USA the land of questions!

sushiman · Post by **sushiman** » May 27th, 2011, 12:56 pm

As I pack my bags to bail on the states I'm going to rant on a few annoying things.

Customer service, the nature of it, is not understood here. Why do 50 million robotic questions come with everything?

I say short americano coffee, they say room for cream? Did I ask for room? They say would you like something to eat with that? Wouldn't I have asked for that? They say would you like your receipt? Argh stop! I am just waking up and having a nice daydream please shut up.

Now it could be cause I'm a guy and dont like answering people's questions, but when in Asia nobody asks me anything. They read my body language and do when doing is needed and more importantly don't do when no doing is needed. Common sense.

In the US is it all about hassling the customer so as to force a tip because they checked all the boxes and therefore deserve a tip. Fail!

Think Different · Post by **Think Different** » May 27th, 2011, 1:48 pm

sushiman wrote:As I pack my bags to bail on the states I'm going to rant on a few annoying things.

Customer service, the nature of it, is not understood here. Why do 50 million robotic questions come with everything?

I say short americano coffee, they say room for cream? Did I ask for room? They say would you like something to eat with that? Wouldn't I have asked for that? They say would you like your receipt? Argh stop! I am just waking up and having a nice daydream please shut up.

Now it could be cause I'm a guy and dont like answering people's questions, but when in Asia nobody asks me anything. They read my body language and do when doing is needed and more importantly don't do when no doing is needed. Common sense.

In the US is it all about hassling the customer so as to force a tip because they checked all the boxes and therefore deserve a tip. Fail!

Sushi, you are my hero. Pushy and rude waiters/waitresses are a plague in the US and a symptom of our horrible sense of proper decorum and respect for others' privacy. In most other countries, the wait staff will deliver your food and then leave you alone to eat or talk with your friends/family. They don't hassle you to buy more of this or that or desserts or whatever. They don't come up to you every 10 minutes and ask how everything is (often before I've even had a chance to take my first bite). There are times that I've told them, if they come back again and bug me, they will get no tip. You'd think I'd hit them in the head with a 2x4. Absolutely clueless!!

Think Different · Post by **Think Different** » May 27th, 2011, 2:19 pm

While we're on this subject, I'm going to vent a few of my pet peeves about the US a bit. I'm moving to Italy in 4 days, and feel I've earned the right.

As I get older (I'm in my early 40s) I find I have less and a less tolerance for bullshit and idiots, and both abound in the US. This country is full of ignorant people who have no sense of culture, and when they do see it, they disregard it as "dumb", "boring", "just for nerds", etc. The fact that I lived overseas for quite a few years before returning here, and the fact that I speak several foreign languages just turns people off here. Instead of the normal human response of curiosity to someone like me, Americans ostracize you and make you feel like a freak. You know how many times I've been asked "what's wrong with you, don't you like America?" sorts of questions by these idiots? Even the nomads in the plains of Mongolia know more about the world around them, than the average American. I'm so totally finished with dumb and willingly ignorant people.

I'm sick of the fake American questions about "how are you doing?" all the time. We all know that they don't give a rat's ass how you're really doing. When I was in my teens, I decided to do an experiment and start telling people EXACTLY how I was doing, when they asked. They just stared at me, dumbfounded. You know, in the distant American past (and still in some English speaking countries) people would just greet each other with "Good Day" or "Good Morning", "Good Evening", etc. Now everything has to be this fake chummy chatty-Cathy crap, like "whazzup", "howzit goin'", etc. These strangers in the store/restaurant/"service" station, etc are not my friends and family. Why do they ask this shit?

At the job, it's even worse. If you don't play the game of "everything's always rosy" and "I'm doing great" all the time, you get marginalized as "weird", which today means your job is soon on the line. What a f***ed up country of fakers and poseurs. You're not allowed to act normal anymore. You can never let your guard down and be human, for fear of being eaten by rabid wolves (idiot ones, at that).

When I'm in the US I always have to hide my language proclivity and past travel experience/knowledge/interest, because Americans can't stand listening to or being around someone they feel is somehow smarter than they are. The level of absolute insecurity is palpable here, and instead of learning from others with different backgrounds and experience, they hunt you like a f***ing witch.

I'm sick of the fact that Americans consider any knowledge or intellectual pursuit to be irrelevant and wasteful, if it doesn't somehow earn you money. Everything is always about f***ing money! If money were so all-important as they believe, why are "poorer" countries full of much happier people? Poor is only subjective: to me at least, poverty of the soul is far worse than poverty of your pocketbook. And America is completely entrenched in the former.

Yes the US is the leading country of technological innovation and great efficiencies (at least in the past), but we don't manufacture anything anymore. So, what gives? Who cares if America invents something? As soon as it's manufactured (by some other country), the rest of the world has it too, and probably has more time to enjoy whatever that gadget is. Despite this, Americans like to brag that they have more "stuff" than everyone else and we seem to wrap our values and self-worth around it (rampant consumerism). How pathetic.

Just having the biggest baddest military in the world doesn't make you a leader in any sense of the modern word. We are not even followers, which would imply that we're willing to learn from others. No, we're arrogant and aggressive, loud-mouthed and know-it-all. We think our 235 year old country has the know-how and experience to tell the rest of the f***ing world how to live their lives? I prefer to live in a quieter country that keeps to itself and takes care of its citizens first, before wasting exorbitant taxpayer dollars on endless wars and by playing world cop.

I'm so ready to get the hell out of here.

sushiman · Post by **sushiman** » May 27th, 2011, 2:24 pm

That's a great point, they are constantly interrupting when my woman and I are having a conversation, yet when we are done talking and want something they are nowhere to be seen.

By the way let us know how you like Italy, I think you are splitting the states and headed there? A guy I know very well is headed to Milan for the summer and will research citizenship if he digs it (he's single). Maybe he marries Italian and gets citizenship?

Think Different · Post by **Think Different** » May 27th, 2011, 2:31 pm

sushiman wrote:That's a great point, they are constantly interrupting when my woman and I are having a conversation, yet when we are done talking and want something they are nowhere to be seen.

By the way let us know how you like Italy, I think you are splitting the states and headed there? A guy I know very well is headed to Milan for the summer and will research citizenship if he digs it (he's single). Maybe he marries Italian and gets citizenship?

Yeah, I leave for Italy on Tuesday morning. I'll be living in the north-central area (about an hour from Florence and Venice) and looking for work there. I'll probably go back to teaching ESL for a while and see if I want/can get back into my IT career, which collapsed here stateside. I've taught ESL abroad before, and I'm good at it, so maybe I'll get the CELTA cert, just as a backup.

Don't get me wrong, I do realize how f***ed up Italy's politics are and there are things I don't like about the place, but I'm hoping to just find my niche and a circle of good friends and ignore the bad stuff, like pickpockets. After all, I don't exactly expect Italian politics to be any better or different. I expect more from the US, but am routinely disaffected by it. If you expect little, it's easier to be impressed when things go well. Who knows, maybe we'll end up in another European country or in Asia (my preference). Depends on what I can find, job-wise.

sushiman · Post by **sushiman** » May 27th, 2011, 2:51 pm

I just saw your rant and you stole all my topics I was gonna post!!! In fact you said nearly word for word what my brother and I always discuss and we are both leaving.

"If money is so great why aren't the Americans happy?"

I have been asked this so many times by so many people all over the world in so many different ways. What about valuing the joy of doing? Your life is the doing not the result. What about the arts? What about the study of other cultures? What about for the FUN of it? f***ing idiots, sorry but it's true.

Dood, msg me your email before you jet.

E_Irizarry · Post by **E_Irizarry** » May 28th, 2011, 10:31 am

Red Dog's first post on here literally wilted the fleas off of the dogs. Epic post.

ladislav · Post by **ladislav** » May 28th, 2011, 10:52 am

When I'm in the US I always have to hide my language proclivity and past travel experience/knowledge/interest,

I hear you. Being a polyglot is not a good thing in the US. It means you are not patriotic. The disgusting looks I got when I spoke other languages made me clam up. And putting foreign languages on your resume is another turn off for people.

I'm sick of the fact that Americans consider any knowledge or intellectual pursuit to be irrelevant and wasteful...

And it also means to them that you are most certainly a homo

E_Irizarry · Post by **E_Irizarry** » May 28th, 2011, 11:22 am

ladislav wrote:
When I'm in the US I always have to hide my language proclivity and past travel experience/knowledge/interest,
I hear you. Being a polyglot is not a good thing in the US. It means you are not patriotic. The disgusting looks I got when I spoke other languages made me clam up. And putting foreign languages on your resume is another turn off for people.
I'm sick of the fact that Americans consider any knowledge or intellectual pursuit to be irrelevant and wasteful...
And it also means to them that you are most certainly a homo

Idiocracy The Movie is no joke. I'm about to watch it now. The latter response by LadiSlav posted here merely explains what Idiocracy is about. It's a must-see!!!!

momopi · Post by **momopi** » May 28th, 2011, 12:22 pm

Think Different wrote: Yeah, I leave for Italy on Tuesday morning. I'll be living in the north-central area (about an hour from Florence and Venice) and looking for work there. I'll probably go back to teaching ESL for a while and see if I want/can get back into my IT career, which collapsed here stateside. I've taught ESL abroad before, and I'm good at it, so maybe I'll get the CELTA cert, just as a backup.

If you go visit Florence and Venice, let us know how you like it. I was supposed to go visit Tuscany couple years back, but ended up going to CancÃºn instead.

Think Different · Post by **Think Different** » May 28th, 2011, 2:43 pm

momopi wrote:
Think Different wrote: Yeah, I leave for Italy on Tuesday morning. I'll be living in the north-central area (about an hour from Florence and Venice) and looking for work there. I'll probably go back to teaching ESL for a while and see if I want/can get back into my IT career, which collapsed here stateside. I've taught ESL abroad before, and I'm good at it, so maybe I'll get the CELTA cert, just as a backup.
If you go visit Florence and Venice, let us know how you like it. I was supposed to go visit Tuscany couple years back, but ended up going to CancÃºn instead.

I've visited both of those places before, and as you'd expect they are tourist-trap hotspots and are inundated with travelers during June-August. It's also very hot and muggy at that time of year, so I'd recommend going in the shoulder season, when prices drop and crowds disperse a bit. My recommendation is May or September. If you go too late in the fall, you hit a lot of rain. That being said, both of those cities (and others like Pisa, Rome, Siena, etc) are world heritage classic cities and are "must-sees" at least once in life. Once you've done that, then I'd recommend seeing "the real Italy", by getting into the countryside and seeing the smaller towns and villages.

odbo · Post by **odbo** » May 28th, 2011, 4:42 pm

This topic is spot on. You can't walk into a store without them yelling out some insincere welcome and pestering you to no end. This is especially annoying if you're tired after work and just want service, not to act out Westside story. If you order at a restaurant they'll go through 20 questions about what ingredients you don't want, after asking you how you're doing (like they give a f**k). The two-faced, plastic, fake-smile culture of the US has been around for quite a while. But when did Americans become these picky bitch-boys? If I don't want onions I can take it off my food afterwards. Better yet, I'll just eat it. What's the big deal, food is food. I can understand when you're a vegetarian and don't want meat. But everyone here acts like gourmet. A nation of prima donnas. I can't wait for the dollar to collapse. It will be the sound of 300 million vaginas snapping shut.

Bring on the eastern-bloc service with their drab emotionless faces!

targetguy · Post by **targetguy** » May 28th, 2011, 8:15 pm

I know whart many mean when they say antisocial lifestyle here in the usa. many men and women here have high expectation lifestyrles here and if the
person they want doesnt meet the criteria life is not so easy here. Most men are looking for pretty attractive females and the women are looking for attractive and
rich husbands and not many will settle for less. I have been married for 25 yrs and could easilld be unhappyy remarry but if not in love then the marrage wouldnt last long and i would be unhappy. So this may be the reason why there is a lot of social isolation here because each species wants perfict and there is no such thing.

sushiman · Post by **sushiman** » July 10th, 2011, 10:29 pm

...this never happens now that I'm in Seoul. So nice to enjoy a meal or coffee in peace for a change.

E_Irizarry · Post by **E_Irizarry** » July 11th, 2011, 5:30 am

sushiman wrote:...this never happens now that I'm in Seoul. So nice to enjoy a meal or coffee in peace for a change.

How is that panning out for you so far?

USA the land of questions!

USA the land of questions!

Re: USA the land of questions!

antisocial lifestyle