I feel like strangers making small talk with you and humongous portions of food at restaurants
are two of the often cited “you know you’re in the U.S. when” things, but
back in January I went to the U.S., and while I was there, I made notes and took a bunch
of photos of a whole lot more.
Hey everyone! I’m Dana and you’re watching Wanted Adventure Living Abroad.
If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen a few of these that I already posted
while I was in the U.S., but don’t worry, most of these ones today are ones I haven't
shared on Facebook yet.
So you know you’re in the U.S. when…
You see mailboxes on the side of the road with a little flag on them! You put the flag
up when you put mail inside for the mailman to pick up, and then once they’ve picked
up your mail and possibly put new mail in it for you, they put the flag down, so one
glance out your window will tell you if the mailman has come by or not. And it’s because
of this setup with the mailboxes on the side of the road, that the driver’s seat in the
mail cars is actually on the right. So that the mailman can just take your mail and put
new mail in it from their seat.
You see toilets in public restrooms that have a gap on the seat in the front. I went into
more detail about toilets and restroom differences in Germany and the U.S. in another video,
which I’ll link to down below, but I totally forgot to mention this gap. And a lot of people
asked about it, so I did a little research, and by research I mean that I did a Google
search “why is there a gap in American public toilet seats” and found that it’s a little
up in the air, but seems to be related to hygiene. I’ll link to the articles I found
as well. But whatever the reason, if you see one, there’s a pretty good chance you’re
in the U.S.
You also know you’re in the U.S. when the first line of a help-wanted advertisement
is “are you a happy person?” So, I’ve blurred out the company behind this ad, but
I saw this on the front door of the business as I walked in. I've also seen "are you a
friendly person?"
And kind of going along with that last one, you know you’re in the U.S. when your cough
drops come with pep talks on them. So, while in the U.S., I bought a totally normal bag
of cough drops at the store and then cracked up when I opened the first one to find a bunch
of positive cheers on the wrappers. Each wrapper is different, but I took some photos. So one
wrapper said “Conquer today!” “March forward!” “Take charge and mean it!”
Another one said “It’s yours for the taking!” “Get back in there!” Also “You’ve
survived tougher!” “The show must go on. Or work.” To me this just sums up the American
mentality perfectly! It speaks volumes that none of the cough drops said on them, "You’re
sick, crawl back into bed and take the day off!" So on the one hand, I do like the positive
messages. But on the other hand, I think it's important to sometimes give yourself a break.
You also know you’re in the U.S. when you’ve got these huge intersections with huge cars
driving through them. I didn’t really notice how big the intersections in the U.S. were
before moving to the Czech Republic and then Germany because, well for one, they were simply
all I knew! And two, I never walked anywhere, so I always saw the intersections and the
cars from inside my own car, where they all look a lot smaller. But this time back I did some
walking around and really noticed just how huge the roads and intersections were compared
to what I’ve gotten used to here in Munich.
And lastly, as I mentioned on Facebook, you know you’re in the U.S. when you see water
fountains all over the place! These were something that I really searched for when I first moved
here to Germany. Where are all the water fountains?! In the U.S. you’ll see them in schools,
malls, airports, really all over the place.
So my question for you is: how do you know you’re in your home country? What are some
of the special characteristics of the place where you live? And what did I miss for the U.S.?
Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching. Please don't forget to subscribe for more videos. Perhaps
you've noticed, I've also got a mid-week series on Wednesdays called Ask an American, where
I do my best to try to answer your questions about the U.S. So if you have any, please
send them to me. And if you enjoyed this video, please show some love with the like button.
And also, for more photos and behind the scenes stuff, you can check me out over here on my
Twitter and my Facebook page. Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
What are some of the special characteristics and, and, and and...
Why is there a gap in the American public toilet...
Possibly put mail...
I always get giggly at this part.
I think I get excited. But when I went back this past January, I
made notes and took a pho...