SO DIFFERENT: USA

I am a Turkish who came to USA in June 1997. I am working for a software company. I have been to many countries from all over the world. I tried to list some differences in USA, which is absolutely a world in its own... Well, they also claim the rest of the world, right? If some of my findings are wrong, or misunderstood, please accept my apologies.

  • Why Roberts are called Bob, not Rob?... Why Williams called Bill, not Will?
  • Weeks in calendars start on Sunday !...
  • Away Team is first in Sport Games. Boston - Atlanta game is played in Atlanta, not in Boston.
  • Ground floor is the first floor in the buildings
  • Power is 110 Volts.
  • Electrical switches, Down: Off, Up: On.
  • Different outlet and plug standards.
  • Non-metric measurement units.
  • Doors are always opened towards the outside of the building.
  • Nobody is smoking but everybody is smoking!.
  • No international news in papers and on TV, except Saddam.
  • Everybody is called by their first names. So you should call your boss 'Mark', instead of 'Mr. Van Niekerk'.
  • A game you play with hands and shoulders is called 'football', hence 'The Game' played with foot has to be called something else.
  • Majority of people are still using pagers and paging each other.
  • Washer and dryer (somehow) a big luxury in the apartments.
  • I never understand the meaning behind the sign 'Drug-free school zone'.
  • Colormatic windows in the cars, so you can not see mysterious people inside the car.
  • Left/Right turn signals do not have to be yellow. You should give more attention to lightly blinking red signals in front of you.
  • It is a big custom to drink coffee in the morning on the way to work.
  • Driver's one hand holds a coffee mug, not a cellular phone.
  • Big invention: Automatic seatbelts are in most cars.
  • You spend majority of your time in the car. Drive-in restaurants, mail boxes for drivers, public phones, ATMs, car wash etc... But unfortunately a store that you can shop while you are in your car has not been invented yet!
  • Thanks god, I am still driving on the 'right' side of the road.
The Cyberport of Turkey