What STUMPS you still after coming to the US?

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

I would check the baking section I bet they have some. It's just sitting next to the powdered milk so it blends in.

And it's not called "long life" here but "shelf stable" - so maybe that's why they all looked confused, I'll check next time.

Which reminds me of another "stump" as per the thread title: how did American English come to have SO MANY words and terms that are different from every other English-speaking country?! I can go to the UK/Ireland/Australia/NZ/South Africa/Zimbabwe etc and they all know the same English I do. Here... lol.

[Ontarkie 14,499]

And it's not called "long life" here but "shelf stable" - so maybe that's why they all looked confused, I'll check next time.

Which reminds me of another "stump" as per the thread title: how did American English come to have SO MANY words and terms that are different from every other English-speaking country?! I can go to the UK/Ireland/Australia/NZ/South Africa/Zimbabwe etc and they all know the same English I do. Here... lol.

Oh yes that might help. I found that many of the employees have no clue about what they sell.

Yes I seem to say a few things from time to time that makes me stick out like a sore thumb.

[Debmm 8]

I'm not living in the states yet but my comments are based on my 2 month stay in Savannah.

This has been mentioned before but sales tax is a big one for me. I think one day i had just enough cash for one item that i wanted but then got to the till and they were like that's $5,30 and i only had $5. The whole thing could have been avoided had tax been included.

Salad. To me a salad has lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc, not just lettuce and dressing.

Filling up your car. I know this is country specific but in South Africa we have petrol attendants who do it for you. I definitely looked like a clueless idiot when i was filling up my car.

Grocery stores. I walked around for hours trying to find fresh cream. Thinking one would find it with the refrigerated fresh dairy products. Only to find it with the likes of cool whip. That was one example, but i would spend on average 30mins longer just trying to find things i would think were in one section but they were in a completely different section.

Are there any 24 hour fast food places besides waffle house. My fiance would finish work late, 10pm, and we could never find somewhere to eat.

Good things

Turning right on a red light. It's great not having to wait. But i have been "honked" at a few times when i forgot. (took me a minute to remember coz we turn left here)

Although you really have to look hard for fresh food, a lot of the food is very convenient and can just throw in the oven.

The interstate, so many lanes and so much space! That goes for parking spots too. Parallel parking is so easy I'm not sure if that's a southern thing because so many people drive trucks.

[Debmm 8]

Oh yes that might help. I found that many of the employees have no clue about what they sell.

Yes I seem to say a few things from time to time that makes me stick out like a sore thumb.

Yeah that goes both ways. On a few occasions people would talk to me and i could not understand a word they were saying. The southern accent can be so strong. Ended up just smiling and nodding and they looked at me like i was crazy.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Salad. To me a salad has lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc, not just lettuce and dressing.

Filling up your car. I know this is country specific but in South Africa we have petrol attendants who do it for you. I definitely looked like a clueless idiot when i was filling up my car.

Some of the food things you mention may be state specific. Salad here is definitely way more than lettuce (though I seem to recall in continental Europe salad basically just meant lettuce), ditto the other stuff. California stores are awash in high quality fresh food, definitely not something you have to "look hard" for.

SA is more the exception than the rule with full service petrol stations. It's a job protection thing, and part of the regulated petrol price you pay there goes to pay for that. That's one of the many reasons petrol is way cheaper here (as are cars, of course). We do have a full service station in the town that I live in now and a lot of the older folk go there !! While the rest of us go to the ones you get loyalty reward savings on - making petrol even cheaper.

[heo luoi 206]

Theres plenty of places to get varied kinds of salads. Tons of places.

There used to be attendants in the US at gas stations however they went the way of the drive in movie theatre. I am old enough to only very vaguely remember any place by me with them.

There are TONS of places open 24hrs or at least very late. Mcdonalds, taco bell, applebees, pizza places, perkins, village inn....plenty of places. The list has certainly grown the past few years.

I'm not living in the states yet but my comments are based on my 2 month stay in Savannah.

This has been mentioned before but sales tax is a big one for me. I think one day i had just enough cash for one item that i wanted but then got to the till and they were like that's $5,30 and i only had $5. The whole thing could have been avoided had tax been included.

Salad. To me a salad has lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc, not just lettuce and dressing.

Filling up your car. I know this is country specific but in South Africa we have petrol attendants who do it for you. I definitely looked like a clueless idiot when i was filling up my car.

Grocery stores. I walked around for hours trying to find fresh cream. Thinking one would find it with the refrigerated fresh dairy products. Only to find it with the likes of cool whip. That was one example, but i would spend on average 30mins longer just trying to find things i would think were in one section but they were in a completely different section.

Are there any 24 hour fast food places besides waffle house. My fiance would finish work late, 10pm, and we could never find somewhere to eat.

Good things

Turning right on a red light. It's great not having to wait. But i have been "honked" at a few times when i forgot. (took me a minute to remember coz we turn left here)

Although you really have to look hard for fresh food, a lot of the food is very convenient and can just throw in the oven.

The interstate, so many lanes and so much space! That goes for parking spots too. Parallel parking is so easy I'm not sure if that's a southern thing because so many people drive trucks.

[Debmm 8]

Theres plenty of places to get varied kinds of salads. Tons of places.

There used to be attendants in the US at gas stations however they went the way of the drive in movie theatre. I am old enough to only very vaguely remember any place by me with them.

There are TONS of places open 24hrs or at least very late. Mcdonalds, taco bell, applebees, pizza places, perkins, village inn....plenty of places. The list has certainly grown the past few years.

Oh ok, maybe it was the area i was in but nothing stayed open past 10pm.

Some of the food things you mention may be state specific. Salad here is definitely way more than lettuce (though I seem to recall in continental Europe salad basically just meant lettuce), ditto the other stuff. California stores are awash in high quality fresh food, definitely not something you have to "look hard" for.

SA is more the exception than the rule with full service petrol stations. It's a job protection thing, and part of the regulated petrol price you pay there goes to pay for that. That's one of the many reasons petrol is way cheaper here (as are cars, of course). We do have a full service station in the town that I live in now and a lot of the older folk go there !! While the rest of us go to the ones you get loyalty reward savings on - making petrol even cheaper.

I only visited Savannah, and Florida briefly, so still have much more to explore.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Some of the food things you mention may be state specific. Salad here is definitely way more than lettuce (though I seem to recall in continental Europe salad basically just meant lettuce), ditto the other stuff. California stores are awash in high quality fresh food, definitely not something you have to "look hard" for.

SA is more the exception than the rule with full service petrol stations. It's a job protection thing, and part of the regulated petrol price you pay there goes to pay for that. That's one of the many reasons petrol is way cheaper here (as are cars, of course). We do have a full service station in the town that I live in now and a lot of the older folk go there !! While the rest of us go to the ones you get loyalty reward savings on - making petrol even cheaper.

I lived and worked in South Africa for almost 6 months back in 2009. I did enjoy having gasoline pumped by attendants. Here in USA they still do that in Oregon, and they almost all pumped your gas 40 years ago.

The one thing that stumped me in ZA was the reaction I got when my head was stuffed up and I obviously had a cold virus and people still wanted to shake my hand, upon greeting me or after a conversation. My refusal seemed to be sort of an insult to them despite the fact that I could be transferring germs to them by shaking their hand. When someone has a bad virus in America, they are socially shunned, for the most part.

[Ontarkie 14,499]

Yeah that goes both ways. On a few occasions people would talk to me and i could not understand a word they were saying. The southern accent can be so strong. Ended up just smiling and nodding and they looked at me like i was crazy.

Oh yes southern drawls kill me.

As for full service gas. I think New Jersey is all like that.

I don't like the pay for gas first then pump deal drives me nuts. I know why it's like that but it still bugs me.

When we were last in Canada I had to convince my husband to pump then pay

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

I lived and worked in South Africa for almost 6 months back in 2009. I did enjoy having gasoline pumped by attendants. Here in USA they still do that in Oregon, and they almost all pumped your gas 40 years ago.

The one thing that stumped me in ZA was the reaction I got when my head was stuffed up and I obviously had a cold virus and people still wanted to shake my hand, upon greeting me or after a conversation. My refusal seemed to be sort of an insult to them despite the fact that I could be transferring germs to them by shaking their hand. When someone has a bad virus in America, they are socially shunned, for the most part.

That's slightly odd. I'd always say "i'm not going to shake your hand because I have a cold" and no-one ever seemed put out by it.

[Shauneg 762]

Oh yes southern drawls kill me.

As for full service gas. I think New Jersey is all like that.

I don't like the pay for gas first then pump deal drives me nuts. I know why it's like that but it still bugs me.

When we were last in Canada I had to convince my husband to pump then pay

Yes all of New Jersey is full service. You can't pump your own.

[Ontarkie 14,499]

And it's not called "long life" here but "shelf stable" - so maybe that's why they all looked confused, I'll check next time.

Which reminds me of another "stump" as per the thread title: how did American English come to have SO MANY words and terms that are different from every other English-speaking country?! I can go to the UK/Ireland/Australia/NZ/South Africa/Zimbabwe etc and they all know the same English I do. Here... lol.

Kroger had the Brand Hershey for their shelf stable milk.

[TBoneTX 46,129]

The southern accent can be so strong.

Texas dialect, of course, is unparalleled and is the best.

Alabama dialect is probably the purest after that.

Carolinian English is not so much a dialect as it is a throat disease.

[heo luoi 206]

Where all the fireflies/lightning bugs and monarch butterflies went?! Did we kill them all?

[TBoneTX 46,129]

The monarch butterflies reproduced and became duoarch butterflies.