Guys I have Patreon where I post mostly travel blogs in Japan and updates on what i'm up to in real time, and I just want to make more friends from the US so when I get to visit USA I could meet many of you ! I will appreciate it from the bottom of my heart ! www.patreon.com/timothyjamestravels
The smiling thing!! I’m from the US and I remember being younger and hearing something along the lines of “You don’t know whose day you’ll change just by smiling at them.” And I always thought that was super nice! On the other hand it’s also kind of like a reflex if you make eye contact with a stranger. It’s how we acknowledge each other and give off a welcoming aura so they know you’re nice and you know they’re nice in passing or public spaces. Just my experience.
Well, that is just the extroverts. Us introverts and those of us with social anxiety, would rather not be around people and normally try to avoid eye contact. We like staying home alone and usually don’t like talking or being around people. But not all the time, sometimes we get bored and have friends over. :)
I personally don't think too many of us are "workaholics" rather than being forced to work. Our jobs claim to allow a paid day off after every 90 days (depending on the job) and sick days are given hour by hour based on how many days you've worked sometimes. Our bosses want us to give at least a 2 week notice of any days off and you have to request to use those days. So your boss has the right to tell you no. Also if you're sick you are usually required to provide a doctor's note, even though most of us can't afford to go to the doctor just because of a cold or fever. It's even worse for part-time workers.
Yeeep. This is pretty accurate.. If youre lucky you can build up 4hrs/week of sick and vacation time, and if you're REALLY lucky and work for a government (local, county, state), or a company that actually treats its workers like ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS (so rare here they may as well be bigfoot) , your vacation days actually ROLL OVER into the next year. If a job offers vacation days it's usually use it or lose it.
And don't forget even if you have a doctor's note you'll still be docked for " taking unauthorized time off" even if you have sick leave or are gone for more than 3 days.
Tipping is confusing but I think people are failing to explain it correctly. There are three types of places: 1.) Places where you are always expected to tip: Restaurants where the waiter takes your order and brings you your food. Bartenders. Barbershops. Taxis. Food Delivery Guys. Your tip almost always goes directly to the individual and especially for waiters their hourly pay is quite low so the tip can make up a significant part of their take home pay. 2.) Places where you can tip, but are not expected to: Restaurants where there is not a waiter, but just a person behind a register who takes your order. The kinds of places that have a tip jar. These tips are normally split among the crew evenly. 3). Places where it would be strange to tip: Fast food. They'd probably still happily take your money but they don't even normally have a tip jar.
Hair stylists are tipped unless they are the business owner, it isn’t required but tip for good service. Hotel cleaning staff also generally are tipped, especially if you’re staying multiple nights. We do have very good service compared to other countries from what I understand. Good service generates good tips.
About Americans being loud: I never realized I was loud until I visited Japan. I remember that whenever I spoke at my normal volume I got weird looks from people and, every once in a while, was told to lower my voice. It was quite embarrassing to realize that I'm a loud person LOL
depends on where your job is and if you remember don't spend beyond what you can afford. When hubs and I first got married, we were both working 40 hr wks and even in 1980 , we were paying , sit down for this, $150 for a 2 bedroom house, yet, we thankfully had a wonderful landlord who understood if it rained, hubs didn't work and we'd have to make house pymt in 2 pychks. LOL.. Hell, we couldn't afford the $9 a month cable!! It's also why we only had one child. WE couldn't have afforded to raise more.
The date with mm/did/yyyy is because that’s how we would verbally say the date. It’s always “August 9th 2021” we would never say “the 9th of august 2021”
It came from sensible record filing, actually. You have one section for each month and a bigger one for a year. So you know the file you need is from the 17th of June, 2020, so you go find 2020's records, then June's records, and THEN get the 17th's record. We don't prioritize the year because, for the most part, we aren't dealing with years past, but months past. So from an organization stand-point, it's easier to go "alright, find a record from June" first instead of "alright, find a record from the 17th" first. That's how we got to saying it month-day-year.
Europe (at least the UK) actually used to write the date in the same way that Americans do. I think that they changed it around the same time that they adopted the metric system, as there was a big push for international standardization at that time. Neither the metric system, measuring temperature in Celcius nor the new dating convention ever really took off here.
For the bathroom stall door being high, there are usually state regulations. If you think about it, when a person doesn’t feel well while they’re in a public place they’ll go to a bathroom. If there’s a low stall door nobody would notice if someone collapsed, that’s why the gap is typically about a foot or so high. I don’t know why, but I learned this in one of my lifeguarding classes. Hope this helps :)
True, I have also always thought that they make it easy to escape a stall if the door won’t open, especially in an emergency situation like a fire. I’ve also heard that the lowered privacy may help prevent people from doing things like drugs in the restrooms.
yep, one excuse is that it is somewhat easier to clean the floor. why people have such trouble with ACCURACY in bathrooms, I have trouble Understanding. However as a guy I am also familiar with what Playboy Magazine has called "the inherent unpredictability of the equipment" and they were not referring to the toilet target. I did not notice this phenomenon especially different outside north america, but the whole set of rituals about public toilets are a topic for an entire video.
yep, orginally I am guessing that the excuse was about cleaning the floor. women pee on the floor less often then guys do, but when performing what was described to me as "the aerial maneuver" (and later demonstrated) it does drastically increase the chances of female pee inaccuracy. still not nearly as prone thereto as guys.
The big gaps for the bathroom stalls are for Emergencies if there’s an accident & so others know it’s occupied or not w/o having to knock or wait for someone to come out, it keeps the line moving.
I’m from the US and I smile whenever I make eye contact with someone, even if they’re across the room and I never speak to them. I do it mostly because I’m afraid to offend someone by not smiling at them (it just feels like making eye contact without smiling is being aggressive or challenging)... or I guess some people are more distrustful of those who don’t smile (like the saying “beware the quiet ones”)
I like to smile at someone when out, because like someone else said, you could be making their day a little brighter, I know it does mine when I get smiled at.
That smile reaction is also a defense mechanism to disarm more aggressive individuals from attacking (either verbally or physically) you. This is a very common tactic for women and femmes to keep safe here in the States. We *HATE* it, but it's kind of a necessity if we don't want to be harassed or worse
@@cathyb5759 It doesn't matter how I feel. I'm just stating a fact that a good chunk of the US population has to go through. If you like to smile to brighten someone else's day, great, awesome. It just isn't the case for everyone
Haha you nailed the Americans' reaction at the end there! Also, fun fact: in New Mexico probably less than half of houses have the standard AC (even though it's hot!). Instead, they have "swamp coolers," which cool not by refrigerating air but by evaporating water. It works well because it's usually very dry here, and the evaporated water adds some humidity to the air.
Yes we had one in Ca. As the A/C is good for the parts that have wet air and others have a dry air swamp coolers hands down. You ever try the the iced water bottles tied to the back of the fan?
@@enchantingerica282 id rather have both then you can choose based on necessity and a swamp cooler is far cheaper to run its literally just a fan and a small water pump
I think the "Americans being louder" quirk is a generational thing. People older than me (anywhere from 40+) tend to yell everything. The people I live with downstairs are in their 50s and I can clearly hear their conversations while sitting upstairs even with a headset on. People around my age (18-25) just don't talk that loud. We all get told to speak up for being too quiet more than to quiet down. Never within my age range am I told either statement, but around older people they always demand I speak up even though I'm not even talking that quietly. I can also never hear younger people's conversations downstairs like I can hear the parents. Definitely a thing I thought was normal and not American only. I hope I explained it well! People can correct me if I'm wrong but the only younger people I know to be loud are children up to around 15 years old.
Let me tell you, there are many loud Americans. The friends I met in college, naturally just talk loud. The type even though their families were born in European countries, they would be singled out as the loud American.
@@LAtttiful that's my family 🤣 sometimes I'm quiet if I'm really shy for whatever reason, but I usually speak up so everyone can hear. A lot of people blast music, so their hearing isnt great. My bff is half deaf, so I guess I'm just used to it that way too 😂
Yes, I speak normal volume, but Ive been around certain people that talk so softly i can't hear them. There is a Seinfeld tv show episode where Seinfeld can't hear anything she says, so he just agrees with everything she says! So funny!
I disagree with u: All the Italian Americans, Latinos, and Black Americans and many others are loud. I have met many people and/or have seen many types of Americans: they are loud: and its all ages. I’ve been to many states: I’ve worked in retail, grocery stores, and in a stadium, arena and concert hall. BTW I’m American.
It is true that older Americans will ask you to speak louder (I think that's mostly due to hearing loss), but in general all Americans, whether they're kids, young adults or 40+ speak louder than the average European (and average Chinese, from my personal experience)
In Kentucky and West Virginia, I'm always asked "How are you?". I've noticed that answering with a "I'm fine. How are you, today?" makes people happier than using this phrase as a statement. I can't bring myself to use it strictly as a statement. Asking others how they are after telling them that I am fine tends to spread joy.
In the US, we tip waiters and barber's because their wages are really low. Waiters/waitresses get paid under minimum wage and rely completely on tips usually to pay the bills. A lot of times, if im paying 30$ for the bill at a restaurant, i straight up tip 10$, 15$ sometimes. I know that struggle and i try to help when i can
This isn't entirely true. In 7 states (mostly in the western US) wait-staff has the same minimum wage as other jobs. We still tip them 15% - 20% (or more), even though we are already paying the restaurant more for the food than we would in other states. So in Utah, your server's base hourly salary would be $2.13, but cross the border into Nevada and it jumps to $9.75. If you continue into California it could be $14.00.
@@CheesyChise I'm sorry, I meant no offense. I wasn't sure if you were from the US or just familiar with our wait staff pay scales because of travel here. We meet folks from all over the world on UA-cam and sometimes it's hard to tell. It was just an FYI.
Hey man idk if you read the comments but I appreciate your videos. They're very laid back and chill and it shows me other perspectives which is pretty interesting. Keep it up of you're having fun
When I studied abroad in Australia as an American I was shocked by how people would ask lots of financial questions of me that are considered very rude in the US. Like how do you pay personally pay for university? Also asking how much you make is very taboo in the US. also very surprising to me was how Australians would regularly make politically incorrect jokes. Not something I’d recommend with American strangers. The US is very diverse and you’re more likely to offend than make someone laugh with those kinds of jokes.
I’m Australian and very aware we have a casual racism/sexism etc problem but never encounter those comments from people in my day to day life. You can easily surround yourself with plenty of Australians that don’t have these views.
House keeper here. We don't request or expect tips where I work, but to some of our guests it's the normal thing to do to leave a tip for the person that will clean the room after you leave or to show thanks for an excellently cleaned room. It completely lights up the whole day when we come across a room that left a tip. Each hotel chain has different policies on how tips are handled.
Never heard of red cups being a thing ( maybe in college) and I never heard of a national “return day” in January. But people do return stuff all the time, that is true. Tipping: always tip your server 20%, unless it is bad service, then 15%. You definitely tip when getting your hair cut, but i don’t tip if I am just picking up food. (Although i did tip when covid hit to help the staff when eat in was banned). You also tip workmen, hotel workers, etc. americans eating and drinking while walking is definitely a thing. Air conditioning is not always on unless you live down south. Baby Showers are a huge thing. Bathroom stalls ..that is pretty accurate. It is a shock to go into a bath stall where the door goes all the way to the floor. Yeah, we do talk loud. I notice it most when visiting other countries and Americans are around. Americans would never ever sit in the front seat of a cab unless there is literally no other place to sit. It is considered an invasion of the drivers personal space, and unsafe as well. Yeah, we smile all the time, never even knew this was unusual.
Let me add, the purpose of the baby shower is to provide things the new mother is going to need on day one. Diapers, baby wipes, cribs, clothes, and gag gifts for fun. It is also a strictly woman thing. Men are rarely invited to a baby shower.
@@alyssashoemaker3414 It is how they make their living. I would never skip a tip, even with bad service. The service could be related to something having nothing to do with the server. 15% is my lowest.
the proper amount for a tip for bad service is 1 cent. It shows you didn't forget it but you don't think they earned any more. Waitstaff are still paid, many times as close to minimum wage if not the same. If they want the extra, they need to earn it, not get it for a bad attitude and botched order.
About the "how are you?" as a greeting thing It's not just meant as "hello" if you're using it as a greeting If you are using "how are you?" as a greeting it means "hello" AND "how are you" so don't be surprised if the person answers your question and then asks you how YOU'RE doing to be polite (Also as a side note very few people will say they are doing badly because it is kind of generally seen as impolite to put your problems onto someone else and because they are just embarrassed by it. So that being said most people will say "fine", "great", "wonderful", "alright", or just anything positive. This doesn't mean you have to say that though, if you're feeling bad then you can say that, it's just not common.)
Exactly. The "how are you?" is just part of the greeting. Unless it's people you're actually close with, or a medical or psychological professional, practically no one actually cares. If you do, you read between the lines and try to do something quick nice and subtle for someone of you see they're having a bad day..but that's it.
I’m from the US, I’m not sure how common it is normally, but I have colored hair and a not-so-normal style of clothing so I often get people calling out to me to say they like my hair or they like my shirt or something like that. So just in case it happens to you, it’s not unusual for someone to stop you in what you’re doing to compliment you in public :)
My thought process has always been "When the US broke away from England they didn't want ANYTHING to do with them...so they changed everything." Month/Day/Year, measurements, driving even accents! You name it. Of course that's not proven, that's just what i go with lol. And the smiling...oh my gosh my face always hurts at the end of the day. I'm always smiling. I love seeing people smile too because it makes me happy. I never thought that people from other countries just don't smile. I wonder if/when i travel is smiling would weird people out...
I think you're right about changing everything from the English way haha. In Japan people would just think you're very friendly and they'd appreciate it ;)
@@Choppylovechoppy Actually, it happened the other way around. Americans still do things the way that the English did them before the split. It was after the American Revolution that the metric system and other international standards (such as temperature and dating systems) began to be adopted in Europe. These changes simply never caught on in the (at the time) isolationist US.
England actually changed after the Revolution, when most of the world began standardizing things like the metric system. The US was isolationist at the time and those changes just never caught on here. I think that a lot (though by no means all) of the things that the US and Japan have in common on that list might stem from the US occupation after WWII. Japanese society was changing in radical ways at that time, and the US was the biggest international influence on the country at the time. That would explain why the Japanese are more like us than Europeans in some ways.
@@randlebrowne2048 The “accent” difference also happened after the revolution. The UK had a reform in its spellings and pronunciations, which led to today’s “accent.” (It’s technically not an accent.) So modern American English is much closer to what both the American colonists and even people in England itself were speaking than modern British English. Most movies get it wrong.
Tips- We tip service and hospitality workers. They are often paid very little, so the tips supplement their wages. It started in the Great Depression Era as a way to keep those businesses open. Most people had no money, especially small businesses like restaurants, barbershops, salons... but people who HAD money still wanted to enjoy themselves, so tipping was a way to make sure they still got the leisure time they wanted, places stayed open, and people who would have lost their jobs stayed employed. It helped "tip" the scales closer to being balanced. The problem is that the depression era, and its ripple effect in the economy/society, lasted decades. Even when the economy recovered, paying service workers low wages and relying on tips to supplement wages became commonplace. This drove up profits for restaurants that now didn't have to pay their workers a minimum wage. That is how things have stayed. That is why there is a huge movement in the US right now to pay service workers a livable wage so that they don't have to rely on tips that fluctuate. We aren't really "workaholics" we just have to work without vacation time or sick time. You are expected to be there, no matter what. Even if you call in sick, you might get fired, and it's usually unpaid, and you can be given a write-up for it depending on circumstances. We also don't use AC **all** the time. We use it when it is hot outside, which is most of the year for a lot of states. We have all different climates in the US, and some places are tropical, so are hot year-round. But you won't find the AC on in winter up north lol. I think that part of the video was misleading. And Smiling- If someone doesn't smile or give a non-verbal "what's up" nod, they are considered rude lol. I agree that it has something to do with the diversity, as many white allies try to display that they aren't racist by smiling at other races, it's almost funny to see. There's a limit on how long to look before it becomes creepy and unsettling though lol. Bathroom stalls- there's also a HUGE gap on the sides of the door as well, to where you can literally see the person if you look at the stall as you walk by. It's humiliating sometimes. I've left bathrooms without using them because of the gap being so wide. It makes no sense. We don't use indoor shoes either. Slippers are optional. Some people wear their shoes inside and outside without taking them off. That is honestly why so many people don't have rugs or carpets in their houses lol because the carpet would get too dirty. We also wait to go to the doctor until we are very very sick, because it is so expensive, regardless of whether or not you have insurance. We don't get a lot out of the tax money we pay. We work a lot, get little to no vacation time or sick time, pay a lot of money in taxes, but don't get much out of it. Most people don't even understand how taxes work, what it is used for, they just mindlessly pay it. Most of our tax money benefits the government and military. We don't have TV channels like "BBC" in the UK. We don't have universal health care. Most of our roads are terrible. A lot of places have dirty undrinkable water, if they even have public water systems in place at all (lots of places have well water that the residents maintain themselves). Garbage pickup is something you pay for. Our recycling system is nearly non-existent. Our electricity is very expensive, and you don't have multiple options to pick from, usually there is one company that owns the lines and they set the price however they want. The infrastructure here is just terrible to be honest.
Sales tax can be imposed at all levels of state government. That means there can be state, county, and city sales taxes all added together. So the next town can have a different sales tax. They are often used for local propositions, which are voted on by the people to fund a project, so may be temporary. So the sales tax may vary slightly from year to year in the same location.
This is true. Because of the city sales tax where I live there are a dozen automotive dealerships established just outside city limits so they do not have to charge the extra city sales tax.
the smiling thing is so funny to me, i guess i'd never really noticed it being from america. i wonder if that's why the phrase "resting b*tch face" is common here. i suppose since it's expected that everybody be smiling all the time, when you're one of the only people not smiling, people will say you have resting b*tch face, even if you're not upset or you're just minding your own business 😂 do other countries use this phrase, or something similar?
Idk about real life, but I watch a lot of anime and it's a pretty common trope for a main character to have a scary face that causes them to have no friends. I don't know of a specific phrase for it, but they often compare it to either spirits/ghosts or delinquents (if you're curious, watch Toradora, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, or Kimi Ni Todoke)
As an American teacher, I have to say that I work EXTREMELY hard. I DO get more vacation time than the average US worker, but that means very little when you actually factor some other things in. One, most teachers work 30+ hours of unpaid time every week in order to properly do their jobs, so if I were to factor that into my salary, I'd be making minimum wage. Two, most of the time off we do get (Summer vacation) is completely unpaid. Most Americans don't even realize this. Which means that we are completely without income for two months of the year. MANY MANY teachers don't actually take this time off and, instead, get other jobs during this time. It can be anything from retail to teaching Summer school. It's for this reason that I find it INCREDIBLY obnoxious when some people tell me I'm so lucky because teachers get sooooooo much extra vacation. They don't ask, they just assume. Thank you to all those people out there who actually ask and don't do that!
In the U.S. South, it's very hot and humid all summer. The outside air would probably kill most bacteria to be honest. The air conditioning thing isn't considered strange here at all. It's either that or die of heat stroke.
I think we smile so much because we are trying to have a happy and peaceful time and it's the best way to start. SOme places here like cities, you don't really make eye contact a lot, but still try to get along with everyone. So you might hold a door open when entering or exiting a building for people. But out in the country, it's more common to wave and say hello to everyone you meet or neighbors because you see them often. I grew up in New Jersey and there's a lot of people there, but now I'm in Louisiana and it's very country/rural.
The solo cups each line is a measure of alcohol bottom is a shot of liquor and so on. Well just to let you know that a large cup you really get a medium cup of ice and small cup of drink
Honestly no one I know buys them for that. Usually it's just because they are cheap and disposable which makes for great for parties. Most of the time they arent even red.
I love my country, so I would say Americans are some of the friendliest, most helpful and generous people there are (sadly, there are exceptions). Friends from the UK were amazed how often they got extra good service and free stuff, especially since they were foreigners. They were sure they'd be taken advantage of (they said "we'd do it to you") when the opposite was true. We love having company, are proud of our national and regional cultures and want to share all our best stuff with visitors. Many of us feel a stranger is just a friend we haven't met yet so of course we smile. Others have covered it so I'll just add-tipping isn't that bad. If someone does an individual service for you, we tip, serving you at a table vs. handing food over a counter. Most make a minimal base pay and make up the rest in tips. That (usually) leads to better service. People who are good at what they do make far more from tips than they would with a larger base pay and no tips. Our meals are often surprisingly affordable considering the amount you get so it's not a financial burden to tip. That's the other thing-our restaurant portions are huge and taking the rest home is common. My UK friends we appalled that I took the leftovers from my meal. Our server was worried there was something wrong with their food because they did not. Also, customization. Unless it's ridiculous, you can have your meal as you like it. Sub for the side dish, leave the sauce off, dressing on the side, extra cheese...if it's included in the post order preparation it can be changed, happily. They can't take something out of a premade dish or sauce but otherwise, it's your meal, your way. Off the menu is possible, too. Once a friend just wanted a grilled cheese sandwich. The response was 'we have bread, we have cheese and we have the technology'. No worries. My UK friends were blown away by Subway sandwich shop-they could have just what they wanted, and extra veg FOR FREE! After the 3rd day the girl was giving them extra meat and free cookies and drinks because they were so happy about it. Please come see us as you're able-you'll have the time of your life.
More examples of tips: If you are so inclined to use these services, it's normal to tip a nail stylist, a tattoo artist, a bellhop, a bathroom attendant, a food delivery person, a hairdresser, a masseuse, and sometimes the maid or housekeeper of your hotel/Inn. Public parks, campgrounds, zoos, museums, and aquariums appreciate donations but they don't typically ask for tips. You can tip a tour guide if you want to but they don't normally expect it. You do not need to tip the mailman, UPS driver or Amazon delivery person, the cashier at a fast-food restaurant such as KFC or McDonald's, the bus driver on a public bus, any emergency service like an EMT or police officer (it's possibly illegal for them to accept your money), a retail salesperson, or a car mechanic.
Tipping. Hair dresser sort of depends. Some people have small salons that they own, so no tip unless an exceptional job. However in larger salons the person that does your hair may be an employee, or freelance stylist. Employees not always but most often are paid hourly/ commission, Freelance stylists rent a chair in a salon. Taxi drivers are paid not great but okay, however a tip may lessen your next wait for service. Wait staff are paid under minimum wage, They rely on tips to make a living wage.
A waitress sometime work in a restaurant were each tip is there own or all the employees get a cut. But the pay for them is some-what a myth. Yes by many they get paid less but many get more. As of 2018 the average monthly pay is between 1500 on up to almost 4000. As I had a friend that was and made more then me and I was a cashier.
@@Choppylovechoppy Like most everything in the US, it varies by state. In California servers make federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour (or whatever the minimum wage is for their city or county), plus tips. However in Texas, servers make just over $2 an hour plus tips. This is legal because the federal minimum wage law allows a 'tip credit' if certain workers (i.e. servers and bartenders) will at least make minimum wage once tips are included. It's in part a relic of the existing tipping culture when minimum wage laws were enacted.
@@Choppylovechoppy Paying higher wages most likely would close many small restaurants increasing unemployment. A good waiter can earn good wages. As it is now the customer can decide if the service was worth more than the base bill. A tip is an indicator a job well done. Poor service gets a poor tip and those people will move on to another type of work. Good tips keep them working in the food service industry .
One thing when you visit the united states. Visit many places! Not just cities!! seriously country living, such as where I live in the mountains, is COMPLETELY different than living in a city. Every area in the US has its own culture, and way of living as well! It's fascinating even to people that live in the US. :) Hope that helps! You can always message me with questions, i love learning about other countries cultures as well.
Same. My previous job you have to work 5 years full time, no part time periods, to get one week of PTO. It caps at 3 weeks after 15 years of full time. I didn't know anyone with that
Im from the US and the smiling thing is so true, i think a big thing about it is because everyone does it and you grow up with it so you get accustomed to it, also because its the way Americans say that were friendly and greet others without even talking. Also the bathroom thing is for emergencies in case someone passed out or something, and im personally fine with it ig because safety and its low enough to you only being able to see the legs (also really useful to slide under if there is no toilet paper in your stall).
Here's one: when selling online we say "we ship to the contiguous 50 states in the United States" instead of saying 48 states. Which is probably why foreigners sometimes think there are 52 states because of the phrasing: "we ship to the contiguous 50 states in the United States" and because Hawai'i, as well as Alaska, are non-contiguous.
American here... I am not an ac all the time person. 😅 because of my coworkers need for cold, I wear a sweater or long sleeves year round. 🤣 also, I hate being asked how I'm doing because they don't really want to know. It's rhetorical and feels offensive to be asked if you don't really care.
Watching your perspective on this just really shows how much in America we're bias to think of "basically just Europe when we think of the rest of the world. Practically every comparison is between the US and Europe here. The AC, the Pharmacies, the working hours. Yes we do actually work more hours and get less vacation compared to Europe, but not at all compared to Japan. You guys are much more workaholics. Or at least so the statistics say, but I don't really like the term "workaholics" because its often used to describe people that love their job or don't want to go home in sitcoms and on TV. Now to describe a whole country like that implies its a choice that we're like this and not a result of horrible work cultures and demanding bosses. Bout the US and Japan need better worker's rights Imo.
The a/c one is situational. like when I live in Washington state not D.C. did not really ever run the air conditioner except for two weeks out of the year. Now down in Mississippi where it’s not only hot but humid as well ,and it does not cool down at night ,so yeah a/c it’s on full blast. but south is considering subtropical from Louisiana to Florida in climate. Where as the Midwest will get hot during the day but cool down to 50 degrees at night so no need for the air conditioning during the night
For the deep fried food, its not just something you can get anywhere randomly. However, at state fairs and festivals, you will find A LOT of that kind of stuff including deep fried candy such as oreos or twix, lots of different kinds of deep fried meat, and etc.
The reason why we do month, day, year is for filing and sorting. We'll organize an archive by month. Think of it like a box or PC file creation date. When you sort by date, you get all the January stuff first, sorted by day. Then all the February stuff, etc.
Okay so when traveling to other countries I have enjoyed not having to tip so I understand that tipping in America is annoying. Anyway, services to tip for are restaurants (not fast food places like McDonalds) but do tip at a restaurant where you get seated and have a waiter or waitress serving you. You should tip when getting a hair cut as the video said, getting a taxi (I don't live in a city where I have to catch taxi's though so not too sure how that works). Tipping at coffee shops is nice (but not Starbucks). You can tip at big chain coffee places but I don't, not unless I feel like it. But tipping $1 at like a local coffee shop is fine. If you get food delivered to where you are staying you should tip the delivery driver, that goes for even if you get fast food delivered. If you use an app to get food delivered just be aware that it automatically puts a tip in for you and they like to over tip in those things but you can adjust the tip so look out for that;) Now, if you receive bad service then you don't have to tip or you can give a small tip. A lot of American's will practice grace when it comes to bad service and will still give a small tip. But let's you go get a hair cut and the barber doesn't do what you asked and you end up getting a terrible haircut then you don't need to leave a tip. Or you're at restaurant and your waiter or waitress is rude then you don't need to tip or again you can leave a small tip. A standard tip in America is 15-20% so if someone performs a bad service then you can give like 10% or if someone performed outstanding service and you are feeling generous then you can give like a 25% tip. When I was in high school and started going places without my parents tips made me nervous and I didn't have a lot of money so I would just leave a 15% tip. Now that I'm an adult and have a job thus I have more money I typically do 20% unless the service was poor. All in all don't feel like you need to over tip at places but if you don't tip at all then the employees will judge you:P
I always think customizing your order is very American. When I was a kid visiting family in Japan, we went to a restaurant and I remember asking my mom if I could get a sandwich without tomatoes. She was too embarrassed to ask, so she just told me to take it off after I got it. Lol.
In the US we have the baby shower before the baby is born so they will have the gifts before they need them. A new parent needs those things right away.
as a young american, i stress over the tip thing too! i still get a little confused over where and when to tip, but it’s helpful to know the main spots where you tip like restaurants with servers, barbershops, etc.
With the bathroom stall thing… there’s been a few times throughout my life when I’ve been in a stall and someone’s young kid will try to look/climb under. I laugh it off but I feel bad for everyone who has visited the US and had that happen to them, it’s definitely a shock.
You're thinking of a 'hen do' in the UK, which is what Americans call a 'bachelorette party'. I think in many cultures, family and friends gather after a birth in order to meet and sometimes bless the new baby. In the United States, a 'baby shower' is a party held before the baby's arrival and baby is 'showered' with gifts to help the new parents prepare. This is typically only done for the first baby a couple has together, although gender reveal parties seem to be becoming a big thing for any pregnancy.
When I heard you say that you were around 10 years old when you entered school in the United States it reminded me of something I've not thought about for a while. When I was 10 years old going to school in the United States MY TEACHER WAS JAPANESE! 🙂 She was one of the best teachers I ever had! Not many kids in the US are taught to write in Kanji! I was very lucky to have her as a teacher.
About tipping in America, the minimum wage for people who get tips is only $2.13 an hour which is equivalent to about ¥235 or €1.80, so most of their pay comes from tips rather than their actual wages and it’s considered rude not to give a tip. Typically tips are about 15% of the original price, you really shouldn’t go below 12%, and more than 18% is pretty generous, though it can vary from place to place. For example, if you’re ordering fast food that’s only $5, giving an extra $0.75 is kind of a dick move so you should definitely give more. In fancier restaurants people also tend to tip pretty heavily, though that’s more about showing off how rich they are. In general though, 15% is a pretty good rule to follow
I was literally doing exactly what you did when you said "Americans watching this" Much love from Jacksonville, Florida!!! Welcome to visit anytime and I will take you boating on the Saint Johns river and show ya Florida! Love how interested you are in our culture and country. Would love to visit and learn more about Japan you guys have a beautiful culture as well. I love how different the world is.
@@Choppylovechoppy if you go to Miami Florida, you'll have to speak Spanish, eat Latin food, and experience Latin culture... basically Miami is another country altogether... a Latin one that is lol
So for anyone wondering how to calculate sale tax its usually based on a percentage of each $1.00. If the sale tax is 8% sales tax then a $1.99 drink is actually $2.07. That's why a lot of things are $0.99 to stay just under the sale tax. There are some exclusions to sales tax some reserved parks, Indian, and/or religion might not have sales tax within them. Fun fact about tea tax is its partially still in act some cold teas are not taxed. Hot or take away ones are thou. Its the idea that labor (the worker or machine did to make it hot) is taxable. Anyway if your in the US you can usually ask the cashier or if nothing esle Google the areas sales tax. Even for Americans it a bit of a pain when moving areas.
You don't HAVE to tip, it's just socially expected. But we don't tip every time. We mainly decide first if we like the waiters' attitude or if we got the right food before we decide the tips. I've only learned 15% rather than 20$ or 25%.
Baby Shower: So a Hen Party or Bachelorette Party is the party for a bride to be before her wedding. Her girlfriends usually take her out for drinks and dancing as a last single girl night before getting married. A Baby Shower is thrown for a pregnant woman (usually a month or two before the baby's due date) where friends and family come and give the parents baby presents. So the parents have the supplies they need for the baby (clothes, diapers, crib, stroller, diaper genie, toys, bottles, etc.). Some people have a party before that which is called a Gender Reveal Party in which they tell their friends and family the sex of the baby (which helps them when planning the Baby Shower). I know, we Americans are extra. Lastly, if a couple already has a kid and is pregnant again they will usually have a Baby Sprinkle. It's a party similar to the shower it's just a bit smaller because the couple already have baby supplies.
The bathroom doors in Europe go all the way to the floor and there are no gaps in the doors. In the US originally the public bathrooms in the 1930s very rarely had privacy walls and when they did put them in they were very cheap. Also the doors do not go all the way to the floor because it is easy to mop under them. We kinda kept the tradition and never changed it.
I think different parts of the US have different norms around driving. In a small town or rural area, it’s common for two drivers who stopped at an intersection at the same time to wave at each other to go ahead. This can get confusing if two people are both trying to be polite and let the other person go first haha. However in a city, you are forced to drive “aggressively” and take initiative to get where you want to be. Unfortunately this is more dangerous and often causes people to disregard pedestrians.
I’m pretty sure the gaps in bathroom stalls are for safety reason like what if the lock gets stuck, or if a child can’t quite figure out how to get out, or maybe if someone suffers a medical emergency the gap would allow someone to get in and unlock it
Two more common sense “don’ts” Ive witnessed: 1. Don’t try to use English curse words if you aren’t a native English speaker. It probably won’t offend people, but it will sound awkward. (Same for any foreign language situation). 2. Don’t drink to the point of being loud or boisterous in a bar. American bartenders are usually required to stop serving, or remove anyone who seems too intoxicated. PS - tipping is only expected where a server takes your order and brings you the food, not counter service restaurants where carry the food yourself (buffet). Many fast food restaurants do not even permit tipping.
If it’s a drive through or pick up you don’t need to tip. Usually depending on the place and food you get, $5 is a lot. I usually tip $3 for a pizza delivery. Also most places help you calculate due to advanced technology. If you sit down at a diner (not fancy), $5 is a very good tip. Don’t worry too much. You can always google it. 15% is good if you enjoyed your meal. Depending on how pricy stuff is the tip will be higher or lower. Let’s say you get a very nice steak for $30, a tip for the meal would be around $10 depending on what else you got.
As an introvert with mild social anxiety, it’s difficult to just smile outright to strangers, but if I happen to make eye contact, I try to make it a point to at least look welcoming. Sometimes I just quietly nod my head with a small smile, but I do prefer to at least try and greet people. In my experiences, I always feel happier when someone smiles at me, so I try to do the same 😁😅
A lot of times, some stalls in the US don't even have doors. It mostly happens at schools and run-down public bathrooms, but it's more common than I'd like to admit.
giving someone a polite smile when you meet their eyes is kind of like the american version of the japanese head nod. its like a greeting or an acknowledgment
Now that you mention it, writing dates with the year, then month, and then day sounds most logical to me. It makes for the fastest process of determining chronological order between two or more things labeled with different dates. For example if you have something marked 2014/03/14 and another marked 2012/05/20, you can tell immediately which is older. But if the dates are written 03/14/2014 and 05/20/2012, or especially 14/03/2014 and 20/05/2012, the process is a little less efficient.
we've even figured out how to deep fry water! yay us....in the U.S during summers the temp can hover around 100F in many places, even places that are 80-90F the humidity can make it hard to even breath especially in the south. the west has a dry heat that can kill you without you even knowing that its happening
the "raising your voice part" I can relate because I work at a Vietnamese shop. They tell me to quiet down when I am just trying to make sure they hear me or the customer can understand what I am saying. and sometimes the projecting helps. because half the time it ends up with us going "huh? speak up"
I'm pretty sure the climate in a lot of Japan is quite like it is here in Atlanta, Georgia. The hot/humid summers you talked about is exactly how it is here.
I kind of expected the workaholic thing because I know America doesn't have a lot of paid days off and holidays. There's also a huge culture surrounding "getting rich", and this means doing lots of jobs and "side hustles". People are constantly promised that if they just work harder they'll get mansions and yachts. The UK is more laid-back. We also fry a lot of things in the UK, but typically fish and chips. We also have fried chicken. Because we're also very multicultural (especially in London and the areas surrounding it), we also enjoy food from other cultures and that includes some fried stuff (especially Chinese... they seem to _really_ like fried stuff, and we love it too!). We have a similar pharmacy system. There's lots of thing such as shampoos, soaps, bandages, cold medicine, etc. Some even have makeup. However, I've never seen clothes or groceries! In the UK, I don't really know of people returning gifts, but I know of people giving them to charity shops. There are a lot of "charity shops" in the UK. They have the advantages of [1] the money given through sales are used for charity work (hence the name "charity shop"), [2] the things in them are much cheaper than for new things so people who are struggling can have new clothes and stuff, and [3] the local charity shops are more relaxed and feel more like a part of the community than typical shops. In the UK, everyone is paid by their employer, not by the public in "tips". I'm not sure how polite or rude tipping is, but it is certainly weird. The UK also has a lot of coffee places and bakeries, but we seem to prefer Costa to Starbucks. Costa is _everywhere!_ Also, it's typically something you sit down with, not carry everywhere. We also use quite a lot of ice in cold drinks, which annoys me because it dilutes the drink especially if it's too big for me to have in one go. Us Brits use fans instead of AC in our homes --- and only in the summer. The UK also uses thumbs up for the same meaning as the US. However, if you decide to do the "peace"/"victory" gesture, make sure you're holding your hand the right way! If the fingernails are facing the person, it's a very rude insult! I knew the date thing. Americans also _say_ the date differently. They say, for example, "September 30th". Us Brits say "the 30th of September". American English likes to shorten everything. We ask how people are doing, but after "hello". American stalls seem horrifying. Us Brits seem rather split on volume. Some people are very loud, some people are very quiet. I've always thought us Brits had a lot of options in our supermarkets! That remark about us "not having many options" is the thing that surprises me! However, there being a lack of grape flavour is something I agree with! We tend to have blackcurrent instead, which funnily enough, Americans don't have.
Well, don't you want to be a bright spot in someone's day? By carrying a positive attitude, you'll be happier and help soothe others around you aswell 😊
Yeah, America gets pretty hot in the summer. It's usually between 80 to 90 degrees f (26 to 32 Celsius) but it can potentially get over 100 (38+ Celsius)
Americans in the suburbs find it easier to invite people to their homes for dinner or just to hang out and watch TV because going out as a group can be expensive and difficult for kids. People sometimes have homes that seem too large for their family and they like to do a "house tour" when you get there so you feel comfortable. Some have fancy entertainment systems and large couches to fit 10 people so they can watch a game or movie with a lot of friends.
I used to deliver large heavy outdoor appliances. they had to be moved from the truck thru yards sometimes homes, and assembled. they were heavy, and clad in delicate pretty materials, and customers were always particular about placement. imagine delivering an 800 pound appliance in 90 to 100 degree weather. yes. I expected tips for doing a great job, so I always tip for great service. Caution; every smile doesn't signal a friendly person, and vice versa; I always look deadly angry, but I'm a nice guy. be safe have fun!
You also have to be somewhat careful with slang to the area you visit. Especially when it comes to food. Asking for tea in the south usually winds up being a sweetened ice tea. Asking for a pizza in a different area might be very diverse, such as Chicago, New York, and about every large city will have its version of Pizza. Or adopt the closest city's style. In some parts of the country, soda could be called pop. And Google the name of a dish or ingredient if unfamiliar, as they have funny names for things. Starting with Prarie Oysters, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.
I typically see lots of fried foods at Italian feasts! There is one near me that my dad works at, and I remember all the zeppoles there! They had fried everything, I think even one booth had fried pizza! But this isn't to say that this kind of food is very popular. It's very unlikely to find lots of fried food to that extent of just dipping whatever you can find into oil. Some more common fried foods are french fries, onion rings, and fried chicken ^^ Edit: as for writing the date, it is even confusing for many American students! Many of my classmates still write the date as DD/MM/YYYY , and if the day is larger than 12 people will usually know what you mean
I never understood why we have the ac on in the summer and make it feel like winter. We’ll dress for summer, go inside and have to put on a sweater or jacket. 🤦🏼♀️ I HATE the bathrooms! The schools are basically babysitting. And I always smile. I love being nice. I love different cultures. I think the variety is beautiful.
Where I live, it often stays in the 25-30C range, even in the winter months. And its VERY humid. Air conditioning is a survival tool, not just a luxury!
As an American, I hate tipping to. Also, the expectation, in my experience, seems to be based on where in the US. I live in a small city of less than 200k and the only time tipping is expected is when someone brings you food (waiter, or food delivery) or serves you alcohol. Most retail service places like coffee shops and hair salons will ask if you want to tip but it is not expected. This is probably different In bigger cities like New York, Chicago and LA
I used to work in retail and we would have people go to our bathrooms and shoot up for hours at a time. I never had to slip under to unlock the door and rescue anybody experiencing an overdose, but that was definitely a possibility. We did our best to prevent people from staying the bathroom for more than, like, 15 minutes, but we weren't allowed to force them to leave, so they'd just go into a stall, lock the door, and respond drowsily that they were "almost done" when we'd check on them every 10 minutes. About the 1-hour mark is when we'd make the time to stop what we were doing (it was a busy store) and go and threaten to call 911 on them if they didn't leave.
It seems to me that you don’t like tipping. Neither do I. So avoid tipping situations if you can. I try to do this. It’s not the law. But it is customary.
You have to understand that there is a minimum wage for "normal" workers and then there's a minimum wage for service providers (aka waiters, bus boys and such) generally 20 to 30% less than the average minimum wage. They supplement their revenues by giving you a good service (15-18%). If the service is better the tip is better and if the service is abysmal well it can reach 0%. So the worker is incentivized by guaranteeing the customer with good service and trying to promote the sales of beverages (wine, cocktails and such) or specialty dishes (cheese platter, raw oysters, fresh lobster and such) by doing these sales; it brings the value of the bill higher thus the worker is "making" more money.
I live in the USA, and I never knew you *had* to tip places (besides fancy restaurants), I just thought it was something people did to be nice. I'm not an adult so that's probably why. (Edit: Also, people do smile a lot, and are very nice! I myself don't really smile at someone unless it's mostly direct contact)
Solo cups aren't necessarily connected to partying for everyone it depends on how you were raised and deep fried everything is mostly found in the south (which is considered to be the Georgia Louisiana Mississippi and Florida area) on the other side of Texas it is considered the southwest.
Okay so the reason you are expected to tip in America is because people who do public service jobs such as waiters, bartenders, taxi drivers, barbers (but mainly waiters in resturaunts) do not get paid very well at all and rely mostly on the tips they recieve
Yeah I have never heard of that either..I wouldn't call it an American thing. Black Friday on the other hand...although it definitely is not like how it used to be in the 90's (madness!) thanks to online shopping!
I can actually kind of explain the reason for tipping from a food industry standpoint such as servers, bartenders is because they don't make a solid rate for example kitchen staff cooks. I havent bartended and served for years when minimum wage was 7.50 i was getting paid 2.50 an hour on a work check, so really tips is how they survive that for 80 hours my check was about 150 dollars give or take. So those tips are what i am living on. And believe me bartended and served for a good bit.
As an American visiting Okinawa NOT tipping seemed insanely rude, although I knew it was an insult to them, I felt bad leaving without showing my appreciation for their service. I always tip 30%+ for excellent service at home and my service was fantastic in restaurants. Things that cause panic- toilets, shower knobs, lack of smiling from others, strangers taking photos or staring at me, wet clothes at restaurants?, the currency/road signs/traffic/measurement and recycling systems. I knew (mostly) everyone had good intentions or it was a novelty seeing someone exotic to them, insane humidity. Delighted by- beautiful place, best apple juice ever.. (50usd shipping to treat myself to that smiling apple🥰), arcades, small vendor ramen, the Okinawa aquarium, lavender ice cream, plum sake, the amount of English most people commonly knew made me comfortable, I love that rain was almost daily. Americans are much more accepting in most places and are happy to help you during your stay, but Japanese have higher integrity and are more blunt with their intention. Japan was my absolute favorite travel experience.
Guys I have Patreon where I post mostly travel blogs in Japan and updates on what i'm up to in real time, and I just want to make more friends from the US so when I get to visit USA I could meet many of you ! I will appreciate it from the bottom of my heart !
www.patreon.com/timothyjamestravels
The smiling thing!! I’m from the US and I remember being younger and hearing something along the lines of “You don’t know whose day you’ll change just by smiling at them.” And I always thought that was super nice! On the other hand it’s also kind of like a reflex if you make eye contact with a stranger. It’s how we acknowledge each other and give off a welcoming aura so they know you’re nice and you know they’re nice in passing or public spaces. Just my experience.
Yes and goes with the saying treat others how you want to be treated.
Love that ! 🥺
Smiling at people when you go out makes a difference to you and to the people you meet as you go about your day.It's contagious!
Well, that is just the extroverts. Us introverts and those of us with social anxiety, would rather not be around people and normally try to avoid eye contact. We like staying home alone and usually don’t like talking or being around people. But not all the time, sometimes we get bored and have friends over. :)
I definitely remember tipping my barber.
Never even thought of it. Ya tipping is archaic
I personally don't think too many of us are "workaholics" rather than being forced to work. Our jobs claim to allow a paid day off after every 90 days (depending on the job) and sick days are given hour by hour based on how many days you've worked sometimes. Our bosses want us to give at least a 2 week notice of any days off and you have to request to use those days. So your boss has the right to tell you no. Also if you're sick you are usually required to provide a doctor's note, even though most of us can't afford to go to the doctor just because of a cold or fever. It's even worse for part-time workers.
It's a sad truth.
The USA, the best country in the world.
A day after 90 days?! I get a week every 90 days.
Yeeep. This is pretty accurate.. If youre lucky you can build up 4hrs/week of sick and vacation time, and if you're REALLY lucky and work for a government (local, county, state), or a company that actually treats its workers like ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS (so rare here they may as well be bigfoot) , your vacation days actually ROLL OVER into the next year. If a job offers vacation days it's usually use it or lose it.
And don't forget even if you have a doctor's note you'll still be docked for " taking unauthorized time off" even if you have sick leave or are gone for more than 3 days.
Tipping is confusing but I think people are failing to explain it correctly. There are three types of places:
1.) Places where you are always expected to tip: Restaurants where the waiter takes your order and brings you your food. Bartenders. Barbershops. Taxis. Food Delivery Guys. Your tip almost always goes directly to the individual and especially for waiters their hourly pay is quite low so the tip can make up a significant part of their take home pay.
2.) Places where you can tip, but are not expected to: Restaurants where there is not a waiter, but just a person behind a register who takes your order. The kinds of places that have a tip jar. These tips are normally split among the crew evenly.
3). Places where it would be strange to tip: Fast food. They'd probably still happily take your money but they don't even normally have a tip jar.
Now there are a few restaurant's that do share tips with a waitress and a cook. You know waffle house, shoney, dennis at graveyard shift.
Hair stylists are tipped unless they are the business owner, it isn’t required but tip for good service.
Hotel cleaning staff also generally are tipped, especially if you’re staying multiple nights.
We do have very good service compared to other countries from what I understand. Good service generates good tips.
It's pretty exclusively service jobs. It's actually illegal to accept tips as a retail worker or many other types of jobs probably.
@@jolenehoneycutt2973 It's not illegal to accept a tip, but in many cases you can be fired for it.
@@jolenehoneycutt2973 not illegal, but might be against company policy
About Americans being loud:
I never realized I was loud until I visited Japan. I remember that whenever I spoke at my normal volume I got weird looks from people and, every once in a while, was told to lower my voice. It was quite embarrassing to realize that I'm a loud person LOL
People: Americans are loud.
Also people: Why are you so quiet?
COULDNT BE ME
Workaholics, not because we want to, but because we're forced to. You can't get by with a full time, 40 hour a week job. Many people work two jobs.
depends on where your job is and if you remember don't spend beyond what you can afford. When hubs and I first got married, we were both working 40 hr wks and even in 1980 , we were paying , sit down for this, $150 for a 2 bedroom house, yet, we thankfully had a wonderful landlord who understood if it rained, hubs didn't work and we'd have to make house pymt in 2 pychks. LOL.. Hell, we couldn't afford the $9 a month cable!! It's also why we only had one child. WE couldn't have afforded to raise more.
@@cathyb5759 you should really look at the inflation rate since the 80s. It's really not a good comparison.
@@snikerz5886 yea they havent raised minimum wage hardly at all since then
The date with mm/did/yyyy is because that’s how we would verbally say the date. It’s always “August 9th 2021” we would never say “the 9th of august 2021”
It came from sensible record filing, actually. You have one section for each month and a bigger one for a year. So you know the file you need is from the 17th of June, 2020, so you go find 2020's records, then June's records, and THEN get the 17th's record. We don't prioritize the year because, for the most part, we aren't dealing with years past, but months past. So from an organization stand-point, it's easier to go "alright, find a record from June" first instead of "alright, find a record from the 17th" first. That's how we got to saying it month-day-year.
4th of July is special because it is a holiday and saying it differently differentiates it.
Europe (at least the UK) actually used to write the date in the same way that Americans do. I think that they changed it around the same time that they adopted the metric system, as there was a big push for international standardization at that time. Neither the metric system, measuring temperature in Celcius nor the new dating convention ever really took off here.
I do both, honestly (I say both, I write both)
Not me, though. I do always say, ' 19 Jan' because ex-military.
For the bathroom stall door being high, there are usually state regulations. If you think about it, when a person doesn’t feel well while they’re in a public place they’ll go to a bathroom. If there’s a low stall door nobody would notice if someone collapsed, that’s why the gap is typically about a foot or so high. I don’t know why, but I learned this in one of my lifeguarding classes. Hope this helps :)
True, I have also always thought that they make it easy to escape a stall if the door won’t open, especially in an emergency situation like a fire. I’ve also heard that the lowered privacy may help prevent people from doing things like drugs in the restrooms.
Yep, it seems to be a combination of two reasons. One, what Allison stated here and, two, as a shoplifting prevention tactic.
yep, one excuse is that it is somewhat easier to clean the floor. why people have such trouble with ACCURACY in bathrooms, I have trouble
Understanding.
However as a guy I am also familiar with what Playboy Magazine has called "the inherent unpredictability of the equipment" and they were not referring to the toilet target. I did not notice this phenomenon especially different outside north america, but the whole set of rituals about public toilets are a topic for an entire video.
yep, orginally I am guessing that the excuse was about cleaning the floor. women pee on the floor less often then guys do, but when performing what was described to me as "the aerial maneuver" (and later demonstrated) it does drastically increase the chances of female pee inaccuracy.
still not nearly as prone thereto as guys.
I, for one, am always pulling unconscious people out from bathroom stalls.
The big gaps for the bathroom stalls are for Emergencies if there’s an accident & so others know it’s occupied or not w/o having to knock or wait for someone to come out, it keeps the line moving.
Yes I have seen some elderly lady in a stall and that was the only way they could get in.
That would make sense !
Yeah that does make sense I guess but it’s so weird because sometimes I can see people wipe on accident 😭😭
@@Choppylovechoppy You didn't mention the 1 inch (2.5 cm) gap on each side of the door and hardly functioning latches.
public urinals. Yup.
I’m from the US and I smile whenever I make eye contact with someone, even if they’re across the room and I never speak to them. I do it mostly because I’m afraid to offend someone by not smiling at them (it just feels like making eye contact without smiling is being aggressive or challenging)... or I guess some people are more distrustful of those who don’t smile (like the saying “beware the quiet ones”)
I like to smile at someone when out, because like someone else said, you could be making their day a little brighter, I know it does mine when I get smiled at.
That smile reaction is also a defense mechanism to disarm more aggressive individuals from attacking (either verbally or physically) you. This is a very common tactic for women and femmes to keep safe here in the States. We *HATE* it, but it's kind of a necessity if we don't want to be harassed or worse
@@Reihaa I'm sorry you feel that way. Like I said, I do it to hopefully be a bright spot in someone's day and getting one back brightens my day.🤷
@@cathyb5759 It doesn't matter how I feel. I'm just stating a fact that a good chunk of the US population has to go through. If you like to smile to brighten someone else's day, great, awesome. It just isn't the case for everyone
@@Reihaa seems like a problem everywhere but it's worse in Britain and not a good chunk of the population goes through that lmao
Haha you nailed the Americans' reaction at the end there! Also, fun fact: in New Mexico probably less than half of houses have the standard AC (even though it's hot!). Instead, they have "swamp coolers," which cool not by refrigerating air but by evaporating water. It works well because it's usually very dry here, and the evaporated water adds some humidity to the air.
Yes we had one in Ca. As the A/C is good for the parts that have wet air and others have a dry air swamp coolers hands down. You ever try the the iced water bottles tied to the back of the fan?
Super interesting !
I live in Albuquerque and will not rent a house unless it has refrigerated air
@@anthonymarquez6493 word! We traded in our swamp cooler for refrigerated. When it gets too hot or if it is humid, it just doesn’t work as well.
@@enchantingerica282 id rather have both then you can choose based on necessity and a swamp cooler is far cheaper to run its literally just a fan and a small water pump
I think the "Americans being louder" quirk is a generational thing. People older than me (anywhere from 40+) tend to yell everything. The people I live with downstairs are in their 50s and I can clearly hear their conversations while sitting upstairs even with a headset on. People around my age (18-25) just don't talk that loud. We all get told to speak up for being too quiet more than to quiet down. Never within my age range am I told either statement, but around older people they always demand I speak up even though I'm not even talking that quietly. I can also never hear younger people's conversations downstairs like I can hear the parents. Definitely a thing I thought was normal and not American only. I hope I explained it well! People can correct me if I'm wrong but the only younger people I know to be loud are children up to around 15 years old.
Let me tell you, there are many loud Americans. The friends I met in college, naturally just talk loud. The type even though their families were born in European countries, they would be singled out as the loud American.
@@LAtttiful that's my family 🤣 sometimes I'm quiet if I'm really shy for whatever reason, but I usually speak up so everyone can hear. A lot of people blast music, so their hearing isnt great. My bff is half deaf, so I guess I'm just used to it that way too 😂
Yes, I speak normal volume, but Ive been around certain people that talk so softly i can't hear them. There is a Seinfeld tv show episode where Seinfeld can't hear anything she says, so he just agrees with everything she says! So funny!
I disagree with u: All the Italian Americans, Latinos, and Black Americans and many others are loud. I have met many people and/or have seen many types of Americans: they are loud: and its all ages. I’ve been to many states: I’ve worked in retail, grocery stores, and in a stadium, arena and concert hall. BTW I’m American.
It is true that older Americans will ask you to speak louder (I think that's mostly due to hearing loss), but in general all Americans, whether they're kids, young adults or 40+ speak louder than the average European (and average Chinese, from my personal experience)
“You really work?”
Dude, it honestly surprised me too.
Yes, as an American I was like: “❤️” when you were complimenting us
In Kentucky and West Virginia, I'm always asked "How are you?". I've noticed that answering with a "I'm fine. How are you, today?" makes people happier than using this phrase as a statement. I can't bring myself to use it strictly as a statement. Asking others how they are after telling them that I am fine tends to spread joy.
In the US, we tip waiters and barber's because their wages are really low. Waiters/waitresses get paid under minimum wage and rely completely on tips usually to pay the bills. A lot of times, if im paying 30$ for the bill at a restaurant, i straight up tip 10$, 15$ sometimes. I know that struggle and i try to help when i can
This isn't entirely true. In 7 states (mostly in the western US) wait-staff has the same minimum wage as other jobs. We still tip them 15% - 20% (or more), even though we are already paying the restaurant more for the food than we would in other states. So in Utah, your server's base hourly salary would be $2.13, but cross the border into Nevada and it jumps to $9.75. If you continue into California it could be $14.00.
Also, in the US, the dollar sign goes in front of the number, $5 not 5$.
@@dianeladico1769 im pretty sure in every country, the symbol for money goes before the amount. Im just lazy with typing, my bad
@@CheesyChise I'm sorry, I meant no offense. I wasn't sure if you were from the US or just familiar with our wait staff pay scales because of travel here. We meet folks from all over the world on UA-cam and sometimes it's hard to tell. It was just an FYI.
@@mariateresamondragon5850Isn't the cost of living in cali also a lot higher though?
Hey man idk if you read the comments but I appreciate your videos. They're very laid back and chill and it shows me other perspectives which is pretty interesting. Keep it up of you're having fun
Cheers man !
When I studied abroad in Australia as an American I was shocked by how people would ask lots of financial questions of me that are considered very rude in the US. Like how do you pay personally pay for university? Also asking how much you make is very taboo in the US. also very surprising to me was how Australians would regularly make politically incorrect jokes. Not something I’d recommend with American strangers. The US is very diverse and you’re more likely to offend than make someone laugh with those kinds of jokes.
I’m Australian and very aware we have a casual racism/sexism etc problem but never encounter those comments from people in my day to day life. You can easily surround yourself with plenty of Australians that don’t have these views.
Bright Side: "We're total workaholics"
East Asians: "Amateurs"
House keeper here. We don't request or expect tips where I work, but to some of our guests it's the normal thing to do to leave a tip for the person that will clean the room after you leave or to show thanks for an excellently cleaned room. It completely lights up the whole day when we come across a room that left a tip. Each hotel chain has different policies on how tips are handled.
Never heard of red cups being a thing ( maybe in college) and I never heard of a national “return day” in January. But people do return stuff all the time, that is true. Tipping: always tip your server 20%, unless it is bad service, then 15%. You definitely tip when getting your hair cut, but i don’t tip if I am just picking up food. (Although i did tip when covid hit to help the staff when eat in was banned). You also tip workmen, hotel workers, etc. americans eating and drinking while walking is definitely a thing. Air conditioning is not always on unless you live down south. Baby Showers are a huge thing. Bathroom stalls ..that is pretty accurate. It is a shock to go into a bath stall where the door goes all the way to the floor. Yeah, we do talk loud. I notice it most when visiting other countries and Americans are around. Americans would never ever sit in the front seat of a cab unless there is literally no other place to sit. It is considered an invasion of the drivers personal space, and unsafe as well. Yeah, we smile all the time, never even knew this was unusual.
Let me add, the purpose of the baby shower is to provide things the new mother is going to need on day one. Diapers, baby wipes, cribs, clothes, and gag gifts for fun. It is also a strictly woman thing. Men are rarely invited to a baby shower.
You tip 15% for bad service? I guess it depends, but if they really suck then I might do 10% max -- or intentionally skip the tip
@@alyssashoemaker3414 It is how they make their living. I would never skip a tip, even with bad service. The service could be related to something having nothing to do with the server. 15% is my lowest.
the proper amount for a tip for bad service is 1 cent. It shows you didn't forget it but you don't think they earned any more. Waitstaff are still paid, many times as close to minimum wage if not the same. If they want the extra, they need to earn it, not get it for a bad attitude and botched order.
@@redphantom11 well, if you want to tip a penny, i would recommend not going back to that restaurant. I try not to piss off those that serve me food.
I was shook when you reflected my own reaction like that.
😂
About the "how are you?" as a greeting thing
It's not just meant as "hello" if you're using it as a greeting
If you are using "how are you?" as a greeting it means "hello" AND "how are you" so don't be surprised if the person answers your question and then asks you how YOU'RE doing to be polite
(Also as a side note very few people will say they are doing badly because it is kind of generally seen as impolite to put your problems onto someone else and because they are just embarrassed by it. So that being said most people will say "fine", "great", "wonderful", "alright", or just anything positive. This doesn't mean you have to say that though, if you're feeling bad then you can say that, it's just not common.)
Exactly. The "how are you?" is just part of the greeting. Unless it's people you're actually close with, or a medical or psychological professional, practically no one actually cares. If you do, you read between the lines and try to do something quick nice and subtle for someone of you see they're having a bad day..but that's it.
we say 'what's up' when we just mean 'hello'. This video is kind of misleading
when people say "whats up?" the usual response is "not much, you?" and then after that you'll start your actual conversation
I’m from the US, I’m not sure how common it is normally, but I have colored hair and a not-so-normal style of clothing so I often get people calling out to me to say they like my hair or they like my shirt or something like that. So just in case it happens to you, it’s not unusual for someone to stop you in what you’re doing to compliment you in public :)
My thought process has always been "When the US broke away from England they didn't want ANYTHING to do with them...so they changed everything." Month/Day/Year, measurements, driving even accents! You name it. Of course that's not proven, that's just what i go with lol.
And the smiling...oh my gosh my face always hurts at the end of the day. I'm always smiling. I love seeing people smile too because it makes me happy. I never thought that people from other countries just don't smile. I wonder if/when i travel is smiling would weird people out...
I think you're right about changing everything from the English way haha. In Japan people would just think you're very friendly and they'd appreciate it ;)
@@Choppylovechoppy Actually, it happened the other way around. Americans still do things the way that the English did them before the split. It was after the American Revolution that the metric system and other international standards (such as temperature and dating systems) began to be adopted in Europe. These changes simply never caught on in the (at the time) isolationist US.
England actually changed after the Revolution, when most of the world began standardizing things like the metric system. The US was isolationist at the time and those changes just never caught on here.
I think that a lot (though by no means all) of the things that the US and Japan have in common on that list might stem from the US occupation after WWII. Japanese society was changing in radical ways at that time, and the US was the biggest international influence on the country at the time. That would explain why the Japanese are more like us than Europeans in some ways.
@@randlebrowne2048 The “accent” difference also happened after the revolution. The UK had a reform in its spellings and pronunciations, which led to today’s “accent.” (It’s technically not an accent.) So modern American English is much closer to what both the American colonists and even people in England itself were speaking than modern British English. Most movies get it wrong.
Tips- We tip service and hospitality workers. They are often paid very little, so the tips supplement their wages. It started in the Great Depression Era as a way to keep those businesses open. Most people had no money, especially small businesses like restaurants, barbershops, salons... but people who HAD money still wanted to enjoy themselves, so tipping was a way to make sure they still got the leisure time they wanted, places stayed open, and people who would have lost their jobs stayed employed. It helped "tip" the scales closer to being balanced. The problem is that the depression era, and its ripple effect in the economy/society, lasted decades.
Even when the economy recovered, paying service workers low wages and relying on tips to supplement wages became commonplace. This drove up profits for restaurants that now didn't have to pay their workers a minimum wage. That is how things have stayed. That is why there is a huge movement in the US right now to pay service workers a livable wage so that they don't have to rely on tips that fluctuate.
We aren't really "workaholics" we just have to work without vacation time or sick time. You are expected to be there, no matter what. Even if you call in sick, you might get fired, and it's usually unpaid, and you can be given a write-up for it depending on circumstances.
We also don't use AC **all** the time. We use it when it is hot outside, which is most of the year for a lot of states. We have all different climates in the US, and some places are tropical, so are hot year-round. But you won't find the AC on in winter up north lol. I think that part of the video was misleading.
And Smiling- If someone doesn't smile or give a non-verbal "what's up" nod, they are considered rude lol. I agree that it has something to do with the diversity, as many white allies try to display that they aren't racist by smiling at other races, it's almost funny to see. There's a limit on how long to look before it becomes creepy and unsettling though lol.
Bathroom stalls- there's also a HUGE gap on the sides of the door as well, to where you can literally see the person if you look at the stall as you walk by. It's humiliating sometimes. I've left bathrooms without using them because of the gap being so wide. It makes no sense.
We don't use indoor shoes either. Slippers are optional. Some people wear their shoes inside and outside without taking them off. That is honestly why so many people don't have rugs or carpets in their houses lol because the carpet would get too dirty.
We also wait to go to the doctor until we are very very sick, because it is so expensive, regardless of whether or not you have insurance.
We don't get a lot out of the tax money we pay. We work a lot, get little to no vacation time or sick time, pay a lot of money in taxes, but don't get much out of it. Most people don't even understand how taxes work, what it is used for, they just mindlessly pay it. Most of our tax money benefits the government and military. We don't have TV channels like "BBC" in the UK. We don't have universal health care. Most of our roads are terrible. A lot of places have dirty undrinkable water, if they even have public water systems in place at all (lots of places have well water that the residents maintain themselves). Garbage pickup is something you pay for. Our recycling system is nearly non-existent. Our electricity is very expensive, and you don't have multiple options to pick from, usually there is one company that owns the lines and they set the price however they want. The infrastructure here is just terrible to be honest.
Sales tax can be imposed at all levels of state government. That means there can be state, county, and city sales taxes all added together. So the next town can have a different sales tax. They are often used for local propositions, which are voted on by the people to fund a project, so may be temporary. So the sales tax may vary slightly from year to year in the same location.
This is true. Because of the city sales tax where I live there are a dozen automotive dealerships established just outside city limits so they do not have to charge the extra city sales tax.
the smiling thing is so funny to me, i guess i'd never really noticed it being from america. i wonder if that's why the phrase "resting b*tch face" is common here. i suppose since it's expected that everybody be smiling all the time, when you're one of the only people not smiling, people will say you have resting b*tch face, even if you're not upset or you're just minding your own business 😂 do other countries use this phrase, or something similar?
Idk about real life, but I watch a lot of anime and it's a pretty common trope for a main character to have a scary face that causes them to have no friends. I don't know of a specific phrase for it, but they often compare it to either spirits/ghosts or delinquents (if you're curious, watch Toradora, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, or Kimi Ni Todoke)
@@thebookworm5048 ooooh that’s a good point, i hadn’t made the connection with kimi no todoke
@@thebookworm5048 i think that might be less about their expression and more about their appearances tho
It's because a lot of service workers are underpaid by their employers, so they basically live off of tips.
for real, man
Funny thing is, Pizza delivery aren't underpaid like waiters at restaurants.. that's a secret pizza delivery dudes don't want you to know.
As an American teacher, I have to say that I work EXTREMELY hard. I DO get more vacation time than the average US worker, but that means very little when you actually factor some other things in. One, most teachers work 30+ hours of unpaid time every week in order to properly do their jobs, so if I were to factor that into my salary, I'd be making minimum wage. Two, most of the time off we do get (Summer vacation) is completely unpaid. Most Americans don't even realize this. Which means that we are completely without income for two months of the year. MANY MANY teachers don't actually take this time off and, instead, get other jobs during this time. It can be anything from retail to teaching Summer school. It's for this reason that I find it INCREDIBLY obnoxious when some people tell me I'm so lucky because teachers get sooooooo much extra vacation. They don't ask, they just assume. Thank you to all those people out there who actually ask and don't do that!
Q: How can you tell when someone is a Teacher?
A: They’ll tell you
@@davidmitchell5190
Q: How can you tell when someone is an asshole?
A: They show you.
:)
@@leahkotlarchyk679 😂😂😂
In the U.S. South, it's very hot and humid all summer. The outside air would probably kill most bacteria to be honest. The air conditioning thing isn't considered strange here at all. It's either that or die of heat stroke.
I think we smile so much because we are trying to have a happy and peaceful time and it's the best way to start. SOme places here like cities, you don't really make eye contact a lot, but still try to get along with everyone. So you might hold a door open when entering or exiting a building for people. But out in the country, it's more common to wave and say hello to everyone you meet or neighbors because you see them often. I grew up in New Jersey and there's a lot of people there, but now I'm in Louisiana and it's very country/rural.
Love that!
The solo cups each line is a measure of alcohol bottom is a shot of liquor and so on. Well just to let you know that a large cup you really get a medium cup of ice and small cup of drink
Honestly no one I know buys them for that. Usually it's just because they are cheap and disposable which makes for great for parties. Most of the time they arent even red.
I love my country, so I would say Americans are some of the friendliest, most helpful and generous people there are (sadly, there are exceptions). Friends from the UK were amazed how often they got extra good service and free stuff, especially since they were foreigners. They were sure they'd be taken advantage of (they said "we'd do it to you") when the opposite was true. We love having company, are proud of our national and regional cultures and want to share all our best stuff with visitors. Many of us feel a stranger is just a friend we haven't met yet so of course we smile.
Others have covered it so I'll just add-tipping isn't that bad. If someone does an individual service for you, we tip, serving you at a table vs. handing food over a counter. Most make a minimal base pay and make up the rest in tips. That (usually) leads to better service. People who are good at what they do make far more from tips than they would with a larger base pay and no tips. Our meals are often surprisingly affordable considering the amount you get so it's not a financial burden to tip.
That's the other thing-our restaurant portions are huge and taking the rest home is common. My UK friends we appalled that I took the leftovers from my meal. Our server was worried there was something wrong with their food because they did not.
Also, customization. Unless it's ridiculous, you can have your meal as you like it. Sub for the side dish, leave the sauce off, dressing on the side, extra cheese...if it's included in the post order preparation it can be changed, happily. They can't take something out of a premade dish or sauce but otherwise, it's your meal, your way. Off the menu is possible, too. Once a friend just wanted a grilled cheese sandwich. The response was 'we have bread, we have cheese and we have the technology'. No worries. My UK friends were blown away by Subway sandwich shop-they could have just what they wanted, and extra veg FOR FREE! After the 3rd day the girl was giving them extra meat and free cookies and drinks because they were so happy about it.
Please come see us as you're able-you'll have the time of your life.
More examples of tips:
If you are so inclined to use these services, it's normal to tip a nail stylist, a tattoo artist, a bellhop, a bathroom attendant, a food delivery person, a hairdresser, a masseuse, and sometimes the maid or housekeeper of your hotel/Inn.
Public parks, campgrounds, zoos, museums, and aquariums appreciate donations but they don't typically ask for tips. You can tip a tour guide if you want to but they don't normally expect it.
You do not need to tip the mailman, UPS driver or Amazon delivery person, the cashier at a fast-food restaurant such as KFC or McDonald's, the bus driver on a public bus, any emergency service like an EMT or police officer (it's possibly illegal for them to accept your money), a retail salesperson, or a car mechanic.
Tipping. Hair dresser sort of depends. Some people have small salons that they own, so no tip unless an exceptional job. However in larger salons the person that does your hair may be an employee, or freelance stylist. Employees not always but most often are paid hourly/ commission, Freelance stylists rent a chair in a salon. Taxi drivers are paid not great but okay, however a tip may lessen your next wait for service. Wait staff are paid under minimum wage, They rely on tips to make a living wage.
A waitress sometime work in a restaurant were each tip is there own or all the employees get a cut. But the pay for them is some-what a myth. Yes by many they get paid less but many get more. As of 2018 the average monthly pay is between 1500 on up to almost 4000. As I had a friend that was and made more then me and I was a cashier.
Sounds so unfair that they get paid less than minimum wage, how is that even legal ?
@@Choppylovechoppy Like most everything in the US, it varies by state. In California servers make federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour (or whatever the minimum wage is for their city or county), plus tips. However in Texas, servers make just over $2 an hour plus tips. This is legal because the federal minimum wage law allows a 'tip credit' if certain workers (i.e. servers and bartenders) will at least make minimum wage once tips are included. It's in part a relic of the existing tipping culture when minimum wage laws were enacted.
@@Choppylovechoppy Paying higher wages most likely would close many small restaurants increasing unemployment. A good waiter can earn good wages. As it is now the customer can decide if the service was worth more than the base bill. A tip is an indicator a job well done. Poor service gets a poor tip and those people will move on to another type of work. Good tips keep them working in the food service industry .
One thing when you visit the united states. Visit many places! Not just cities!! seriously country living, such as where I live in the mountains, is COMPLETELY different than living in a city. Every area in the US has its own culture, and way of living as well! It's fascinating even to people that live in the US. :) Hope that helps! You can always message me with questions, i love learning about other countries cultures as well.
I don't know many people who can afford to take vacations.
Same. My previous job you have to work 5 years full time, no part time periods, to get one week of PTO. It caps at 3 weeks after 15 years of full time. I didn't know anyone with that
Im from the US and the smiling thing is so true, i think a big thing about it is because everyone does it and you grow up with it so you get accustomed to it, also because its the way Americans say that were friendly and greet others without even talking.
Also the bathroom thing is for emergencies in case someone passed out or something, and im personally fine with it ig because safety and its low enough to you only being able to see the legs (also really useful to slide under if there is no toilet paper in your stall).
Here's one: when selling online we say "we ship to the contiguous 50 states in the United States" instead of saying 48 states. Which is probably why foreigners sometimes think there are 52 states because of the phrasing: "we ship to the contiguous 50 states in the United States" and because Hawai'i, as well as Alaska, are non-contiguous.
American here... I am not an ac all the time person. 😅 because of my coworkers need for cold, I wear a sweater or long sleeves year round. 🤣 also, I hate being asked how I'm doing because they don't really want to know. It's rhetorical and feels offensive to be asked if you don't really care.
interesting !
Watching your perspective on this just really shows how much in America we're bias to think of "basically just Europe when we think of the rest of the world. Practically every comparison is between the US and Europe here. The AC, the Pharmacies, the working hours. Yes we do actually work more hours and get less vacation compared to Europe, but not at all compared to Japan. You guys are much more workaholics. Or at least so the statistics say, but I don't really like the term "workaholics" because its often used to describe people that love their job or don't want to go home in sitcoms and on TV. Now to describe a whole country like that implies its a choice that we're like this and not a result of horrible work cultures and demanding bosses. Bout the US and Japan need better worker's rights Imo.
for real like the video was like “we never take vacations” as if we even have a choice smh
The a/c one is situational. like when I live in Washington state not D.C. did not really ever run the air conditioner except for two weeks out of the year. Now down in Mississippi where it’s not only hot but humid as well ,and it does not cool down at night ,so yeah a/c it’s on full blast. but south is considering subtropical from Louisiana to Florida in climate. Where as the Midwest will get hot during the day but cool down to 50 degrees at night so no need for the air conditioning during the night
"Hen Parties" in the UK are actually a party that happens for women before their wedding! (A hen is a female chicken, hence the name)
So most similar to the US's Bachelorette parties?
I see
For the deep fried food, its not just something you can get anywhere randomly. However, at state fairs and festivals, you will find A LOT of that kind of stuff including deep fried candy such as oreos or twix, lots of different kinds of deep fried meat, and etc.
The reason why we do month, day, year is for filing and sorting.
We'll organize an archive by month. Think of it like a box or PC file creation date. When you sort by date, you get all the January stuff first, sorted by day. Then all the February stuff, etc.
With my family, we only put in window A/C units in the summertime because of it being so cold any other time
Down here in the southeast, the lowest temperature is like 40 degrees, no lower, well atleast in Georgia
Okay so when traveling to other countries I have enjoyed not having to tip so I understand that tipping in America is annoying. Anyway, services to tip for are restaurants (not fast food places like McDonalds) but do tip at a restaurant where you get seated and have a waiter or waitress serving you. You should tip when getting a hair cut as the video said, getting a taxi (I don't live in a city where I have to catch taxi's though so not too sure how that works). Tipping at coffee shops is nice (but not Starbucks). You can tip at big chain coffee places but I don't, not unless I feel like it. But tipping $1 at like a local coffee shop is fine. If you get food delivered to where you are staying you should tip the delivery driver, that goes for even if you get fast food delivered. If you use an app to get food delivered just be aware that it automatically puts a tip in for you and they like to over tip in those things but you can adjust the tip so look out for that;)
Now, if you receive bad service then you don't have to tip or you can give a small tip. A lot of American's will practice grace when it comes to bad service and will still give a small tip. But let's you go get a hair cut and the barber doesn't do what you asked and you end up getting a terrible haircut then you don't need to leave a tip. Or you're at restaurant and your waiter or waitress is rude then you don't need to tip or again you can leave a small tip. A standard tip in America is 15-20% so if someone performs a bad service then you can give like 10% or if someone performed outstanding service and you are feeling generous then you can give like a 25% tip. When I was in high school and started going places without my parents tips made me nervous and I didn't have a lot of money so I would just leave a 15% tip. Now that I'm an adult and have a job thus I have more money I typically do 20% unless the service was poor. All in all don't feel like you need to over tip at places but if you don't tip at all then the employees will judge you:P
interesting ! thanks for the advise my friend ;)
I always think customizing your order is very American. When I was a kid visiting family in Japan, we went to a restaurant and I remember asking my mom if I could get a sandwich without tomatoes. She was too embarrassed to ask, so she just told me to take it off after I got it. Lol.
ive heard that too. makes me wonder how people in other countries deal with food allergies 🤔
In the US we have the baby shower before the baby is born so they will have the gifts before they need them. A new parent needs those things right away.
It's really nice seeing a good opinion of Americans, I know a lot of people don't share the same sentiment but it's just nice hearing it
as a young american, i stress over the tip thing too! i still get a little confused over where and when to tip, but it’s helpful to know the main spots where you tip like restaurants with servers, barbershops, etc.
With the bathroom stall thing… there’s been a few times throughout my life when I’ve been in a stall and someone’s young kid will try to look/climb under. I laugh it off but I feel bad for everyone who has visited the US and had that happen to them, it’s definitely a shock.
You're thinking of a 'hen do' in the UK, which is what Americans call a 'bachelorette party'. I think in many cultures, family and friends gather after a birth in order to meet and sometimes bless the new baby. In the United States, a 'baby shower' is a party held before the baby's arrival and baby is 'showered' with gifts to help the new parents prepare. This is typically only done for the first baby a couple has together, although gender reveal parties seem to be becoming a big thing for any pregnancy.
A hen do or bachelorette party is before a wedding. Sorry, forgot to add that!
When I heard you say that you were around 10 years old when you entered school in the United States it reminded me of something I've not thought about for a while. When I was 10 years old going to school in the United States MY TEACHER WAS JAPANESE! 🙂 She was one of the best teachers I ever had! Not many kids in the US are taught to write in Kanji! I was very lucky to have her as a teacher.
About tipping in America, the minimum wage for people who get tips is only $2.13 an hour which is equivalent to about ¥235 or €1.80, so most of their pay comes from tips rather than their actual wages and it’s considered rude not to give a tip.
Typically tips are about 15% of the original price, you really shouldn’t go below 12%, and more than 18% is pretty generous, though it can vary from place to place. For example, if you’re ordering fast food that’s only $5, giving an extra $0.75 is kind of a dick move so you should definitely give more. In fancier restaurants people also tend to tip pretty heavily, though that’s more about showing off how rich they are. In general though, 15% is a pretty good rule to follow
Even when they're about to curse you out of existance, they smile at you. 🤭
I was literally doing exactly what you did when you said "Americans watching this" Much love from Jacksonville, Florida!!! Welcome to visit anytime and I will take you boating on the Saint Johns river and show ya Florida! Love how interested you are in our culture and country. Would love to visit and learn more about Japan you guys have a beautiful culture as well. I love how different the world is.
THE WAY YOU TOTALLY GOT MY REACTION RIGHT AT THE END
haha
@@Choppylovechoppy if you go to Miami Florida, you'll have to speak Spanish, eat Latin food, and experience Latin culture... basically Miami is another country altogether... a Latin one that is lol
The quick head nod! We typically nod up to people we know, we'll nod down to someone we don't.
So for anyone wondering how to calculate sale tax its usually based on a percentage of each $1.00. If the sale tax is 8% sales tax then a $1.99 drink is actually $2.07. That's why a lot of things are $0.99 to stay just under the sale tax. There are some exclusions to sales tax some reserved parks, Indian, and/or religion might not have sales tax within them. Fun fact about tea tax is its partially still in act some cold teas are not taxed. Hot or take away ones are thou. Its the idea that labor (the worker or machine did to make it hot) is taxable. Anyway if your in the US you can usually ask the cashier or if nothing esle Google the areas sales tax. Even for Americans it a bit of a pain when moving areas.
You don't HAVE to tip, it's just socially expected. But we don't tip every time. We mainly decide first if we like the waiters' attitude or if we got the right food before we decide the tips. I've only learned 15% rather than 20$ or 25%.
Baby Shower: So a Hen Party or Bachelorette Party is the party for a bride to be before her wedding. Her girlfriends usually take her out for drinks and dancing as a last single girl night before getting married. A Baby Shower is thrown for a pregnant woman (usually a month or two before the baby's due date) where friends and family come and give the parents baby presents. So the parents have the supplies they need for the baby (clothes, diapers, crib, stroller, diaper genie, toys, bottles, etc.). Some people have a party before that which is called a Gender Reveal Party in which they tell their friends and family the sex of the baby (which helps them when planning the Baby Shower). I know, we Americans are extra. Lastly, if a couple already has a kid and is pregnant again they will usually have a Baby Sprinkle. It's a party similar to the shower it's just a bit smaller because the couple already have baby supplies.
The bathroom doors in Europe go all the way to the floor and there are no gaps in the doors. In the US originally the public bathrooms in the 1930s very rarely had privacy walls and when they did put them in they were very cheap. Also the doors do not go all the way to the floor because it is easy to mop under them. We kinda kept the tradition and never changed it.
I think different parts of the US have different norms around driving. In a small town or rural area, it’s common for two drivers who stopped at an intersection at the same time to wave at each other to go ahead. This can get confusing if two people are both trying to be polite and let the other person go first haha. However in a city, you are forced to drive “aggressively” and take initiative to get where you want to be. Unfortunately this is more dangerous and often causes people to disregard pedestrians.
I’m pretty sure the gaps in bathroom stalls are for safety reason like what if the lock gets stuck, or if a child can’t quite figure out how to get out, or maybe if someone suffers a medical emergency the gap would allow someone to get in and unlock it
Two more common sense “don’ts” Ive witnessed:
1. Don’t try to use English curse words if you aren’t a native English speaker. It probably won’t offend people, but it will sound awkward. (Same for any foreign language situation).
2. Don’t drink to the point of being loud or boisterous in a bar. American bartenders are usually required to stop serving, or remove anyone who seems too intoxicated.
PS - tipping is only expected where a server takes your order and brings you the food, not counter service restaurants where carry the food yourself (buffet). Many fast food restaurants do not even permit tipping.
If it’s a drive through or pick up you don’t need to tip. Usually depending on the place and food you get, $5 is a lot. I usually tip $3 for a pizza delivery. Also most places help you calculate due to advanced technology. If you sit down at a diner (not fancy), $5 is a very good tip. Don’t worry too much. You can always google it. 15% is good if you enjoyed your meal. Depending on how pricy stuff is the tip will be higher or lower. Let’s say you get a very nice steak for $30, a tip for the meal would be around $10 depending on what else you got.
As an introvert with mild social anxiety, it’s difficult to just smile outright to strangers, but if I happen to make eye contact, I try to make it a point to at least look welcoming. Sometimes I just quietly nod my head with a small smile, but I do prefer to at least try and greet people. In my experiences, I always feel happier when someone smiles at me, so I try to do the same 😁😅
A lot of times, some stalls in the US don't even have doors. It mostly happens at schools and run-down public bathrooms, but it's more common than I'd like to admit.
I love your channel so much, especially that funny thing you did at the end
giving someone a polite smile when you meet their eyes is kind of like the american version of the japanese head nod. its like a greeting or an acknowledgment
Now that you mention it, writing dates with the year, then month, and then day sounds most logical to me. It makes for the fastest process of determining chronological order between two or more things labeled with different dates. For example if you have something marked 2014/03/14 and another marked 2012/05/20, you can tell immediately which is older. But if the dates are written 03/14/2014 and 05/20/2012, or especially 14/03/2014 and 20/05/2012, the process is a little less efficient.
we've even figured out how to deep fry water! yay us....in the U.S during summers the temp can hover around 100F in many places, even places that are 80-90F the humidity can make it hard to even breath especially in the south. the west has a dry heat that can kill you without you even knowing that its happening
the "raising your voice part" I can relate because I work at a Vietnamese shop. They tell me to quiet down when I am just trying to make sure they hear me or the customer can understand what I am saying. and sometimes the projecting helps. because half the time it ends up with us going "huh? speak up"
I'm pretty sure the climate in a lot of Japan is quite like it is here in Atlanta, Georgia. The hot/humid summers you talked about is exactly how it is here.
I kind of expected the workaholic thing because I know America doesn't have a lot of paid days off and holidays. There's also a huge culture surrounding "getting rich", and this means doing lots of jobs and "side hustles". People are constantly promised that if they just work harder they'll get mansions and yachts. The UK is more laid-back.
We also fry a lot of things in the UK, but typically fish and chips. We also have fried chicken. Because we're also very multicultural (especially in London and the areas surrounding it), we also enjoy food from other cultures and that includes some fried stuff (especially Chinese... they seem to _really_ like fried stuff, and we love it too!).
We have a similar pharmacy system. There's lots of thing such as shampoos, soaps, bandages, cold medicine, etc. Some even have makeup. However, I've never seen clothes or groceries!
In the UK, I don't really know of people returning gifts, but I know of people giving them to charity shops. There are a lot of "charity shops" in the UK. They have the advantages of [1] the money given through sales are used for charity work (hence the name "charity shop"), [2] the things in them are much cheaper than for new things so people who are struggling can have new clothes and stuff, and [3] the local charity shops are more relaxed and feel more like a part of the community than typical shops.
In the UK, everyone is paid by their employer, not by the public in "tips". I'm not sure how polite or rude tipping is, but it is certainly weird.
The UK also has a lot of coffee places and bakeries, but we seem to prefer Costa to Starbucks. Costa is _everywhere!_ Also, it's typically something you sit down with, not carry everywhere. We also use quite a lot of ice in cold drinks, which annoys me because it dilutes the drink especially if it's too big for me to have in one go.
Us Brits use fans instead of AC in our homes --- and only in the summer.
The UK also uses thumbs up for the same meaning as the US. However, if you decide to do the "peace"/"victory" gesture, make sure you're holding your hand the right way! If the fingernails are facing the person, it's a very rude insult!
I knew the date thing. Americans also _say_ the date differently. They say, for example, "September 30th". Us Brits say "the 30th of September". American English likes to shorten everything.
We ask how people are doing, but after "hello".
American stalls seem horrifying.
Us Brits seem rather split on volume. Some people are very loud, some people are very quiet.
I've always thought us Brits had a lot of options in our supermarkets! That remark about us "not having many options" is the thing that surprises me! However, there being a lack of grape flavour is something I agree with! We tend to have blackcurrent instead, which funnily enough, Americans don't have.
Well, don't you want to be a bright spot in someone's day? By carrying a positive attitude, you'll be happier and help soothe others around you aswell 😊
Yeah, America gets pretty hot in the summer.
It's usually between 80 to 90 degrees f (26 to 32 Celsius) but it can potentially get over 100 (38+ Celsius)
Americans in the suburbs find it easier to invite people to their homes for dinner or just to hang out and watch TV because going out as a group can be expensive and difficult for kids. People sometimes have homes that seem too large for their family and they like to do a "house tour" when you get there so you feel comfortable. Some have fancy entertainment systems and large couches to fit 10 people so they can watch a game or movie with a lot of friends.
I used to deliver large heavy outdoor appliances. they had to be moved from the truck thru yards sometimes homes, and assembled. they were heavy, and clad in delicate pretty materials, and customers were always particular about placement. imagine delivering an 800 pound appliance in 90 to 100 degree weather. yes. I expected tips for doing a great job, so I always tip for great service.
Caution; every smile doesn't signal a friendly person, and vice versa; I always look deadly angry, but I'm a nice guy.
be safe have fun!
You also have to be somewhat careful with slang to the area you visit. Especially when it comes to food. Asking for tea in the south usually winds up being a sweetened ice tea. Asking for a pizza in a different area might be very diverse, such as Chicago, New York, and about every large city will have its version of Pizza. Or adopt the closest city's style. In some parts of the country, soda could be called pop. And Google the name of a dish or ingredient if unfamiliar, as they have funny names for things. Starting with Prarie Oysters, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.
I typically see lots of fried foods at Italian feasts! There is one near me that my dad works at, and I remember all the zeppoles there! They had fried everything, I think even one booth had fried pizza! But this isn't to say that this kind of food is very popular. It's very unlikely to find lots of fried food to that extent of just dipping whatever you can find into oil. Some more common fried foods are french fries, onion rings, and fried chicken ^^
Edit: as for writing the date, it is even confusing for many American students! Many of my classmates still write the date as DD/MM/YYYY , and if the day is larger than 12 people will usually know what you mean
I never understood why we have the ac on in the summer and make it feel like winter. We’ll dress for summer, go inside and have to put on a sweater or jacket. 🤦🏼♀️
I HATE the bathrooms! The schools are basically babysitting. And I always smile. I love being nice. I love different cultures. I think the variety is beautiful.
Where I live, it often stays in the 25-30C range, even in the winter months. And its VERY humid. Air conditioning is a survival tool, not just a luxury!
As an American, I hate tipping to. Also, the expectation, in my experience, seems to be based on where in the US.
I live in a small city of less than 200k and the only time tipping is expected is when someone brings you food (waiter, or food delivery) or serves you alcohol. Most retail service places like coffee shops and hair salons will ask if you want to tip but it is not expected.
This is probably different In bigger cities like New York, Chicago and LA
Its also very hot and humid in certain parts of the US, which is a reason why we keep our AC on all the time
I used to work in retail and we would have people go to our bathrooms and shoot up for hours at a time. I never had to slip under to unlock the door and rescue anybody experiencing an overdose, but that was definitely a possibility. We did our best to prevent people from staying the bathroom for more than, like, 15 minutes, but we weren't allowed to force them to leave, so they'd just go into a stall, lock the door, and respond drowsily that they were "almost done" when we'd check on them every 10 minutes. About the 1-hour mark is when we'd make the time to stop what we were doing (it was a busy store) and go and threaten to call 911 on them if they didn't leave.
Deep fried dill pickles are awesome and don't forget a side of ranch salad dressing for dipping.
I feel like people from SE Asia smile so much, visiting Thailand everyone would always smile
It seems to me that you don’t like tipping.
Neither do I.
So avoid tipping situations if you can.
I try to do this. It’s not the law. But it is customary.
You have to understand that there is a minimum wage for "normal" workers and then there's a minimum wage for service providers (aka waiters, bus boys and such) generally 20 to 30% less than the average minimum wage. They supplement their revenues by giving you a good service (15-18%). If the service is better the tip is better and if the service is abysmal well it can reach 0%. So the worker is incentivized by guaranteeing the customer with good service and trying to promote the sales of beverages (wine, cocktails and such) or specialty dishes (cheese platter, raw oysters, fresh lobster and such) by doing these sales; it brings the value of the bill higher thus the worker is "making" more money.
I live in the USA, and I never knew you *had* to tip places (besides fancy restaurants), I just thought it was something people did to be nice. I'm not an adult so that's probably why. (Edit: Also, people do smile a lot, and are very nice! I myself don't really smile at someone unless it's mostly direct contact)
Solo cups aren't necessarily connected to partying for everyone it depends on how you were raised and deep fried everything is mostly found in the south (which is considered to be the Georgia Louisiana Mississippi and Florida area) on the other side of Texas it is considered the southwest.
Okay so the reason you are expected to tip in America is because people who do public service jobs such as waiters, bartenders, taxi drivers, barbers (but mainly waiters in resturaunts) do not get paid very well at all and rely mostly on the tips they recieve
One thing this video left out is many bathrooms with urinals don't have dividers, I hate this and will always use the stalls in this scenario.
Unless you have a really cushy job, you don't get vacations. It's not that we *want* to be workaholics, we don't have a choice.
Exactly! I get paid time off (unlike almost everyone I know irl), but I can’t afford to actually go anywhere when I take it lmao
As an American, I didn't realize we had a national returns day . . . What am I doing with my life?!?!
Yeah I have never heard of that either..I wouldn't call it an American thing. Black Friday on the other hand...although it definitely is not like how it used to be in the 90's (madness!) thanks to online shopping!
I can actually kind of explain the reason for tipping from a food industry standpoint such as servers, bartenders is because they don't make a solid rate for example kitchen staff cooks. I havent bartended and served for years when minimum wage was 7.50 i was getting paid 2.50 an hour on a work check, so really tips is how they survive that for 80 hours my check was about 150 dollars give or take. So those tips are what i am living on. And believe me bartended and served for a good bit.
As an American visiting Okinawa NOT tipping seemed insanely rude, although I knew it was an insult to them, I felt bad leaving without showing my appreciation for their service. I always tip 30%+ for excellent service at home and my service was fantastic in restaurants. Things that cause panic- toilets, shower knobs, lack of smiling from others, strangers taking photos or staring at me, wet clothes at restaurants?, the currency/road signs/traffic/measurement and recycling systems. I knew (mostly) everyone had good intentions or it was a novelty seeing someone exotic to them, insane humidity. Delighted by- beautiful place, best apple juice ever.. (50usd shipping to treat myself to that smiling apple🥰), arcades, small vendor ramen, the Okinawa aquarium, lavender ice cream, plum sake, the amount of English most people commonly knew made me comfortable, I love that rain was almost daily. Americans are much more accepting in most places and are happy to help you during your stay, but Japanese have higher integrity and are more blunt with their intention. Japan was my absolute favorite travel experience.