Non-Americans, what is the most shocking thing you saw when visiting the United States?

I'm Canadian, and I went on a brief road trip to the States about a month ago.

The most shocking thing I experienced was how cheap the food is.

We went to McDonald's and a meal for three people only cost about $14, and one of the meals was a salad.

In Canada, one meal costs about $8. I knew the food was

cheap there, but damn. Woke up early on vacation in Florida, and the sidewalk outside my hotel

was absolutely covered in lizards, and it was amazing. How hard it is to get a drink. I'm Irish and over 21,

and in California, even with a passport

and driver's license, I was treated with skepticism. Blood started to enter my alcohol stream a few

times while I was there. Right aid. I can get a flu shot, HIV test, a bottle of tequila,

Snickers bars, and pizza pockets all from the same store.

Awesome. I hop. I can get an entire day's worth of calories and one meal. Also, having one dollar

notes made me feel like I was rich. I had a huge what of notes, but like 20 of them were one dollar.

But still, it's a nice feeling. Speaking as a European who's visited America,

this final part of the story is absolutely true. It feels special to whip out a stack of notes

and slap them on the table like a mob kingpin. The first time I had to deal with TSA was

enlightening, wanted to punch the prick. Now I know that's basically normal. I'm from Singapore,

and we're pretty much a conservative and reserved society. I visited the U.S. for an elective

program at UCLA, go Bruins, and the thing that struck me most about America was everyone's

friendliness or socialness. People strike up a conversation with you, ask how your

day's been, and really connect with each other based on what's happening around them, the weather,

how long the wait for the bus is, etc. And somehow, these fleeting connections were very real and

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