“When my family visited in 2017, we landed in Texas for a stopover. First thing I saw in the shops part of the terminal was a dude who was drinking from what looked like an actual bucket. Here in New Zealand, our ‘large’ drinks would be considered an American ‘small’ or ‘medium.'” –Reddit-The_Sly_Sloth

Although having bigger drink sizes means getting more of your favorite beverage, it’s not entirely a good thing. You see, sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to obesity.

“Big glasses of water WITH ICE at restaurants. I live in Texas usually and I drink ice water like 24/7. It’s a good habit here, especially in Summer. When I was in Europe I would get the smallest glasses of luke warm water that I had to ask for more every ten seconds. I felt annoying! Aren’t y’all thirsty?! Or am I missing something?” –Reddit-bunnysnitch

Water isn’t free in all countries. In the US, you can enjoy unlimited refills.

“How nice most of you are (once you get passed customs anyway), and the huge amount of flags.” –Reddit-Divolinon

Americans are patriotic people. They love their flag so much that they even use its design on clothing and shoes.

“I actually don’t properly know if this is true but yous have like a whole isle in your supermarkets dedicated to just the hundreds of cereals you have ?” –Reddit-outrojin

Well, this guy should consider visiting a grocery store in the United States. He’ll be shocked to know that there’s also an aisle dedicated to chips!

“That you can get fired just like that and have no income. Here if you are fired your employer needs to pay you at least 3 months after you were fired.” –Reddit-gahd95

If that’s the case for the guy, he can consider himself lucky. Getting fired without pay isn’t just a thing in America. A lot of countries experience the same thing.

“I’m too European to understand how swearing and curse words are such a big deal in movies and songs, but violence and guns are taken with a grain of salt.” –Reddit-SimonFoss

Some say it’s because language is easy to imitate while violence in such films is just simulated. Well, that’s just what they think. Honestly, it’s hard to get.

“That you can get into university just by being good at sports…” –Reddit-SuperFluffyness

This is something that happens in reality. Although students are still required to meet the school’s academic standards, they are just minimal.

“When I visited America, I went to a supermarket for some breakfast stuff — cereal and milk. All they had was milk in gallons! Who could possibly want that much milk? I asked for a smaller carton, and the lady who worked there just laughed at me and asked, ‘Don’t you like milk in England?” –Reddit-memesalwaysdie

Having gallon-sized milk containers is practical, particularly if you live with kids. They last longer so you won’t have to keep running to the grocery store just to get more.

“not owning kettles and MICROWAVING their water for coffee/tea” –Reddit-gibbylewd

“When traveling to another part of the world, an American will ALWAYS say the city and/or state they’re from, not the country. We’ll be at a hostel and someone will ask where everyone’s from: ‘Denmark, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Canada … Sacramento, California.” –Reddit-poosackwilliam

America is a pretty big country. Being specific at the very start saves times.

“Putting a ton of sugar in products like bread.” –Reddit-ThingsWeMake

Adding sugar does make food taste better. However, it’s not really healthy.

“The coupons. I was visiting a friend of mine who is from the States, and she bought a book of coupons. The discounts you could get were ridiculously fantastic!” –Reddit-Sakura_Leviaathan

Coupons are so fun! The more coupons you have, the more discounts you can enjoy. It’s no wonder why Americans keep lots of them.

“I went to live there for a year and on the plane over, the guy next to me said, ‘Each state is like a different country.’ I thought he meant it in the same way that Manchester is different to Birmingham. But everything is so different state to state: the people, the attitude, the food, etc.” –Reddit-Westlifelover

This is so true! Each state even has a different accent. It’s not surprising why lots of people want to travel to every state. It’s such an experience.

“The size of rats and the amount of cockroaches. I saw a roadkill cockroach the size of a tennis ball at the Grand Canyon. I have lived in Berlin for years, and I have yet to see any rat that comes close to New York rats.” –Reddit-GodOfProvocation

This isn’t something to be proud of. Rats that big can cause health problems.

“Saying, ‘How are you doing?’ or ‘How’s it going?’, etc. just means ‘hello.’ I’ve noticed non-Americans tend to think this is an invitation for them to share their life troubles while most Americans just use it as a greeting.” –Reddit-FriendlyLawnMower

If you’re having a hard time starting a conversation, this could be a good thing. Now, if you don’t like hearing other people’s problems, stick with ‘hello’ when greeting someone in the United States.

“Shoes inside the house. Do you want to get dirt and mud and dog shit all over your floors? Seriously, I’ve even seen people wear their shoes to bed.” –Reddit-MushroomMountain123

Some people do wear shoes inside the house because it makes them feel comfortable. Now, wearing shoes when going to bed? That’s just weird.

“There was a 24-hour pharmacy across the street from our apartment. Nothing shocking there, except it also sold booze and fucking cigarettes.” –Reddit-Flagyl400

Pharmacy stores in the country has a bit of everything in it. And yes, the list includes booze and cigarettes.

“Expensive required textbooks that you HAVE to buy to take a university class.” –Reddit-Serialdan

The price isn’t the worst thing about it. It’s the fact that those books are only used half of the time.

“21 Drinking age like whaaaat you can vote , go join the army , get married , have children and drive but you’re too immature to drink ???!!???!” –Reddit-captainsincers

This isn’t a law that’s applied to a single state. It’s followed throughout the country. Even if it doens’t make any sense, it’s still the law.

“Student debt. I pay €20/Semester tuition in Austria.” –Reddit-TheLadderGuy

This is a sad reality. And in the last 10 years, student debt has increased by 100%.

“Talking really loudly in public places. Default volume of most Americans seems to be about 10 decibels higher than that of every other country’s inhabitants.” –Reddit-Tripi

Americans just love to talk and they love to do it loudly. They might sound shocking to others but that’s them.

“Walked onto the playground and saw kids chugging these long, thin sticks. I tried one and realized it was just colored sugar. They called them Pixy Stix.” –Reddit-whowantsrice

Those sticks aren’t the only ones kids love. They like to drink sodas and indulge in sweet treats, too.

“Identifying as your heritage instead of your nationality. Americans will say that they’re Italian, German, Polish, etc., when they don’t speak the language and have no real connection to those countries anymore. In other parts of the world, people just identify with the country they were born in or have lived in for a significant amount of time, regardless of their ancestry.”- Reddit-bluegreentree

This is probably because it’s a country of immigrants. They just like to show where their heritage comes from.

“A friend of mine from Wisconsin was very proud that he got 20 days off per year. If someone in Germany offered me only 20 days, I would laugh at them and leave.” –Reddit-_Warsheep_

This person’s friend is still lucky. Some employees don’t even get that many paid days off in a year.

“On Halloween, masked people come to your house and knock on your door asking for candy. Mostly it’s just packs of kids, but sometimes whole families.” –Reddit-PlaidSkirtBrocolli

Halloween is actually fun. Walking in a costume and getting candies- kids look forward to those activities.

“They have those angry sinks that chop shit”- Reddit-idk-what-name

Those angry sinks are called garbage disposals. If you ask most homeowners, they’re quite convenient to have. They might look angry but they’re useful.

“There are security guards in the school halls, and some schools even have metal detectors at the entrance like the TSA at airports.”- Reddit-Jacilund

They’re just probably trying to keep the students safe. It’s better than doing nothing for their safety.

“Yellow school buses are actually a thing in America. I honestly thought it was just a cartoon thing, but nope!” –Reddit-Kwickly1

Almost every school has them but they’re not always yellow. Sometimes, they’re white, too.

“Tipping. I had zero clue about tipping/how to tip, and I got a lot of dirty looks during my first solo trip there. I felt like shit after finding out.” –Reddit-OsumPossum

Now that he knows how important tipping is, the next thing he needs to know is how much to give. You can’t always give great tips to poor services.

“The TV ads for prescription medication always get me.” –Reddit-somwillson

The ads are probably a part of the reason why prescription medicines are so expensive. The ads don’t come cheap.