How Americans are different from the rest of the world:1. They call football "soccer".
2. They think that walking is an exercise.
3. They say they don't believe in superstitions, but they'll tell you not to drink milk when you get a cold (they back it up with some "scientific" data).
4. They spend more money on their dogs than some people do on their kids.
5. They like to earn money, but they'd rather make it.
6. If you want to see your American friends you gotta call a week in advance.
To be continued...
And to all my Americans friends: I love you guys, you are great! Just a little different:)
42 comments:
....also americans think they won World War II...... it wasn't even fought on their territory!
Exactly!
Hey Marinchik,
You forgot one:
they are so lonely that they communicate through the stickers on their cars!
Anyway since I've been here I've seen more weird people than I've ever seen in my life!
Floridian
okay. Funny. If you want we can do a funny things in Ukraine list. I don't mind. The only problem is that I am a pastor so for some reason I feel like I can't!
Let's just throw one out for fun: cold drinks? sitting on the ground???....... It can go on...:)
who allowed jake into this conversation?? this is a blog about weird american quirks, not ukrainian! start your own post on our blog, babe!
another one is.... i bet you while all of humans are made 90% of water, amercans are at least 98%, thats why they carry water bottles with them everywhere they go
Sitting on the ground... Well, there is a reasonable explanation: I don't mind sitting on the ground in California, because it's CLEAN, Jake! Sitting on the ground in Ukraine on the other hand is somewhat different: people spit on it, dogs do their thing on it and so on... And what is it about cold drinks? I like cold drinks, but not when you mix root beer with vanilla ice cream of course...
*cough* draft *cough*
:)
The worst thing about Americans is that they always think that they are right. I know it is my biggest problem and I am an American. And the truth is, only 90% of the time I am right. Well, okay, 95% of the time, sorry, I was trying to be humble.....
Hows that for helpful contribution?
Jake, whatever!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tim and Christina - I agree, cold does not come from a draft, but let's face it milk doesn't have anything to do with it either!
Ok, I'll admit that milk has nothing to do with it ... precisely because I have never heard of it either.
I don't drink milk anyways aside from in museli.
I will, however, admit that Americans do have MANY crazy cultural observations - we all do - but at least in America they seem mostly to be a child's ideology.
For example ... "Step on a crack, break your mother's back". How horrible is that one!
Ahhh... I have nothing to say on this. Let's be friendly to each other!
Marina, you are wise. Padii that is.
Tim, are you crazy or what? If you have congestion, milk makes more phlem. Just try it. I can't believe you turned your back on the traditions of your fathers. Are you Canadian or what?
forgive jake... he thinks "milk makes phlegm".... we all know that bodies do, not milk!
Anya, I love you.
Jake, kefir is the best!
And also... you know, guys, i think we are all marginals now we know each other. And i'm blessed by that! You?
A few other thoughts:
Americans only have two foods for breakfast when the rest of the world doesn't compartmentalize food like that.
What a great post and great comments session afterward. This is the first blog post I have seen in our small cirlce with 18 comments. That rocks.
My goodness, you people just like to pick on each other! But I like it.
I give up tolerance. Ukrainians can eat borshch for breakfast. Also Americans dont appreciate such treasure as soup. It's liquid after all & you guys cant live without it. Why not eat soup every day?
I made it 20 now, Jake!
Hmmm, even from an American perspective I still think the whole milk making phlegm thing is weird. Besides, phlegm is produced as a counter-measure against infection.
Jake or Anya (couldn't tell) ... what do you mean by only two foods for breakfast? Eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, muffins, pancakes, waffles, english muffins, oatmeal, grits, etc.
Sure, perhaps we may not eat borshch for breakfast, but I bet you guys wouldn't eat grits for breakfast either (Oi, I dislike grits).
Oh my gosh! How I miss you all! I have no idea what Czechs eat for breakfast because Prague is swamped with FOREIGNERS (myself included, I know).
BUT, you have to preface all this "American" stuff with WHICH Americans you know!
I grew up having cow-tongue sandwiches in my lunch for school. (Not for breakfast that I recall, but if my mother would have put it out for us, we WOULD have eaten it. No discussion!)
My mother, a retired nurse and one of the smartest women I know (although you ladies here would give her some great competition!) completely scoffed when the issue of milk increasing phlegm came up. I do agree with you Jake, just from personal experience, BUT my educated, AMERICAN, nurse, mother...disagreed.
And yes, we have our weird superstitions, they just seem normal to us because we grew up with them.
Love you all!
Hey!
what's wrong with grits for breakfast Tim??? Grits with raspberry preserves!!! yummy Even our Russion Pinokio-Buratino ate that! Mannaya kasha s malinovim vareniem!! :)
That was my favourite in the kindergarten!
:) Hey guys! I didn't realize that you have such an awesome discussion here!
Floridian :)
After looking at the back and forth I thought I'd jump in with a few of my original thoughts that I didn't steal from off the web from someone smarterer then myself.
The first and principal contribution to which I shall ask your attention is the advance made in the United States, not in theory only, but in practice, toward the abandonment of war as the means of settling disputes between nations, the substitution of discussion and arbitration, and the avoidance of armaments.
The second eminent contribution which the United States have made to civilization is their thorough acceptance, in theory and practice, of the widest religious toleration. In the United States, the great principle of religious toleration is better understood and more firmly established than in any other nation of the earth.
The third characteristic contribution which the United States have made to civilization has been the safe development of a manhood suffrage nearly universal.
The United States have made to civilization a fourth contribution of a very hopeful sort, to which public attention needs to be directed, lest temporary evils connected therewith should prevent the continuation of this beneficent action. The United States have furnished a demonstration that people belonging to a great variety of races or nations are, under favorable circumstances, fit for political freedom.
Another great contribution to civilization made by the United States is the diffusion of material well-being among the population. No country in the world approaches the United States in this respect.
These five contributions to civilization—peace-keeping, religious toleration, the development of manhood suffrage, the welcoming of newcomers, and the diffusion of wellbeing—I hold to have been eminently characteristic of our country, and so important that, in spite of the qualifications and deductions which every candid citizen would admit with regard to every one of them, they will ever be held in the grateful remembrance of mankind. They are reasonable grounds for a steady, glowing patriotism. They have had much to do, both as causes and as effects, with the material prosperity of the United States; but they are all five essentially moral contributions, being triumphs of reason, enterprise, courage, faith, and justice, over passion, selfishness, inertness, timidity, and distrust. Beneath each one of these developments there lies a strong ethical sentiment, a strenuous moral and social purpose. It is for such work that multitudinous democracies are fit.
Nuff said. : )
Ha! I might as well stop blogging and enjoy all your comments here... neat! As for the last one...ammm... who was that?!?
josh, bla bla bla, only proves point #67 made about american weirdnesses of this discussion..... that americans think they are superior to all the nations of the earth!
the map of the world printed in america has the americas in the center thus dividing a whole continent of eurasia in two (somebody "smart" came up with that idea) - why make a map of the world if all you're going to stare at is texas????
in fact, americans think they're so superior that i bet some of them think jesus was an american
Jake, What about Pearl Harbor you commie bastard! You can take off that orange shirt now!
Josh, that was CRAZY! I'm almost speechless. Tell me you were kidding, that you really love your country but you were kidding saying all that. Or prove me right that you're out of your mind & say that the USA created the world & all the moral!
And what about Pearl Harbor? Maybe it's another contribution the States made to civilization? Or i should ask the Japanese first?
And actually i know why Americans think they won WW2. It's mere sublimation. Cuz if they didnt interfere in what was going on in Europe in 1944, there would be 3 Americas now - North, South & Eurasian! They probably wish they had waited a lil bit & join after USSR & German had destroyed each other. It'd have been easy to convert the rest of Europe to American Nation.
Whatever!
Marina, you need to do smth or it will go too far with this discussion..
OK, you people! I don't even know what is going on here any more. And this is my blog!!! So... be nice to each other, or I'll block you off! I mean it.
And, heck, who is Josh?
josh tremeer and marissa! That's who! Good to hear from you, Josh! Long live the LONG blog commenters! :)
Marina, it me Josh from Neizzhen, and yes for the most part I was putting that up to provoke Anya and you two Marina's just for the fun of it. You know what they say, negative attention is still attention. But in all honsesty if you look at world history you do see some empires that stand out (Rome, the Ottoman Empire etc) and I do think that America is one of those Empires. That gives me no pride one way or another, I personally did nothing to further that. Also I should note that America has absolutely had several advantages, like being locationally isolated which helps wealth not to be destroyed every couple of generations. It will also probably end like those Empires ended, imploding from the inside because of Pride, Greed and general moral corruption. That is unless it is Babylon that is destroyed directly by God in Revelation.
Please don't kick me off I promise to be good!
Also, Marina I didn't write that initial post about Americas contributions to the world, I just hijacked it from someone else in the interest of playing devils advocate to the america slamming that was going on. In all actuallity I 100% agree with you as far as patriotism and true citizenship goes, everyone else was joking around with their posts and so was I, just in a more outragious way.
I'm a contrarian by nature so when everyone is getting on americas case I bleed red white and blue, but when it comes down to it when everone is at a baseball game and they are singing the national anthem and their eys are misting up, I put my hand on the other side of my heart because I am not devoted to any specific system or government or people, I am devoted to Christ.
Goodness, Josh! Well said:) Thanks for clearing it up, I was honestly worried about you.
Josh, I love you.
josh, now this is anya writing (the previous one was jake obviously). thank you, now i know where my husband gets his overwhelming desire to get under people's skin - being your best friend for so long!
You hear that Ande, Jakes not your best friend, he's mine, in your face.
Jake do you remember when we were in bible collage and I made some type of inflamitory remark that started a whole huge debate at our table and winked at you on the side and you got really upset with me and in front of everyone you, pushed back your chair and declared, "Josh you are such a procrastinator!" and then you walked off in a huff, to everyones puzzlement, classic Jake verbiage.
He meant instigator and I've been posting way too many blogs today, I should go get a real job.
Josh,
Thanks for reminding me about my poor speaking skills. My spelling stinks but it sure isn't as bad as yours! Collage?
My link didn't work because it cut off at a certain number of characters in a single word ... you'll have to use some creative use of copy and paste to put the two pieces together.
Jake ... be careful when talking about other's spelling skills.
Go to Jake's blog to the following post and read the comments:
http://jakeknotts.blogspot.com/2006/10/renok-your-
everyday-dairy-farmers_28.html
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