Things I've had to explain about the U.S.

[john_and_marlene 162]

I'm nearing the end of my day here at work and found myself daydreaming about some of the interesting things I've had to explain to Marlene (Philippines) about the U.S.

1. Deciduous trees. Why we don't cut them down when the leaves all fall off.

2. annual vs. perinneal flowers ... and why we can't put most of them outside in Oklahoma in February.

3. The government actually refunding overpaid taxes.

4. Why manicures are $25 - $35 instead of $4

5. Same reason why the taxi is $25 instead of $1

6. Same reason why a 60 minute massage is $125 instead of $15

7. Distances ... we drove to see my mother .... it was 700 miles but just in the next state.

..... many many more but to difficult to put into a bullet

I'm sure there will be many more ....

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Things I've explained:

1. How to execute a 4-way stop

2. The seperation of powers of the federal government, i.e. what the president can and can't do (or is not supposed to anyway)

3. What is handled at the state level, versus what is decided at the national level

4. Why US series have so many repeats in the middle of a run, the concept of the television "season", and the "sweeps" period

5. American football

[mychelle 1]

I'm nearing the end of my day here at work and found myself daydreaming about some of the interesting things I've had to explain to Marlene (Philippines) about the U.S.

1. Deciduous trees. Why we don't cut them down when the leaves all fall off.

2. annual vs. perinneal flowers ... and why we can't put most of them outside in Oklahoma in February.

3. The government actually refunding overpaid taxes.

4. Why manicures are $25 - $35 instead of $4

5. Same reason why the taxi is $25 instead of $1

6. Same reason why a 60 minute massage is $125 instead of $15

7. Distances ... we drove to see my mother .... it was 700 miles but just in the next state.

..... many many more but to difficult to put into a bullet

I'm sure there will be many more ....

hello, not to pick on you or anything...but if your wife-to-be went to school and finished college (and even if she didn't...she watched enough movies/tv and/or read books/newpapers/magazines)...you don't really need to explain to her the falling leaves or how the government of the US works. as i can remember, it was covered in my Science and World History/Government classes...in highschool.

also, it's common knowledge that everything in the US is ten times more expensive than the Philippines. for this reason, when we go back and visit...we try to do all the pampering we can get for cheaper (massage, hair done and other spa stuff)...well...at least, i do.

maybe this approach will work...answer whatever questions she has about life in the US without being condescending. (i think she'll be asking about the English slang usage and other "cultural" stuff...like...people you don't know will say HI to you just to say HI.) you'll be surprised on how much Filipinos know about the US. it's not surprising because no matter how much we want the US out of our country...we so want a lot of things american.

so yeah...in a nutshell. this is the least of your worries.

[britbird 4]

maybe his girl asked him to explain them to her...

heck, my US friends ask me to explain the separation of powers to them...for some people it's just a difficult concept to grasp.

[Miranda&James 8]

I'm nearing the end of my day here at work and found myself daydreaming about some of the interesting things I've had to explain to Marlene (Philippines) about the U.S.

1. Deciduous trees. Why we don't cut them down when the leaves all fall off.

2. annual vs. perinneal flowers ... and why we can't put most of them outside in Oklahoma in February.

3. The government actually refunding overpaid taxes.

4. Why manicures are $25 - $35 instead of $4

5. Same reason why the taxi is $25 instead of $1

6. Same reason why a 60 minute massage is $125 instead of $15

7. Distances ... we drove to see my mother .... it was 700 miles but just in the next state.

..... many many more but to difficult to put into a bullet

I'm sure there will be many more ....

hello, not to pick on you or anything...but if your wife-to-be went to school and finished college (and even if she didn't...she watched enough movies/tv and/or read books/newpapers/magazines)...you don't really need to explain to her the falling leaves or how the government of the US works. as i can remember, it was covered in my Science and World History/Government classes...in highschool.

also, it's common knowledge that everything in the US is ten times more expensive than the Philippines. for this reason, when we go back and visit...we try to do all the pampering we can get for cheaper (massage, hair done and other spa stuff)...well...at least, i do.

maybe this approach will work...answer whatever questions she has about life in the US without being condescending. (i think she'll be asking about the English slang usage and other "cultural" stuff...like...people you don't know will say HI to you just to say HI.) you'll be surprised on how much Filipinos know about the US. it's not surprising because no matter how much we want the US out of our country...we so want a lot of things american.

so yeah...in a nutshell. this is the least of your worries.

I think he was just trying to start a friendly thread about things we take for granted as knowing and foreigners don't, not looking for a criticism of what his wife didn't/should have known.

I can't even think of them now but I know I've had a few funny moments of explaining things like this! It's good to remember sometimes the world doesn't work the same way for everyone as it does for us (Can you tell I'm a sociology minor? )

[pax 0]

To be fair, I had to explanation separation of powers to Ewen, but he had to explain devolution to me.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

My fiance knows more about history than anyone I know, and didn't learn in school about the US constitution (and never really read on up it, because he was more interested in the minutae of the EU constitution), so doesn't really know all the nuances of the US federal government and constitution.

And he he finds the whole tax process really bizarre as well

[BASIL 0]

I just had to explain to her what a man meant when he ask her if he wanted her to be her sugar daddy??

the slang and the way we buy newer appliances or cars before the older ones will not work any more was my most difficult.

[de_sjiem 0]

I once had to explain milk bags to my husband.. Of course the only ones who will understand this are the Canadians out there... so i guess that one was backwards.. lol

[Ephesia 0]

John,

What an interesting thread. It made me smile at what you've had to explain to Marlene, and got me recalling what my USC husband has had to explain to me:

1. What a flashing yellow light means.

2. What a flashing red light means.

3. Why I can turn right at a red light (this is not allowed under Singapore traffic laws, period).

4. US taxation system. After he finished his explanation, I felt both enlightened and disheartened at the same time.

5. Why I cannot simply make an advanced booking for a cab if I have to be somewhere at an exact time on a particular day.

6. Why I have to leave a tip for the hairdresser, but not the landscaping guy who cuts our grass.

7. What a cowlick is. He even used his hair as an example one morning.

8. What 'punt' means (I still don't exactly get it).

[Rosie420 2]

Heeheehee! I think this is a cute thread! Even though my fiance and I are from similar cultures (US and UK), there have been several times when one of us had to explain something to the other. Usually it's about government/taxes or sports! It's these differences that make international relationships so fun and interesting.

[mr4422 0]

1. Deciduous trees. Why we don't cut them down when the leaves all fall off.

um, WHAT kind of tree?

my wife asked me when she first came here last month if all the trees were dead! And the first thing she asked about snow was could she eat it, so I told her the rule of yellow.

[morning75 0]

Conversation snippet from my first car ride with Jim in Illinois:

JIM: This junction really needs a roundabout.

AMY: Uh... what's a roundabout?

Another good one - the concept of stopping at a stop sign. EVEN IF there is nothing coming. ESPECIALLY if there is a cop behind you.

Oh! And especially for all Brit smokers: cigarettes don't come in tens!

Amy x

[pj1959us 0]

I had to try to explain the "turn on red light" and "cowlick" too

I have also been asked/challenged to explain:

1) why there is sales tax added when you pay for something, instead of it being already figured in. That discussion is a lost cause.

2) why there are no bends in the road around here (so he can get his knee or elbow down on the road on his motorcycle)

3) why there are no pickled onions

4) why people think he is from Australia (even worse, when working one day the customer was asked who assisted her, and she said, "that Mexican guy" and she had even spoken to him he still gets ribbed at work for that one )

5) why there are so many advertisements on TV, and why they always yell

6) why most of the houses here are wooden

That's all I can think of right now off the top of my sleepy cowlicked head

[Ephesia 0]

1) why there is sales tax added when you pay for something, instead of it being already figured in. That discussion is a lost cause.

LOL. That was one of the first things I asked my husband in one of my earlier trips to Indy.