Americans do it the other way around: what confuses new immigrants to the United States

When moving abroad, you always have to get used to some traditions and phenomena that you have not met before. A Russian woman who immigrated to the United States for a long time described things that confuse newly arrived immigrants. She shared her observations of what Americans are doing the other way around, according to Russians, on the 50 Shades of New York blog at Zen.Yandex.

Drink tea

We are used to drinking tea immediately after meals or while talking. Only brewed fresh tea reveals its full taste, so we drink this drink hot. Americans are big coffee fans. Therefore, hot tea is not so popular here. Various iced teas can be found in establishments.

When the author of the article first moved to the States, she visited a cafe where she ordered tea. Imagine her surprise when they brought her cold tea in a glass with ice! The next time she clarified that the tea should be hot. Then they brought her boiling water in a teapot, a cup and a tea bag. This is because in the United States, the visitor is given the right to choose how strong the drink will be.

Turn to red

If in Russia to turn to red is a terrible violation, then in America every second person does so. Once a neighbor told the author of the article that turning to red in the United States was allowed 30 years ago, because it saves gasoline.

Before turning, you must stop, make sure that this maneuver is safe and only then turn. Since it is not possible to turn everywhere, on the roads in the USA you can often see signs allowing this maneuver. There are signs at some bends prohibiting it, but this is not common.

Write down the dates

The date format is another important difference between Russia and the United States, which can lead to serious consequences. Once our heroine received an invitation card to an event from her daughter's school and thought that the school had sent out invitations too early. The date was indicated there 4.5.19, and the heroine was sure that it was about May 4th. But literally in a day, the son reminded her that they are in America, and here they first indicate the month, and then the day.

In Russia, the date is recorded in the format: day, month and year. In America, they write it differently: month, day and year. It turns out that the day and month were reversed, and such an unusual sequence often confuses the Russians who migrated to the States.