The one American thing or pastime you find hard to get into...?

[bayernfc]

American Football (actually most american sports) Which reminds me, the Fifa system for teams from North America is incredibly unbalanced compared to other continents, but that's another thread all-together.

Giant food portions (not just the MacDonalds supersize business)

As far as candy bars go.... "Flakes"

 

[anitram]

I don't think the obsession with celebrity culture is any worse here than in Europe. Particularly in England. Their tabloids are out of control plus they keep writing about the ugly, inbred royal family.

 

[trojanchick99]

W. Just W.

I'm American, and I just don't understand.

 

[GibsonGirl]

I've been living in North America for five years now. While Canada is obviously very different from the US, both countries do have some things in common. The hardest thing for me to get into has been the sport. I love hockey, but I just can't see the appeal in baseball, American football, or basketball. I've attempted to, but it's pointless for me to try. Hockey's really the only thing I can watch. I've been sucked in. Every now and then we'll get some rugby (and if we're extremely lucky, cricket) on Fox Sports World, but other than that, it's just hockey.

There are some other North American things I can't get into. One doesn't cut it:


- Fruit Roll Ups (it's like an unprovoked attack on my mouth)

- driving on the wrong side of the road

- Snowmobiling

- Taco Bell (tastes gross to me)

 

[indra]

I don't think the obsession with celebrity culture is any worse here than in Europe. Particularly in England. Their tabloids are out of control plus they keep writing about the ugly, inbred royal family.

I couldn't help but find it funny when Princess Diana died how so many people were wailing about how the tabloids killed her, but the tabloids had massive -- record -- sales for the editions covering her death.

And in the same vein, I love the people who complain about the tabloids and/or celebrity worship, yet can tell you exactly what is in all the rags and what is the latest news on all the celebs.

 

[Angela Harlem]

the paparazzi were blamed for literally being part of the cause of her death. that's culpability. fuck sales.

 

[indra]

the paparazzi were blamed for literally being part of the cause of her death. that's culpability. fuck sales.

But people still bought the fucking rags. In massive quantities. If I thought certain people were responsible for someones death I liked I sure as hell wouldn't do something to help them profit from that person's death. But massive numbers did just that...and they don't even seem to realise that if they didn't buy the fucking things in the first place there would be no incentive to get photos at all costs.

Far too many people are just stupid.

 

[Angela Harlem]

it sounded like you meant the rag media in general killed her (which im sure some believe) but as for the rest of it, she is a difficult example as she was the most photographed human being on the planet and everyone wanted a piece of that. i see responsibility only in the photographer who chased them. that doesn't mean the rest of them are all moral. they're far from it!

 

[Kristie]

- Fruit Roll Ups (it's like an unprovoked attack on my mouth)

- driving on the wrong side of the road

- Snowmobiling

- Taco Bell (tastes gross to me)

I agree on the fruit roll-ups thing... I always get them stuck to the roof of my mouth and then spend ten minutes making horrible faces trying to get them off.

 

[meegannie]

American white bread isn't as good as British white bread though. It always tastes really sweet and looks really yellowish.

Not wanting to get territorial over bread or anything....

That's because American white bread contains high fructose corn syrup.

 

[meegannie]

American football. It's at least as boring as cricket, and lasts almost as long. The most horrible sport imaginable would combine elements from American football, cricket, and snooker: American crooker. Ooh, and throw in car racing to make it even worse.

Ridiculously expensive healthcare combined with a hypochondriacal and litigious society. While it's sometimes a struggle to get decent healthcare on the NHS, at least it's free at the point of service and I don't have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for unnecessary tests.

Acryllic nails.

Shop assistants who continually ask, "Can I help you finding anything?", "Are you looking for something in particular?", etc..

Obviously there are more little things, but that's all I can think of at the moment as I'm finding it much easier to think of things I hate about England!

 

[GibsonGirl]

Originally posted by meegannie

Shop assistants who continually ask, "Can I help you finding anything?", "Are you looking for something in particular?", etc..

The people at the Wal-Mart tills... "Did you find everything you were looking for?"

 

[freya]

Damn. Nevermind.

 

[indra]

Oh! I almost forgot...and I don't know if these are only in the US...but they suck anyway.

Extended Service Contracts.

Virtually pure profit for the businesses, but stupid as hell for the consumer. I have walked out of stores when salespeople won't stop pushing them without making the purchase I intended to make there. What part of "no" don't they understand? You asked if I wanted it. I said no. Move along or lose the sale. Someone else will shut up and make the sale.

 

[vivalapopedge]

American Idol

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

American Idol

Oh gawd yes!!!

Any of these damn "Reality" Shows (athough I do believe this was a European thing to start with ) if this is reality than I need to be put in a mental ward right away...

 

[bammo2]

American Idol, I'm ashamed to say, started in the UK with Pop Idol.

I don't think the obsession with celebrity culture is any worse here than in Europe. Particularly in England. Their tabloids are out of control plus they keep writing about the ugly, inbred royal family.

What a delightful comment. I'm sure they think that you're lovely, too

 

[Muggsy]

+Baseball... I don't understand that game

+ Fast Food in general. I don't eat fast food often, and I don't know how would it feel to eat it as a daily basis. Maybe that's the only thing I don't like of traveling, that many of the food looks like plastic. but the candies are delicious too bad I'm hypoglicemic

 

[daygloeyes2]

Apple pie.

Same here.

Some other things:
-NASCAR. Driving around in a car is NOT a sport!
-Reality TV
-Super-sizing at fast food restauraunts.

 

[indra]

I thought Reality TV, American Idol, and NASCAR were givens.

But I do agree with you all on those.

My, my, I'm a cranky bitch. I don't seem to like much of anything.

 

[hcbiggs2002]

hockey is NOT american.


thank you.

Agreed! Americans may play ice hockey but was the Finns who brought ice hockey to America!!

Oh and I hate American football!! And the fact that it's even called Football annoys me, when the sport is more like rugby (expect that real rugby players wouldn't be seen dead with all the padding American 'footballers' use!) where the ball is carried not kicked like in REAL football otherwise known, ONLY IN AMERICA, as soccer!!!

 

[TheQuiet1]

Is it Americans who say things like 'spelled' and 'knowed' instead of 'spelt' and 'knew'? It just sounds wrong to me.

The way you write the dates (It's so confusing! Though I guess it must be equally confusing for Americans too when they see European dates)

The American versions of words. Fine if you wanna call a pram a baby carriage or call the toilet the restroom (though I don't quite see the point in calling it a restroom when it has nothing to do with rest). It's when you use the same name for something that means something totally different in another part of the world. For example, Americans asking for pants when they want trousers or Brits asking for a rubber...........

But I don't mind your sports actually.

 

[Kristie]

not to get off topic, but... why do non-US people get so belligerant about us calling it soccer? I've never met anyone here who gets mad that you call it football... it's like pop and soda people. Soda people get mad about it, pop people say "Hmm, that's different. Let's be friends!"

also, it seems like some people here think that people in the states eat fast food every day... you know we don't, right?

I feel like I should add a pasttime, but I still can't think of anything else... I like Subway a lot so I can't get on the fast food bandwagon.

britney spears?
oh oh how about going tanning every day and dying your hair blonde
is that an american thing?


edit to say: People say "spelled" but if anyone were to say "knowed" it would definately be wrong.

 

[TheQuiet1]

not to get off topic, but... why do non-US people get so belligerant about us calling it soccer? I've never met anyone here who gets mad that you call it football... it's like pop and soda people. Soda people get mad about it, pop people say "Hmm, that's different. Let's be friends!"

edit to say: People say "spelled" but if anyone were to say "knowed" it would definately be wrong.

I think it's just because American culture is so prominent at the moment. Films, TV, Music, Subway/Starbucks- American culture's everywhere so I think people tend to get irate and a bit OTT about little things like this as a way of reasserting their own culture as being different from the USA......maybe. Still in 50 years time when there's a new superpower and, I dunno, Chinese culture is the new big thing people will no doubt stop moaning about soccer/football and start thinking of it as 'quaint'.

I'm racking my brains to think of the other word that Americans leave with an 'ed' ending that we'd change to 'lt' and I can't think of it. I didn't think 'knowed' was it but I couldn't think of the right word so I guessed. Any ideas as to what I could be thinking of?

 

[Tilli]

I'm racking my brains to think of the other word that Americans leave with an 'ed' ending that we'd change to 'lt' and I can't think of it. I didn't think 'knowed' was it but I couldn't think of the right word so I guessed. Any ideas as to what I could be thinking of?

Could you be thinking of "owned"??

 

[TheQuiet1]

Nope but I've got it! It wasn't an 'lt' ending- it was teached/taught. Americans would say 'teached' right? Whilst we'd say 'taught'.

Besides I say 'owned', don't you then?

 

[Tilli]

Yes, but 'owned' it is a slang term I have seen used on the internet as well.

 

[TheQuiet1]

Sorry I'm with you now.

 

[Tilli]

here's an example:

 

[Carek1230]

Baseball (boring sport in my opinion)
Recreational Christians (judgemental hypocrits)
politics (deceiving)
Truth (see above)
Materialism
Vanity
Plastic Surgery (probably can be combined with above)