Jo Brayne

You won't catch me doing this. My step dad wanted to drive me to Albertsons from TGI Fridays in Fort Worth. Its at the other end of the ROW of cars! I said "I'll be OK" LOL. That said, though, parking lots are dangerous places for cars and even worse for pedestrians!

Haldaman

Why don't you post the questions, I'd love to try them out on a certain 21 year old ......and my beloved, and Granny for that matter!

catswhiskers

I think there'd be a lot of Brits unable to answer those questions - you only have to watch game shows to see how thick the average Brit is.

Haldaman

Are we who choose to go through the immigration process THICK??
I think NOT!!

Let's have the questions please!!

catswhiskers

I never said that but judging by some of the questions some could be. However, I was talking about the average British person compared to the average American when asked where the Taj Mahal was.

shakermaker

"3) 'Proud to be an American' stickers on Toyota's."

That is really funny. Not to mention the "America stay alert - Remember Pearl Harbor" stickers on Subarus.

NC Penguin

Naah! The heartburn and indigestion remedies abound 'cos so many American eat too much at one sitting. e.g. portion sizes are enormous, all you can eat buffets. Moderation is not a word understood by many Americans in my opinion.



NC Penguin

Emm

Very strange really since on a recent visit to 'Chick Fill-A' (what is wrong with their spelling in the US?) they gave the kids a tape on 'Moderation' in their kids meals. They obviously know what it means, they are just not very good at practising it. But one good thing for fast food places over here is that you can actually get a salad instead of the really fattening stuff and, as long as you don't put on the croutons and honey roasted pine kernels along with the two sachets of salad dressing, it's really quite healthy!

Emm.

Peter Newton

It's interesting I reckon a lot of stomach upsets are actually food allergies - my wife suffers from all sorts of allergies - especially food allergies.

When we lived in the UK, she hardly ever had problems. Now we're back here she has an allergic reaction at least once a month. It just shows you the crap they put in the food over here.

I also have a thorn in my side about the supermarkets in New York. They are filthy, disgusting places (even 'high end' places like Food Emporium and Da'gostino).

Sainsbury's would do really well over here...

"This feta cheese was made from the milk of Ewes, which feed on fresh herbs and bask in the midday sun on a Greek island, whilst having their wool teased by naked 16 year-old virgins..."

meauxna

Do I take it to mean that the British spelling would be "Chick-Fill-It"?
<g>
All in good fun, you know

NC Penguin

Goes back to what I wrote earlier (or maybe in another thread on BritishExpats) about the US having poor food labelling compared to the EU.

Consumers are in the dark about what is in the food and in what kind of quantity and percentage.

e.g. artificial caramel color, food colorings in a much wider range of foods (and medicines!) than in the UK, MSG...



NC Penguin

Pimpbot

All I know is, I've gained 6 pounds in weight in just 3 weeks! and I've only eaten in one fast food restuarant:scared:

beyness

One thing Greg is really apalled with is the attitude to alcohol here... he can't believe how people don't drink veyr often and that he gets carded every single time he goes to buy a beer. He didn't belive me once when we went into a shop to buy alcohol that if I was with him, they would card both of us (I didn't have my ID on me) and when they did, he stormed out of the store screaming about how backward America was! It makes me laugh... I have to interpret things he says to our friends sometimes and when he's on the phone and says "who's that?" instead "may I ask who's calling?", he ALWAYS has to repeat himself... There's so much more, but I don't have the time

Pulaski

That's definitely swings and roundabouts as US expats in the UK complain that food in the UK is badly marked and contains all sorts of cr@p. There are several food additives and colors that are legal in the UK and Europe, but not in the US, it's just a matter of what you are used to.

..... And Americans will ask with great glee about mad cow disease if you try and tell them how good British food is! So we (Brits) find ourselves in a nasty "people in glass houses ...." situation.

pinKaboo

ALKYHOL...

Don't get me started on alcohol!!

*Eeeps, no voddy in the supermarkets! I have yet to make it to a liquor store to pick some up.

*Having to show ID on purchase.
On my first trip to a bar no one warned me I needed photo-id and we didn't even make it into the building. Had to turn right round, go home and dig out my UK driving license which I had luckily a)brought with me at all, and b)exchanged from my original paper copy to the new format photo one on a whim. (didn't want to risk losing my passport carrying it around, cos I would)

*Alcopops - Smirnoff Ices are called beers and have no Smirnoff in them!! Huh?!!

*I was also told that carrying an open bottle of beer in a car, even if the driver was not drinking, was illegal and could result in DUI charges. ??? Crazy.

BATHROOMS...

Yup, that gap around public cubicles REALLY bothers me. As do those automatic loos that either flush too soon and I have to try to retrigger them, or don't trigger at all and I just end up standing there confused willing them to work. Gah. Every time I visit the ladies it's a scary experience at the moment.

And how on earth is that flat pancake of plastic in the bath a plug?!! That is supposed to stop the water draining?!! No way?! Every bath I've attempted so far I'm continually having to top it up to stay submerged. And while we're in the bath, where is it anyhow? That's what we'd call a shower tray!


FOOD...

I always check the best before dates on food items and take the one with the longest shelf life. Seem to be having difficulty finding this marker on many items in the States though. Maybe it's well hidden? Or maybe US food has so many preservatives in it things do last forever?!!

Wasn't too happy about having an allergic reaction to some "nut-free" biscuits either.

ACCENT...

We speak the same language, so I was not prepared for the number of times I would have to repeat myself before being understood (or not), and get my bloke to translate for me to shop assistants. (How can I possibly be saying "coleslaw/slaw" wrong?!) And how many times can I say "huh, you what?" to him in one day?! Though sometimes I admit it's fun to play dumb too! *giggles* ssshhhH!

Okay, think that's enough for one post.

K