couldn't find the platform, was it throu…

Don't judge the US by our government workers, please.

We can't stand them either.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#105

Post by tjic » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:36 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #68

jisaacstone wrote: post #15

"food, which they praise for its quality and variety (and portion size) in a tone of near-disbelief" huh, really? Whenever I get back from traveling I feel the opposite. Sure in places like NY you can get any kind of food. But in my mono-cultural hometown there is little besides hamburgers or pizza.

Not only large cities - but rural areas too. The reputation for shitty food really happens in the vast stretches of suburbia that straddle the awkward territory between city and country. The US has, overall, amazing food. In large cities there is not only immense diversity (after all, the US is more diverse than most Western nations), but also a culture of experimentation at all price ranges. It's possible to eat ama…

> It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural

A famous economist / foodie has written an entire book about how you've got it EXACTLY backwards:

http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/05...

The best food, he asserts, is in strip malls. You just have to know a few tricks to find it.

Great book. Go read it.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#106

Post by tjic » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:37 PM UTC

adrianhoward wrote: post #59

jisaacstone wrote: post #15

"food, which they praise for its quality and variety (and portion size) in a tone of near-disbelief" huh, really? Whenever I get back from traveling I feel the opposite. Sure in places like NY you can get any kind of food. But in my mono-cultural hometown there is little besides hamburgers or pizza.

It also depends on what food you're used to. I'm from the UK and did the whole cross-country US road trip thang when I was in my twenties. I remember it was the little odd differences in supermarkets and restaurants that freaked me out. For example - at the time (early nineties) almost no Indian food anywhere. In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. On the flip side - in the US you have texmex ev…

> In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out.

Amazing how a minor thing like running India as a colony for 400+ years can have that effect!

Similarly, I imagine that Tex-Mex is a bit more common here than in Wales...

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#107

Post by cbr » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:40 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #95

StavrosK wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An aside: As a Greek, I tend to stay away from "Greek" restaurants abroad, because it's almost never Greek food. For example, people here generally eat lamb only once or twice a year, and I didn't know what hummus is until I had it in London (in one such "Greek" restaurant, no less). I think it's more about the stereotype that is expected of the restaurant rather than actually being authentic. For example, Greek gyro…

No cuisine survives importation to another country, really, but authenticity can be overrated. I remember growing in Taiwan and having "pizza" there - it doesn't really resemble the pizza you might find in Italy, nor the Americanized version. For one thing, pizza was high-class, eaten at a sit-down place with cloth napkins, forks, and knives... and toppings featured things like lobster and crab. The reverse is true t…

> pizza was high-class, eaten at a sit-down place with cloth napkins, forks, and knives

There are many nice restaurants in Italy that are just like this.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#108

Post by joelhooks » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:41 PM UTC

msh wrote: post #94

martythemaniak wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Article also fails to mention that using something like factcheck.org will typically get you branded a liberal.

In denmark liberale are considered to be right wing...

At some point in the early 20th century they flipped it over here. A "rebrand" of sorts.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#109

Post by harywilke » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:49 PM UTC

StavrosK wrote: post #84

ericras wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American who does this in pretty much every conversation I have, this is a difference I would never have thought of. Semi-related: Do other countries have fragments of speech used as filler such as "like" and "you know"?

I don't think we do this in Greek. Come to think of it, it's weird, when I talk in Greek I use no filler, but when I speak English I litter it with "like" and "you know" like a valley girl. At least I don't say "ohmigod"...

'ela, na su po kati....' roughly: 'hey, let me tell you something...' I hear this all the time in Greece.

Re: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

#110

Post by adrianhoward » Sat, Jun 02, 2012, 2:50 PM UTC

tjic wrote: post #106

adrianhoward wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also depends on what food you're used to. I'm from the UK and did the whole cross-country US road trip thang when I was in my twenties. I remember it was the little odd differences in supermarkets and restaurants that freaked me out. For example - at the time (early nineties) almost no Indian food anywhere. In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. On the flip side - in the US you have texmex ev…

> In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. Amazing how a minor thing like running India as a colony for 400+ years can have that effect! Similarly, I imagine that Tex-Mex is a bit more common here than in Wales...

Amazing how a minor thing like running India as a colony for 400+ years can have that effect!

Indeed :-)

(Really it was about 200 years-ish of "running" India. It's usually dated from 1757 and the East India Company's victory at the Battle of Plassey.)