skrln

That we Europeans have the wrong idea of Americans. Unfortunately media portrays americans as shallow, fat, stupid, narrow minded people, which they totally aren't! Unfortunately all my friends think this and I try to convince them to just go to the US and see for themselves.

It's just that the people I just described are the loudest and get the tv and internet fame that we get to see them...

You guys are so open and friendly. You can stand on the corner of the street waiting to cross it and just say: Hey, how are you doing? to a random person next to you. They'll always be friendly and answer. Doesn't matter if it's a girl or a guy. You could literally talk to anyone anywhere and have a conversation for hours!

Stuff like that is a big no-no in Belgium (and I feel in Europe in general). If you're sitting on a bus or a train here, everyone minds their own business and would never talk to one another. It would even freak them out if you did. Like if you talk to someone there always has to be a hidden agenda and they're incredibly suspicious. Even in bars, people just go their with their own group of friends and rarely talk to people from other groups.

I was depressed when I got back because of this... I even wonder how I make friends here.

There are tons more though :p

I knew it would be different from europe, but I couldn't know why beforehand. I just thought it would be bigger, because that's something we always hear about the states (like you hear from texans ;)).

I had a sense of the consumerism and capitalism you have going on because of whit I experienced in movies/tv shows/internet... And we have capitalism over here as well in theory, but it just doesn't work the way it should.

I mean, if i go to a store in the states i am helped within 5 seconds of walking through the door and they will do everything to satisfy me as a customer. In contrast, if I go shopping here it feels like i'm a burden to the guy behind the counter and it is a privilige for me that I am allowed to buy something from them if they feel like it. I was more than happy to spend my money in the states!

Favorite part, wow, difficult question. Naturewise: definitely Utah with all it's parks. People wise: NYC and Nashville

Least favorite: although still awesome: St. Louis because there just isn't much to do there. I met a great guy whom I stayed with for a couple of days, but that was the only interesting thing about my stay there. And ofcourse the arch, just so I could say I saw it ;).

For your last question: There is something I don't understand about americans. I met the most friendly, giving, social, caring people that would go out of their way to help me and others in their lives. Charity is a big part of their lives and they love to give. But when there is a structural plan to help all the people in the states get their medical insurance all of the sudden you get a vibe of egotism and they don't want anything to do with that. Although it is a great system as proven in many countries that have had social security for ages...

It feels a bit like double standards to me... I don't get why you want to help someone else on a small scale, but you don't want to help someone else on a larger scale AND help yourself as well.

I don't want to turn this in a political thread, but you asked, so I answer :). How I would fix it? Well, I can't obviously.

Hahaha, BURGERS WITH FAKE AMERICAN CHEESE!

I'm not kidding. Best burger I had was without a doubt the Double Cheese burger from Denny's in Cortez, Colorado. It was the afternoon I resurfaced from the Grand Canyon and was in dire need of fat and calories. Surprisingly I was in the States for 2 months already at that point, but haven't had a burger yet anywhere.

Other memorable burgers: Double D burger from Hooters in NYC (was my last night, so emotion will probably have a part in this memory).

Boy, what I would do to have another double cheeseburger from Denny's... We don't have that chain in Belgium (we only have 2: Mcdonalds and Quick (which you don't have over there if i'm not mistaken), but they are ofcourse both crap. I even looked for countries in Europe that has them to just go over there and have another of those burgers... But I will have to come back to the States for that!

This is a good question.

Ever since I can remember I had a fascination for the United States. I can remember there was a show from a Dutch Clown and acrobat (called Bassie en Adriaan) in which they traveled through the midwest. http://www.standaardboekhandel.be/_img/scale.rb?img=images/023/8811034837022.jpg&w=800&h=800

I must have been 4 or 5 years old when I saw that and was just blown away by the nature. I didn't know places like that existed in the world. Then throughout my childhood I learned more about american culture through movies and eventually internet. I loved america so much I learned english on my own by the age of 8 (I didn't have tv or internet back then, i still don't know how I got to learn it). And when I was a teenager I always said I wanted to move to the states. At first it was kind of a joke and it slipped my mind when I went to the european equivalent of highschool and college, because I was just too busy studying. Then in my final year it popped back into my mind and tought to myself it was now or never. At first I was going to go for 2 weeks, 1 week in NYC, and 1 week to remote family in Denver,CO. But when I was researching more about the states I got overrun with that feeling again from when I was a kid and the plan changed to a multiple month long trip through EVERYTHING :D.

I wanted to move to the United States (And is till do, and I will as soon as possible), but I wanted to use the trip as an eyeopener, see what's what, where I would want to settle, see if it would really be my cup of tea, and then also go sightseeing.

I remember not sleeping my first 6 days in the States from pure excitement. As soon as I touched down in JFK it felt like I had come home, not on a holiday. Ever since I am determined to become a US resident. So watch out ;).

I paid for everything myself, not wealthy of any sort, but I'm doing alright.