Observations on the US - Repost

I wrote this post back on the 8th July 2010, about 6 weeks after we got back from our 5 week US holiday. My boss sent me to New York to attend the International Book Fair and suggested I take Dave with me and make a holiday of it, seeing as we would only have to pay for one air fare! It was an awesome trip and Dave and I can't wait to go back one day and see more of the country.

I was originally gonna write a new post for The Lounge link-up today but time and a sooky toddler has gotten the better of me and its just not happened. Which is a shame, as I'm sure you all would have loved to see some photos of my swollen mouth in Fiji! I'll just have to save that story for another day! It's appropriate though that I re-post this today as it was 2 years to the day on Tuesday that we left for the US. 

So, without further ado, here are some of the things Dave and I noticed while travelling around the States......

Let me preface this post with the following - these will mostly be mass generalisations, I realise this and I in no way intend to offend Americans in any way! I had a great time in your country and Loved it!

1. Hawaiians love their water features!

Just one of the many water features to be found around Honolulu

2. New York City hotels have terrible bathroom designs (well Hotel Chandler and Days Inn Broadway do anyway!). I mean, who puts the only shelf in the place over the toilet??? I'm sorry but I don't want the stuff I use to wash my face with sitting above the spray-zone of a flushing toilet! Not to mention the fact that Ms. Butterfingers would be seriously likely to lose half her stuff in there!. Apart from that they are nice but small!

3. They have a lot of drug (medicine) ads on tv over there. And I mean a LOT. And half of the 30sec commercial is a list of side-effects and reasons why you shouldn't take it! The number one reason being you might DIE! Oh yeah, I want want their having!

An example of some 'genius' American marketing. You should have seen the rest of the slogans about how 'Stupid is good' and 'Stupid is fun'. Yep, Stupid!

4. In restaurants, the entree is an appetiser, and the main is an entree which is just all kinds of mixed up.

5. There are signs around Central Park in NYC warning about squirrels and rabies. They're not as innocent as they look!

6. All the water in the toilet sits in the bowl, no cistern that fills up with water at the back. And most of them sound like plane toilets when you flush them.

7. In TV ads and news they pronounce Hyandai 'hun-day'. And it's annoying.

8. In TV ads and news they pronounce Nissan 'knee-san'. This is also irritating.

9. 'Kylie' is a weird name over there (which shouldn't really be surprising as it is an Aboriginal word...does anyone know what it means? Respect to the one with the correct answer!)

10. The sandwich maker at Buffalo airport thinks that a Bacon, Egg, Cheese and BBQ sauce 'sandwich' (toasted) is an odd combination. He failed to see that it was the greatest breakfast sandwich combination known to man!

11. They love to put mayonnaise on burgers. All burgers. Even at Maccas.

12. Maccas chips in the US taste like Maccas chips used to taste here. Man I miss that. Screw 'healthy' oil, I want my chips to taste the way they used to! Also, don't tell them that you want your order to 'take-away'. They will look at you as though you're speaking another language and blink really fast. It's 'to-go' people. You have been warned!

13. It is almost impossible to get a good coffee, not to mention something that even resembles a latte, in the US. I am sure there must be one or two places where they make good coffee, but I have no idea where those places are and believe me, we tried a LOT of places in our search, but of course we could not go everywhere. One coffee we got in the airport at Buffalo was so bad that after one sip we both threw them in the bin. They were supposed to be Vanilla Latte's. They tasted more like road tar mixed with some fake raspberry flavouring. They were from Dunkin' Donuts and so bad that we actually went and bought new coffees from the Maccas, that's how bad they were!

Dave with his Cappuccino in a Can! Found in the hotel lobby in Honolulu. I did NOT try this!

14. And in New York they drink iced coffee as if it's going out of style. It's like they've never had iced coffees before, and I can tell you, while they may look refreshing, they don't taste that good. Nothing like what we have over here.

15. Their Coca-Cola does NOT taste like ours. It's more like our Pepsi. Which I didn't even dare try over there. But their Sprite is good! I arrived in the US a Coke addict and became a Sprite addict in two days.

16. In Vegas, you can buy frozen cocktails by the YARD glass and wander down the strip with them. When it's 11pm and still 42degrees outside, this is heaven in a yardie! 

17. New York is the best city in the world! You may dispute that, but in my world, of the (limited) amount of cities I've seen, it's the best for me! As a Sydney-gal it pains me to say that, but it's true!

18. There are a lot of people in the US and it's very noisy. You don't actually realise how noisy until you get home, and if you live where I live it seems even quieter here! The Hawkesbury is certainly no bustling metropolis, never will be, but when you go to the main street on a Monday for a coffee the day after you get back from the US the difference just screams in your face. Windsor is like a ghost town compared to the US! Or anywhere come to think of it. Only Mogo is quieter on a Monday.

19. The meals you are served are huge! And they are definitely value for money because you get so much on a plate! They also always come with coleslaw. Even breakast. It's kinda weird, this obsession they have with serving coleslaw at every meal.

20. A lot of Americans struggle to tell the difference between Australian and British accents. The amount of times people thought we were British was actually quite funny. Some of them even thought we were Canadians! I didn't have the heart to correct one girl on the Book Fair shuttle bus, coz she launched into this story about England and wanting to go there and this that and the other, really loudly, that I just nodded and smiled, I couldn't embarrass her by saying "Hmm, yes, I'd love to go to England too as I'm actually from Australia". I can't blame her though, it's an easy enough mistake I spose as I only really said a few words to her!

21. US customs don't really like you hauling a few kilo heavy piece of Pyrite (a mineral often called Fool's Gold, google it) round the country (long story, didn't really think before we bought, but we like collecting cool-looking gems and minerals!) in your checked luggage and will search your bag before every flight you go on and bust your suitcase, not bothering to even do the luggage strap back up properly. Moral of the story? Don't let your husband (or wife *hangs head in shame*) convince you that you should buy that piece of Pyrite from the American Museum of Natural History because it's on sale and will look really good with the other ones at home. Especially if it's only the first leg of your trip and you still have 5 more flights left. Yes it does look cool on the shelf, so if you have to buy it, post it home! May cost a bit but it will save you some hassle (and a suitcase!). Or don't buy it. Just a suggestion.

If you're an Aussie (or non US living person), have you been to the US? Do you have any observations of your own? For those non-Aussie's any observations on Australia, whether you've been here or not are gladly welcomed!