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What I’ve learned about the US
Unlike my wife, I’m from a fairly small city in Australia (around 100,000 people), therefore I’ve found that life is a bit different in the US.
Some of the differences that I’ve found are:
Driving:
- Turn signals are entirely optional (and hardly ever used)
- Speed limits are also optional
- If you don’t start driving at the exact time a light turns green, you will get beeped at
- Not turning on red lights is optional in NJ (Although if you decide not to, you will get beeped at)
- People really do not understand the concept of a 4-way stop intersection
- A lot of people never actually did their own driving test. They paid someone else to do it for them
- Worried about someone slamming their door into your car in a parking lot? Don’t park in NJ..
Welfare
- If you walk into welfare, sit there calmly, and then when you’re told to go up to the desk to speak to a welfare officer, pull out a bag with a sh@# in it and proceed to eat it, they’ll give you welfare payments!
Food
- A hot dog, and drink that costs $1.50 tastes pretty damn good! 🙂
4th of July
- Fireworks on the 4th of July are great! Just not on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th at 1:00 in the morning!
McDonalds
- Most McDonalds restaurants in this area have staff on the drive-thru who don’t speak English as their first language (or 2nd or 3rd!). If you order a “number one”, you may receive anything from a number three to six. The coke you order with that may also come as a sprite instead.
Random things that I’ve seen:
- What can only be described as “two mobsters” beating up another guy outside a bank. (“mobsters” meaning big guys in black clothing with slicked back hair. I thought that was only in the movies!). About 5 minutes later, we were stopped in traffic, because the same “mobster” guy was talking to the same “beat-up guy” who was in his car. The guy wearing black was standing next to his car about 2 cars in front of us, and passing a big wad of cash to the guy in the car. Meanwhile the light was green, but do you think anyone was beeping at them???
Keeping myself on track Inspiration
