Things I Have Learnt About America (So Far)

[melliyna]

I've only been here (in Charlottesville Virginia as an exchange student at UVA) for about a week but I'm already (kind of) getting the hang of this country. Kind of (the expectation of people talking in Australian accents hasn't quite gone away yet). But I can truly say that I'm looking forward to seeing Washington DC and New York and that I have so far learnt the following things about America:

-I have seen so many Kerry/Edwards/Liberal themed car stickers it's just rather cool. Also most people that I've talked to are not fans of George Bush/Republicans in any way at all. Even after spending time on this site it was still a surprise because the media view of America right now in Australia is very much that of a conservative country.
-People find Australian accents amusing (although I'll admit to not having a particularly obvious one)
-The whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing is still something that I am getting used to slowly.
-Hersheys is a good chocolate
-I am having trouble figuring out the worth of American coinage

[WannaBeGrumpy]

1. We're all having trouble with the woth of American coinage.....

hershey's rocks! hope you are enjoying yourself so far! :hi:

[XemaSab]

33. zing!

:P

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

2. Welcome to America and DU

:hi:

it seems your adjusting pretty nicely

[Aristus]

3. Welcome to the United States, melliyna! And to DU!

:hi:

I'm curious about something; are the U.S. Dollar and the Aussie Dollar broken down differently? I guess you may have different names for your coinage. If not dimes, nickels and pennies, you do have 10-cent (or pence? :shrug: ) pieces, five-cent, and one-penny pieces, don't you?

I like to think I know a lot about different countries and cultures, but maybe I'm just a :dunce:

[melliyna]

34. Coinage Is Hard

Think five cent, ten cent. twenty cent, fifty cent. We're boring that way - just calling them by the numbers. The friends I've made in my dorm were however amazed to find out we have one dollar and two dollar coins *grins* And no - you aren't dumb at all :) Coinage is not something people neccessarily know that well.

[5thGenDemocrat]

35. Canadians have $1 and $2 coins, too

Ones are called "Loonies" and Twos are called "Toonies." The one because there's a Loon depicted on the front of the coin and the two because, well, because Canadians just have that type of sense of humor.
John
In Saginaw, Michigan.
Saginaw is pretty Canadian as US cities go. We're 98 miles from the border and have three Tim Horton's donut shops and an Ontario Hockey League franchise (as seen on "The Colbert Report"). I even have a Canadian national flag here, which I fly on Canada Day (July 1) and Gordie Howe's birthday (March 31).

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. One very important thing

to understand about America:

Football is more important than grammar, spelling and punctuation.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

5. American Football not Aussie Football!

:hi:

on another note: ONE MONTH...I am all a-tingle.

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. Well, obviously

"Footy" IS more important than grammar, spelling and punctuation. :P

[KitchenWitch]

9. And in my mind and heart, Pitchers and Catchers reporting

is more important than all that.

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. DAMN it, I wish I could remember that poem!

:grr:

[JCMach1]

7. arggghhh just stepped on one of my linguistic pet peeves 'learnt'

it's 'learned' damn it...

Going to British curriculum schools, I am constantly correcting my daughters' Britishisms...

[Left Is Write]

17. The OP is Australian.

Would you appreciate getting jumped on for using "learned" at a British or Australian website?

[JCMach1]

31. My daughters are American, but they go to a British Curriculum school

but begs the question...

Did not mean to offend our Aussie friend...

Just one of those linguistic quirks... that separates us from our cousins over the waters... I won't even go into Indian English, or should I say Inglish...

[deepthought42]

8. Ahh, Charlottesville...

I like Charlottesville. I went to college in Lynchburg, VA, and I would always escape to Charlottesville on weekends. I prefer Annapolis though. lol

People in VA don't always know how to drive on the right side of the road either...although they should...lol. Don't drive on the DC Beltway until you're more comfortable driving over here. TRUST ME.

Hershey's is damn good chocolate. If you ever get the chance, you should head up to PA (it's not too, too far) and go to HersheyPark. ^__^

One thing to remember: Sacagawea (sp?) coins are $1. I wish I'd remembered that when my friend and I had a bunch and we thought we were stuck in Baltimore w/no money...*sigh* *lol* Though you don't see much of those anymore...*shrugs*

[Burma Jones]

10. Good On Ya

Welcome to the USA. We really like Australia, we like the accent and would want to be Australian if we weren't Americans. You, of course, are the one that drives on the wrong side of the road. You can find Vegemite here, but I don't know why you would want to. My wife spent a semester in Australia, she liked it. You can visit Hershey by the way, you're about a three or four hour drive away.

Our government is conservative, but that's changing. As a people, we are not all that conservative.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. The most important thing about American Culture: THANK YOU CARDS

you just have to know that.

if you have that one down, you're all set.

:hi:

[Burma Jones]

14. not for guys......

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. ...

:rofl:

:hug:

[crispini]

13. Let me guess:

When people find out you're from Australia, they say, "Oh, I've always wanted to go there!"

I just got back from a visit to Melbourne and that seems to be the inevitable reaction when I tell people I've been there. ;)

[ghostsofgiants]

18. Once at a party, I decided to adopt a fake (albeit convincing) Australian accent...

And pretended I was from there. People were fascinated. Got a lot of "Always wanted to go there!" comments, haha.

[mzteris]

28. I was at a party with a guy once

who decided to do that (he's an actor) - it was all very funny until he ran into a REAL Aussie!!

Ooops. . .

[fudge stripe cookays]

44. He he...

I did that on Sixth Street once. I was with a girlfriend of mine, and convinced a bunch of drunk, horny frat guys that I was from England, cuz I can fake Cockney pretty well.

The ruder I was to them, the more turned on they got. What is it with the accent?

[Left Is Write]

20. You went to Melbourne?

Oh, I've always wanted to go there!

:P

[crispini]

23. LOL! nt

[BreweryYardRat]

15. We have very few poisonous animals, comparatively speaking.

Be grateful. ;)

And in the South, "root" is sometimes used as a synonym for "rummage." I.e, "I'm going to go root through my room, see if I can find any clean clothes."

[trof]

19. G'dye, mate. Don't miss the Michie Tavern.

http://www.michietavern.com/

Good fried chicken and try the black eyed peas.
Interesting old tavern too.

Also the Old Mill Room (restaurant) at the Boar's Head Inn.
It's pricey though.

Do see Monticello too.

Welcome to the U.S. and to DU.
:hi:

[kay1864]

21. I read somewhere that

the US is the only industrialized country that doesn't have the denomination (in numerals) on its coins. Every country I've been to has a number 10 or a 25 on their coins. If you're visiting the US and you don't read English, you're out of luck when it comes to coins.

IMHO there are much better chocolates to be found here than Hershey's...but come to think of it most of them are foreign! (Lindt, Toblerone, etc.) Seriously the specialty grocery stores will have some much better chocolate bars (some imported, some US)

Welcome to DU and the US! :hi:


(ps "Need a lift?" is sometimes rendered here as "Need a ride?" A female friend from South African gave me an odd look after the latter :rofl:)

[crispini]

22. Scharffenberger is an absolutely delightful American chocolate.

In fact, I think I'll go have some now. :D

[u4ic]

24. Hershey's is not chocolate

x(


If you miss home, just take a trip to Fernie, B.C. Every second person there is an Aussie. :hi:

[SPKrazy]

25. C.J. Creg Was Cool

but alas, they cancelled her show !!!!


I miss the West Wing !!!

x(

[huskerlaw]

37. OMG, you're a WW fan??

Southpaw, you just keep getting even more cool!

I'm a complete Wingnut (the good kind, not the creepy republican kind). CJ was by far my favorite character. ;)

:hi:

[SPKrazy]

41. I'm So Sad It's Off The Air

I think they could have done the whole Matt Santos as President thing!

I like CJ. My favorite character was Emily Proctor's character, the Republican on the team LOL

I just liked her.

No, I probably liked Rob Lowe's character best, He probably did better in that role than in anything I've ever seen him in.

Of course, I lurved Leo McGarry. I am still sad about him dying.

miss the show

:pals:

[ChoralScholar]

42. I liked Emily Procter on TWW also.

When we thought we were having a girl, we were going to name her Ainsley Elizabeth.

[huskerlaw]

43. Eh...

As much as I loved it, I think it was time for it to end. I never got invested in Santos, he just wasn't that interesting.

Besides, it just wouldn't have been the West Wing without the Bartlets, CJ, Toby, and of course, Leo.

Meanwhile, I'm all excited because I'm going to a "reading" on Saturday, featuring Allison Janney (CJ!) and also Jane Kaczmarek, Bradley Whitford's wife. :bounce:


:hi:

[leftofthedial]

26. re: the worth of American coinage--a hint

it's worth less and less all the time, thanks to the repukes in power in government and in the federal reserve

[Kerrytravelers]

27. Welcome!

:hi:

Welcome to America. Sorry we're fucking up the world right now. :cry: There is less than two years left before * finds his ass out of the White House and the grown ups are back in charge.

[Sanity Claws]

29. Welcome!

Enjoy your stay. Care to compare Aussie lads to the American males you've met?

[Taverner]

30. Driving on the left side of the road drove me nuts

Of course it was on windy Thai roads in Mae Hong Son...

[Arugula Latte]

32. Welcome and enjoy your stay!

When you go to DC, one of the best things is that the museums of the Smithsonian are Free. Free, I tell you!

Another free thing to take advantage of: In New York, take the Staten Island Ferry to S. Island and back. Great views of NY Harbor, including that Statue you've heard about ...

:hi:

[myrna minx]

36. Welcome to DU, melliyna.

:hi:

[sarge43]

38. Welcome melliyna

As pointed out, Hersheys is not chocolate; it's coco flavored linoleum. Try Ghirardelli -- the bittersweet is sinful.

When in DC, visit the Smithsonian. It's our national attic. It has everything -- The Spirit of St Louis, Indiana Jones' hat, First Ladies' dresses, etc.

[bigwillq]

39. Welcome to America!

And to DU! :hi:

[AllegroRondo]

40. The US is the only country that doesnt put numbers on its coins

to tell you their value.

many of us STILL find it confusing.

I had a doozy of a time explaining it to the German exchange students.