Strange things you're not used to

[Jamie76 0]

Pay at the pump is hit or miss. You see it a lot in the larger cities where sometimes people have a tendency to drive off without paying.

[Anna C. 4]

-I never cross any race on any applications... It is not mandatory to cross a box, so we did not do it at all.

-The SSN thing is super weird, also background checks for work???

-I find it weird that health insurance is tied to work, and that doctors always want to perform 5 zillion tests that are obviously unnecessary just to make sure they won't get sued....

- Speed limits on highways! Terrible!

[athena_ny 1]

oh yeah the date thing too...

in Canada we write it day/month/year.... here they write it month/day/year... I still have to think about that one sometimes when I have to write the date...

I would write the date the normal way - date/month/year when I was in middle school (I'm the USC etc etc) and the teachers would seriously correct it on my papers. I had a "talk" with a teacher about that, and she told me I'd lose a point every time I did it!

Bah. The US is do dumb. Why would you write the month first anyway?

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Bah. The US is do dumb. Why would you write the month first anyway?

It is the way you speak it in American English. Few people would naturally say as native speakers of American English "Today is the 19th of January 2008.".

Ideally from what I have read, you should write the date year/month/day. A few countries have adopted that convention known as ISO 8601.

[Jeraly 4]

As for SSN on apps - we have to put our NI number on our jobs apps in the UK - prolly to make sure you have one and can therefore legally work in the country

[truffles 2]

I use to get 5 weeks holiday with increments for years in service - how i miss my holidays....where's Jeremy working so that i can go apply!!!!

[Jeraly 4]

A&W on the Morongo Reservation in SoCal He's a supervisor and they just put him on salary! I was amazed!!! He's gonna have so much more holiday than me!!

[PlatyPius 5]

-I never cross any race on any applications... It is not mandatory to cross a box, so we did not do it at all.

-The SSN thing is super weird, also background checks for work???

-I find it weird that health insurance is tied to work, and that doctors always want to perform 5 zillion tests that are obviously unnecessary just to make sure they won't get sued....

- Speed limits on highways! Terrible!

Actually, it isn't just background checks for work....CREDIT checks also. If you have bad credit, they assume you'll steal money, or not be able to do your job properly, or something. For most jobs that I've had (contract) recently, I've had to have a credit check, background check, and drug test. These are just jobs moving computers around and/or fixing them.

Pay-At-the-Pump: This has been a godsend for me since it became common. I hate having to go into the store to pay. Mainly because I have no willpower and I'll buy stuff that I shouldn't. Also because I want to pay and get the hell out of there most of the time....I'm habitually late.

If a prospective employer requires your SSN, then they will probably be doing a background check. Of course, they have to make sure you're legal, too. That doesn't come until after they've made you an offer, though....

And asking race or age is illegal, unless it has the "voluntary" box around it. Of course, many employers throw the ones that aren't filled out in the trash.... we have a quota-system here, ya know. We have to have a certain percentage of men, of women, of whites, of blacks, of Latino, etc. It's a fun system.

Edited January 20, 2008 by PlatyPius

[psiprez 3]

I use to get 5 weeks holiday with increments for years in service - how i miss my holidays....where's Jeremy working so that i can go apply!!!!

My fiance, from England, can't believe we only get two weeks holiday a year to start. They get five. To him it's INSANE that companies don't take better care of their workers. When he was here in December, I couldn't take off from work, because I hadn't accrued any vacation time at that point. Also insane. And now I have to ration my time off for when he moves here and we get married.

He also says that in England, they cannot schedule your shift less than 12 hours apart (8 for sleep, 2 hours for commuting both ways, 2 hours for breakfast and dinner). During the Christmas season, it was common for me to close the store at 11pm, and be back in to open at 6am. That made him angry to hear.

And, if your employer wants you to work the overnight shift (for example, filling in for a co-worker for a day or two), they have to give you the day prior off and the day after off, and pay you for both, to let your body adjust to the schedule change. In other words, two free paid days off, in addition to your regular days off! If only they'd schedule him for one overnight per week!

And yeah, the free refill thing freaked him out. He just cannot believe the soda-drinking capacity of Americans. But he's picking up the habit fast (along with a few extra pounds)!

One thing he doesn't understand is how we just leave a cash tip on the table for our server in restaurants. He says that back in England, that money would be rightfully gone in a flash. So you can imagine the first time I paid the bill for dinner in cash, left it all on the table and got up to leave!

[Reba 2]

nevermind the pre-pay at the pump, I had to learn how to pump gas when I moved here! I'd never had to do it before up home, there's still full serve stations up there. None around here. I hate the smell, it makes me nauseous

And I hate having to pay for health care. I pay $400+ per month for insurance, and because we have deductibles, I still have to pay for health services. I'm going broke just going to doctor appointments

[Jeraly 4]

Sounds like I am lucky - Jeremy gets med insurance through work and when we get married I am entitled to his insurance as well - he has good benefits with his job even if it is just in a fast food restaurant I think we will struggle to get by at first but things will even out

And yeah - I can't believe the two weeks holiday thing either - I think it is disgusting!! Will defo be looking at teaching jobs over there I would love to set up my own business that can eventually justify employing people with decent wages, holidays etc Who knows what lies in store for me?!?!?!

[one love 0]

welcome to USA

I am finding some things very strange here that I am not used to. Things such as:

-drug tests for a job (only did this for the military in Canada)

-asking for SSN on a job application (I was raised in Canada to never put my SIN on an application and many of them don't even ask for it)

-job applications asking for your elementary school (what does that matter? I graduated 20 years ago)

-very low paying jobs (minimum wage in Canada would make me feel rich in comparison)

There has to be more but these are all I can think of right now. Anyone else feel a little homesick for Canada? Or other native country?

[PlatyPius 5]

And yeah - I can't believe the two weeks holiday thing either - I think it is disgusting!!

Actually, only some jobs give 2 weeks. Most of the lower-paying jobs give you one week - but only after you've been there a year.

[Jeraly 4]

Will look forward to getting one of those then Jeremy is hoping to get me a job on the Morongo res - at least he knows the people there so might be able to cut a deal

[pucklechurch 0]

Are the Yanks the only people on this planet who write their dates back to front?

One of my shocks was banking. At my local bank we have to pay for cheque books and they don't allow an overdraft. Back in England they practically threw chequebooks at you and gave you generous interest free overdrafts even if you saw your bank manager and simply looked down at your shoes and mumbled that you hadn't any money.