My trip to U.S.A. and my observations & questions.

Hello Americans !

This post is mainly for you, however, I don't mind others popping in.

I went to Florida a few years ago. I'm Norwegian, and we Norwegians are spoon fed American culture from the day we are born. As an "expert" on your country I went there for the first time as a 33 year old. Here is my observations and questions:

Observation : Mostly where I went strangers said "hi", and started chit-chatting. This is highly unusual where I come from, Norway. In Norway you don't talk to strangers. Period. However shocking it was to me, it was still kind of refreshing, and I enjoyed it. Seems like it's easier to get in touch with people "over there"

Question: Is my observation true, and if so, is it like that not only in Florida, but in every state ?

Observation: All of your food tastes great, even the supermarket mayo salads with stuff in them, like ham or shrimps. In Norway they taste like crap. You can even buy a bun ready-made with egg and bacon in it "over there".. Just pop it into the micro and enjoy. Loved it.

Question: Does all food really, really taste great "over there"?. I could not find any food that did not taste good. Maybe except the lobster pizza I was served. The wonderful honey sauce made me forget all about that pizza though, until now.

Observation: When I was "out on the town", (mind you this was a small city), all the people from the 5 pubs in total went to one, single pizza place when the pubs closed. No less then 9 cops were standing by watching that place. Why so many? And what were they doing there ? They even parked one of their cars in the ally next to the pizza place (how did that huge car fit in there anyway?), then 6 of them lined up on the other side of the street, looking at said pizza place. Seems a bit over the top to me, really. In Norway you are lucky if you see ONE cop!

Oh... and I almost forgot: I was bored waiting for my friend coming out with all the pizzas he bought (he was hungry) , so I took a peek at the 6 cops, turned around and started kicking the air like Bruce Lee. They did not mind, and did not arrest me.

Question: was I lucky to NOT get arrested, and why all the 9 cops watching one tiny little pizza place ?

Observation: Some dude told me that if you are outside alone, after having a few beer, it's a instant arrest if the cops see you, even if you are just walking home. By the way, do you walk at ALL "over there" ? Or do you drive everywhere ?

Question: Is that true ?

Originally posted by Pointofview
Question: Is my observation true, and if so, is it like that not only in Florida, but in every state ?

Most people are friendly. Some, more so than others. Kansas is especially friendly. I've found the center of the country to be more friendly than the coasts.

Originally posted by Pointofview
Question: Does all food really, really taste great "over there"?.

Yes, that's why we're all so damn fat. Have you ever had a burrito smothered in green chili? That's like crack coc aine to me.

Originally posted by Pointofview
Why so many? And what were they doing there ? They even parked one of their cars in the ally next to the pizza place (how did that huge car fit in there anyway?)

There was probably a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop nearby. We are better drivers.

Originally posted by Pointofview
Question: was I lucky to NOT get arrested, and why all the 9 cops watching one tiny little pizza place ?

No, you weren't "in luck". Contrary to what you read on ATS, most police aren't jack booted thugs looking to bust someone's skulls. Next time you come over, contact the local police department and request a ride along. Most departments do it. You'll have the time of your life.

Originally posted by Pointofview
By the way, do you walk at ALL "over there" ? Or do you drive everywhere ?

Most cities have "drunk in public" bans. As long as you're not a nuisance, you'll be okay. Depending where you live depends on whether you walk or take public transportation, or drive.

We are very friendly in the South and we typically smile at others and say hi. It is pretty standard here in Tennessee. We don't meet strangers.

I will also tell you....Southern food is AWESOME! You said you went to a pizza place..next time try Cracker Barrel. It is super good!!!

Police will pull you over after leaving a bar so it is best to be safer than sorry. We do walk places, especially if you live in town but here in the South it may be a thirty minute drive to town so driving is much more suitable.

A police officer will arrest a person for being drunk in public....just not cool here.

SO glad you were able to visit and it sounds like it was good one.

reply to post by Pointofview


Everybody says "hi" and such in the South and Midwest for the most part. It's much more like Norway in the Northeast. Don't know about the West or the Plains.

All our food is good because we have a lot of extremely unhealthy stuff in it to make it taste good. Now you know why obesity is epidemic in the U.S.

Quite the opposite of being close to arrested, the cops probably got a kick out of you doing your Bruce Lee impression.

Yes, cops will sometimes congregate places if they know it to be a popular place for dodgy activity. We have pretty high crime rates when compared to most of Europe. We also have much more brutal LEOs.

Yeah,the pizza place where everyone goes after all the bars close.
The police were just waiting to pick up the obvious drunks and drunk drivers,thats all.

reply to post by Pointofview

Question: Is my observation true, and if so, is it like that not only in Florida, but in every state?

Pretty much. American are a talkative and friendly bunch, except for Philadelphia … that stereotype is unfortunately true.

Question: Does all food really, really taste great "over there"?. I could not find any food that did not taste good. Maybe except the lobster pizza I was served. The wonderful honey sauce made me forget all about that pizza though, until now.

A bit too subjective to answer. I have found great food everywhere in the world I have traveled. I think the states has a wider variety though because of the diverse immigrant population.

Question: was I lucky to NOT get arrested, and why all the 9 cops watching one tiny little pizza place ?

Anywhere drunks congregate after the bars close there will be fights. From my experience, as long as you aren’t behaving like a complete idiot, they tend to leave you alone.

Question: Is that true ?

As long as you aren’t obviously intoxicated or impaired then no, you won’t be arrested. Even if you are obviously impaired, if you aren’t a sassy pants the police are just as likely to drive you home as they are to throw you in jail, it all depends on how you act and the individual officer. Don’t have an open container outside the bar or restaurant, although some municipalities allow this, or it will be confiscated at a minimum and you will be arrested at worst. Police tend to be a bit more lenient with foreign tourists.

We are a friendly bunch here in Indiana and
my home state Kentucky. I have traveled
and stayed in many US states and the only
state I found not friendly was Minnesota, now
I know why - they have a lot of folks from Norway
and you just told me its not the thing to talk
to strangers. All these years I have wondered
about that and you answered my question.
The Norwegian people I became acquainted
with were great, love their food as well.

Food is great most places in the US, lots of
variety and we will try just about anything.
Have you tried Mexican food, to die for yumm!
Oh yea thats Mexico but its popular in the US.

reply to post by Pointofview


In response to the food tasting great question: it's probably the high sodium content in US food. Salt is yummy, and it makes things stay "fresh" longer.

In my opinion when I went to Europe the food tasted better, because it had to be fresh. ( the real fresh)
Things weren't as commercialized.

All Microwave food is crap.

No the cops where there waiting for all the drunks to go home,so the could shake down the pizza shop owner for protection money.

The South is definitely the friendliest region (in my opinion), at least to your face. You will notice extreme differences in food depending on the region of the Country you are in though. I have yet to have any truly terrible food that I didn't make myself

Yes all the food is great. I agree with a previous comment, that's why we are so fat! Ha!

There are a lot of cops. They were there because that is probably where all the drunks hang out. Where there be drunks, there be fights. They may have also just been bored.

I doubt the cop could arrest you for that, unless you were threatening someone or them.

HAHA! There is some walking. People walk in the larger cities to the subway or bus station. It depends on what part of the Country you are in. Everyone walks or bikes in the town I am in, but everything is close and it is a very small town. Alternatively in South Carolina where I grew up, no one walks. Everything is far away and it is very rural. A lot of people choose to walk at the gym or after work instead. It depends on the city. We should walk more.

reply to post by ValentineWiggin

I'm from South Carolina also.
Southerners tend to be more friendly.
The further north you go,I guess do to the cold weather,the less friendly there are,in my experience.
Sorry,don't mean to offend y'all yankees.

I live in FL, South Beach to be exact... It is very nice here most people you see on the streets are going to be tourists but there are a good amount of locals here... We have like 5 big hostels so lots of foreign people come here for vacations.

The cops here are up and down some of them are great I go to this chicken place a couple times a week that is amazing its across from the miami ink tattoo place... Usually these 2 cops are in there it seems every time I go there lol they are nice to everyone I talk to them sometimes, there were 2 tourists from france sitting at the table next to us and the cops next to them the other week. One cop knew french and was talking to them and the other one talked to them because they knew some english and they were asking about things and they told them to check out the beach for sure and the cop asked them if they ever tried a cuban coffee they said no so the cop got them each a coffee to try and they loved it...

The other end of that is recently 2 cops were arrested because they were drunk and joyriding while on the job with their 4-wheeler and ran over a couple of people on the beach and one of the people almost died and is still in the hospital...

Some cops are just jerks thats why they become cops so they can have power over people because they were losers growing up and people made fun of them or whatever stupid reason. There is no getting around this and that is pretty much everywhere...

You will see allot of cops driving around and on bikes here patrolling I do not see this as a problem we have a decently low crime rate and you don't have to worry when drunks are around looking for a fight because there will usually be a cop close by to help you out.

Most microwave food here I think tastes great... Now that doesn't mean its good for you in any way lol I really prefer some good real food like seafood or italian food, I go to this great italian place down the road and their food is all fresh made and its amazing and its not that expensive and they are all real italians and hardly speak english lol

Most people are nice here and I have lived all around the USA and everywhere I have been for the most part everyone is nice, when I was in NYC I ran into a few not so nice people and everyone is in such a hurry I doubt they would want to stop and have a conversation with you. In Miami beach especially if you aren't from here and you tried to just talk to someone most likely you will get some good information if thats what you are looking for or a good conversation.

There are allot of homeless people here which is sad and they will ask you for money like non-stop I always feel bad because I usually really don't have money to give them but I do when I can. Later at night when everything is closed is when I work at the club and when I walk home from work you see them sleeping pretty much anywhere from door ways to the bus stop I have seen allot of them that are in wheelchairs missing legs or other things and I can't even imagine how hard their life is Most restaurants will leave any food they have at the end of the night that cant' be reused or would be thrown away in containers in front of their doors for homeless people and the church lets you sleep under their awning so if its raining you wont get wet. They also do other things around town to try to help homeless people giving them food and stuff.

I think that over all america is a great place to live, it is the very few that are trying to ruin it for everyone else. I wish the rather then being a country run by warlords and fearmongers we could put all that money/time/energy into making the world a better place to live.

I have friends in Norway and I have always wanted to go there but its expensive to get there, I have watched shows about it and it looks like a really nice place I am surprised that people there dont talk to strangers and stuff it seems like everyone would be pretty open there compared to here. I really want to go to amsterdam though with my Girl and get really high off some amazing drugs and maybe visit the red light district so we can have some fun... If only the US was more like amsterdam

Oh yah and for the drunk law thing I personally like the law but I have been drunk as HELL plenty of times walking home and never had an issue... what will get you an issue being drunk is yelling, peeing in public, harassing someone, basically being a drunk douchebag will get you arrested for drunk and disorderly. I myself have never had an issue but cops will wait outside of clubs/bars and follow people they believe are drunk which is what they should do and arrested them for drunk driving which they should do. There is no excuse for drunk driving

Originally posted by crazydaisy
I have traveled and stayed in many US states and the only
state I found not friendly was Minnesota, now
I know why - they have a lot of folks from Norway
and you just told me its not the thing to talk
to strangers. All these years I have wondered
about that and you answered my question.
The Norwegian people I became acquainted
with were great, love their food as well.

I guess we're friendly enough here in Norway. It's just that most are very shy and suspicious towards strangers I guess. So it's hard to get NEW friends, at least if you're in your 30's or older.

However, if you can get people talking, I think you'll find that most are nice and friendly people. And some just love to brag with their English or German "skills" and such, so if you're American, just start talking, and you'll make friends.

reply to post by crazydaisy

I have never been to America but if I get the lottery I would love to go for a packaged holiday. Never the adventurous type this is the only option. One thing I would like to try is the steak, hamburgers and hotdogs at the truck stop/diners. I always see it in the movies but I do not think I can get to do that on a packaged tour. I am really...really fascinated with it and I wonder if its as good as it looks. We have Starbucks,Coffee Bean, McDonalds,Kentucky Fried Chicken,TGI..Fridays,Kenny Rogers Roasters, Pizza Hut and everything from other countries in my hometown. I am just aiming for that truck stop diner. I saw in the movies American hamburgers use fresh patties rolled up like a meatball and only flattened as its being cooked. Here the beef patties are already flat and round.

Originally posted by Pointofview
Question: Is my observation true, and if so, is it like that not only in Florida, but in every state ?

What part of Florida were you in? I'm in Florida, east coast and it depends on where you go on how the people are. For the most part if you are beachside people are pretty laid back. I have been and lived in parts of Florida where the people were just straight up rude. The city I live in people aren't very friendly esp at the local shops and stores. I just try and avoid certain ones. The places I do go the people tend to be pretty friendly. It's funny because I shop all discount and second hand shops/stores. The people in those stores I have found are much nicer than in the bigger stores.

Question: Does all food really, really taste great "over there"?. I could not find any food that did not taste good. Maybe except the lobster pizza I was served. The wonderful honey sauce made me forget all about that pizza though, until now.

LOL I said the same thing when I went to Italy. I loved the food there. I do agree we have many different food options. You can have one item but there could be 7 different ways it comes. Lobster pizza imo is never good lol

Question: was I lucky to NOT get arrested, and why all the 9 cops watching one tiny little pizza place ?

LOL well that's just Florida all over it seems. lol We joke here when a car gets pulled over at night, it takes the entire city to take care of it. They all seem to congregate together. They like to sit outside of places like that. They don't usually bother you and many I have come across are pretty cool, there are a few areas we know not to drive thru because the cops are just horrid. I know we have a lot of cops here because one of the main Sheriff training camps is here so there are a lot of Sheriff's and State Troopers here. They don't put up with speeding that is for sure and will pull you for 5mph over! There are areas here were we know to set cruise control. They will line up and one car will face one direction and the other the opposite and so on. There will be about 5 cops in a row and they will catch speeders off of one of the main roads into the beach. It's crazy! It's known as the "gauntlet" here lol. Overall the cops here aren't that bad. We did have some who were sitting outside of a bar and then pulling people over. They got in trouble for parking and waiting, they aren't allowed to do that. That stopped and the business was happy because it deterred business too.

Observation: Some dude told me that if you are outside alone, after having a few beer, it's a instant arrest if the cops see you, even if you are just walking home. By the way, do you walk at ALL "over there" ? Or do you drive everywhere ?

Question: Is that true ?

You can get arrested for public intoxication yes but if you aren't acting like a drunken idiot then you probably won't be stopped. People walk all over the beachside after drinking, there are bars up and down the beach.

Depends on where you live but yea some walk. Walking for me would suck so I have ot have a car. A bike would be a pain since i have to go over a bridge and well it' s VERY steep!


I have never been to Norway but i have always wanted to go there. A friend and fellow member lives there and I'd like to visit her someday. She is my international sister

Originally posted by slanteye
reply to post by crazydaisy

 

. I am just aiming for that truck stop diner. I saw in the movies American hamburgers use fresh patties rolled up like a meatball and only flattened as its being cooked. Here the beef patties are already flat and round.

I hope you find a good one. In my experience truck stop diners can be very good, or very bad. It's a hit or miss proposition.

I reallly wish some of you Europeans who come over here could get past New York and Florida. Some of the neatest places in the US are out West. Places like the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Carlsbad Caverns, the Great Northwest. They are absolutely beautiful. But to get to some place like Seattle it's an extra 3,000 miles, so I understand that can get expensive. Nothing wrong with the East Coast--except that it is crowded, But get out West if you can. There's a lot of room to roam out here.

If you do get out here, PM me. I can probably put you up.

reply to post by schuyler

Thank you so much for extending your hospitality to put me up if I do visit however like I said it would only be possible if I win a lottery. Incidentally I am not European but Chinese living in SE Asia. A close friend of mine now residing and married to a British in the UK went to Seattle to catch a cruise to Alaska for their wedding anniversary. He even visited Bruce Lee's grave...lol. I heard Starbucks started off from Seattle. A visit to Roswell and to get a chance to see UFOs would be the highlight. Funny though..we don't get to see UFOs here in my place. Maybe they only visit places with nukes. Anyway thanks again..you are very kind.