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IMF crisis
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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 Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Justin Hale wrote: |
Even though there's hardly a massive difference between UK and US obesity stats, I too was knocked out by the fat people in the US first time I visited - especially the women (and especially the black women).
My experiences in the US are for the most part in Brooklyn and rural Pennsylvania. Brooklyn was a surprise because it's completely safe to walk around at 3am. Rural PA and I assume rural elsewhere was and is a massive surprise and shock, because very blue collar people have the most enormous properties with huge areas of surrounding land. The lifestyle for the blue collar rural American is superior to even wealthy Britons in many a case. PA is also shocking for the amount of US flags on houses (and the first time I visited was before 9/11). The majority of houses have flags on them and some people wear 'America' t-shirts. I enjoy patriotism so it's far from being a problem, but it was a big surprise. |
Did you see many Amish in PA? |
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Bigfeet
Joined: 29 May 2008
Location: Grrrrr.....
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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| IMF crisis wrote: |
| Did you see many Amish in PA? |
Not unless you seek them out. They keep to themselves.
I'm not ashamed to say it. America has a lot of fatties. Apparently, that's what economic success will do to a country. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: Non-US people: Things you did/saw/experienced 1st in the |
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| Hyeon Een wrote: |
| - Fat people. Britain has fat people, but the US can take it to another level at times. For the first time in my life I saw a person SO fat that they had to drive a cart around the supermarket to buy their food. It was mostly junk food.. voyeur that I am I was so fascinated by someone of such size that I followed her and her trolley-pusher around for several minutes. I felt sorry for the supermarket-worker who had to pile-up and push her trolley full of crap, no offense intended towards the American snack food producers. By the way, 'trolley' is the British English word for shopping cart. |
That depends where you live in the states. Didn't see many fat people in Seattle or Portland.
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| - Racism. It certainly exists in Britain, |
When I went to middle classed catholic school in Canada, I didn't think it existed either. The UK strikes me as extremely racist. Don't they have to shut down soccer games because of it? |
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Stormy
Joined: 10 Jan 2008
Location: Here & there
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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The main things that struck me when I was in the US:
1. The size of the meals, they were enormous. I like my food but I could very rarely finish any of my meals while I was there. I didn't notice a higher percentage of fat people then at home but man those meals were super-jumbo size.
2. Paying for petrol before you fill up. My mate & I were clueless the first time we went to fill up - in Aus you fill up and then go in to pay. Not sure why they do it the other way around in the US - lots of non-payers?
3. They have so many different types of milk it'll do your head in. All different percentages & the like. Ordering a coffee was also a pain. There's no such thing as a plain coffee - you have to give a description & specify your milk preference. Half & half, 2% etc. Got pretty fluent in milk & coffee speak by the end.
4. Soup is served with crackers (biscuits to us southern hemispherers). In Aus we serve soup with bread as it soaks it up so well - never got used to crackers 'n soup.
5. The people we met along the way were, without exception, unfailingly friendly. Of course this will be specific to the areas we travelled through but I was rather surprised. North America has this global reputation of being rather awful in truth, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the time I spent there & how much I liked the people.
There were, of course, other things but these were the main differences between Aus & the US (or my perceptions of the US) that I noticed in my brief time there. |
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aarontendo
Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Location: Daegu-ish
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:21 pm Post subject: Re: Non-US people: Things you did/saw/experienced 1st in the |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
That depends where you live in the states. Didn't see many fat people in Seattle or Portland.
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Heh maybe we grew up in different parts of the NW. I'm from Portland, last time I flew home I was shocked at how many overweight people were groping for their luggage at PDX. Maybe it's just cause I spent a year in Korea and was comparing em. Or maybe I just took the wrong flights ;p |
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Bigfeet
Joined: 29 May 2008
Location: Grrrrr.....
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Stormy wrote: |
The main things that struck me when I was in the US:
1. The size of the meals, they were enormous. I like my food but I could very rarely finish any of my meals while I was there. I didn't notice a higher percentage of fat people then at home but man those meals were super-jumbo size.
Americans confuse quality with quantity. They do it with their cars and their houses so it's not surprising the do it to their food too.
2. Paying for petrol before you fill up. My mate & I were clueless the first time we went to fill up - in Aus you fill up and then go in to pay. Not sure why they do it the other way around in the US - lots of non-payers?
Yes, at nearly all gas stations you have to pay inside first if you're paying in cash. I guess this is to cut down on runners. Most motorists pay with plastic so this is not a problem.
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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| 5. The people we met along the way were, without exception, unfailingly friendly. |
In the part of the US I'm from, when driving between towns it is quite common for people to wave at the on-coming cars, especially if they are farmers in their pickups. My mom says the farmers are lonely. 
I never thought anything of it till I came to Korea and started meeting waygookins who can get genuinely hostile if you smile at them. |
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Ukon
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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About the paying in the gas station thing....it depends on the gas station & when.....during time of rising fuel prices idiots figure they can get away with driving away....
They have hidden cameras....this one attendant at a dirty old Gas station explained it too me.....cops just show up at the address of the person and throw him in jail for a few days or so.
Unfortunately, you have a never ending stream of young people getting cars here in the states..... |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: Non-US people: Things you did/saw/experienced 1st in the |
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| aarontendo wrote: |
| mindmetoo wrote: |
That depends where you live in the states. Didn't see many fat people in Seattle or Portland.
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Heh maybe we grew up in different parts of the NW. I'm from Portland, last time I flew home I was shocked at how many overweight people were groping for their luggage at PDX. Maybe it's just cause I spent a year in Korea and was comparing em. Or maybe I just took the wrong flights ;p |
Going from Korea to back home is a different story. Going from Detroit/Windsor to Seattle/Portland is another perspective. |
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safeblad
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:01 pm Post subject: Re: Non-US people: Things you did/saw/experienced 1st in the |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
The UK strikes me as extremely racist. Don't they have to shut down soccer games because of it? |
no they dont |
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safeblad
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Hyeon Een wrote: |
| Pligganease wrote: |
I think it's funny that this "not intended to be an anti-US thread" is drawing out the likes of Dome Vans and bovinerebel. I think that says a lot about the thread itself. |
I'm sorry it's going that way.
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I dont know. Maybe I don�t read Daves enough. Dome Vans never struck me as anti-american an any way. Hyeon Een has also never been a negative poster. I remember reading a few posts of his about his experiences in America which were never critical... getting a vegan meal from hari krishna in times square (I think that was hyeon een??), very amusing.
A few more defensive people are the ones who are always taking a pop at the UK whenever the opportunity arises, (ya-ta boy you refrained?) Yes there are tons of fat people in both countries but like someone said, America takes it to a new level, you never hear about people having to be cut out of buildings (or their trailer, the toilet, or whatever) in the UK, maybe this year�
On the racism thing, yes it exists in both countries, I wish people would quit citing �soccer� based examples of this like they know what they are talking about. Yes obviously the British are evil (yada yada). The thread is about personal experiences.
Might as well add my own experience, when I was a kid I was in a choir (what a fag!) that went on a tour of America. We all stayed with various good christian families who were unsurprisingly very nice. The thing I will always remember though was me and my friend (both eleven) being taken to a shooting gallery by some lady we were staying with. Such a massive cultural difference, my mother would have been mortified but it was awesome. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Enrico Palazzo wrote: |
| Pligganease wrote: |
| Dome Vans wrote: |
| Pligganease wrote: |
| Dome Vans wrote: |
| Quote: |
| (30% of Americans being obese, 23% of Brits). |
Just a small side point here. The OP noticed a lot more obese people.
23% of 60 million is 13.8 million compared with 30% of 300 million is 90 million. That's a significant increase in the actual number. |
Yeah, and it makes sense if you have zero rational or logical thinking ability.
The population density of the US is 31 people per square km. In Britain, it's 246. So, in the US there are 10 fat people per square km while in Britain there are 57.
So, you'd see more fat people in the UK than you would in the US. |
Yes, yes, of course P.
Knocking about in America's urban areas you will see far more obese people. They have the world's third largest Urban population that's 232 080 000 people. With on average 30% of them being obese. Obviously out of town you're less likely to see that many because of the size of the country. Britains Urban population is just over half living in cities (with populations of over 100 000 people). To the casual traveller you're more likely to see more obese people therefore in America especially in the urban areas. Hence the OP's original post, musings from a traveller's perspective.
Add in American's sensitivity to what was a harmless thread and then you're just about there. |
Is this again where you show your ignorance of America?
Yes, I believe it is.
Most of the obese, particularly the morbidly obese, live in rural areas. They also tend to live in southern states. Therefore, you are less likely to see obese people in northern or metropolitan areas in any similar numbers to the amount that you would see in Britain.
I think it's funny that this "not intended to be an anti-US thread" is drawing out the likes of Dome Vans and bovinerebel. I think that says a lot about the thread itself. |
Plig, do we have to go there? Anyway, didn't you hear that Philadelphia is one of the fattest cities in America? It is not rural, and it is not in the South. Yes, I know, Houston is number one. Now, can you tone it down with the attacks.
Thanks.. |
Houston is so 2003.
Memphis is now #1.
Philly isn't on the list, but was #4 back in 2003. |
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Justin Hale
Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Location: the Straight Talk Express
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| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:02 am Post subject: |
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| Stormy wrote: |
5. The people we met along the way were, without exception, unfailingly friendly. |
Totally agree
| IMF Crisis wrote: |
| Did you see many Amish in PA? |
Not that I'm aware of |
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Bryan
Joined: 29 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:39 am Post subject: |
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My first really long trip to the US was probably at 10 years old:
I remember ordering iced tea and expecting some really sweet stuff like back home, but it was just cold tea. Gross lol.
People were calling ketchup "catsup."
In general, most of the homes were bigger and the cars were newer. My Dad attributed this to tax deductible interest on mortgages.
But basically, there was no difference. There were more fat people than where I was from, but I could go to other places in Canada to find more fat people. Vancouver is a bit leaner than the rest of the country. Plus both my parents were porkers.
My company sent me to work in America right after I graduate high school. I love America and enjoy its slightly higher level of prosperity and slight bit more economic freedom. I bought a big American flag when I was there and draped it in my window. I think I'm an American at heart and want to find a way to settle down there some day. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:02 am Post subject: |
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| Bryan wrote: |
I remember ordering iced tea and expecting some really sweet stuff like back home, but it was just cold tea. Gross lol.
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Want sweet iced tea? That's all they serve in the South. |
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