Sue and her husband recently visited the USA. Although it wasn’t her first visit I was interested in her observations about the country. Rather than just ask her via text I ‘interviewed’ her, since I thought you may be interested in an Australian’s thoughts about the USA. Her answers were lengthy and carefully considered, so I lightly edited a few to shorten them. All the photos in this post are from her. I’ll add a few of my comments periodically in italics.
Why did you visit America. Were you looking forward to it? If so, why and if not, why not?
I visited USA to attend a five day conference on food analysis and food safety. The AOAC has sections throughout the world and I am the treasurer of the South West Pacific Section which has 21 member countries including Australia. I did not want to visit USA under the current government but there is an expectation in my role as Principle Scientist for Sanitarium health foods Analytical department that I maintain currency in food analysis and safety topics and this conference had the best agenda of all the international conferences being run this year.
What were you looking forward to most? Did it live up to your expectations?
What I was looking forward to most was seeing the WNBA basketball, since sport in the USA is an entertainment spectacle. The women’s game was the Indiana Fever vs the Connecticut Suns. The star player (Caitlin Clark) had a great game and the Fever won!! It’s not just about the sport but the electric atmosphere of lights, huge screens, music, DJ’s, live performers, interactive games, T-shirt cannons and giveaways. It was ever better than my expectations.
What were you dreading or nervous about? Did it happen and was it as bad as you feared?
We were super nervous about having our social media interrogated and being refused entry into USA. We were very careful not to write anything controversial on our social media and my husband went back and deleted some posts from his accounts. Going through USA security at the airport is always nerve wracking and the attendants are always stone-faced bordering on threatening. We were very relieved to get through without incident.
How would you compare your hotel to hotels in Australia? Was there anything unexpected or unusual about the American hotel?
American hotels are pretty similar to Australian hotels. The most notable differences are the abundance of customer service attendees standing ready to attend to your every need. There is always an ice bucket and ice dispenser in the hotel, why do Americans need so much ice? There was a fridge full of water bottles in the gym and every room service meal had extra water bottles; you never get free water in Australia! You need to tip the housekeeper! I left a small tip daily but over 15 nights they never changed the sheets!!! How much do you need to tip to get clean sheets?
Obviously sheets not being changed in two weeks is abnormal, and I wonder if this hotel had one of those systems – introduced since Covid – where you need to specifically request new sheets (either by leaving a magnet on the door or calling the front desk) or they won’t be replaced. I would have asked!
You ate at many American restaurants. How do they (service and food) compare to restaurants in Australia? Was there anything particular strange about any of them that you’d never see in Australia?
We ate at many restaurants in the USA: cafes, diners and delis. In general the level of service is far superior to what you would receive in Australia. You almost always receive ice water immediately as you sit down which is usually self serve in Australia and room temperature. The other strange thing is that casual meals seem to often be accompanied by chips! Not fries and salad but potato crisps! The quality of the food was very good and we had some delicious meals. The portion size is also significantly bigger in USA.
You used public transit (trains, busses, taxis, planes). How was that?
We always fly Delta to the USA as we have points that after six trips still have minimal actual value. On three trips we have had broken entertainment systems for at least one flight. Luckily my husband brought a headphone adapter so I could watch his monitor. When I ask for coke or water I use an American accent otherwise I am not understood. Catching the bus seems to be for poorer people but we enjoy doing it. While it seems to be something people avoid if possible we have never had an issue and it’s nice to see suburbs you wouldn’t normally see if you were driving. One bus journey on this trip took us past a jail and a recently released young man was talking to an older man about how he was coping with life on the outside. A number of people on the bus seemed to know one another and it was interesting to listen to interactions. In general people on the bus in the USA are better behaved than in Australia where swearing and loud aggressive language is unfortunately tolerated. Uber seems to be a better option than taxis in Indianapolis and the one day we did get in a taxi the older man seemed high and confused and immediately haggled for a high price for a short trip. We chose Uber after that and the cars ranged from very nice to grubby. Most drivers didn’t make conversation which I prefer.
I’ve flown Delta dozens of times and my points are still worthless!
What about shopping? How were the malls and shops you visited different from Australia? How did the prices of things here compare?
It was shocking that there were almost no retail shops in the city in Indianapolis. There were signs to a mall in the city which apparently closed during Covid and never reopened. We travelled to a mall 30 minutes drive away and were shocked that it was mostly empty. We travelled to another mall which was bigger and seemed more popular and we visited the shops that you recommended. It was good to have recommendations since from looking at the outside I would have had no interest at entering some of those shops. Prices were similar to Australia but the poor exchange rate made things more expensive.
Can you describe an experience you had (good or bad) that you would say was ‘uniquely American’?
Americans are polite in a unique way. When an American engages genuinely you are in for a lively and interesting conversation. A shop assistant at the museum spoke to us at length about politics of the state. Americans can also speak loudly with confidence. At a bar there was a particularly loud couple and groups engage loudly across the bar which might see you ejected in Australia. Sitting at the bar is very common in the USA but very rare in Australia.
In what ways is America similar to Australia, and in what ways is it different?
Superficially the USA looks like Australia but is completely different in almost every way. It’s so strange that I can’t think of one thing that is the same.
This is the question I most wanted a detailed answer for 🙂
If you had the chance, would you like to live in America? Why or why not?
The USA is a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. Gun violence scares me. The size of the country and the individualisation and separation of the states scares me. The prevalence and perversity of shocking crimes scares me. I don’t understand the politics and feel that government and wealthy individuals have too much power and wield it corruptly. The lack of public health systems feels elitist and cruel. The country feels in some ways completely lawless but at the same time repressed and controlled. I wouldn’t want to be poor and/or disadvantaged in the USA.
I feel her thoughts are typical of most westerners looking at the USA from outside.
Is there anything else you’d like to comment on that I didn’t ask about?
The tipping system is insane. I don’t know how this can continue. It seems an administrative burden for all. One final anecdote; I went to the hairdresser for a wash and style one day. The hairdresser was a young girl with a wild hairdo and fantastic alternative clothing. She was lovely to talk to and went into great detail of the products ts she was using on my hair. She talked constantly even though she said she’s not a talker. She spoke about being autistic and living outside the city and about the harsh reality of living and working in Indianapolis. She spoke about not having a tv and spending all her time modifying and making clothes/costumes. She was very slow and the wash and style took much longer than it should have but I enjoyed the experience. Towards the end of the time she told me that she gets paid $12.50/hr and that I shouldn’t leave a tip as her boss keeps all the tips. I was horrified. I left a generous tip anyway as I was worried that if I didn’t that the boss might think I wasn’t happy with the service.
I share Sue’s thoughts on tipping in general, and find it an archaic relic of US society that should have long since been rejected.
I had originally planned to adding more of my own thoughts to this post, but instead I’m going to save these questions and ‘interview myself’ next time I go to Australia to try and summarize my feelings about the differences between there and here.
Thanks to Sue for agreeing to let me share her thoughts and photos. I hope you found her responses as interesting as I did 🙂