The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Ask a Eurofag about America
Cristo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So as you may or may not know, I just spent the last 11 days in New York and Washington DC on holiday. 6 days in New York, 5 in D.C. with it being my first time in the US of A.
I saw this kind of thread done in another forum, and thought it could be interesting for you guys to ask me what my impressions were of your most excellent country. I have too many impressions, good and bad, for me actually to write an entire review of it and you guys might come up with some interesting and specific questions that I might not have thought off.
2 things I will say are:
Your buildings and architecture are grand. I mean on size, scale and beauty alone it was awe-inspring. New York was overwhelming when we arrived, jet-lagged, but I easily thought the coolest buildings were the Chrysler and Woolworth building, followed by AmericanLife insurance building. The Empire State was pretty "meh" aesthetically-wise but impressive due to its height and engineering significance. And basically any museum or government building in D.C was truly awe-inspiring.
The state of poverty and your treatment of the homeless and Vietnam vets. I was on the Amtrak from New York to DC, and we went through the outskirts of Baltimore and stopped briefly and I was shocked. I couldn't believe I was in the US - the so called land of opportunity and Capitalism. I thought I'd been transported to a shanty town in South Africa. I was also shocked to see how many homeless and beggars there are in D.C. and crazies in New York. There were easily 5 or 6 beggars, among which 2 or 3 were Vietnam vets along one stretch of road in Georgetown (now I realise they probably go there because it's a well off part of town, but 6 homeless/beggars is more than you'd see in the entirety of Copenhagen in 1 day). I was so incredibly disappointed to see that the stereotype about homeless Vietnam vet beggars was true to that extent, I always thought it was blown out of proportion but I was saddened to see these men, many of whom had been forced into a war they didn't believe in and was thoroughly useless and didn't achieve anything, to be treated as such especially by a country which takes such pride in their troops.
But yeah, fire away.
I saw this kind of thread done in another forum, and thought it could be interesting for you guys to ask me what my impressions were of your most excellent country. I have too many impressions, good and bad, for me actually to write an entire review of it and you guys might come up with some interesting and specific questions that I might not have thought off.
2 things I will say are:
Your buildings and architecture are grand. I mean on size, scale and beauty alone it was awe-inspring. New York was overwhelming when we arrived, jet-lagged, but I easily thought the coolest buildings were the Chrysler and Woolworth building, followed by AmericanLife insurance building. The Empire State was pretty "meh" aesthetically-wise but impressive due to its height and engineering significance. And basically any museum or government building in D.C was truly awe-inspiring.
The state of poverty and your treatment of the homeless and Vietnam vets. I was on the Amtrak from New York to DC, and we went through the outskirts of Baltimore and stopped briefly and I was shocked. I couldn't believe I was in the US - the so called land of opportunity and Capitalism. I thought I'd been transported to a shanty town in South Africa. I was also shocked to see how many homeless and beggars there are in D.C. and crazies in New York. There were easily 5 or 6 beggars, among which 2 or 3 were Vietnam vets along one stretch of road in Georgetown (now I realise they probably go there because it's a well off part of town, but 6 homeless/beggars is more than you'd see in the entirety of Copenhagen in 1 day). I was so incredibly disappointed to see that the stereotype about homeless Vietnam vet beggars was true to that extent, I always thought it was blown out of proportion but I was saddened to see these men, many of whom had been forced into a war they didn't believe in and was thoroughly useless and didn't achieve anything, to be treated as such especially by a country which takes such pride in their troops.
But yeah, fire away.
Cristo on
0
Posts
Just sayin. But yeah there's a lot of homeless in the big cities.
The homelessness was one thing that also surprised me, but about Seattle (also my first visit last year for PAX). I had the opportunity to travel with the folks on the CCST, and I think the only other thing that really struck me about America was that it's really fucking big. There is just a vast expanse of nothingness that took up almost half our route. I mean, I knew it existed, but that was pretty amazing for me.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
What did you think of the booze barn?
I know that I bought a shit ton and drank maybe two bottles of it
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
what did you think of the people? are we all terrible?
I admit to living in a pretty rural area of the U.S. for the last 17 years of my life (I lived in Poughkeepsie, NY, before that... definitely not rural, but still was not full of the problems as you describe them). Homelessness isn't much of a problem here, amazingly. Not to say they don't exist, but they're taken care of... there are a ton of shelters around the area that take care of people, clean and feed them, and get them out to get jobs. And, thankfully, the job market here has stayed pretty insulated from the rest of the country - we still have relatively little unemployment (around 2.5-3%).
I know homelessness is a problem elsewhere, particularly in urban areas, it saddens me to hear it is bad enough to make such a huge impact on you. Now, as said, most of the homeless who advertise themselves as Vietnam vets I'm sure are actually not... but it's still tough to read.
I'm interested in your thoughts on D.C. I'm going there in a couple weeks for the first time in 20 years... anything you recommend seeing? :P
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
There's about 200,000 homeless veterans in this country.
Also, not every beggar is "homeless".
/tourismvideo.
That being said. Yes, veterans are quite often screwed over.
We're only in D.C. for two days... I want to hit the Air & Space Museum, she wants to see the National Zoo, and we both want to go to the Natural History Museum. We just don't know if we can fit all that in. :P
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Go to the Smithsonian and see a large diamond and Fonzie's jacket.
It's not unlikely that people are more apt to go up and talk to people who are obvious foreigners/visitors wherever you are, just because those people are more likely to have interesting stories than Joe the New Yorker on the subway going to work for the 1100th time.
I mean I almost didn't believe homeless people even existed, like it was some kind of myth.
Really? It must be noted that there was never a European nation, whereas the USA has had roughly the same culture from coast to coast for many a year now. So yeah, if I'm going to compare a New Yorker before his morning coffee to a Spanish person just after his siesta then I'll say that the American is a cold and unapproachable, but if I'm going to compare a Southern lady with a East-German ex-stasi I'm going to draw the opposite conclusion.
So when I say Americans tend to approach me for a chat more often than my fellow Dutchmen I'm specifically comparing my experiences between my country and the small part of the US I have been to. Admittedly this includes NYC, LA and SF, but we've had fun chats there as well. Especially SF, we spoke to a woman who said she had never left her city in her life and to Croatian immigrants who started talking about Cruiff and Van Basten with us.
This all depends on the local culture though.
People are much more conversational in, say, the South than in Seattle, for instance.
Also this is just my own bias, but the memorials are pretty great. I'd be interested how you would react to the Vietnam Memorial, actually...I went with a class and a lot of us just started crying. Cause I'm a man's man I welled up a little, but yeah, it was a lot more powerful than I expected.
Go at night if you can.
NNID: Hakkekage
Air & Space was wicked, we didn't go to the zoo, because - as Improv says - it's a zoo. There's one of those modern art museums there of which I forgot the exact name. They had some very nice works there, some were fun for the whole family, because they required interaction from the public. Those are always fun. :P
The National Gallery also has modern art, but it's more of a traditional, all-encompassing art museum, like the Met (but smaller, of course).
NNID: Hakkekage
Additionally, the business-like nature of America's healthcare system is responsible for the number of crazies on the street. They don't get the care they need because it's not profitable to get them the care they need. Reddickulous.
NNID: Hakkekage
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
It's fantastic if you're wealthy enough not to care, or have someone else paying who is wealthy enough not to care. If you have a recurrent health problem, it's inadvisable to start traveling around the US without getting insurance first.
As for the homeless, I've had Danish friends make the same comment to me. Apparently homelessness is not a problem in Denmark. In the US, Canada and Britain (the places I've lived), homelessness is so ubiquitious you just stop noticing it after a while. On my way to work, in several cities, I pass by at least 2 or 3 per day, and more in the afternoon on the way home. Some people I travel with have been shocked by the apathetic attitude that these poor people receive.
I try to give to shelters, especially Convenant House, in lieu of 'direct donations'.
It's minimalist as fuck, it uses the precise right kind of stone to effect that reaction AND to have a symbolic significance, and perhaps the most striking of all is that it isn't a wall that towers over you, it's a wall that sinks into the ground that you have to descend to follow, that slowly overwhelms you with the sheer number of names.
People still leave letters and flowers and things at the base.
It was really controversial when it was first being proposed, too, so that soldier one is the traditional memorial a little ways away.
NNID: Hakkekage
You get good care, just never pay your bill and you're fine as long as you don't plan on buying a new car or have a condition that isn't life threatening (because then they don't have to keep treating you if you can't pay). That or buy insurance, the main problem with insurance is the relatively static price while people's incomes are variable, mid to high range income will have insurance where as the poor are kept poor by destroyed credit from medical expenses whenever they have a kid or break an arm.
yea... it sucks
I've been to Ypres, that was more impressive to me because of the sheer size of those lists they have there. But the Vietnam stuff, it was surprisingly humane for a war memorial.
I don't think anything will beat Ypres though, seeing stone after stone with 'Unknown Soldier' or '18 years' etcetera is just mind blowing.
I didn't meet anyone as stupid as I thought I would. You're all extremely chatty and talkative, mostly in the service industry obviously - sales assistant, barrista whatever. I had quite a few chats with all sorts of different people when they heard my English accent and asked where I came from. Most of their responses was like "OMG YOU'RE EUROPEAN?! THATS SO AMAZING, EUROPE IS SO AWESOME YOU GUYS TRAVEL SO MUUUUCH!!! So how do you like our country? Is it as good as EUROPE?!"
But yeah most of you were extremely warm and open, but then again I spoke mostly to students (I stayed in Georgetown) and then New Yorkers who are pretty international in the first place. I think Europeans aren't as talkative to foreigners because they're embarassed by their English, like a lot of them are worried that they won't speak well enough and make a fool of themselves but that's more in Spain, Italy, Germany and France because they suck at English because they dub all of their tv. I'm sure if you struck up a convo with a Scandi you'd have no problem since we rock at English and put subs on our movies.
Easily the nicest people I met though were the 2 comic book geeks that worked in Midtown Comics (in which I spent $81 worth of Alan Moore comics because he fucking rocks and I love The Leagueof Extraordinary Gentlemen) and the 2 clerks in a movie/game store. There were no customers so I just started rocking out on GH with them and played Call of Duty: World At War on the Xbox 360, since there weren't any customers. Definitely the easiest people to talk too, I guess it's because us gamer/comic geeks all have something in common :P
People were VERY polite as well. I mean I'm 18, and I had people ranging from late 20's to early 50's calling me "sir" and I was like "wtf.". In Europe they're more likely to call me "insolent whelp" than "sir" :P But I think a lot of the politness has to do with tipping. FUCK ME DO YOU GUYS TIP. 15% - 20% on a bill FOR DINNER? Holy Shit. I tip like 2 Euros on a €40 bill and 3 or 4 if the service was excellent, but you guys just addon 15% automatically or give the option to add 15% - 20%, and let me tell you the restaurants are NOT cheaper than Europe :P
I mean everyone who did anything required a tip. I mean they didn't ask us, but it was implied and we were told by others who've been it was etiquette. The guy who stood in front of the hotel and spent all day waving taxis down needed a tip, the "bell boy" needed a tip, the taxi driver needed a tip (wtf?), even the bloody maids who clean your hotel room get a tip at the end of your stay. That was probably one of the biggest culture shocks for us, that and the size of your portions in the restuarants. We certainly got our money's worth, for me the portions were fine enough and the food was good (I love me some metled cheese, which you happen to put on everything) but I guess that's because I'm in the middle of my growth spurt and I eat half a horse a day. My parents stopped ordering a meal for each them eventually and had to start sharing one between them because there was so much ^_^
Also, the only actual fat people I saw were 2 morbidly obese women who were obviously tourists from Buttfuck, Missouri. DC'ers and New Yorkers weren't fat at all, but you're quite a big people. Not fat, but like tall and well built, which I think has to do with physiology and geneology than diet. I think all the fatties probably live in smaller towns that aren't as hectic and stressful and DC and New York where they don't have time to get fat, and where there isn't anything to do except eat.
Another thing I noticed about American guys is that from age 14 - early 20's they all look exactly the same. It was uncanny, I thought I was in the twilight zone and there was a cloning facility. All of them had semi long, shaggy hair, wore light blue long-sleeved shirts or polos, sometimes with a white t-shirt underneath, beige khakis and white sneakers. It was hilarious, they even sounded the same. When they wanted to look smart they wore a slightly darker blue shirt, a navy blue blazer, beige khakis and brown shoes. I lolled quite a bit in my flowery/patterned shirt, black jeans and brown leather jacket. I also felt out of place o_O
OH OH OH AND, black women seriously have an attitude problem, holy shit. I'm sorry lady I'M 18, I DIDN'T ENSLAVE YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER. 80% of the black women I spoke to looked at me with utter disdain, and contempt even the one working in Abercrombie and Fitch. The men were fine, especially the older men because they know how relatively good they've got it compared to 30 - 40 years ago. I actually experienced the same kind of thing with the inuits of Greenland, the young inuits saw me and my parents as the "white devil" who took their country but the older generation were warm and understood how much change we'd brought around for them and how much welfare we get for Greenland compared to before.
Yeah ok that's it for now, I'll post more when I think of something and I'll upload some pictures of me as well. One of which is with an amazing, and large, milkshake from "JOhnny Rockets" which was awesome.
Food was good, but it was very "burgery" and "sandwichy" with tonnes of melted cheese poured over it. I didn't mind it, because I can it large amounts, but it was quite heavy for my parents and I imagine other Euros out of their growth spurt.
Your desserts are amazing though.
Also, regarding homelessness - in Denmark 1 in 2 homeless people are rehoused after 2 years on the streets, and there's plenty of shelters and the Government gives quite a lot to homeless people so that while they can't afford an apartment or whatever they can still get food, they get more if they have a dog.
We also have free healthcare open to everyone, so even if there were many beggars you wouldn't see any with a right hand swollen up to 4 times it's original size due to some nasty infection that could probably be treated very easily, like I did in Georgetown. And the guy was in his 60's, jesus christ. What a way to spend ones "golden years", that probably struck me as the saddest. That he was so old and yet subjected to such a sad life.
Thats so cute!
And I think that homeless guy could've gone into a hopspital and received free treatment (well, its not like he could pay, so lets call it free). Theres a big issue of mental ilness among the homeless in America.