Here are some common things that people in the United States do:
Work: Americans tend to work long hours, often starting before 9 AM and ending before 6 PM. Many Americans start working at a young age and take relatively few vacations. [Me: Is this really what we are known for? Relatively few vacations? FYI, at my last job, I got five weeks off every year, and I always took all of them!]
Eat out: Americans often eat out or order takeout for convenience and time. They also enjoy eating out for fun. [I suppose this is true to a certain extent, especially the fun part, although I just checked my spending report and even when I am on the road, like now, I don't eat out a ton. In October, I went for lunch 4 times, dinner 3 times and ice cream 1 time.]
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| Lunch out with Elisabeth |
Value time: Americans value time and convenience, and often celebrate busyness and lack of leisure. [I do think this is true, and am actually struggling with this a bit right now, as I feel like people may think that because I am not working, I am lazy and/or not busy, aka not productive, aka lazy.]
Follow sports: Many Americans enjoy watching and following sports, especially football, baseball, and basketball. [I do not fit in this group very much, but do feel like a lot of people do love watching sports, especially football. Those fans are INTENSE.]
Practice small talk: Americans often engage in small talk, which is making conversation with strangers or acquaintances about non-controversial topics. [This one seems odd; are other cultures not known for small talk? Are Americans engaging in more small talk than other cultures? As you know, I am not a huge fan of small talk.]
Be independent: Americans value the idea of being self-sufficient. Many American kids and teenagers leave home for extended periods of time. [I do know that in many cultures it is normal to live at home for a long time, or have multiple generations under one roof, so in contrast to them, I do think Americans are seen to be kicking the kids out early. Also my parents definitely taught me to be self sufficient.]
Respect differences: Americans generally practice political correctness and respect other cultures and people's differences. [Hmmm.. not so sure about this one, AI!]
Use red cups: Americans often use red cups to drink alcohol out of. [THIS ONE CRACKED ME UP! I mean, what algorithm caused it to put this on top of other things? I have drunk out of a red cup, but I do not think this is a top ten defining characteristic of Americans!]
Celebrate holidays: Americans celebrate holidays like Halloween and Black Friday. [What about Christmas!? And Thanksgiving? Plus, is Black Friday now a holiday? My critique to AI: needs work!]
Which of these do you think AI got right, and which are just weird? And which do you think should be added? For my non-US readers, what do you think of when you think of Americans (don't be shy, I know we are known for being loud in a crowd!)?
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Ha this is pretty funny. I will have to remember to wish people a happy Black Friday. lol. I think the fact that AI thinks we celebrate that means that we are kind of company obsessed with shopping, spending and consumerism… that is not the case for most of my family and friends and certainly not my immediate family. I think it got the work and low level of time off right, though. We take far less time off than our international counterparts, especially in Europe it seems. It’s pretty rare in my industry to take a week+ off from work. I don’t think it’s atypical in other cultures. The eating out thing tracks, too, but we are outliers there, too, and were even before kids. I eat out a lot these days because of travel but beyond that we rarely eat out. We get take and bake pizzas and that is kind of the extent of the dining out experience as a family. We are getting to a point where it’s enjoyable to eat out, though, so we might do it a bit more often but it wil always be a treat.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I rarely eat out, and I am on the road every day. But I guess I am not a representative sample. I mean, I know that many people do not have more than $1000 saved up, but is that because they are eating out? Or what are they spending their money on I wonder?
DeleteWe definitely take less time off and work more than Europeans. In France, "full time" is about 30 hours, I think. When I was working there, I felt like I had lots of spare time, and this was from me coming from a college job, although I did work full time during college. I guess that is another thing, that in countries where college is free, you don't HAVE to work, which would have been nice for sure!
Oh boy. Red cups. The Solo people have to be thrilled about that.
ReplyDeleteI do think Americans spend more money on restaurant food/fast food than other cultures. It's a convenience and time consideration. Many Americans are overscheduled and do value Time; they don't grocery shop, or if they do, they do it online and have the food delivered or use pickup.
I personally don't follow sports, but I'm the outlier in my family. I do have a fantasy basketball team, so I guess I follow the NBA somewhat to make good decisions on who to play, but purely from a statistical perspective. Overall, though, I think Americans are pretty sports obsessed, but are there mass casualties at baseball or football games like there have been at European soccer games? Hmmm.
Yes, we are obsessed, but no we do not have the fights that the soccer teams in Europe or South America have. I went to a soccer game in Argentina and there were separate entrances, no alcohol, and a fence between the two sides of fans! It was my first experience with that and it was really weird. I go to baseball games a lot and we will be right next to a Dodgers fan (boo! beat LA!)
DeleteHeehee - the red cups thing is hilarious. To be fair to the AI, I have seen many Buzzfeed style articles of "what surprised you about the US" or "are these TV tropes or real things Americans do" that seem to ALL feature red solo cups.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think your lifestyle is amazing and enviable and courageous. To be able to plan for a period of pure travel requires so much savvy in so many ways, it boggles my mind. Lazy would never be a word I would associate with you.
Thank you; that means a lot! I think we all have our insecurities! I wonder if the TV tropes are all college age based, as that was probably when I used the red solo cups the most. I don't think I have had a drink out of them in a while, although we may have used them at my grandma's 90th birthday, just due to the fact that they are disposable. But when I think of them, I think of drunk college kids, kegs and beer pong.
DeleteRED SOLO CUP! As a Canadian, one thing I find startling is the whole healthcare thing. And also the lack of maternity leave. I remember some of my Houston colleagues saving up their vacation and every last day just to have six weeks with their newborns. It's horrifying, honestly. On a completely different note, I was talking to my girlfriends last night about food in Europe, how it is just more common to buy fresh instead of keeping two freezers and fridges full like I do (plus a pantry!).
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in France, I went to the bakery EVERY DAY. The apartment I had only had a "dorm sized" fridge. To be honest, when I am traveling I only buy a dorm sized amount of food, but when I am at home, I definitely buy things when they are on sale. Who's husband hates frozen meat? I think it may be Kae's, which makes sense since he is from Mexico!
DeleteOur healthcare is lacking, and is fueled by large corporations (insurance companies). The last two companies I worked for had 4 months of maternity leave + a month of paternity leave, which I think could be split up, so the father could stay home for two weeks, go back to work, and then go back home to help for a couple of extra weeks. That is the best I have seen in the US in the places where I have worked. We can add disability to this, and get 2/3 of our normal pay (I think) but I do not know exactly how long we can do that.
Hahaha about the red cups! That is soooo funny!! 😅 In Mexico people occasionally make comments about that pretty soon we'll be "kicking Ethan out" as he'll be done with high school in a couple years. Ha. On this last trip we were just talking about how there really is no such thing as college dorms there. So basically kids typically go to college wherever their family lives and they just continue living at home. Or, if they happen to have extended family somewhere else, they might go there and live with THAT family. It sounds quite rare that an 18 year old there would ever be able to afford an apartment and just go off and live alone. I can see definite pluses and minuses to the different systems. My husband feels like it's better how it is here, for kids to go off and learn that independence and have more life experiences, versus living at home often until you get married/partner up with someone. (He lived at home in Mexico during his college years as well but now that he lives here and sees the alternative, he says he wishes he could have done it this way.)
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine was married to a Filipino guy who went from living with his mother to living with her and he had never bought (or replaced) a roll of toilet paper in his life. So when she told him he was going to have to start paying half of the bills, and picking up after himself, he had NO concept about how to do any of that. So, I guess I feel that if the person gets taught how to be an adult while living at home, it can work, but otherwise, it can be a disaster! Note that I said "WAS married to..."
DeleteWow, this has got to be the weirdest list I have ever seen. As is evident by your response to the AI suggestions. And what is it with the RED cups? That made me laugh. And, as a Brit living in Quebec (Canada) we prefer to go buy fresh a lot of the time, and cook fresh. Me and mine hardly ever eat out. We might do take away but that's slightly different.
ReplyDeleteWho knows why the red cups made the top list. I am assuming it is pulling data off of Tik-Tok or something, as it is a college aged thing to have parties where those cups are present. My family also hardly ever eat out. We do it more as a "special occasion" than an everyday thing.
DeleteSo often the output from ChatGPT is generic, like we could copy/paste and use this list for many places. And hey, it skipped hockey as a key sport US follows. Fun post, Kyria.
ReplyDeleteI know; you defintely have to take it with a grain of salt! Black Friday?
DeleteI think I tend to think of Americans as liking BIGGER. Bigger cars, bigger servings, bigger egos (sorry! not you, I'm 100% generalizing here). I also think of American's as loving football, being extremely patriotic (I think you're much more vocal about national pride than Canadians, to your credit), and not having a public health care system (as Nicole mentioned; little to no maternity blows my mind for such a wealthy, modern society).
ReplyDeleteI should ask ChatGPT the same thing about Canada/Canadians.
Also, I am so excited our dinner date was the picture in this post <3 I eat out once a month, I'd say, on average? I'm too frugal to do it regularly! Also, I think homemade food tastes better and takes less overall time (I don't find going to a restaurant very convenient most of the time. It's an event that fills up quite a bit of time).
I wonder if the bigger thing is ACTUALLY true, or if it is more a function of what the media portrays. Growing up in a smaller town, I did not see this as being the case. So it is people in big cities who are like this, or is it just how the media portrays us, or is everyone really like this? I would say that my cohort is NOT like this. However, there is definitely a subset of people who have to "keep up with the Joneses" but doesn't that happen everywhere, or maybe our Joneses are different?
DeleteI asked it about Canadians and here is what it said. No wonder people like you guys more than they like us!
1. Embrace the Outdoors
2. Enjoy Hockey
3. Say “Sorry” a Lot
4. Drink Coffee and Tea
5. Celebrate Canadian Holidays
6. Cook Traditional Foods
7. Engage in Multiculturalism
8. Drive on the Right Side of the Road
9. Speak French and English
10. Watch the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
11. Be Proud of Their Country
12. Engage in Community and Volunteer Work
13. Practice Tolerance and Inclusivity
That list for Canada does feel relatively representative. We do say “Sorry” – A LOT!
DeleteYou do. My friend from Toronto who lives in the states says is A LOT!
DeleteWell, I know plenty of people who don't fit these stereotypes, but yeah, most of them are true (IMHO).
ReplyDeleteThe ones I disagree with are 'being independent' and 'respecting differences'. I think kids leave home earlier, but often are less prepared to function in the real world (or more immature when they leave for college - or at least that was my impression when I came here as a college student). And re: respecting differences, I think there are very opened-minded, well-traveled folks (like you) and then there are very narrow-minded people that think the US is the best in every regard.
The one about the red cups made me chuckle, but I think the impression comes from Hollywood movies that center around College-themed narratives. They always show the red cups! (In Germany, plastic cups are not widely used, so that seems to be a cultural thing that stands for with the US.)
The independent one is interesting. We hired a lot of people right out of college in my last job and they were unprepared to function in a regular job, because for many of them, it was their first job. As someone who started working very early in life, and who worked all through HS and college, this seemed so weird to me that a 22/23 year old needs to be taught how to interact with coworkers and be on time and not wear sneakers to work and things like that. I mean, my parents had kids at that age!
DeleteThis is just wild. The red solo cup cracked me up, as did the Black Friday as a holiday. What? I do think we tend to be a busy country and we value fast food or eating out a lot. I also think there's a lot of focus on cars. I feel like other countries have better public transportation or they don't rely on driving their own cars as much, but we also live in a geographic area with so many cities being a distance from other cities, etc. When Ed studied abroad, people from other countries often questioned him about guns in our country, specifically in our schools. Sad state of affairs there. Really entertaining post.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday is not a holiday to me. I think that just goes along with the theme that Americans are gluttonous consumers. As a person without a car, and a person who has not had a car for years at a time, I actually see that in many of our cities we have pretty good transport. It is in the outlying areas or countryside where we are definitely lacking. I stayed in a tiny mountain town in Austria and could get everywhere by bus, train and gondola, but here, where my parents live, there is a once a week shuttle for seniors to get grocieries but otherwise that is it. They could not function without a car.
DeleteI think as general characteristic they are true but not applicable to all of you. for instance I don't think many of the blog readers eat out a lot, nor follow sports as big fanatics. I generally don't like the idea of stereotype people to judge before knowing the person, but I know the temptation is big. For travelers especially, people can be born one place and grow up somewhere else, so it's hard to say where they are from.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great point. I wish people would not stereotype, as, like you say, many blog readers, and me, don't really fall into this list. I think when you travel you have a more open mind to just seeing how a person is vs. if you don't travel it is easy to just read the internet and assume things.
DeleteI agree with San on the red cups things. It was not so surprising to me. The use of plastic cups is (to be honest= appalling to me. Also when having guest over and such. This is something (we Germans?!) rarely do.
ReplyDeleteThe small talk thing is something that is America known for at least I have heard it multiple times. And after living there for a year. have to agree somehow. But it's a bit more complex too. It is hard to explain but there is a difference ein conversations in America and Germany/Europe.
I agree that the small talk here is different from small talk in Germany, conversations in general.
DeleteCan you guys give an example? Like what small talk (if any) do you have in Germany vs what would you expect to talk about at a party in the US? Also Tobia, I am curious about the red cups, did you actually get served out of one at someone's house that was NOT in college? I don't think of them as something that you would use unless you were having an outdoor party at a park, or a college party pretty much anywhere.
DeleteThe red cup thing made me laugh out loud! HA. Who knew that was such a big part of our culture?
ReplyDeleteI do think it got a lot right, though. Like time off - having 5 weeks off at an American company is unheard of! It was usually 2-3 weeks at MOST (and that usually included sick time). More companies are offering unlimited PTO now, though. My company offers that and I don't think I'd ever work at a company that doesn't. It's so nice to not have to worry about "saving up" to take time off.
I also think it gets the eating out thing right, too. I know most people in our blog community doesn't eat out a lot, but that's the opposite in my friend group. So I feel like the weird one in blog world, haha, because I eat takeout way more than others but not so much in the real world!
Interesting. Apprximately how many times per week do you think your cohort eats out or gets take out or delivery?
DeleteI think this was accurate... until the last three. What the??? It kind of went off the rails there.
ReplyDeleteHah! Yeah, some of them are interesting, and also I feel like for a top ten there are others that may be higher on the list.
DeleteOK, that's funny! I have a package of red solo cups in my pantry. So, it's all true! 🤣
ReplyDeleteHaha! What do you use them for? I picture them as outside picnics and college parties!
DeleteSupersize everything. Bottomless everything. Lack of PTO.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some people like it big, that is for sure. However, I feel like that may be more of a middle of the country thing, not as much of a coastal one.
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