You're so American!

[Keep Right]

8 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

 

Health care

• Thailand: I thought I had a piece of glass in my foot so I shuffle  to the most famous intl hospital in Bangkok with no apointment saw an actual Doctor quickly and the total charge was 650 baht. US: Insurance company initial response is to partially deny my claim.  If it happened in the US I would pay minimum $75 or $100  co-poy and insurance would be billed a huge amount. One time I needed three stitches it was over $1000 almost twenty years ago

 

In England, you would have to wait several months before a doctor would see you.

[spidermike007]

Though I'm not embarrassed about being American, a lot of times it's just simpler to say I am Canadian, the conversation just sort of stops right there and you can move on to another topic. Aot of times I'll say I'm from Saskatchewan and I am a Reginan, and people just look at me like I'm from Mars.

 

When you say you're American it just opens up a Pandora's Box. But the chicks often like it, as the America that used to be, still has some cache, and they don't realize how much it has changed and degraded. 

[Walker88]

14 hours ago, Dan747 said:

It's kind of hard to admit your American with Biden as President. I was at Central BKK and a German ask me where I was from, told him America, he told me Biden is an "EMBARRASSMENT!" Says it all.

That 'embarrassment' inherited 6.8% unemployment and a Recession from 45. He also had to deal with an exploding deficit, made worse by the inflation-causing $7,300,000,000,000 new debt 45 ran up in a mere 4 years (37% of total US debt since 1776).

 

President 'embarrassment' now oversees 3.5% unemployment, +3.2% GDP growth, a FY2021 reduction in the yearly deficit (vs 45) of $350 billion and a massive $1.3 trillion drop in FY2022.

 

Biden also achieved a bipartisan passing of an infrastructure Bill that will rebuild the US' roads, bridges, airports and communications. Oh, and prescription drug prices---especially insulin---have been capped and reduced.

 

Germany should have a leader that embarrasses them as much.

[LaosLover]

12 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 a lot of times it's just simpler to say I am Canadian,

On the old Lonely Planet thorn tree forum, I trolled and said I sewed a Canadian flag on my backpack to avoid abuse. Canadians loved it (and believed it). 500 responses.

[scorecard]

15 hours ago, Willy Wombat said:

Loud.

whenever travelling anywhere in the world you can always hear them.

 

Its like they’re announcing that they are American to everybody.

Like loudly asking 'where is the line for American citizens' at Hong Kong (and other) airports.

[LaosLover]

3 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Like loudly asking 'where is the line for American citizens'

 

Please put in at least a passable level of effort into your troll. See my example above.

[JoseThailand]

16 hours ago, macahoom said:

Being unable to differentiate between the words then and than.

 

Lie and lay too.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, chacha boom said:

Another thing muricans know nothing of, is what socialism/communism is.

And the US newbie here on Thai Visa (Asian Now) many years back who posted he was shocked that the site hadn't automatically changed another persons post from kilometers to miles. 

 

Another member responded saying 'are you aware that Americans rank 4th or 5th place re total numbers of foreigners living in Thailand and most of the foreigners who make up 1st, 2nd, 3rd place are Europeans and Australians where all measurement, volumes, distances, money is in the metric system?'

 

Newbie responded 'can't be true because everything at the airport is written in Thai and in English'.

 

 

[LaosLover]

These evergreen brit-whines have not aged well. I heard the same dross 30 years ago.

 

As you say desparately "many years ago" You just can't let your goofy superiority complex go.

 

The same dull set up, American defies basic reality, sensible brit straightens things out.

 

This from the idiots who brought you Brexit.

Edited January 14, 2023 by LaosLover

[Walker88]

Actually, some of the old 'tells' are disappearing.

 

As one who has lived outside of his home country for almost all of my adult life, I used to have no trouble telling one of my countryman from non-American. Not so easy today.

 

I'm as likely to hear a loud, opinionated, obese Aussie or Brit or German as an American. In fact, now it seems even more likely. Since American 'culture' (sic) has spread around the world, the baseball cap or especially the backwards baseball cap is also no longer a tell. (By the way, unless a male is age 15 or below, or has a rap album that has gone Platinum, he shouldn't be wearing a backwards cap).

 

Few Americans will wear a wife beater into a restaurant or agogo. That is more European.

 

Clothes still can distinguish among Westerners. Even if obese, Americans tend to wear cleaner and fresher clothes. Smelling bad is one of the worst offenses in the US, which is why most of us shower twice a day and wear a subtle deodorant. I worked in a fancy office with folks from a host of countries, and the non-Americans tended to overuse musky cologne and under use soap and water and rarely dry cleaned their suits. Sometimes the odor was rancid, and these were folks who made at least $500K a year.

 

Teeth...well, I'll avoid it for the most part, but just say the US probably has more dentists per capita than most nations, and all but the followers of 45 seem to make regularly visits.

 

I do think one can still safely assume by outfit. Chinos and polo shirts remain a staple of Americans. Socks with sandals are a no no, and if one wears socks with track shoes, the socks will be white. I admit that if I see someone wearing a maga cap, I'm instantly feeling hostile. I both know where he's from and what his politics are. Shorts end lower thigh or at the knee. I see German and Scandinavians who wear micro shorts, whereas an American would never wear those. Similarly, capri pants are less likely to be on an American. No Speedos ever, and Pima cotton boxers are far more common than bikini briefs favored by Europeans. Junk gotta breathe, and boxers allow freedom.

 

I rarely see Americans in Thai bars or clubs getting sloppy drunk, so when I see a Westerner showing obvious signs of severe inebriation, I know it's less likely to be an American.

 

I have noticed a marked change in the last decade or so with the loudness of voice as well as general politeness in Americans. It seems many have become aware of the reputation Americans have had and have toned things down. I know I learned at an early age to treat service staff with respect, and I find most Americans carry that abroad. It is almost a dichotomy in that while many Americans still carry a feeling that they are from a superior nation, in individual circumstances they do not feel superior to the person they address. They treat service staff politely. In the many times I have been in a restaurant and watched a customer berate the Thai service staff, I have yet to see an American do that. I'm sure some do; I just haven't seen it, nor would I ever allow it if a dinner companion did it.

 

One is unlikely to see Americans paying the slightest attention to a football (aka soccer) match. Most still find soccer more boring than watching grass grow, and harbor a sneaking suspicion that the entire world really thinks soccer is more dull than a slow motion replay of a chess match, but are just waiting for some American to say he likes soccer so they can tell him the world punked him.

 

One tell that remains is that Americans have a convoluted and labor intensive way of eating. Fork is in the right hand when carrying to the mouth, but in the left when cutting something. Then the knife is put down, the fork transferred back to the right hand, and the bite is taken. That is a 100% giveaway: American.

 

Personally, I think I have become a professional expatriate. Few people guess my nationality just from appearance. I'm in shape, dress in clean clothes and speak softly. If I'm in a taxi and the driver asks, I tend to say "California", because most people have a more favorable opinion of CA than USA. Almost always the response is...."Hotel California !"

 

I noticed some posters commenting on the bad grammar many Americans use. In writing, all English speakers will occasionally mess up your and you're, as well as there, their and they're. The one that grates on me is "should of", and that comes from the speed with which we tend to say the two words "should have".

 

Oh, and I didn't have to look up Q.E.D. I guess I was ejumacated well. (That's a George W Bush word)

Edited January 14, 2023 by Walker88

[save the frogs]

14 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Explains why the world is the way it is, and why many of us, avoid new 'friendships' with expats.

one of the biggest challenges of living abroad is other expats from other western countries.

often more so than dealing with the local culture.

 

[scorecard]

42 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Actually, some of the old 'tells' are disappearing.

 

As one who has lived outside of his home country for almost all of my adult life, I used to have no trouble telling one of my countryman from non-American. Not so easy today.

 

I'm as likely to hear a loud, opinionated, obese Aussie or Brit or German as an American. In fact, now it seems even more likely. Since American 'culture' (sic) has spread around the world, the baseball cap or especially the backwards baseball cap is also no longer a tell. (By the way, unless a male is age 15 or below, or has a rap album that has gone Platinum, he shouldn't be wearing a backwards cap).

 

Few Americans will wear a wife beater into a restaurant or agogo. That is more European.

 

Clothes still can distinguish among Westerners. Even if obese, Americans tend to wear cleaner and fresher clothes. Smelling bad is one of the worst offenses in the US, which is why most of us shower twice a day and wear a subtle deodorant. I worked in a fancy office with folks from a host of countries, and the non-Americans tended to overuse musky cologne and under use soap and water and rarely dry cleaned their suits. Sometimes the odor was rancid, and these were folks who made at least $500K a year.

 

Teeth...well, I'll avoid it for the most part, but just say the US probably has more dentists per capita than most nations, and all but the followers of 45 seem to make regularly visits.

 

I do think one can still safely assume by outfit. Chinos and polo shirts remain a staple of Americans. Socks with sandals are a no no, and if one wears socks with track shoes, the socks will be white. I admit that if I see someone wearing a maga cap, I'm instantly feeling hostile. I both know where he's from and what his politics are. Shorts end lower thigh or at the knee. I see German and Scandinavians who wear micro shorts, whereas an American would never wear those. Similarly, capri pants are less likely to be on an American. No Speedos ever, and Pima cotton boxers are far more common than bikini briefs favored by Europeans. Junk gotta breathe, and boxers allow freedom.

 

I rarely see Americans in Thai bars or clubs getting sloppy drunk, so when I see a Westerner showing obvious signs of severe inebriation, I know it's less likely to be an American.

 

I have noticed a marked change in the last decade or so with the loudness of voice as well as general politeness in Americans. It seems many have become aware of the reputation Americans have had and have toned things down. I know I learned at an early age to treat service staff with respect, and I find most Americans carry that abroad. It is almost a dichotomy in that while many Americans still carry a feeling that they are from a superior nation, in individual circumstances they do not feel superior to the person they address. They treat service staff politely. In the many times I have been in a restaurant and watched a customer berate the Thai service staff, I have yet to see an American do that. I'm sure some do; I just haven't seen it, nor would I ever allow it if a dinner companion did it.

 

One is unlikely to see Americans paying the slightest attention to a football (aka soccer) match. Most still find soccer more boring than watching grass grow, and harbor a sneaking suspicion that the entire world really thinks soccer is more dull than a slow motion replay of a chess match, but are just waiting for some American to say he likes soccer so they can tell him the world punked him.

 

One tell that remains is that Americans have a convoluted and labor intensive way of eating. Fork is in the right hand when carrying to the mouth, but in the left when cutting something. Then the knife is put down, the fork transferred back to the right hand, and the bite is taken. That is a 100% giveaway: American.

 

Personally, I think I have become a professional expatriate. Few people guess my nationality just from appearance. I'm in shape, dress in clean clothes and speak softly. If I'm in a taxi and the driver asks, I tend to say "California", because most people have a more favorable opinion of CA than USA. Almost always the response is...."Hotel California !"

 

I noticed some posters commenting on the bad grammar many Americans use. In writing, all English speakers will occasionally mess up your and you're, as well as there, their and they're. The one that grates on me is "should of", and that comes from the speed with which we tend to say the two words "should have".

 

Oh, and I didn't have to look up Q.E.D. I guess I was ejumacated well. (That's a George W Bush word)

I sometimes wonder if Americans have concerns re the ignorant dangerous types who now (at least in the public sphere) dominate American politics and all on view to the whole world?

[Walker88]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

I sometimes wonder if Americans have concerns re the ignorant dangerous types who now (at least in the public sphere) dominate American politics and all on view to the whole world?

Yes. Not sometimes. Every day.

 

We have become a nation that embraces ignorance, has decided truth is what one needs or wants it to be, and if one has sufficient 'wasta', he or she is above the law.

 

We now have a recently elected Congressman whose entire resume---on which he ran for office---is a fraud. He claimed attendance at a prestigious HS he never attended, a university he never attended, work for two firms (Goldman Sachs and Citibank) where he never worked, that he is Jewish when he is not, and when confronted with that lie actually said Jew-ish, claiming an ancestral ethnicity (untrue). He claimed his mother died on 9-11, and later said she died in 2013. He claimed to be a star on a college volleyball team in a school he never attended and in a sport he never played. He declared a small income in 2020 when he first ran, but between $3.5 and $5 million when he ran in 2022, despite having no proof of income nor a tax return. He claimed to be the founder of a large Animal Welfare foundation that doesn't exist.

 

He typifies the current repub Party in the US...grifters, liars, clowns and traitors.

 

It is embarrassing. It is also dangerous, as those clowns who still fawn over 45 no longer believe in democracy, but prefer fascism.

[scorecard]

11 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Yes. Not sometimes. Every day.

 

We have become a nation that embraces ignorance, has decided truth is what one needs or wants it to be, and if one has sufficient 'wasta', he or she is above the law.

 

We now have a recently elected Congressman whose entire resume---on which he ran for office---is a fraud. He claimed attendance at a prestigious HS he never attended, a university he never attended, work for two firms (Goldman Sachs and Citibank) where he never worked, that he is Jewish when he is not, and when confronted with that lie actually said Jew-ish, claiming an ancestral ethnicity (untrue). He claimed his mother died on 9-11, and later said she died in 2013. He claimed to be a star on a college volleyball team in a school he never attended and in a sport he never played. He declared a small income in 2020 when he first ran, but between $3.5 and $5 million when he ran in 2022, despite having no proof of income nor a tax return. He claimed to be the founder of a large Animal Welfare foundation that doesn't exist.

 

He typifies the current repub Party in the US...grifters, liars, clowns and traitors.

 

It is embarrassing. It is also dangerous, as those clowns who still fawn over 45 no longer believe in democracy, but prefer fascism.

Thanks, I'm aware of the clown you've mentioned.

 

What I suspect also 'fascinates' many across  the world is the antics of trump. So many lies and untruths. And the ridiculous carry on of falling in love with/love letters to and from the Nth. Korean 

dictator.

 

Plus 3 meetings with the same man and on all three occasions the Nth. korean ran rings around him.

 

Plus so many investigations and evidence but the attorney general hasn't laid one charge. Plus so much negative press about the supreme court judges including one judge whose wife appears to have been quite active in the 'big lie' bs.

 

Not a good look. 

 

[Walker88]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

And the ridiculous carry on of falling in love with/love letters to and from the Nth. Korean 

dictator.

 

Plus 3 meetings with the same man and on all three occasions the Nth. korean ran rings around him.

 

 

 

We're now learning it was even worse.

 

Former Chief of Staff Gen Kelly had to head 45 off. 45 wanted to nuke North Korea. The General explained to him that 30,000 cannons were aimed at Seoul, the DPRK had missiles that could hit every city in Japan as well as the western US, and millions of South Koreans would likely die. 45 didn't care and still wanted to use the nukes.

 

Kelly used psychology, told 45 he could be the great dealmaker and try to build a relationship with Kim. That appealed to 45's ego, so no nukes. Kim subsequently hosed 45, playing nice, all the while speeding up U235 enrichment, improving his Hwasong ICBMs, and miniaturizing nukes.

 

Another revelation from Gen Kelly was that when 45 was in the EU and scheduled to visit a WWI graveyard and memorial, not only did 45 know who was on who's side in WWI, but because it was raining 45 thought it would mess up his hair. He also said he didn't want to visit a graveyard, because all were 'losers'. 45 said he likes 'winners' who survive, not losers who die in battle. Gen Kelly was still mourning his own son who had been killed in Afghanistan, and also knew 45 had lied to avoid the draft decades earlier.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Walker88

[SuperSilverHaze]

20 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Speaking Spanish as most Americans can.

 

Saying you're American, is as ignorant as stating you are European.  If asked, I say Prachuap.

What you've stated makes zero sense.

 

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

o many lies and untruths

About Trump? Yes, he was truly maligned. Arguably a soft coup against him.

[SuperSilverHaze]

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

ignorant dangerous types

555 Because the EU is so clear headed lol. Europe is at war at the moment. EU as well as each nation's debt at breaking point. Shutting down the continent because Greta Turdberg.

 

Britain is totally lost as US.

 

EUnuchs

 

[BananaStrong]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

a lot of times it's just simpler to say I am Canadian,

My dad fought in WW2 and he would roll in his grave if I ever did this.   He loved America, and would be sad if I was embarrassed to be from a country that gave me the ability to be who I am.   My friends would laugh at me if I did this, wondering how I lost my backbone, identity, courage......why?  to please strangers I will lie to them???  OH, I'd never do that.  Oh, I'm soo worried about what they think.... I know, I'll lie about my entire life!!!!!!!  great idea!!!!

 

My family tree would crumble.    Everything would then be fake.  Why not make up everything?    Why not get a Canadian tattoo all over your body!!!!  

 

America has taught me to be confident, intelligent, rich, in-shape, everything..

 

Thailand teaches me about Pattaya!!!!

 

and I literally won't waste one second on what other "countries" think .     Wait your turn for the master of the universe to give advice.   USA.  

[samuttodd]

 

Here is why we put the country after berlin, london and paris.

 

[EVENKEEL]

It would never cross my mind to say I was other then American. You'd have to be a spineless p#@sy to lie and claim to be Canadian.

[samuttodd]

8 hours ago, VBF said:

Yes Yes Yes!!!!   One of my pet hates!  ????

Just like when Americans might say Los Angeles, California instead of just Los Angeles!

I did go to school, you know!!

You remind me of Yul Brenner in the King and I when he emphatically states "Siam is the biggest country in the world"  

[1FinickyOne]

On 1/14/2023 at 4:36 AM, Jingthing said:

he would have never guessed we were Americans. What a compliment!

based upon the Canadian flag on your backpack? 

 

maybe an inner snarky snark at seeing a McD even if you don't eat there... 

 

Or that a song accompanies your unspoken thoughts, 'hold the pickle, hold the lettuce special orders don't upset us... ' 

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, BananaStrong said:

I'll lie about my entire life!!!!!!! 

hey, some guy just got elected to Congress w/that idea... 

 

1 hour ago, BananaStrong said:

Thailand teaches me about Pattaya!!!!

maybe you should get out and around a bit... there actually is much more to learn about here... the language will give you some insight into the unique culture and contact with the people beyond the fun house mirrors that distort... in Pattaya. 

[Walker88]

3 hours ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

About Trump? Yes, he was truly maligned. Arguably a soft coup against him.

45 is a traitor. He can be charged with Sedition for 6 Jan. That is a capital offense. If found guilty, he can be executed.

 

The more the repubs pull the nonsense they are trying to pull now, the odds increase 45 will be executed.

 

On that day, I will rejoice, as the world will be instantly a better place.

[1FinickyOne]

19 hours ago, KhunLA said:

7.  Most expensive everything

... and yet, most things sell for less in USA, except healthcare.

Yes, you need to bring a happy meal to average things out...

[pgrahmm]

On the your & you're issue.... Predictive text/spell check is doing a very good job of applying these words incorrectly.....

In proofing, (attempting to), anything I input I have found this word incorrectly changed and applied about half the time.....

[proton]

 

[Fat is a type of crazy]

30 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

based upon the Canadian flag on your backpack? 

 

maybe an inner snarky snark at seeing a McD even if you don't eat there... 

 

Or that a song accompanies your unspoken thoughts, 'hold the pickle, hold the lettuce special orders don't upset us... ' 

 

Devo Too Much Paranoias - YouTube

 

[kiteman9]

   

                                SO HUMAN and judge-mental. Why? 

        Being overly judgmental is a defense mechanism meant to protect the self from what could be a harmful world. Thus, those who engage in frequent judgment often feel an acute sense of social anxiety around others, developed as a defense mechanism against people casting the same judgments on them. We are all SO Human. America is the most obese country in the world, and the rest are catching up. Obesity is known to have a negative impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health, but it also impacts brain structure and function; it is associated with both gray and white matter integrity loss, as well as decreased cognitive function, including the domains of executive function, memory, inhibition, and language. There is a cognitive decline in all humans as we age. A variety of factors can cause cumulative damage to the brain with age and produce cognitive impairments. These factors include damage to the brain due to cerebral ischemia, head trauma, toxins such as alcohol, excess stress hormones, or the development of degenerative dementia such as AD. Neurotransmitter systems: Researchers suggest that the brain generates fewer chemical messengers with age, and it is this decrease in dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and norepinephrine activity that may play a role in declining cognition and memory and increasing depression.

    Physical activity is declining, food is increasingly manufactured, body fat is increasing, diabetes and metabolic syndrome are on the rise, the number of prescription drugs per person is increasing, and the proportion of the population, either old or obese, is growing.

  Technological and economic development may lower the cognitive function needed for survival. They also lower physical activity in daily life. Sedentary work, transportation, and leisure undermine the aerobic and metabolic fitness required for the brain to perform well. Some prescription drugs impair cognitive function, and others do so when taken for many years or in combination with others. The growing fraction of the population that is either old or obese may further lower physical activity norms and requirements and substitute medical intervention for health, accelerating a trend toward cognitive impairment.

     Within a few more decades, barring a massive turnaround in survival or body weight, most adult Americans will be either old or obese. That new majority will set the default lifestyle. Overriding the default will take ever greater determination and creativity on the part of individuals, groups, and communities seeking a healthier way of life. Until recently, the rising cognitive demands of daily life may have counteracted the effects on cognitive function of too much food and too little physical activity (and the resulting bio- and pharm-accumulations). The aging of the baby boomers, together with the rise of body mass, may push that balance into the negative zone.

   Dementia is one of the leading causes of disability and death among older adults worldwide.

  Today there are around 50 million persons with dementia globally, but by 2050 this number is estimated to increase to 150 million.

     More than 1.9 billion adults worldwide were overweight, including 650 million who were obese, in 2016. The prevalence of obesity tripled worldwide between 1975 and 2016.

           Evidence that obesity adversely affects the central nervous system (CNS) and especially cognitive function, including attention, executive function, decision-making, and verbal learning, has been accumulating.