Hi there. This is Teske from the Netherlands.
And today it’s my turn to be on the EF Guest Vlog.
I always love traveling and that’s mostly because of the difference in cultures we have.
There are certain things we do different, there are certain things we eat different.
And especially that last one makes me very excited.
For some kind of reason, when I’m in another country,
the first trip I always make is to a supermarket.
Call me crazy, but I’m so amazed by how different food is in every country.
Of course, everywhere we go we can find the same things to eat.
But every country has different candy bars, different cereals, which I all need to try.
And that’s just the start.
I want to try every single drink they have, every single spread to put on my sandwich.
Of course there’s a limit because I’m a vegetarian; I don’t eat meat or fish.
So, in some countries, it’s a bit difficult, but that’s okay.
I was in Miami and Miami was wonderful.
The weather was wonderful, the people were wonderful.
It was one big party all the time. I’m not such a big party animal myself,
but it was really entertaining to see everyone having fun.
As for the food, well, America is a bit different from the Netherlands.
Of course, I know, you can also eat very healthy food in America.
The organic section in the supermarket was so big and it was my dream.
But I thought, when I’m here, I want to have the ultimate American experience.
So I ate a lot of food. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot.
One big difference I recognized immediately is that you have free refills.
What? Free refills?
In the Netherlands, in the touristic zones, they easily charge you three Euros for one Coca-Cola.
When you want a second Coca-Cola, they just charge you another three Euros.
It’s that simple.
But no, Americans just give you free drinks. You just get free drinks!
Of course I’d heard about this, but this was very surprising.
Second thing, the portions are so big that I can only eat starters.
It depends on the day, but I’m quite a big eater.
I can eat a whole pizza by myself and still be hungry. That’s okay.
But when I tried to order a proper meal, like a starter and main course, and
I also wanted a dessert, but that never happened.
When I started the main course, I was so full, I couldn’t even finish five bites.
I don’t care too much for calories, so that’s cool because I ate a lot of them,
but I kind of felt like well, maybe I should go on a diet when I get back.
This all sounds so negative, by the way, but I’m really positive about American food.
You just need to know how to eat it and
not to order two starters and a main course and a dessert, because it will kill you.
Let’s see … another difference. Well, people are really nice.
Not to say that people in Holland aren’t nice, but Americans are nice on another level.
Whenever you come into a store, they ask you ‘how are you?”
I don’t think they really care for the answer, but they ask it anyway and it’s nice.
Whenever you’re eating somewhere, they’re constantly asking
‘Are you guys okay? Do you need anything?’
It’s funny because in the Netherlands, people are polite, but that’s kind of it.
The service is just really good and I love good service.
I think the bottom line is I love other countries and it’s so fun to explore them,
especially when you really experience the country and not only visit the most touristic places.
Also, it’s getting dark now, suddenly, because there’s a really big cloud.
And it’s covering the sun. Hey, welcome to Holland.
Come on sun, come back!
It’s kind of coming back. Yeah. Hello?
Getting to know the locals is the best thing you can have because
you can experience the country like they experience the country or the city.
And there’s not some sort of website on the internet that will give you the same experience.
I want to encourage people around me to travel as much as they can because it’s so nice.
And your culture isn’t the only culture there is on this planet.
I even would like to go off this planet one day, if it’s possible.
So yeah, that was my story. I hope you liked it!
Bye!