10 Weird Impressions about the US

Feels great to have early access!

Akansha

In regards to tipping a quick way (if you don't want to calculate percentages) is to double the tax and throw a couple dollars on top. That gets you close to the recommended 18%. Also the stores being far away etc. I think it's because you were in California. NYC usually has things open 24 hours or at least late at night and there's usually at least a convenience store or big pharmacy box store (they usually sell food in them). You don't usually need a car to get around and in fact it can be an inconvenience in many places due to the trouble of finding parking.

Mar

lol no metric system here except in the medical field

Katty

A mile is 1600 meters! Four times around a track, that’s how I picture it lol

Kelly Hodge

I can’t get over the traffic signs! That’s too funny. Actually, I’ve seen a lot of people ignore stop signs around here. I have on occasion “rolled through” a sign if no one else was there. I guess the signs are just our way of designating right of way at intersections when you have cars coming from all directions. How do you tell in Korea? Say you come up to an intersection with 3 other cars coming from different directions. What’s to stop you all from crashing into each other?

MalRmy

Such a sweet, fun reaction video :) Very spot on! You should bring Danny with you and do a full-on American tour. Every region is so distinct. I’m Southern and was raised to apologize for everything and to smile at everyone you meet. My mom would die an embarrassing death if I ever walked through someone’s line of sight at the store without apologizing, before and after, as I slinked by. - We experience culture shock as we move about our own country, too. When I moved to NYC and then NJ, my friends would laugh at me when I made conversation with cashiers at the checkout. They’d be like, “The dude doesn’t care why you are buying frosting, English muffins, and toilet paper.” But in the South, every moment is s story waiting to be shared! - In my travels around the world the hardest thing for me is not making eye contact and smiling and saying hello to everyone. Thankfully my years in Manhattan helped with that. Eyes down. Move along. Ain’t nobody got time for conversation. —- Tbh, I prefer the metric system. I do wish we’d convert for real. For some reason we’ve accepted our soda in liters but little else. Thankfully online converters are easy to find. —- Safe travels !!!!

Kristy

If you thought the west coast was polite you need to visit the midwest. Michigan and Wisconsin especially. We apologize for everything.

Patricia Dysinger

thank you! ooh and i never thought there would be such a complex reason backing the taxing system. i guess diversity is good but it does complicate things for sure! and i hope you really invade Korea peoples homes with your shoes on. we need a reaction video of the host.

DKDKTV

Yes, i need to go to the east coast and compare now! I guess the restaurants here are cheap because of the overall price of things here and no tax/tips lol

DKDKTV

haha CUTE! yeah this time i go to NYC maybe i will get another impression! maybe video no.2 will come out lol.

DKDKTV

Yeah Beijing has those extreme vibes! everyone packed in apts, even tho they have the most land in the world! the reflex apologies are funny but good!

DKDKTV

Asians are fuxxin cold lllllol

DKDKTV

haha we really need to change our age system

DKDKTV

RIght? the norm becomes sth weird due to environment and countries lol!

DKDKTV

I loved this video, David. Really well done and interesting! I think pretty much everything about America can be understood from the perspective of diversity. So many cultures in such a large area. There isn’t an equivalent to it in the world. Not in terms of excellence but just in terms of structure and history. The complex taxing system is a great example. America has to balance power on many levels: the federal vs. the state government, the states vs the counties, the counties vs the cities/towns. American values such as independence/autonomy tie in with the classic slogan from the American Revolutionary War: “No taxation without representation.” Basically, taxes have to be as local and relevant as possible so that people can vote to change them easily. It’s why a service charge tax will vary from city to city. It’s ridiculously confusing, but it’s the price we pay (literally and figuratively) to feel like the taxing power is in the hands of the people. Diversity makes things complex. If America were smaller or more homogenous, then it would be possible for it to be more uniform Plus, I died laughing at that woman in the supermarket saying excuse me before she went ahead in front of you. That is 100% me. Possibly it’s my age. Possibly it’s because I was raised in the South, and we have different manners, but either way, I do that ALL THE TIME. I’ll do it when I go to Korea. I’m too old to change. 😉 Conversely, I think lack of personal space will be the hardest to get used to in Korea. It’s rude for someone to knock past me or touch me and it’s rude to ask my age. 😂 Maybe I’ll just walk into people’s houses with my shoes on.

Heather Fosth

As an American, I love these kind of videos. It's so fascinating to hear what is unique to America and what isn't. Some of what you saw is unique to California -- California has a large population but tries to be low-density, so there's not a lot of tall buildings but there's a lot of sprawl. NYC would have a lot taller buildings, although still people build up rather than out more in Korea. It's interesting that your friend noticed people not asking where she was from, because in the US it would be considered really rude to ask that. (Some people still do, but it's often considered racist because it tends to get asked a lot to non-white Americans.) In terms of reverse culture shock, when I went to Korea, I was surprised by how cheap it was to eat at restaurants. Celsius and the metric system were not a surprise -- as an American every time I've travelled abroad I've just gotten used to not knowing distance or temperature.

This video is so cute, I love it. Not trying to say cute in a condescending way it’s just these things are mostly never thought about here except for the metric system. America is a big place so some of these observations are going to disappear after you come to NYC. You will have less room and people will be more abrupt (still generally polite) since we have stuff to do here. You experienced Cali which is definitely more laidback. NYC is a totally different vibe and might feel more at home. The distance issue is something you experience more if you are in the suburbs. As for tipping, we are just used to it. Although I agree it was better when I didn’t have to tip in Korea/Japan. Some restaurants provide a guide on the bottom on the check and some will just add it in depending on how many people are at your table to be careful. The rule I follow is 20% off the subtotal before tax and then adjust down if the service is bad (which is rare and it would have to really suck). As for the metric system, we learn it in school and it may be easier but it’s never going to switch over. They really tried to push it in the 80’s but we are too set in our ways. It will be interesting to see how your perspective changes after visiting the East Coast. You will need to make a follow up video. One thing about going to Korea that I found weird was handing the money to cashiers. You have to put it on the little tray. Here if you don’t actually hand the money to the cashier and just put it on the counter it could be considered rude depending on the store.

Cathy

1. About the how most of the buildings/houses aren’t more than two floors, this was a huge culture shock for me when I went to Beijing. Me and my classmates were so surprised to see that even in the suburbs there were not houses but huge skyscraper apartments. I guess this is common in asia 2. Also the manners thing, after going abroad I realized how much I said the words “sorry” and “excuse me” like you are right even if someone slightly touches you in America most of us just reflexively apologize and make sure the other person is ok💀 3. Tips are not something that’s required it’s just considered rude not to tip depending on what kind of restaurant you go to. waiters and waitresses get paid shit( like $2.75 and hour when minimum wage is 7.50 or something) and they kind of rely on tips to make money. That’s also the reason whey they are overly nice😂😂 4. Not really related but when I went to China there were squatting toilets and that was a huge shock. Also apparently westerners and asians squat differently? This was a really interesting video tbh I’m surprised by how much I liked it. I never see too many videos about what people think of the United States, it’s usually the other way around.

Cori

Oh, and the super friendly wait staff was a reverse culture shock for me when I went overseas. I kept thinking I must have committed some cultural faux pas because everyone was being SO COLD to me! Nope.

3xdeadsmith

I've heard other ppl comment about the personal space thing and as an American I never really thought about it until then. But hearing that Americans are overly polite is....refreshing tbh. Number 8 and 9 are linked, yes we drive alone a lot because things are too far to walk. Most of the time I'm driving alone. There are a few interesting articles on how the automotive industry has shaped America on that topic. And about the metric system...we know! It's important and it should change, but we're not the only country with outdated systems in place (looking at your age system, South Korea).

3xdeadsmith

It’s funny how what is so normal for us is weird to you. What’s normal in your culture is weird for us. It’s interesting to see your perspective on the differences of American culture from your Korean standpoint.