Hey, as another Indian immigrant here I do want to say that most of these observations are spot on.
There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate, fancy cars, shirtless dudes, book-reading in public. I had quite a surprise when I started working at a smaller town and consistently started seeing older and grumpier people.
Culture shock is real. For me personally, I didn't feel like I was going through anything unusual in my first 3-4 months in the US, but later a lot of my choices at the time made sense through that lens.
> There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate, fancy cars, shirtless dudes, book-reading in public.
I mean, he was on a university campus, so fit young people reading books isn't that much of a surprise. But I agree with you, US is a nation of extremes in some ways. There are places I've been in the US where quite literally every single person I saw was morbidly obese, including children.
I'm European and everything in the article is the same from this perspective, except the scale of class differences, which tends to be even lower here (or inverted: I don't have a single friend who owns a car, and I'd be afraid of being ostracized if I ever bought one)
> There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate
The other issue is geographic - the author is a grad student in DC, which is one of the more fit areas of the country. This is one of the few cases where I'd say it's more a class thing than a wealth thing. Political staffers and the generic military types by and large, are not wealthy people, but are very scrupulous about avoiding obesity.
> Sugar here is powdered, it doesn’t come in tiny cubes like I’m used to. It’s very easy to confuse salt and sugar (as I have done) because they look exactly the same.
Made me snort. I grew up here and I've still mindlessly done this.
> There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that sell grains and rice and vegetables here, it seems. (Or small stationery shops, or shops of any kind.) Almost all shopping has to be done at a big chain retail store like Lidl or Megamart or Target or any of the other big-names.
There are, just not in big coastal cities. I'm biased, but I generally tell people that big coastal cities are not a proper representation of American cultures vastness. They provide a boxed and abridged experience of a very opinionated nature. Instead, traverse the states and see what each geography has to offer. You'll find those things are still alive in the Midwest and South.
> Stoves are always electric. No lighter needed.
Kinda. Places I've lived usually have natural gas, but electric ignition is standard.
> But for bathroom taps, I don’t understand why there’s two different knobs for hot and cold. It’s binary. There should be just one knob which decides the hotness of water, depending on how much it’s moved.
I've never thought about this. My current place has one, but other places have two. I'm not sure if that was just style though.
As for the comment on curtains, this is mainly cultural. Some people like them, others don't. They require cleaning (moreso than blinds) and not everyone wants to do that. For what it's worth, my mom still hangs curtains. I don't think anyone can convince her that blinds are worthy of a trial.
I really enjoyed this read. Thanks for the observations, and I'm looking forward to the next post!
> There are, just not in big coastal cities. I'm biased, but I generally tell people that big coastal cities are not a proper representation of American cultures vastness. They provide a boxed and abridged experience of a very opinionated nature. Instead, traverse the states and see what each geography has to offer. You'll find those things are still alive in the Midwest and South.
I find this literally to be the exact opposite of the truth. At least in NYC and NJ, these kinds of small stores are everywhere. Because, crucially, we don't have cars to travel to these big box stores and get a months worth of groceries in one go. Within a 5 block radius of me, I have grocery stores that sell Japanese, Greek, Indian, and Hispanic each to cater to the demographic living close.
Driving through the south and midwest, I mostly just saw immensely massive parking lots for Walmart, Dollar Generals, some liquor store, and other common big box markets with an ocean of gleaming SUVs in front of them.
I can walk 5 miles down an avenue and buy groceries from small shops that I don't even know the name of from a dozen different countries.
What they call “powdered”, we’d actually call “granulated” which looks like salt. Powdered here (in the US) is a much finer confectioner’s sugar that is more of a pulverized dust than a granule.
From reading the list it’s clear it’s from living in a low cost suburban low rise 1960s-80s apartment complex — which tend to be the defacto standard for international graduate students - average frame construction, low cost electric appliances, cheap to replace mid pile carpet, the cheap vertical blinds, the cheapest glacier bay dual valve faucet [1] - all very efficient to manage and turn over. They have convenient parking and decent amenities for the price. In the rust belt/northeast these complexes are 90 percent (made up number) international and some domestic students and old people (there isn’t much difference in these places and most “senior living” places outside of what’s on the sign out front)
Depending where you are, curtains have a better thermal performance to blinds. I vastly prefer solid curtains that block light completely to keep rooms cool.
> There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that >>sell grains and rice and vegetables here, it seems. (Or >>small stationery shops, or shops of any kind.) Almost all >>shopping has to be done at a big chain retail store like >>Lidl or Megamart or Target or any of the other big-names.
>>There are, just not in big coastal cities.
As another commenter mentioned here, these types of store are actually very common in NYC.
For the bathroom taps, I think the reason is purely technical.
There are two pipes, one for cold water, one for hot water, each pipe gets its tap. It is the simplest setup and with that, you can control both flow and temperature.
Systems that have a cold-hot knob are slightly more complex and therefore they are more expensive and less reliable, especially when they are thermostat controlled. And with a single, one axis knob, you can't control both flow and temperature.
I don't know how it works in India, but I know some places where there is no centralized hot water and only a single pipe. When you need hot water, there is a dedicated heater and you control temperature on the heater itself. So I guess that someone who is used to a system like this will find a two tap system unsettling.
Anyways, I think we can all agree that the worst system is the one with two separate taps with no mixing, like they still have in the UK.
Yeah I've been thinking about the two taps thing with shower taps. For my shower tap, you turn it counterclockwise to get water running. Where it goes from slow flow rate and cold, to high flow rate and hot. I thought that it would make sense to have two knobs so that one controls flow rate and the other controls temperature. As it stands, one knob ambiguously controls both the temperature and flow rate of the water.
Two taps - one for cold and one for hot makes sense. Since they each control the flow rate of hot/cold respectively. And from what I understand, this matches with the internals as you have one pipe for cold water and one pipe for hot water. Of course, rich people probably have more complicated setups that allow for even more precision...
Also Indian here. If the OP is used to cubes of sugar, he’s probably quite wealthy in India. Indian middle class consumers usually use granulated sugar as the cubes are more expensive, and middle class Indian consumers are usually quite price sensitive.
Sugar here is powdered, it doesn’t come in tiny cubes like I’m used to. It’s very easy to confuse salt and sugar (as I have done) because they look exactly the same.
I always thought rental apartments have blinds since preinstalled curtains likely wouldn't match the tenants style. Same reason they almost always have white walls and beige carpet.
This reminds me of my own culture shock in 2001 where I, a fresh arrival to these blessed shores, was trying to cross a road to enter the local supermarket. The cars _stopped_ when I got near the pavement. That was so unexpected, I thought it was some kind of a catch and they'd try to run me over once I proceed. Then I entered the store and saw 20 (!) types of table salt and other kinds of consumerist excess. It is only then that it dawned on me that I'm not in Moscow anymore. Yet 99.99% of US natives have no idea how great their country is. Perfect? No, far from it. But pretty great, even now, in its diminished form, as long as you have the right perspective.
My second culture shock was when I went to TX a couple of years later. Everything is still bigger and more "American" there. Going back to the Pacific NW felt like going from PNW to Canada.
To Russian readers who might be put off by my US enthusiasm, some 18 years later, Moscow was also a bit of a shock. It improved by leaps and bounds in all regards, to the point where I could see myself buying property there and perhaps even spending some time there every year. United States is my "home" now, though. Feels that way coming from abroad. I kind of just exhale and relax.
This brought back a lot of nostalgia. (I was Indian grad student in a state university in the North East in ‘01)
For me the killer is the “master of the universe” feeling you get in the United States coming from India. Everything is in order and under control from the lawns in suburban homes, to supermarkets and libraries to traffic and restaurants. You see a lot more straight lines and perfect Bézier curves. This is a completely different texture in extreme contrast to India where “chaos” reigns and the spices and smells are a lot sharper.
After coming back to India. I somehow feel more “free” and “alive” in the chaos. Giving up control feels like a more natural, intuitive way of living and dying.
When I go back home to India, the very first cab from the Mumbai airport to home is like a dangerous roller coaster ride. No lanes, criss crossing autos(tuktuks), bouncing on small potholes on the road, smoke, honks, buses and cars in close proximity etc is a sensory overload.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I come back to the US, but I do miss home.
Norwegian here. I spent 6 work weeks in Canada and USA setting up machines and training operators around 2011. My observations:
- huge meals. And "all you can eat" seems to mean exactly that. I didn't test though but remember waiters were eager to refill.
- North Americans seems friendly to me. I was even invited over to dinner by a plant manager.
- Talking to someone who was super-happy working 180% in three jobs because it allowed her to send all her three sons to college and because three jobs were less boring than one made me decide to never ever complain about Norway again. (Education including higher education is almost free here.)
- Same goes for seeing more than one person working what is well paid industry jobs in Norway visibly lacking front teeth (when it is that visible I guess it must be they cannot afford to fix it.)
"I don’t know how many people will agree, but striking up a conversation with an American stranger is much easier than it is with an Indian stranger."
LOL, as an Indian, I relate to this so much. In India, if a stranger walks up to you, nearly 8/10 times it's either to ask you for money, directions, or to scam you. So naturally over time, you develop a thick skin to avoid strangers or keep interactions with strangers as "transactional" as possible.
In the US on the other hand, there's a lot more of the "a stranger is a friend you just haven't met yet" attitude in the air, so people are much more open to interacting with people they don't know.
The first month in the US, every time some stranger waved hello or good morning when I was walking from my hotel to the office or back, I clutched my bag a bit tighter ;-)
I wonder if it's because I was obviously foreign, but I spent 2 months in northern India in 2004 and my impression was that the average Indian on the street was very happy to talk to me?
The only bad experience I had was when I asked a lady passing by for some directions in Delhi and afterwards 3 young guys approached me and told me not to talk to "their" women (or something of that sort). I guess they assumed I was hitting on her but I really was just asking for directions!
but USA has a stranger danger culture too. you can engage and talk with someone else kids in public areas. in USA, that is considered creepy if not done properly through the parents.
This reminds me of a post by another Indian student visiting the US. The observation that that person made which stuck with me the most was his realization that rich people dressed in a manner that wasn't very different from folks in other social strata -- it was much harder to tell at a glance how much money someone had. I think this is broadly true.
> This reminds me of a post by another Indian student visiting the US. The observation that that person made which stuck with me the most was his realization that rich people dressed in a manner that wasn't very different from folks in other social strata -- it was much harder to tell at a glance how much money someone had. I think this is broadly true.
The types of items tend to be the same (in some jobs/contexts - suits and formal dress are still worn in various industries/events), but even when so the rich person will buy higher quality versions from designer brands.
For example, at a glance many people will not be able to tell Patagonia from Ozark trail, but the workmanship and price are very different, and somebody in the Patagonia-class will be able to identify it when worn by others.
Another factor is that the cost of higher-end/"luxury" goods outside the US is often much higher outside the US.
In the US, for instance, you can easily buy a Ralph Lauren polo for under $100 (on sale online, at an outlet, etc.). When I decided to buy some RL in Japan a few years ago, a polo that I could have probably found in the US for $75-$100 cost me around $175.
I grew up in a small town at the food of the Atlas mountains in Morocco! My real culture shock was when I first visited Casablanca, the largest city in the country!! I felt so far away from home, like a stranger. The US didn't shock me that much.. It was just a bigger version of something I saw before!
As an Indian who recently moved to the US, this list captures a lot of things that surprised me. One of the biggest things I was shocked by is the number of choices in US supermarkets - 100s of varieties of chips, 4-5 different sizes of eggs along with a choice of white/brown/cage-free/organic, 4 types of milk (skim/1%/2%/whole), 10s of types of bread etc. Back in India, we have considerably fewer choices in each of the ones I mentioned even in the bigger supermarkets.
4 types of milk sounds quaint considering the number of nut milks available. There's got to be at least 15 types of milk now at my discount grocery.
Besides the aforementioned cow milk products, we have soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, all variously flavored and of different fat levels.
What you get in any country will depend on the local tastes. You will get hundreds of varieties of namkeens and sweets in India that you won't get in the US.
You get several types of ready to eat breads in India too, but they're more "localized". For example, from Britannia, apart from the usual milk, white, brown, whole wheat, multigrain, etc, you also have Kulcha, missi bread, pav, fruit bun, etc. In the US you would probably see rye bread, sourdough, etc.
Having said that, where I really envy US and Europe is the variety of cheeses. You get most of them in India too these days but they're prohibitively expensive.
In some regions of the Midwest, like Missouri for example, the range of choices is comparable to what you would see in India. The wealth difference between places like California or Washington and India is staggering. It stands to reason that there would be a lot more companies fighting and thriving in such a larger economy.
Is the car respecting pedestrians a thing everywhere in the US, or just where this person has been? My very limited experience in the US (NYC, San Diego and Miami) has been hit or miss regarding traffic, and I wouldn't trust drivers to stop.
I know the story in some European cities is different. I was impressed in London, and a Belgian friend of mine often crossed the streets of Brussels without stopping to look at the traffic, with blind faith they would just stop -- and they did.
In Buenos Aires (Argentina) crossing the street without looking thrice at the approaching cars to make sure they've seen you and intend to stop at the red light is simply suicide. If there's no semaphore, good luck crossing, even if you're carrying a baby. I hear the Italians are like us, which makes sense because of our Italian immigrant DNA.
I hear the author about the toilet water jet -- we Argentinians can be religious about the bidet. Though there is a trend to get rid of it (to copy other countries, but mostly for cost savings I guess), and I hope I'm dead and buried when it finally takes over.
The biggest one most people from India might experience is tap water - drinking it takes getting used to. The idea that tap water isn’t safe to drink unless it’s treated in some way is ingrained. And when you start drinking the tap water, it takes a while to get used to the taste (charcoal filters can help).
The author hasn’t started driving a car yet, but when they do they’ll discover that the rules of the road are actual rules, not guidelines.
Lastly, electricity is always available although that might not be surprising to someone from a wealthy, urban background in India.
I have travelled a fair bit in the US. I don’t think anywhere in the US gives a realistic representation of the US. It’s all different, you need to visit a few different states and types of city and think about the whole. It’s Vegas and NYC and Portland and Salt Lake City and Austin and Mountain View and a whole bunch of other places mashed together. I don’t get this as much with other countries. If someone on here thinks one single place in the US captures the whole country then I would love to go and visit.
What a fun read! I've never been to India but it's fun to infer what the reverse culture shock would be for me from the points here. Like, can you not sit on the grass at a university there?
Another big difference for me was the lack of people around and how empty US was.
I came to University of Illinois (UIUC) in the middle of winter (was starting grad school in spring). Granted UIUC is in a small town but still it was a campus town and yet I probably saw 50 people in the first week. Saw as in not said hi but just "saw".
Was the biggest shock coming from India. In India, walk into any market and you will see 100s if not thousands of folks.
> There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that sell grains and rice and vegetables here, it seems. (Or small stationery shops, or shops of any kind.) Almost all shopping has to be done at a big chain retail store like Lidl or Megamart or Target or any of the other big-names.
I wonder where in the D.C. area he is. Many areas around D.C. have an enormous variety of places to go grocery shopping, and there are grocery stores of varying sizes (from tiny to huge) from all sorts of countries - Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, Ethiopian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Iranian, etc. There's also an enormous number of farmers markets, as well as a decent number of boutique grocery stores (though those tend to be on the pricier side of things), independent grocery stores, delis, and seafood markets.
> Mobile internet is much, much more expensive here. Maybe that’s because it’s less needed due to Wi-Fi ubiquity, but the difference is still staggering. Mint Mobile gives me 4 GB of mobile internet per month, while back in India, Jio gave me 1 GB of internet per day.
This is what gets me as a european, why do you get throttled so quickly in the US? I couldn’t find a plan that would give me real unlimited data.
I don’t think I could ever get enough of this type of writing and observation. The good, the bad, and going to and from possibly every combination of societies.
People are often too polite to be as purely candid as I might personally prefer.
I‘m from Germany and even I found the vastness of everything in the US remarkable. In some regards it‘s amazing: the country itself, the national parks, the wide roads, parking space, buildings. In other regards it‘s obscene: beverage sizes, package sizes in Wal-Mart (some are larger than what our local wholesale stores have to offer), and SUVs and pick-up trucks. When I rent a car on my trip, I was glad I upgraded to an SUV because otherwise I would‘ve been anxious between the huge SUVs, which seemed to make up the majority of all cars (this was in California).
You can get pseudo indian filter coffee with a little bit of money and effort. You have to choose a coffee grinder at your price range, and there are websites that sell good coffee beans (you have to experiment to find the one you like). Buy the indian coffee filter in an indian grocery store. Milk is the biggest problem -- you just cannot get that taste without fresh milk (usually delivered in early mornings in india). If you're willing to drink tetrapack milk, you have something approximating filter coffee.
Completely agree. U.S. police lights are actively disorienting. loud sirens and the lights make me feel a high degree of anxiety each time I see/hear them.
> Most cars will immediately stop if they see you’re about to cross the street. It takes some getting used to at first. Pedestrians are given first priority, a concept alien in India.
Disagree. Indian cities are a lot more pedestrian friendly. Parts of US Northeast are the exception, not the norm. In India, you just kinda walk and the trafffic stops/ manouvers around you.
> Disagree. Indian cities are a lot more pedestrian friendly. Parts of US Northeast are the exception, not the norm. In India, you just kinda walk and the trafffic stops/ manouvers around you.
I've lived almost all my life in India, several towns and cities at that and there is not a single place that is pedestrian friendly. I think you're mistaking walking into traffic and causing a mini panic for the oncoming vehicles vs actual pedestrian friendly roads.
I disagree with you. In India nobody respects walking people. They will honk multiple times, get angry if anyone walking blocks their road. Basically people in car feels they own the road in India and walking people are lower class obstacles. It made me hate walking in cities. Yes, there are footpaths where people walk all the time, but Indian people also ride motorcycles there in traffic jams. Multiple times they came close to hit me. It's total chaos in India.
[+] [-] e4d5|4 years ago|reply
There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate, fancy cars, shirtless dudes, book-reading in public. I had quite a surprise when I started working at a smaller town and consistently started seeing older and grumpier people.
Culture shock is real. For me personally, I didn't feel like I was going through anything unusual in my first 3-4 months in the US, but later a lot of my choices at the time made sense through that lens.
[+] [-] hn_throwaway_99|4 years ago|reply
I mean, he was on a university campus, so fit young people reading books isn't that much of a surprise. But I agree with you, US is a nation of extremes in some ways. There are places I've been in the US where quite literally every single person I saw was morbidly obese, including children.
[+] [-] KarlKemp|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hguant|4 years ago|reply
The other issue is geographic - the author is a grad student in DC, which is one of the more fit areas of the country. This is one of the few cases where I'd say it's more a class thing than a wealth thing. Political staffers and the generic military types by and large, are not wealthy people, but are very scrupulous about avoiding obesity.
[+] [-] qPM9l3XJrF|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kodah|4 years ago|reply
Made me snort. I grew up here and I've still mindlessly done this.
> There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that sell grains and rice and vegetables here, it seems. (Or small stationery shops, or shops of any kind.) Almost all shopping has to be done at a big chain retail store like Lidl or Megamart or Target or any of the other big-names.
There are, just not in big coastal cities. I'm biased, but I generally tell people that big coastal cities are not a proper representation of American cultures vastness. They provide a boxed and abridged experience of a very opinionated nature. Instead, traverse the states and see what each geography has to offer. You'll find those things are still alive in the Midwest and South.
> Stoves are always electric. No lighter needed.
Kinda. Places I've lived usually have natural gas, but electric ignition is standard.
> But for bathroom taps, I don’t understand why there’s two different knobs for hot and cold. It’s binary. There should be just one knob which decides the hotness of water, depending on how much it’s moved.
I've never thought about this. My current place has one, but other places have two. I'm not sure if that was just style though.
As for the comment on curtains, this is mainly cultural. Some people like them, others don't. They require cleaning (moreso than blinds) and not everyone wants to do that. For what it's worth, my mom still hangs curtains. I don't think anyone can convince her that blinds are worthy of a trial.
I really enjoyed this read. Thanks for the observations, and I'm looking forward to the next post!
[+] [-] NikolaeVarius|4 years ago|reply
I find this literally to be the exact opposite of the truth. At least in NYC and NJ, these kinds of small stores are everywhere. Because, crucially, we don't have cars to travel to these big box stores and get a months worth of groceries in one go. Within a 5 block radius of me, I have grocery stores that sell Japanese, Greek, Indian, and Hispanic each to cater to the demographic living close.
Driving through the south and midwest, I mostly just saw immensely massive parking lots for Walmart, Dollar Generals, some liquor store, and other common big box markets with an ocean of gleaming SUVs in front of them.
I can walk 5 miles down an avenue and buy groceries from small shops that I don't even know the name of from a dozen different countries.
[+] [-] sokoloff|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danachow|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stevekemp|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA
I was pleased when I remodelled my bathroom there and installed a mixer. So much more convenient.
[+] [-] ikr678|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] felipemnoa|4 years ago|reply
>>There are, just not in big coastal cities.
As another commenter mentioned here, these types of store are actually very common in NYC.
[+] [-] GuB-42|4 years ago|reply
I don't know how it works in India, but I know some places where there is no centralized hot water and only a single pipe. When you need hot water, there is a dedicated heater and you control temperature on the heater itself. So I guess that someone who is used to a system like this will find a two tap system unsettling.
Anyways, I think we can all agree that the worst system is the one with two separate taps with no mixing, like they still have in the UK.
[+] [-] TheRealNGenius|4 years ago|reply
Two taps - one for cold and one for hot makes sense. Since they each control the flow rate of hot/cold respectively. And from what I understand, this matches with the internals as you have one pipe for cold water and one pipe for hot water. Of course, rich people probably have more complicated setups that allow for even more precision...
[+] [-] nomad225|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throwawaygh|4 years ago|reply
My experience is exactly the opposite.
[+] [-] protomyth|4 years ago|reply
What? Yes, it does. It's actually the cheapest to buy if you are a bit poor. https://www.walmart.com/ip/C-H-Premium-Pure-Cane-Sugar-Cubes...
[+] [-] bin_bash|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] m0zg|4 years ago|reply
My second culture shock was when I went to TX a couple of years later. Everything is still bigger and more "American" there. Going back to the Pacific NW felt like going from PNW to Canada.
To Russian readers who might be put off by my US enthusiasm, some 18 years later, Moscow was also a bit of a shock. It improved by leaps and bounds in all regards, to the point where I could see myself buying property there and perhaps even spending some time there every year. United States is my "home" now, though. Feels that way coming from abroad. I kind of just exhale and relax.
[+] [-] rushabh|4 years ago|reply
For me the killer is the “master of the universe” feeling you get in the United States coming from India. Everything is in order and under control from the lawns in suburban homes, to supermarkets and libraries to traffic and restaurants. You see a lot more straight lines and perfect Bézier curves. This is a completely different texture in extreme contrast to India where “chaos” reigns and the spices and smells are a lot sharper.
After coming back to India. I somehow feel more “free” and “alive” in the chaos. Giving up control feels like a more natural, intuitive way of living and dying.
[+] [-] silentsea90|4 years ago|reply
I breathe a sigh of relief when I come back to the US, but I do miss home.
[+] [-] eitland|4 years ago|reply
- huge meals. And "all you can eat" seems to mean exactly that. I didn't test though but remember waiters were eager to refill.
- North Americans seems friendly to me. I was even invited over to dinner by a plant manager.
- Talking to someone who was super-happy working 180% in three jobs because it allowed her to send all her three sons to college and because three jobs were less boring than one made me decide to never ever complain about Norway again. (Education including higher education is almost free here.)
- Same goes for seeing more than one person working what is well paid industry jobs in Norway visibly lacking front teeth (when it is that visible I guess it must be they cannot afford to fix it.)
[+] [-] madmax108|4 years ago|reply
LOL, as an Indian, I relate to this so much. In India, if a stranger walks up to you, nearly 8/10 times it's either to ask you for money, directions, or to scam you. So naturally over time, you develop a thick skin to avoid strangers or keep interactions with strangers as "transactional" as possible.
In the US on the other hand, there's a lot more of the "a stranger is a friend you just haven't met yet" attitude in the air, so people are much more open to interacting with people they don't know.
The first month in the US, every time some stranger waved hello or good morning when I was walking from my hotel to the office or back, I clutched my bag a bit tighter ;-)
[+] [-] caskstrength|4 years ago|reply
Same in Eastern Europe. Small talk with strangers is generally not a thing here.
[+] [-] ido|4 years ago|reply
The only bad experience I had was when I asked a lady passing by for some directions in Delhi and afterwards 3 young guys approached me and told me not to talk to "their" women (or something of that sort). I guess they assumed I was hitting on her but I really was just asking for directions!
[+] [-] desi_ninja|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lordleft|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JeremyNT|4 years ago|reply
The types of items tend to be the same (in some jobs/contexts - suits and formal dress are still worn in various industries/events), but even when so the rich person will buy higher quality versions from designer brands.
For example, at a glance many people will not be able to tell Patagonia from Ozark trail, but the workmanship and price are very different, and somebody in the Patagonia-class will be able to identify it when worn by others.
[+] [-] tartoran|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] LurkingPenguin|4 years ago|reply
In the US, for instance, you can easily buy a Ralph Lauren polo for under $100 (on sale online, at an outlet, etc.). When I decided to buy some RL in Japan a few years ago, a polo that I could have probably found in the US for $75-$100 cost me around $175.
[+] [-] Lamad123|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SmartestUnknown|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] paleotrope|4 years ago|reply
Besides the aforementioned cow milk products, we have soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, all variously flavored and of different fat levels.
Kind of absurd in alot of ways.
[+] [-] hiyer|4 years ago|reply
You get several types of ready to eat breads in India too, but they're more "localized". For example, from Britannia, apart from the usual milk, white, brown, whole wheat, multigrain, etc, you also have Kulcha, missi bread, pav, fruit bun, etc. In the US you would probably see rye bread, sourdough, etc.
Having said that, where I really envy US and Europe is the variety of cheeses. You get most of them in India too these days but they're prohibitively expensive.
[+] [-] strikelaserclaw|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fellellor|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] the_af|4 years ago|reply
I know the story in some European cities is different. I was impressed in London, and a Belgian friend of mine often crossed the streets of Brussels without stopping to look at the traffic, with blind faith they would just stop -- and they did.
In Buenos Aires (Argentina) crossing the street without looking thrice at the approaching cars to make sure they've seen you and intend to stop at the red light is simply suicide. If there's no semaphore, good luck crossing, even if you're carrying a baby. I hear the Italians are like us, which makes sense because of our Italian immigrant DNA.
I hear the author about the toilet water jet -- we Argentinians can be religious about the bidet. Though there is a trend to get rid of it (to copy other countries, but mostly for cost savings I guess), and I hope I'm dead and buried when it finally takes over.
[+] [-] nindalf|4 years ago|reply
The author hasn’t started driving a car yet, but when they do they’ll discover that the rules of the road are actual rules, not guidelines.
Lastly, electricity is always available although that might not be surprising to someone from a wealthy, urban background in India.
[+] [-] makerofthings|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] losvedir|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] soumyadeb|4 years ago|reply
I came to University of Illinois (UIUC) in the middle of winter (was starting grad school in spring). Granted UIUC is in a small town but still it was a campus town and yet I probably saw 50 people in the first week. Saw as in not said hi but just "saw".
Was the biggest shock coming from India. In India, walk into any market and you will see 100s if not thousands of folks.
[+] [-] bnralt|4 years ago|reply
I wonder where in the D.C. area he is. Many areas around D.C. have an enormous variety of places to go grocery shopping, and there are grocery stores of varying sizes (from tiny to huge) from all sorts of countries - Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, Ethiopian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Iranian, etc. There's also an enormous number of farmers markets, as well as a decent number of boutique grocery stores (though those tend to be on the pricier side of things), independent grocery stores, delis, and seafood markets.
[+] [-] baby|4 years ago|reply
This is what gets me as a european, why do you get throttled so quickly in the US? I couldn’t find a plan that would give me real unlimited data.
[+] [-] arwhatever|4 years ago|reply
People are often too polite to be as purely candid as I might personally prefer.
This take on the U.S. from an Armenian perspective was also very enjoyable https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22777745
[+] [-] emsy|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hzay|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] screye|4 years ago|reply
Completely agree. U.S. police lights are actively disorienting. loud sirens and the lights make me feel a high degree of anxiety each time I see/hear them.
> Most cars will immediately stop if they see you’re about to cross the street. It takes some getting used to at first. Pedestrians are given first priority, a concept alien in India.
Disagree. Indian cities are a lot more pedestrian friendly. Parts of US Northeast are the exception, not the norm. In India, you just kinda walk and the trafffic stops/ manouvers around you.
[+] [-] stillblue|4 years ago|reply
I've lived almost all my life in India, several towns and cities at that and there is not a single place that is pedestrian friendly. I think you're mistaking walking into traffic and causing a mini panic for the oncoming vehicles vs actual pedestrian friendly roads.
[+] [-] birksherty|4 years ago|reply
I disagree with you. In India nobody respects walking people. They will honk multiple times, get angry if anyone walking blocks their road. Basically people in car feels they own the road in India and walking people are lower class obstacles. It made me hate walking in cities. Yes, there are footpaths where people walk all the time, but Indian people also ride motorcycles there in traffic jams. Multiple times they came close to hit me. It's total chaos in India.