[Demonhood]

I'll start:

• If you've seen this video (warning: naughty language) then every time you see one of these signs with Washington's head:
  you'll sing the song in your head.
• Drive thru espresso shacks are everywhere in rural WA.
• Public restrooms east of Utah don't have disposable toilet seat covers.
• Small town folk seem to be able to smell the out of town Californian intruder immediately.
• Battle Mountain, NV isn't even remotely hilly.
• Even with 6+ billion people, the likelihood of running into someone you know in a foreign land is still great.
• Yurts are both fun to stay in and to say aloud.
  
• The Amish don't appear to enjoy having their picture taken.

[lexapro]

Some folks are super nice, usually in rural hick towns. City folk suck.

[moonmonkey]

The American accent carries extremely well over long distances and through walls. Even in a crowded European restaurant you can hear the Americans trying to work out what all the knives are forks are for (and which hands to hold them in) on the floor below clearer than the people you are sitting with.

The only way around this is to sit with the Americans.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by lexapro 

Some folks are super nice, usually in rural hick towns. City folk suck.

I learned that you can buy a huge United States flag ultra-cheap if you buy it at the Niagara Falls gift shop on the Canadian side.

[lexapro]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I learned that you can buy a huge United States flag ultra-cheap if you buy it at the Niagara Falls gift shop on the Canadian side.

If I did that I would then immediately raise the flag and claim the Canadian side as American territory.

[Jawbone54]

I'm sure you'd be pleased to know that I silent laughed hard enough at that to stir my dog from her sleep.

[phantomdragonz]

I have only really been to Italy, but spent a little time in spain and portugal, i work in retail Grocery so I notice these things...

The way Italian supermarkets do things makes A LOT more sense then the way we do it.

pay 1 Euro to get a cart, get the Euro back when you return the cart to the corral (common in most of europe, usually a slot in the cart itself to do this)


Produce is rang up in the produce dept by either a dedicated produce person or a scale with a number that corresponds to the sign for that particular item. (relieves the cashier of remembering the codes like we do in the U.S.


Cashiers Sit down in chairs (italy at least)

In portugal (Açores) you get eggs off the grocery shelf and not out of a cooler.

Also in the Açores there was no cold milk, it all came packaged in the Aceptic "Parmalat" style packaging at room temperature. Could of had somehting to do with the LARGE trans-atlantic boating people or the remoteness of the islands.



One last thing, Sailing across the Atlantic ocean takes about a month and birds can be seen throughout the entire trip, birds do live on the ocean!

-Zach

[ghporter]

I like the "deposit for the cart" concept. The grocery stores I go to (HEB) let one weigh and label produce in the produce department with the same scale in your picture (but using a PLU instead of a picture), so the customer can either use a self-checkout or the checker can just scan everything.

My travels outside North America have been limited to Central America and the Caribbean. Not many "different" things to see like those in Europe. But...the very first bald eagles I ever saw in person were in Victoria BC. And western Canadians have different accents from those in Ontario, but they're just as friendly to visitors. Jamaica is beautiful, but I will NEVER drive there-WAY too scary! George Town, Grand Cayman, is fascinating, in part because you can see just about any model of car on the road, right or left-hand drive, and they all drive on the left-pretty confusing to me, but very interesting.

[OreoCookie]

Keep your eyes and ears pealed the first few days or weeks, depending on how long you stay.

[shifuimam]

Aldi all over the place (Europe and the United States, don't know about Canada) takes a lot from European grocery stores, especially given that it was founded in Germany. Cashiers sit down and carts take quarters to unlock.

I'm going to miss being able to shop at Aldi after we move to Fairfax.

What I've learned while traveling? Know the speed limit in the state you're currently driving through. Don't go more than about 5-7 mph over that limit. I might have gotten a speeding ticket in Ohio at 4:00 AM on Friday morning due to forgetting this rule...