{"id":9541,"date":"2018-08-23T09:41:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T13:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/?p=9541"},"modified":"2021-11-16T10:20:56","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T15:20:56","slug":"10-interesting-observations-about-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n

Living in a different country is a crazy experience where you\u2019ll constantly be discovering new things! Au pair Maricel from Spain told us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Maricel in Times Square.
Image courtesy of Maricel<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I have been in the United States for one month and one week. Oh my gosh! Time is flying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This month, I\u2019ve learned some customs, traditions, and other interesting things about American culture. Although I found some of these customs strange at first, now I have gotten so used to them that I don\u2019t even realize that I\u2019m slowly becoming more American. Here are 10 interesting things that I\u2019ve learned about the U.S. so far!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Hello, how are you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here in the U.S., when you go to a store, a museum, or anywhere else, the person working at the counter will always say, \u201cHello, how are you?\u201d However, they aren\u2019t really waiting for you to respond, \u201cDoing well,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m not very good.\u201d At first, I\u2019d always answer, \u201cFine thanks, and you?\u201d and then the person ignored me. One day, I asked my host mom, and she said that it\u2019s just a custom and you don\u2019t have to respond. I think it\u2019s a strange custom to ask someone how they are, but not wait for a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Everyone is barefoot all day.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first day I was living with my family, I remember that I brought my slippers, and my host dad (who is from England) said, \u201cHere in the U.S., we don\u2019t use slippers. Here we go barefoot. In England, I used my slippers, but now that I\u2019m here, I\u2019ve gotten used to going barefoot.\u201d My host family doesn\u2019t mind if I use slippers or not, but I\u2019m starting to get used to going barefoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The cars are automatic and beep when you lock them.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At first, this surprised me. When I wasn\u2019t quite used to this yet, it happened in parking lots a lot, and I thought people were beeping at me for some reason! But nope, they just beep when they\u2019re closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The bread! It\u2019s not what I am used to.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The bread is surprisingly different.
Image courtesy of Pexels<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The bread is so strange! Sometimes my host mom and I buy bread at the bakery, sometimes at the supermarket, but there\u2019s not really any good bread anywhere. Here, the bread doesn\u2019t smell like bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. You can turn right on red.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This was my first instance of culture shock! Here in the United States, you can turn right on a red light, as long as there is no sign prohibiting it. I don\u2019t know if this is the case everywhere in the United States, but in New York state, that\u2019s the way it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. You have to give a tip no matter what.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Except at a fast food restaurant, where no one really waits on you. In my culture, a tip is not necessary for most situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. The climate really varies in New York.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For example, this week on Monday, it was 11 degrees Celsius, and today it\u2019s been between 22 and 25. I never know if I need to wear a warm sweater or if I can just wear a t-shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. The supermarkets are massive!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

American supermarkets are huge. There are a few little ones around, but the majority are huge. You can find thousands of types of potatoes, thousands of types of apples, milk, cereals, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
American supermarkets are shockingly large!
Image courtesy of Maricel<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The parking lots are big, too. They are so so big that the first time I went to the supermarket, I didn\u2019t know where I had parked my car! I knew that I had parked on a corner, but I wasn\u2019t sure in which row. So, I looked a little silly looking all over for my car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, yes! The pharmacies are huge, and you can find everything you could ever want: toilet paper, notebook, razors, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Saying \u201cThanks\u201d and \u201cSorry\u201d is sacred.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I make food for the girls, they always say, \u201cthanks for this food.\u201d It\u2019s a little strange for me because I expect to cook something for them without a thank you. But when my host mom cooks, I always tell her thanks. Now it\u2019s become my thing, and \u201csorry\u201d and \u201cthanks\u201d come out of my mouth naturally!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. The portions are huge!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you go to a restaurant and order something, be careful, because the portions are very large and filling. I say this because I always order the small portion, but it still seems large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s all I can think of at the moment, but that\u2019s definitely not all! I am surprised by something new here all the time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in a different country is a crazy experience where you\u2019ll constantly be discovering new things! Au pair Maricel from Spain told us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country. I have been in the United States for one…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":9543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-au-pair-advice"],"yoast_head":"\n10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Au pair Maricel from Spain tells us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Au pair Maricel from Spain tells us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Au Pair USA Life - Au Pair Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-23T13:41:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-16T15:20:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"325\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joy Lo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joy Lo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joy Lo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/07eaf7de37762f3b293a510e8d124b94\"},\"headline\":\"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-23T13:41:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-16T15:20:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\"},\"wordCount\":825,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice for Au Pairs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\",\"name\":\"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-23T13:41:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-16T15:20:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/07eaf7de37762f3b293a510e8d124b94\"},\"description\":\"Au pair Maricel from Spain tells us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg\",\"width\":620,\"height\":325,\"caption\":\"An assortment of bread rolls\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/\",\"name\":\"Au Pair USA Life - Au Pair Blog\",\"description\":\"Blog for Au Pairs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/07eaf7de37762f3b293a510e8d124b94\",\"name\":\"Joy Lo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5e71da2260aecb389bc7fddc75fcbfa1a64d402ea397b22fb0f89b0795a288?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5e71da2260aecb389bc7fddc75fcbfa1a64d402ea397b22fb0f89b0795a288?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joy Lo\"},\"description\":\"Joy is a huge advocate for cultural exchange. She's lived across the U.S. and various countries around the world including the UK, Australia and Indonesia. She has a unique perspective on working and thriving in other cultures. She's been a contributing author on Au Pair USA program.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/author\/jlow\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.","description":"Au pair Maricel from Spain tells us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.","og_description":"Au pair Maricel from Spain tells us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/","og_site_name":"Au Pair USA Life - Au Pair Blog","article_published_time":"2018-08-23T13:41:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-16T15:20:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":325,"url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joy Lo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joy Lo","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/"},"author":{"name":"Joy Lo","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/07eaf7de37762f3b293a510e8d124b94"},"headline":"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.","datePublished":"2018-08-23T13:41:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-16T15:20:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/"},"wordCount":825,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg","articleSection":["Advice for Au Pairs"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/","name":"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-23T13:41:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-16T15:20:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/07eaf7de37762f3b293a510e8d124b94"},"description":"Au pair Maricel from Spain tells us about 10 cultural differences she\u2019s noticed between the USA and her home country.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg","width":620,"height":325,"caption":"An assortment of bread rolls"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/au-pair-advice\/10-interesting-observations-about-the-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Interesting Observations About the U.S."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/","name":"Au Pair USA Life - Au Pair Blog","description":"Blog for Au Pairs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/07eaf7de37762f3b293a510e8d124b94","name":"Joy Lo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5e71da2260aecb389bc7fddc75fcbfa1a64d402ea397b22fb0f89b0795a288?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd5e71da2260aecb389bc7fddc75fcbfa1a64d402ea397b22fb0f89b0795a288?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joy Lo"},"description":"Joy is a huge advocate for cultural exchange. She's lived across the U.S. and various countries around the world including the UK, Australia and Indonesia. She has a unique perspective on working and thriving in other cultures. She's been a contributing author on Au Pair USA program.","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/author\/jlow\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/m2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9541"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9827,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions\/9827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/au-pairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}