All About America - Part 6

Posted by Abhijith as Uncategorized

Continuation of the All About America series, which is just a collection of facts which you might not have known. This is Part 6.

It is not good manners, in fact some might consider offensive if you sit occupy an empty seat at a stranger’s table at an eatery/other public place. Usually there is always space, you will find a place to sit.

Tip graciously to the waiter. That means about 13-15%. This includes pizza delivery guys too. Interestingly, tipping barbers is also a must(i.e. if the barber charges $7 for a haircut, it is good manners to give him $7 + $1 or $2 as a tip. I really don’t understand why, even when the barber is the sole owner of the shop, but you have to do it. By the way, haircuts are not always $7, my friends have to take an appointment and pay $15 at the place they go to).

Most of the fast food chains have their kitchens open to the public - as in they are not barricaded or hidden away. This might be intentional to keep the workers from adding unwanted ingredients and maintaining ‘open’ standards in cleanliness.

Education in America, vs India: Another Nittian wrote a post on that, including many details, but I will say that most have the freedom to choose whatever they want, so the chance that they will excel in that field is high.

This might be catching up elsewhere too, but from what I have seen, almost every other smoker is female. And most consider it their ‘right’, citing the First Amendment where they have the freedom to almost everything. Hence banning it on campus is more tricky than an official order.

The biggest consumer of salt in the world is… USA. They use it to clear the snow/ice during winter(depression in freezing point), so you will find huge salt tents along main highways then.

Greeting anyone you are going to talk to, be it a salesman or a desk attendant with a Hello and thanking him is customary. Else its too rude.

The word fcuk, is just another common word. No special oops for it.

As a matter of fact, on television, ‘bctih’ is not censored, but ’shit’, is. I don’t understand why.

For all the informal clothing worn in classrooms and campuses, corporate wear is a level on its own. It is very, very formal.

Claiming, as a joke, in your blog or scrap or comment that you will cause harm to someone(e.g. if you don’t delete that picture, I will kill you!) WILL land you in deep trouble(read: Police, jail, psychiatrist, etc.) if anyone decides to tip the authorities off. On the other hand, slander could result in a lawsuit….. You just have to be careful of what you say. What’s more, I have read of a case where a Judge ordered a restaurant to pay damages to a customer for serving coffee “too hot“.

Interested? Read previous parts here:

AAA - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
If you are heading to America for higher studies, my blog posts on my visa interview and my (incomplete) trip from India should be of interest to you. I also have a document about packing/visa/flight etc. I sent to a couple of the chemical guys, it’s not complete, it should take the weekend to finish.

first posted at http://abhijith1729.blogspot.com

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May 17, 2008 | Filed Under Uncategorized 

Comments

2 Responses to “All About America - Part 6”

  1. Bhaskar on May 19th, 2008 7:12 am

    If bitch was officially used, why is bitch bctih in your blog? So is the case with fcuk and not fuck, u r free to use these..there is no harm, as long as u know how to distinguish and when and where to use them

  2. AM on May 19th, 2008 7:32 am

    Whatever the ‘official’ stance be, there is a personal choice I wish to exercise. Moreover, these ‘official’ rules don’t always make good sense.

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