I have recently visited the United States after not having been there in a while. And I have to say, that even though I have spent a total of eleven years living in the United States in the past, I still find several aspects of the American lifestyle enigmatic, and hard to understand.
I spent two weeks in California last April, visiting family. Of course there will be a travelogue coming up, but let me focus for now on the culture shock that I still get even though I've encountered these aspects many times back when I was living in the US.
The most salient thing that comes to mind is the tipping culture. 18 percent tip is a lot, and after being here in Europe for a decade now, I wonder what it is that Americans see in the tipping culture. Why don't they just have it reflected in the price upfront? Not to mention that there are so many messages between the lines that you would get to read depending on how much or how little you would tip.
While we're on the topic of food, there's also the serving sizes. They are huge. Here in Europe, whenever I feel fancy, I would opt for ordering a starter followed by a main course. That way I get to sample more dishes and see what the chef is capable of. In the US, however, that strategy would make me feel like a well-stuffed pig. I suppose that's why many people just take home their leftover meals, and eat it later at home. Then again, if America would just reduce its serving size slightly, perhaps there would be less food waste generated, as I am sure not everyone boxes up their leftover meals diligently.
Finally, as we're still on the topic of food, what the heck are people pairing potatoes with almost everything at breakfast? Waffle and potatoes? Carbohydrates paired with carbohyrates?
Let's move away from food. Let's talk about cars. Oh there's plenty of them, especially in California. Public transportation is not a thing. I suppose people value their independence too much, this whole idea of being independent and free to go anywhere anytime. With public transportation, you have to align your schedule to someone else's. And that's probably not desirable.
I found these surprising, even though I've known these things all along. I suppose I've gotten so used to the European lifestyle that I have briefly forgotten about these. And of course, my European preference and the bias resulting from it doesn't help.
I don't want to give the impression that everything was negative. There are also positive aspects of America. Take the space, for example. There's lots of them. Things are bigger, and less crowded. And as we were in southern California, the weather was glorious. And I also enjoyed the natural landscapes. Not to mention that there's a large variety of ethnic communities that I felt like I have visited not one, but four countries all at the same time. It was very easy to get authentic and tasty Mexican, Japanese, and of course Filipino food, and this aspect is definitely scoring major points.
Finally, there's family. It's always nice to visit one's sister and raid her fridge.
