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“Southern Hospitality”: 45 Things People Couldn’t Believe Were Real When They Visited The US
Movies and television shows do not reflect reality. They might be based on true stories at times or aim to be as realistic as possible, but let’s be honest, they’re not documentaries. So it’s difficult to get a sense of what a culture is truly like if you’ve only been exposed to it through the media. The best way to understand a place is to go and experience it yourself!
That’s certainly the case with the United States. There are plenty of stereotypes and assumptions that people make about the nation after seeing Hollywood films. Do people really wear their shoes while laying on their beds? And is it common for neighbors to just barge into one another’s homes? Well, people from around the world who have visited the U.S. have been discussing their experiences on Reddit, and it turns out, some things they’ve seen on screens actually do exist in real life. Enjoy reading through these replies that’ll give you some insight into what the Land of the Free is really like, and be sure to upvote the ones that you can’t believe are true!
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#1
Pledging allegiance to the flag. What the hell.
Also HOAs. What the hell.
michael Chock 9 hours ago
They added "under God" to the pledge. They want everyone to believe US was founded in Christianity when actually most founding fathers were not.
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#2
Promise rings and the obsession with especially a woman's virginity creep me the hell out.
What also blows my mind is the way that faith, god and Christianity as a whole seems to bee rooted in your way of life. Apparently there are people who believe that Jesus was American?
IMO communism isn't the way to go, but the USA is a perfect example that extreme capitalism is also a great danger to health, wealth and happiness.
#3
Being forced to go back to work, a couple of weeks after giving birth. What the actual F. It’s traumatising to be ripped away from a child that young. Most country have months if not nearly 2 years of maternity.
StrangeOne 3 hours ago
It took me a month before I could sit without being in pain. The USA is just inhumane. Also, that extra fee US hospitals charge to hold your baby right after it's born is unjustified. I've heard of excuses like, "That's because a special nurse has to be in the room with you to monitor, and she would like to be paid." There's a team of nurses already in the room, and you holding the baby frees up their hands so they can clean you and the everything else up. What do they think will happen? The mom, fresh from birthing, gets up and runs away with HER baby?
#4
Going into massive debt just because you're sick.
#5
I had to ask my American gf this - You ppl really just hand over your credit card in restaurants??? Like the waiter leaves with it???
I would NEVER do that. if you cant bring the terminal to me then im coming to the terminal, you're NOT touching my card! I would get fired and most likely sued if I did this where I work!
zatrisha 4 hours ago
I don't understand this disproportionate use of credit cards in America in general. I also have a credit card, but I only use it in emergencies when no other payment methods are available. With the constant pressure of debt hanging over me, I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully.
#6
The religion is wacky over there. How yall gonna tell me the whole town is crazy religious and WILL harass you over not being religious? We have religious nuts here, but nothing near the scale of what America has. Some of our churches can be corrupt too, but how yall churches running more like cults?????
#7
The concept of American patriotism is very creepy and cultish. People have been brought up to think that The States is the best country on earth when they treat the average citizen horribly is crazy to me.
#8
Your boss being able to fire you for any reason with no recourse on your part.
#9
The horizontal size of the people. I watched super size me and legit thought the guy had sought out XXL people for the show, until I went to miami and saw them in real life.
zatrisha 4 hours ago
What strongly distinguishes America and Europe here is that Americans consume far more highly processed foods instead of cooking from scratch. This kind of eating culture has been instilled in them by the food industry, but ultimately, everyone has a free choice. In addition, people in America have to cover greater distances, and few walk or cycle much in their daily lives.
#10
No legal requirements for annual leave (PTO).
Bonnie Blue Bird 5 hours ago
Sadly, in the US PTO is a benefit and is not federally mandated. Lots of businesses also require you use your PTO for your sick days too. It's also not given to you; you acquire a certain number of hours each pay period
#11
Pledging allegiance to a flag, Christianity being relevant, no public Healthcare, horrible maternal care, having to pay to see a physician, medical debt, wearing your god darn shoes in the house.
persephone134 6 hours ago (edited)
Most tax money in America goes into the military. Hardly any goes into the improvement of infrastructure (terrible road conditions, for example), health care (get a private health insurance if you can), public education (send your children to a private school if you can), or social benefits (if you are unemployed, your problem). Because social welfare is communist.
#12
Went to Sea World (I know, I know) in 2011, we thought they were joking when they asked all members of the Military to stand up so they could be clapped at.
It was the strangest, oddest, cultiest thing I'd ever seen considering we know how predatory their recruitment drives are (ya want an education but you're poor? If ya survive a tour of Afghanistan we might just send you to Community College! ) and how veterans are treated after they leave in general. Real life hunger games!.
Also, kids chewing on turkey legs bigger than their own legs (also in Sea World).
Jerome Lenovo 6 hours ago
amerikkka is doomed to be a f*****t country, and only now some people start to understand. Getting rid of the indoctrination gonna be the hardest part. Even anti-frump have the indoctrination still strong in them.
#13
Not turning off the lights anywhere in your house at night.
I saw once a movie or a show where the dad was presented as strict for constantly telling the kids to turn off the lights when they leave a room.
Well, I've recently been on a vacation with 2 couple (all of them Americans) and *the lights were never turned off anywhere.
I was literally the only one who turned them off in the hallway when we were all in the living room, or turning them off after finishing in the bathroom.
It drove me nuts.
#15
The sink blender thing. Thought it was made up for horror movies when I was a kid, turns out, they do exist.
#16
The health care system as a whole. Not being able to pay for basic life saving medication and treatments, medical sales reps, the extreme costs of medical care and the most baffling: that there actually are people (outside of the ones that profit from it) AGAINST health care?
Add in your gun laws it really seems like the US government hates Americans and want them all to die, and it's not just this administration.
michael Chock 9 hours ago
Certain political and religious groups discourage independent thought.
#17
One of my favourite shows as a teenager was Friday Night Lights. I always thought all the pep rallies, the cheerleaders in uniform and the huge football stadiums were all exaggerated for the sake of the story.
michael Chock 9 hours ago
It's much worse in real life. Teachers will be fired if they fail a player. Town budgets revolve around stadiums. Art and literacy are cut before cheerleading and sports.
#18
Steam coming from subway grates. I assumed it was just added to make New York (and Gotham) look more spooky or grimy etc. Turns out it's real when I visited NYC!
We have subways too but none of them vent steam just onto the streets.
#19
Planting a placard in your front garden advertising your political preference.
#20
That bartenders typically don't get paid (or paid well) which in turn makes tipping compulsory and against your will.
#21
Advertisements for prescription medication on the TV.
Not sure if it’s still the same as a decade ago, but breastfeeding was not protected in all states - ie. it needed to be done in private and not in a public area.
#22
Student debt. I did not know that there are countries where school is not free.
michael Chock 9 hours ago (edited)
Crippling student debt. College can cost $50,000 to $200,000 (or more). Most people have loans so large they can't pay of the interest so they die owing more than they borrowed.
#23
Sorority and frat houses. I thought it was just a law & order thing but no they're actually real. My boyfriend who is American - his sister was in a Sorority club when she was in college but it was so toxic she ended up leaving.
Souns like a nightmare to deal with. Also looks really fake? Like, when I googled it, it looked like living in a perpetual advertisement. Eek.
Lady Eowyn 2 hours ago
I'm American, and I think these should be abolished. There may be some good ones, but most just seem to be recruiting members for their cult.
#26
Mean and popular girls. The way it's shown on American media I always believed it's over the top and can't be real. But it is.
#27
That adults regularly move out at 18 and live completely independently even if they struggle. I assumed it was a movie trope, but it’s genuinely expected in many places.
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 7 hours ago
Not sure how different it would be if I hadn't been in foster care, but yup. I'm 19 and all on my own and struggling. I have some family but they can't support or help me, and it's really hard all on my own, especially with my mental health struggles.
#28
Obese people everywhere.
Yes, you get the occasional person with a weight problem in any country, but USA leads the world.
And it is regarded as a normal weight! I thought it was put in films for comic effect.
michael Chock 9 hours ago (edited)
Most food in the US is made for shelf life and high calorie content. It is a leftover from the days where people actually burned that much energy just trying to survive in the rugged country. Now most people will wait 5 minutes for a parking spot instead of parking 10 spots further from the grocery store.
#29
Massive food portions.
#30
Yellow school busses.
Roman Arendt 6 hours ago
This way it's easier for gun loving nuts to spot their targets, duh. 🙄
#31
Not having a hallway/ entrance hall. Open the front door and walk straight in to the living room is so vierd to me. Where do you out your jacket, car keys and shoes?
I live in Sweden and having a big entrance hall is a big selling point and will rise the price of a house.
#32
Marshmallows in sweet potato with a roast dinner??
michael Chock 9 hours ago (edited)
Replace sweet potatoes with ube and marshmallows with pecan topping and you've got my attention.
#33
I grew up playing all the GTA games. Did a two week road trip from NYC to Nashville in September. I was surprised that in the big cities that I went to, the NPCs that GTA parody, the people that just randomly say odd stuff out loud to nobody in the street, it’s not a parody and there’s actually people like that everywhere.
#34
Doughnut eating cops.
Marno C. 6 hours ago
I heard that one of the reasons for this is that, in many places, doughnut/coffee shops were some of the few places that were open early/late to accommodate police on patrol during awkward hours. Also, these places tended to have fast service so that police could leave at a moment's notice if they got a call. Having worked graveyard shift at a Tim Horton's, I can confirm that I did see officers in wee hours when they were ready for a coffee break.
#36
I'm still not sure how real the highschool stereotype groups are, like jocks and stuff. We have cliques, but they were more like just friend groups than seen on TV. There wasn't a 'popular group' or anything, just different people who liked or didn't like each other.
#37
Solo cups.
I genuinely thought they were a screen trope to make continuity easier.
Rinso The Red 2 hours ago
You all seem obsessed with what is essentially a cheap convenience lol
#39
For a long time I only ever heard New York accents in movies, so I was surprised the first time I heard one in real life.
#40
Seeing that the interrior of sims (walls, doors, etc) is from real american houses and not just some made up stuff.
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 7 hours ago
I play the Sims a lot, I never really considered this, that's interesting to think about!
#41
Dating around with multiple people and not seeing each other as girlfriend/boyfriend until you've had an exclusive talk. It's weird to be kissing with someone for months and then go out with others because you're not officially dating. And that's coming from me who's from Denmark where it's normal for people to hook up left and right at parties but we don't go hooking around with others once we decide to see someone again after the first hookup.
#43
So I'm American but I have to share - the Jimmy Kimmel interview with Lupita Nyongo where she's asking about "Groundhog's Day" and if its real is cross-cultural comedic gold.
#44
Yellow school buses, paper grocery bags, large size products like gallons of milk.
Spencer's slave no longer 9 hours ago
We use paper shopping bags in New Zealand, have for years, since single use plastic bags were outlawed in 2019.
#45
I kind of thought the American accent was fake to an extent but turns out they actually do just talk like that.
michael Chock 9 hours ago
America has many accents, just like the UK. Also like the UK, the mountain and island people can be hard to understand.
What do you think ?
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 5 hours ago
Or a really bad episode of Jerry Springer.
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Rinso The Red 2 hours ago
I think a lot of this is confusing America as portrayed in the media vs the daily reality of living in the US. I would have been smacked if I had shoes on the bed. Not even sure what "neighbors barging in" entails? Like not knocking first? Nobody does that except maybe your best friend (and even then). Fast food is a real issue though, totally own that. I avoid it whenever possible. There's tons of great little sandwich shops, etc that offer far better fare. The drive through thing is true to an extent, but I don't honestly see an issue with the convenience of doing a deposit at the bank from my car (though I admit the drive thru liquor stores I saw in the South gave me pause lol)
JSL 1 hour ago
And let's not forget in some parts of the country, good grocery stores don't exist close so people may have to drive for a long time to get to said good grocery store and fast food is more convenient and maybe cheaper for that reason. And let's also not forget that with the exception of the top 10% of the country, the overwhelming majority of citizens don't make enough money to be able to afford groceries. So those people do what they have to to feed their families.
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Smeghead Tribble Down Under 5 hours ago
Or a really bad episode of Jerry Springer.
Load More Replies... Rinso The Red 2 hours ago
I think a lot of this is confusing America as portrayed in the media vs the daily reality of living in the US. I would have been smacked if I had shoes on the bed. Not even sure what "neighbors barging in" entails? Like not knocking first? Nobody does that except maybe your best friend (and even then). Fast food is a real issue though, totally own that. I avoid it whenever possible. There's tons of great little sandwich shops, etc that offer far better fare. The drive through thing is true to an extent, but I don't honestly see an issue with the convenience of doing a deposit at the bank from my car (though I admit the drive thru liquor stores I saw in the South gave me pause lol)
JSL 1 hour ago
And let's not forget in some parts of the country, good grocery stores don't exist close so people may have to drive for a long time to get to said good grocery store and fast food is more convenient and maybe cheaper for that reason. And let's also not forget that with the exception of the top 10% of the country, the overwhelming majority of citizens don't make enough money to be able to afford groceries. So those people do what they have to to feed their families.
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