While I’ve come to slowly appreciate certain peculiarities about the American lifestyle and culture, there is still a number of things I fail to comprehend and adapt to. Probably for life. Here’s my top 6 – in no particular order, really…
1) Americans queing for Starbucks. And Starbucks only.
There is a queue of maybe 12 coffee cravers in front of the coffee shop with the ubiquitous green coffee logo, but nearly nobody waiting in line right across, even though the competitor serves… Starbucks coffee. Can you really be so stuck in your ways to prefer waiting in line?
2) Parking spots wasting space
Despite all the technological advancements that mostly come to life in this very country, curbside parking is still regulated by posts with coin slots (ofr, the more “advanced” version: posts with credit card slots), one for two spots, with spots so large that two of them could easily fit three vehicles. But no, you can’t make use of that space, as the posts will blink madly at you if you dare try… What a waste of precious parking space!
3) Plastic bags so weak that you need two for an average load
I think one can still claim that Americans by and large don’t care too much about the environment. Take supermarkets. The plastic bags that are used for packing are typically so weak that the staff is forced to use two-in-one! Like, always! Even when just putting eggs and bread in. Talking about waste…
4) Flight attendants showing you how to buckle up
Granted, this is not only an American thing, but… Really? Do you really have to show how to use a seat belt? I’m wanting to approach a flight attendant next time I fly and ask how that buckling up thing worked again – just after they showed everyone. I really am wanting.
5) Rooms cooled down so much…
…that people start putting heaters under their desks in offices. This is one I’ve come to experience shortly after I started traveling the US. There almost seems to be a reciprocal relationship between outside and inside temperature. Rather than making it warmer inside the hotter it gets outside (obviously at a lower overall level), Americans love to cool down their offices more and more the hotter it gets. Such like when you’re outside you wanna be naked, and wearing a winter coat when you’re inside. I mean think about it. That’s like a movie theater turning up the volume of the movie so much that they decide to hand out headsets to everyone to protect their ears. And when wearing, the volume is suddenly so soft that people start turning up the volume of headset again. And to protect from that volume, …
6) Coffes filled to the rim
So you ask your barista to “leave room for milk”. You’ll get maybe 5mm less coffee than the cup’s rim. You ask him or her to “leave AMPLE room for milk” and they throw in another mm. Ask to “only fill the cup 2 thirds” and they might leave out just enough coffee so you can carry the cup over to the milk counter without spilling, where you end up emptying the rest of the coffee you never wanted into the trash can/bag. Yep. Happening all the time. The smallest size at SB is “tall”, which is 12 (!) ounces. That’s a LOT of coffee…
Can anyone relate? I could probably go on if I thought about it more. But hey. Don’t get me wrong, I still like living here. It’s just that… AAAARGHHH!