Visiting the USA

I'm an Aussie troper with a strong likelyhood of visiting the States next year on a program to be a couneller at a summer camp. Any advice, tips, stories or ramblings to throw at me? I've been interested for a while in American vs Australian culture, so this will be an interesting topic for me. Thanks!

Errr... more specifically? America's kind of a big place, so advice that works in Washington state won't necessarily get you very far in Washington DC. In general, though:

-We drive on the right side of the road.
-Football is the kind with shoulder pads, not short-shorts.
-The American English trope is worth a read-through. One "g" in "wagon," no "u" in "color," "er" in "theater" (sometimes) and so on.
-American news tends to be very America-centric. Bone up on international publications with online editions if you want to keep track of the rest of the world.
-When it comes to food, ask about local specialties. This is part of the "big place" thing- beer cheese soup, jambalaya, and spam on pizza are all possibilities, but you won't find them in the same places.

edited 20th Aug '13 4:06:59 AM by edgewalker22

Just "visiting the USA" isn't really all that helpful a starting point, as edge mentioned.

300-odd million people spread out over roughly half the North American continent isn't exactly "small town" in scope.

That said, if your accent isn't obviously Australian, I'd personally recommend against making a big deal of it. There's going to be someone in every crowd that thinks all they need to know about Australia is covered by "Crocodile" Dundee.

I don't know if they do this in Australia too, but the listed prices for items in stores in the US will almost never include sales tax.

What part of the US are you visiting?

Wherever you end up, do be sure to leave the cities and suburbs, and explore the rural areas. One of the best ways to do this is by car- if you can rent one, just pick any state route and drive it, staying at little towns along the way. Another good way to explore America is by train. Buy a round-trip ticked from anywhere to anywhere and back again, then get off at random stops along the way. Also, if you are into camping, hiking or outdoor activities, check out our National Parks and Forests, they're awesome.

x4 This. People, especially younger or immature folks, will make fun of your accent. Just ignore them or join in for a laugh or two. Don't really let it get to you.

I had a friend from Australia (Melbourne area) visit me last year. We spent the weekend making fun of each other's accents. It was great.

No one is going to give you a hard time because of an Australian accent. The worst that will happen is that everyone is going to ask to sing "Waltzing Matilda" over and over, until you're sick of it...

An Australian accent will totally get you laid. This applies to both male and female Australians.

Tell us where you're headed to roughly and that would give us more information though. I can tell you a decent bit about the pacific southwest and colorado, and I'm sure other tropers can tell you about the regions they live in.

Or say the word "Crokey" until its lost all meaning.

Though, location would probably be a big help!

Yeah...on the whole, Americans like Australians. We might poke a little fun at the accent and ask inane questions about kangaroos, but Australians have a reputation here for being laid-back, fun-loving, and totally badass.

Any restaurant where they bring the food to your table will expect a tip (and some that don't will have a tip jar anyway.) American waitpeople generally do not consider foreign currency to be a tip and will react poorly. (On the other hand, bringing along some pocket change to give to kids for their coin collection will win you points.)

Do people seriously do this?

Tourists? Yes, sometimes, thinking the waitstaff will be pleasantly surprised.

Well, considering how it is next to impossible to use foreign money over here, you might as well give them Monopoly money as a tip.

edited 20th Aug '13 12:15:54 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

I got a 50 yen coin as a tip once. They thought it was worth 10 bucks, not 50 cents.

If you are the sort of person who enjoys alcoholic cider, you will need to specify hard cider when you order. The default in the US is non-alcoholic. (I got bit by this in reverse.)

Do American waitpeople have the same reaction with Canadian dollars?

Never had the chance to witness that conflict of currency really. The closest I've seen is some American change that was mixed with Canadian change, and no one batting an eyelid.

Paper currency, yes (how I found out about waitpeople's reactions was with Canadian currency), but most places in the US will take Canadian coins mixed in without comment. It only becomes an issue if you try to use them in a machine.

That depends on how close to the border you are. In general though, people don't much mind the odd coin mixed in, but bills tend to be more of a pain in the ass to deal with.

I live about half an hour's drive from Canada, and we STILL have a hard time exchanging Canadian bills for American currency, despite heavy travelling across borders.

Ninjas.

edited 20th Aug '13 12:24:00 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

Yeah, I meant using foreign currency to tip. It strikes me as very rude and annoying, doubly so given how American waiters and waitresses are so dependent on them.

What's so bad about Canadian bills? I thought our currency was practically identical (value wise).

And are currency trade desk THAT rare to the south? I could name two around here right off the bat if I needed to trade some currency. Admittedly, I dunno how convenient/costly/annoying they are cause I never use them.

Well, I'm sure most of it is ignorance. From what I understand, quite a bit of Europe has less trouble exchanging foreign currency, and most of the developed nations expect at least minimum wage from waitstaff and there's no need to tip.

I don't think there's a single place to exchange currency around here that's not next to the border crossing (and thus requires you to be crossing the border). And we're half an hour away from BC.

Edit: Wait, there is one place, but you have to exchange at least $250 to use them.

edited 20th Aug '13 12:39:13 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

Speaking in general, the US is not set up to allow the use of foreign currency very easily.