So if you’ve not figured it out yet, A and B Squad leave for the United States TODAY! Parties have been had, goodbyes are imminent and tears are on the brink. As I reflect back there are so many things to say, but one thing consistently on my mind is how after being to almost 20 countries this year, there are just a couple things that really baffle me about home. Almost everywhere else in the world, the following 7 things are done consistently differently. There’s no reason, it’s just the way it is.
6 Reasons America is Weird
6. With the exception of major cities, America has an incredibly limited public transportation network. I didn’t even KNOW what a Tuk Tuk was until I travelled, but they are common virtually everywhere else!
5. Other cultures are completely fascinated by Westerners. I have been screamed at from moving vehicles the one English word a local probably knows (“HELLO!”), I have been aksed to have my picture taken with complete strangers and I have been unabashedly stared at for incredibly long and awkward periods of time. I try to picture being home in America screaming “NI HAO!!!!” out the window to them or asking them to take their picture with me just because they look so different…..
4. Don’t know why this is, but in almost every other culture it is appropriate for same gender individuals to be INCREDIBLY affectionate. Guys holding hands, sitting on each other’s laps, walking down the street with their arms draped over each other’s shoulders. It’s nothing…but it’s different…
3. Ok people, “football” is soccer. It just is. And you know what? They actually play “football” with their FEET! I have no logical reason why we took that name and applied it to a game where our feet almost never touch the ball. Soccer is an international phenomenon, they play it everywhere and follow it religiously.
2. I don’t know how we screwed this one up, but the international “come here” gesture is NOT made with fingertips pointed to the sky. Everywhere but America, this is either a sign of agression or of sexual invitation. I believe that World Racers on the whole will NEVER EVER gesture “come here” with our fingers pointed up again (point the fingers down and sweep toward you – it’s awkward but there’s no confusion!).
1. The number 1 reason America is weird: the Metric System. Can anyone explain why we decided to change it?! It’s nonsense, the metric system is SO much easier AND everywhere else in the world uses it! Try as an American to estimate a kilometer, centimeter or kilogram – really REALLY hard and completely unnecessary.
While America might have its quirks, it’s home, I love it and I CAN’T WAIT TO COME HOME!!!
