What should a foreigner know about the US?
 

The best source of information regarding Turkey on Fodor's is a fellow named Otherchelebi. Today he wrote an introduction about Turkey briefly describing the history of modern Turkey including how the country evolved, education, and the religious and ethnic composition.

Although the US is well-known, what would you like a foreigner visiting the US, to know about the country. I am not referring to restaurants, hotel, and sights but our history, politics, educational system, culture, and other relevant information.

That some of us do not suffer fools gladly.

Indian casinos are not on reservations. They can buy property anywhere and build a casino.

That is not true Michelle. I worked in Indian Country. Under The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 there are all sorts of covenants that require pacts with the state in which Indian casino can operate.

The vast majority of casinos are on reservations. Those not on the reservation require negotiations with the state and are not simply a real estate transaction.

There are also three levels of gaming, two of which require approval by the state.

Things I've learned living in the USA..
Americans are the most honest people I've ever met;
Very welcoming and trusting;
The hospitals are excellent ( I'm not talking about the Obama care, which is not good, just the hospitals)
The hospitals are very clean and offer great service;
I love the freedom of religion and speech they enjoy;
The most patriotic people in the world.
In the USA your dreams can come true if you work hard enough and do not take advantage of government.

Unlike most countries the US is actually a confederation of 50 different states - with 50 different sets of laws that can differ significantly. The federal government is in charge of international relations, defense and interstate commerce, national monetary policy, etc. The Feds provide limited support to education, healthcare, local transit (within cities and commuter trains) and infrastructure - but most of the money for all of these come from individual states and communities. This results in a huge diversity in education and healthcare from state to state and city to city. The Feds support roads (for cars and trucks) and airlines. The car is king and support for out national train network is minimal as is that of local trains/pubic transit everywhere.

So you have a number of states (MS, AL, WV, SC) that are "takers" from the Feds since their economy does;t support even basic needs and other states (NY, NJ, MA, CT) that are "givers" and the taxes from those states are used to provide Federal support to the poorest states.

The US is a country of immigrants - if not this generation - many are people are 3 or 4 generations or less. So we have a huge diversity of ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultures. (Queens county, part of NYC, has immigrants from 112 different countries.)

The US is NOT a caucasian country. Per the last census the breakdown is
White 72%
Hispanic 16%
African Am 13%
Asian 5%
Native Am 1%

(Overlaps since hispanic/latino may also identify as caucasian or African Am)

Distribution varies tremendously by state and metro area.

Politics are generally right/center - there is little that would be considered left in most of the world.

Overall taxes are low, and especially low for the wealthy and corporations compared to european countries - one of the reasons that public works/ services are limited.

Less than 1/3 of americans has ever left the country - and for most who have the destinations have been Canada, Mexico or the Carib which tends to lead to a lot of naivete and even fear among some people with limited education/exposure to the rest of the world.

And the obvious - the US is a huge and very wealthy country - and would be able to provide well for all of it's citizens if we could figure out how to get out of our own way.

Most Americans speak English and are not great at other languages, except in large cities, the southwest, and south Florida where many people speak Spanish, or along the northern border with eastern Canada, where many speak French. Many larger cities and most casinos have people who speak some of the Asian languages.

That said, you will find that people will try to understand you and will try to be helpful to locate someone who can.

We have beautiful National and State parks that are well worth finding no matter where you are in the country.

There is not only a diversity of ethnic backgrounds and color but vast differences in cultural and intellectual activities. The US has the some of finest museums, universities, symphonies, dance companies, writers, and artists in the world. But we also have a population that supports reality TV shows, supermarket tabloids, and hundreds of hours of TV dedicated to gossip and nonsense.

American football can be its own religion while baseball, auto racing, and basketball have huge followings and soccer is finally coming into its own.

Something like 80% of Americans believe in angels while atheism is growing more than any religious group.

It is truly a land of contradictions.

At least half of us strongly disagree with whomever is in power -- this increases with the length of their tenure. We are still arguing over what our Constitution means over 200 years later. Federalism is still an issue.

The Civil War isn't over, either. In our country, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." (William Faulkner) Even the McCarthy Red Scare, the Vietnam War and Richard M. Nixon are considered subjects upon which reasonable people might disagree.

Each ethnic group has a grievance which can be uncovered with the merest scratch. (Dominant ethnic groups grieve over their diminished stature.)

In short, we are perfect subjects for the sort of drama in which the civilized layers are peeled back to reveal the savage underneath.

I think many visitors lack a basic knowledge of geography and how far one place can be from another place. Guess LA is not the only place that stopped teaching geography.

<<So you have a number of states (MS, AL, WV, SC) that are "takers" from the Feds since their economy does;t support even basic needs and other states (NY, NJ, MA, CT) that are "givers" and the taxes from those states are used to provide Federal support to the poorest states.>>

What a load. That's a statement based on income tax derivation and who gets what from the Feds, much of which is transportation infrastructure. Typical NY'er at the center of the universe foolishness. I defy any NY'er to live on 30k annually in that city and then do so in MS, WV, SC, or AL and see which quality of life is better - the answer is NOT the QoL in NYC.

> Even the McCarthy Red Scare, the Vietnam War and Richard M. Nixon are considered subjects upon which reasonable people might disagree.

Sure. How'd that whole "Open the gates to China" thing work out for our country? Second question in the pop quiz: guess where both Henry Kissinger and Hank Paulson decided to retire?

Don't drink the water, or get sick or injured enough to require hospital services.

Let's try and stay away from political discussions. Just state your case and move on.

We put our trousers on one leg at a time, and if you cut us we bleed.

That the United States is a very large country thus, a day trip to Niagara Falls from NYC is not really possible.
It takes about six hours to fly non-stop from NYC to LA.
We hope you don't get sick or injured, but if you do, we have excellent medical care and major medical centers.
Americans are friendly and helpful. Ask a question and you'll get help.
Avoid the chain restaurants and dine at authentic regional restaurants.
Have breakfast in a diner.
Go to a farmers' market.
Visit at Thanksgiving and find a place that serves a traditonal Thanksgiving dinner.
You can use computers in public libraries, sometimes free, sometimes for a small fee. They have printers too.

IMDone. I was half joking. We met a family from Switzerland in Virginia City and they were so impressed that the reservations were turned into money making casinos. Not always true. How convenient to have a casino close to a California freeway.

I guess you are referring to the San Miguel Casino. I do not know who is in charge these days, but years ago it was a young tribal member, that everyone wanted to give a sharp smack to his head.

Only familiar with Northern California.

Wow, potentially a very heavy topic! This comes with lots of disclaimers about the danger of writing in sweeping terms about anywhere/anyone. I seem to remember spending an age in graduate school learning how everything was situational, partial and contested but into the breach anyway!

Many foreigners (particularly in Europe) may be very familiar with the negative portrayal of the US in their local media; a country that is wracked with political conflict (see above), debating issues that seem out-of-date (death penalty, abortion etc), nationalistic, too many guns (see latest shooting), we are often regarded as hypocritical -particularly in the Middle East, and can be seen as the land of opportunity but perhaps not compassion.


So what's the America they may not see or know? Here's my stream of consciousness take...

We've been trying to define America since de Tocqueville but the difficulty is the sheer size, range and diversity of this country. As a foreigner who has lived here for 25 years I'd say that America is so many different things and we all tend to think our corner of it, or our vision of it, is how it should be.

In my experience Europeans comment on how polite, helpful, hospitable, friendly and warm Americans are and how clean it is here.Though my father never understood why there was fruit on his plate along with the egg and bacon at brunch!

Those from poorer countries are often surprised to see homeless people here.

The US is a multicultural society, it's more religious than many other places but there are also strong secular protections. We enjoy both religious freedom and freedom of expression. There's a wonderful tradition of volunteerism that runs deeply here. Overal those living in the US are very generous in their charitable giving.

There's a libertarian streak that runs across the political left and right. Some may feel this is an overstatement but generally self reliance is highly valued and individual success is revered. I won't mention Trump so lets go with Horatio Alger! Despite the reality of political and economic dynasties we gravitate towards narratives of the self-made success story.

Some laws are local, some national - as nytraveler explained.

The US has defined itself through "exceptionalism".

The East and West coasts are different from each other but in many ways they are similar - generally more urban than the rest of the country, with larger immigrant populations, they tend to be more multicultural and more liberal.

Historically America has been seen as a meritocracy and indeed in many ways it has been a less class-bound society than many others, for example the UK. Though recent studies show this changing - apparently now there is more social mobility in Europe than the US.

However, there are deep and raw exceptions to this meritocracy, primarily revolving around race. Structural discrimination (in law, housing and employment) has been and remains at the heart of American society - despite our narrative of opportunity. This contradiction of opportunity and exclusion occasionally creates moments when the cleavages in our society become impossible to ignore. I don't say this to be provocative but you can't talk about the US without discussing what nobel laureate Gunnar Mydral called the "American Dilemma".
It should be said that the US is not the only society wracked by a history of discrimination, lets not talk about the UK and our colonial misadventures.

The US is everything from cities to suburbia, small tightly knit farming communities, areas of urban decay and urban renewal, great wealth and great poverty, tropical islands, tundra, mountains, valleys, coastal areas, low and high desert, swamps, meadowlands and much more. Americans speak in many languages and share many cultures; from indigenous languages to Spanish, Mien, Chinese, Igbo, Urdu, Russian,Portuguese, Navajo, Creole, Hebrew, Tagalog etc.

Americans (US) are born but also made. The point of the United States is not a singularity, it is contested and diverse and this may be its strength.

-----

Apologies to other our other American friends in Canada, Mexico and further south but it's hard to say US throughout. To a foreign visitor I'd say America is a geographical term and describes a much larger area than our nation, which is the United States.

As you can see, there are plenty of opinions. It's learning which ones are based on facts that is the challenge.

Quite simply in my opinion, the greatest country in the world where the great experiment created a Constitution that provided the base for the United States to rise in power because of the liberties that ALL people have, and the OPPORTUNITY to pursue your personal happiness, and in doing so, unleashing unprecedented creativity, freedom and prosperity.

It also allows for each one of us to have our personal opinions, and speak freely. I certainly do not share some of the opinions of those above, but it doesnt matter because we can all say as we please. In the end....don't rattle our cage, because Americans in the end band together and will destroy our enemy when necessary.

As seen throughout decades, helped many countries in the world at great expense and blood, often without thanks or wanting anything in return. Like it or not we are a worldwide power, and I say thank God....because I believe the world would be far better off it were not for us standing up for liberty and good.

Road rage, stay in the right lane unless going fast. We have a ton of toll roads. Research that before driving in the states. The rest stops are good bathroom stops. Tip everyone.
It is a huge country. Lousy train and public transportation. You almost have to drive or fly and take taxis or use uber.
If sick go to a doc in the box type place, not an er or hospital. Orlando has some very bad areas as do most other American cities. Know where you are and be aware. You don't get pick pocketed here, you get robbed with a gun.
Great National Parks and seashores. Most everything of historical importance in Washington DC is free. Even the Zoo.

It's a lot bigger than many think it is. Map out that potential route to get an idea of drive times.

The best source of information regarding Turkey on Fodor's is a fellow named Otherchelebi. Today he wrote an introduction about Turkey briefly describing the history of modern Turkey including how the country evolved, education, and the religious and ethnic composition.>>

OC had a great advantage over you, IMD, because he did not face the level of contraction that you [and everyone else here] do, given that he is just about the only turkish poster on Fodors.

looks as if there are as many opinions as there are americans!

Annhig, you hit the nail on the head.

I was hoping to read

- why Americans eat and run
- why they love talking to tourists
- why there are so many kinds of churches and what's their popularity
- how do they feel about foreigners
- how do they feel about tourists
- how well do they know their neighbours
- how safe do they really feel
- what current topics are being discussed in their area
- why are the Kardashian's so popular?
- the influence of sport on their lives
- how do they view the world
- how do they view their military and do they have a problem with the large expense of it

Here's the link to the Turkish thread started by the highly respected and well-informed Otherchelebi.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-or-chaos.cfm

PS: No offence but the last thing a tourist wants to hear is an American boasting "we're the greatest nation on Earth." It rather ends any possibility of a stimulating and thought-provoking conversation.

"why Americans eat and run"

That's what happens when you get 30 minutes for lunch or want to eat dinner before a show. Food is more important to me, so I stopped working and seldom go to the theater.

"why they love talking to tourists" Because they want to talk about us!
- "how do they feel about foreigners" They sometimes dress oddly.
- "how do they feel about tourists" They talk too much and clog the streets.

"- why there are so many kinds of churches and what's their popularity" This probably has to do with extreme Protestantism. They believe themselves to be important enough to have a direct relationship with god, and they don't need any fancy clergy to correct their interpretations of scripture. Thus, they can pick the church which most closely adheres to their preconceptions and prejudices.

" how well do they know their neighbors" All too well in small towns.

- "what current topics are being discussed in their area" I live in a city and don't discuss things with my neighbors (if I happen to know who they are).

-" how safe do they really feel" I feel safe as anyone, I suppose. Crime and terrorism can erupt anywhere. Obviously the gun nuts feel differently.

"why are the Kardashian's so popular?" They hit the jackpot for fame and fortune while displaying no obvious merit. "Maybe there's a chance for me . . ."

"- the influence of sport on their lives" If you are referring to the various ball games so popular around the world, it ranges from zero for me to insane obsession for others.

"how do they view the world" Obviously this ranges from xenophobia to wishing for voluntary and permanent exile. In general, I'd guess the average American is not very curious about the world outside the borders. Only 1/3 of us hold passports.

"how do they view their military and do they have a problem with the large expense of it" Most think it our finest institution. I think it is too involved in foreign policy debates -- it usurped the State Department during the Bush years -- and that eventually it will bankrupt us. We don't read much history.

Thank you for your insights, Fra_Diavolo.

Ann

OC is a friend but besides that he is quite generous with his time and knowledge. He now lives in a country where opinions can be be anything from troublesome to deadly. I am sure there are many disagree who with OC, but he has the courage to state his ideas at a time when the Erdoğan regime has become more and more repressive and violent against its own people.

Kleeblatt

It is a shame that Americans cannot read your mind and answer the questions that are important to you. That is a great failing of our society.

And you chose to be intolerant of answers you do not like. The point was to allow people express their different views. I think that reflects on you rather than the diverse responses above. And no matter how repugnant you find it, as do many Americans, that is the...American way. And that subtlety has obviously eluded you.

Even the questions you posed would result in desperate responses.

I agree with almost all of Fra's observations.

I was born in NYC and have lived here all my live. I currently live an apartment building with Blacks, Hispanics, Chinese, Koreans, Sikhs, Israelis, Muslims, and other peoples who ethnicity is not as obvious by looks or language. I know many of many of my neighbors, more as nodding acquaintances than as friends.

I grew up in a neighborhood where all my friends were at best second generation Americans. It is the finest way to learn tolerance and appreciation of other people's cultures, ideas, cuisine, and history.

On the other hand there is great xenophobia in America.

I too disagree with "American Exceptionalism" as it a dangerous and illusive concept.

But if you dismiss what you do not like, you do not know it and do not know how to combat it. And you do not fully understand the country you are visiting or the country you are living in.

IMDonehere,

Your above response is to me is insightful. I did not mean to show ignorance but to remind posters their responses are directed to people who are not Americans.

It will be interesting to see how this thread continues.

I appreciated your questions, kleeblatt, because as an American, I find it almost impossible to provide any sort of useful overview of my country. It's too big, and I'm too close.

I'm a first generation American, so I inherited an intense patriotism from my parents. But, like so many immigrants to the US, their politics ended up right of center, and mine, for whatever reason, have always leaned quite far left, so I grew up with first hand experience of the political divisions in our country.

That is merely to provide context for some of my answers!

- why Americans eat and run: We lack a unifying cuisine, and have no food culture or tradition. The good side of this is that we eagerly embrace other cuisines and innovations in cooking.

- why they love talking to tourists: We are a friendly people. Our continental isolation makes foreigners something of a novelty; or perhaps it's in our DNA to welcome foreigners, as we are a nation of immigrants. I know that my dad, who had a strong accent, was often asked "where are you from?', but never with suspicion or aggression, always with an open and friendly curiosity.

- why there are so many kinds of churches and what's their popularity: I can't comment, I'm an atheist and find this a mystery myself.

- how do they feel about foreigners: Ambivalent, I'd say. Visitors are welcome. Immigrants provoke an incoherent response, as they seem always to be persecuted in the present but revered when they reside safely in the past. As a rule, Americans feel their country is the best on earth, and so view foreign countries through that prism.

- how do they feel about tourists: Welcoming. Americans love to play host.

- how well do they know their neighbours: I find us to be very neighborly, but the specifics vary from one region to another. In small towns they know each other very well indeed but can be somewhat closed off to newcomers. But there is a strong tradition of community feeling and neighborly togetherness in general here.

- how safe do they really feel: Very. The risk of getting shot is still vanishingly small, although media headlines are, of course, alarming. But we are also in denial about the heavy cost of our gun culture. It will sound paradoxical, but I believe we are failing to grapple with this issue precisely because we feel safe and largely impervious to its dangers.

- what current topics are being discussed in their area: The endless presidential campaign and debates, and Donald Trump, but only in ways so general as to avoid offense. Among friends and family, we are aghast at the lunacy of the Republican candidates.

- why are the Kardashian's so popular? They are and they aren't. I don't know anyone who cares about them. I believe reality TV is on the wane.

- the influence of sport on their lives: on mine, it's minimal. IME, most Americans care less about sports than the rest of the world cares about soccer.

- how do they view the world: how much time do you have?

- how do they view their military and do they have a problem with the large expense of it: The military has been exalted of late as the solver of thorny international problems, and we have learned at least one lesson from Vietnam, which is to treat veterans with respect. So at sporting events, there is always a salute to a specific service member and often a general Salute to Our Heroes. You see a lot of bumper stickers supporting the military and military families. "Thank you for your service" has become a cliche, but people in uniform still receive a lot of public thanks and handshakes and the like. I never hear the monetary cost discussed, although the human cost of injured and disabled soldiers is beginning to attract attention. IMO the cost of our recent wars has been hidden from the public. A teeny, tiny percentage of Americans actually serve, btw.

Sorry this is so long. If I had more time, it would be shorter.

But if you dismiss what you do not like, you do not know it and do not know how to combat it. And you do not fully understand the country you are visiting or the country you are living in.>>

IMD - can we ever truly understand a country we are visiting? The more I visit countries that I know well [France, Germany, Italy] the more I realise that I don't and can't fully understand them.

I think that you need to live in a country for a substantial time and to speak the language fluently to do that.

These views may or may not be mine, but they are what I observe:


-<< why Americans eat and run>>

We eat to live, not live to eat.

-<<why they love talking to tourists>>

We are proud of our city/state/country and want find out how visitors like it.

- <<why there are so many kinds of churches and what's their popularity>>

There is a decline of membership in organized religion, so that may soon be a myth.

- <<how do they feel about foreigners>>
We like them, but want them to enter the country legally.

-<<how do they feel about tourists>>
We like them and want them to spend lots of money.

<<- how well do they know their neighbours>>
Some we don't know well enough; some we know too well.

<<- how safe do they really feel>>
Very safe

<<- what current topics are being discussed in their area>>
How to afford municipal projects with a declining tax base.

-<< why are the Kardashian's so popular?>>
Who?

<<-the influence of sport on their lives>>
Little-to-none

<<- how do they view the world>>
Our community is our "world".

<<- how do they view their military and do they have a problem with the large expense of it>>
We support the military and the cost of it.

IMD - can we ever truly understand a country we are visiting? The more I visit countries that I know well [France, Germany, Italy] the more I realise that I don't and can't fully understand them.

I think that you need to live in a country for a substantial time and to speak the language fluently to do that.
______________

It is true.

But I do not fully understand America. You do not know how many times I shake my head at the actions of fellow countrymen. I am sure it is the same in the UK.

We have spent considerable time in Spain and we are in weekly communication with friends and relatives. The changes in last 40 years have been seismic. What you know today, may not be true in the near or distant future. But then it becomes part of the historical record.

Before we visit a country we try to read the better literature, know some of the history and culture, and a little of the language. Each moves us closer to knowing more.

Thank you Kleeblatt. We are contradictory people. When politicians call for unity, there are few examples in our history that are exemplary. Even after the empathy and sympathy of 9/11, the reactions of how to handle the future were very, very different.

The war in which Americans suffered the most casualties-was our Civil War.

_____

The popularity of the Kardashians demonstrates, to me, a severe dissatisfaction with people's own lives. To have an emotional investment in vapid, shallow characters is quite frightening.

One key to understanding is to realize the vast differenes in differnt parts of the country - state by state, city by city and even neighborhood by neighborhood.

I am third generation american (heritage is Irish, Czech and German, catholic and protestant) and since I live in NY my experience in ethnicites and relgions is incredibly diverse - similar to imdonehere.

But other people in other parts of the country may never have traveled more then 50 or 100 miles from home or met anyone of another race or religion. One of my suitemates in college came from a minute town in PA and was very naive about the rest of the world - which led her to feel discrimination to anyone unlike her. The trouble was, she was so naive that she didn't realize that some of her comments were hateful - and she was directing them to people of the groups involved. This was a state university in NY, with many students from NYC, and a broad range of religions and ethnicities.

So a couple of us had to take her aside and inform her that not only were her comments (remarks about catholics, jews, hispanics and african american) totally inapproriate - but that she was insulting seveal of her own roommates. She has never before met anyone (as incredible as it seems) who was not anglo saxon protestant. And of the 6 in our suite she was the only one such. three of us were catholic, two were jewish and when one dropped out in our second semester our new roommate was chinese.

Sadly a lot of american live similar very circumscribed lives - and believe a lot of misinformation of people from other religious, ethnic or national groups.

So what I think of as american - and the vest of america - is this massive diversity. But there are still a lot of people who fear people who aren't them - often because they have never many any.

I think the idea that only a big city is diverse in America is hogwash. I have lived all over this country, and there are recent immigrants in small towns throughout the midwest and south, not to mention the border states, of course. Most speak Spanish, but there Hmong and Somalis and you name it. Believe me, things have changed since you were in college! It would be difficult--not impossible, but difficult!-- to find a place in America so isolated as to have no knowledge of people who are not "like them".