“老外”眼中的美国

Foreigners， as well as others who happen to know people who are new to the US， have been using this Quora1） thread2） to share what they think makes America unique. Their answers to the question "What facts about the United States do foreigners not believe until they come to America？" were pretty fascinating. We've picked out some especially interesting answers.

America is so huge that it would take weeks to see all of its major cities

"Foreigners cannot believe how vast the United States is. I am from the West Coast of the US and my Italian relatives come here thinking they can visit me in Seattle， plus also see New York City， Miami， the Grand Canyon， and Hollywood all in a week―by car. I can't get them to understand that it's 3000 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts."

―Candace Dempsey

"So much space. My God， America seems like such a big country. Look at the Netherlands： we are smaller than the state of Georgia. And in this country， land is expensive. It's a basic principle： if something is scarce， and many people want it， then it will be expensive. But in America， we have amazing amounts of land available and for such a low price."

―Chrys Jordan

In fact， everything seems bigger in America―especially portion3） size

"Food portion sizes which are ridiculous to my view. When I eat out with my husband or friends， we usually share. Not because we can't afford， but just because we do not need that much food. On the other hand I like the can-I-please-have-it-to-go thing for everything that left on the table， which is not so common in Europe， and especially in Eastern Europe， where I am from."

―Lana Kolupaeva

"It is easy to find obese4） people in USA. Some people are so obese that they require a special electric scooter5） to carry them around. This sighting can be seen easily in Walmart where obese people use scooters to shop more ... food. And yes， typical food portion in America is humongous6）. I can easily share one meal with another guy and do not feel hungry for hours to come."

―Aditya Lesmana

Still， Americans seem to be obsessed with sports and fitness

"I saw loads of people running/jogging on the sidewalks. A lot of people I knew cycled or ran marathons7） for 50 miles plus. This was a stark8） contrast though， to the average person I saw who was usually overweight."

―Triya Bhattacharya

The variety of goods sold at American supermarkets， especially Walmart， was unbelievable to many foreigners

"The typical supermarket has at least a hundred varieties of frozen pizza， 50 brands of trail mix9）， etc. I was just astounded by the different kinds of products available even at small gas station convenience stores."

―Aniruddh Chaturvedi

A lot of things go to waste， especially food

"My grandma to this day remembers a story about when she came to teach in California in the 1970s. The students used to get apples along with their lunch. Nobody ate them， so they'd just throw them away or leave them at the tables. My grandma was shocked at how they were able to just throw out good food like that， and that no other teachers cared."

―Britt Smith

Americans rarely carry cash and instead depend on credit cards to make purchases

"Coming from India， where we just need cash because cards are not accepted at most places， I was really surprised by the cashless system in the US. Every place accepts credit cards. Even a small picnic I went to， which had an entry fee， had some sort of mobile app and a device attached to accept credit cards. It was amazing."

―Triya Bhattacharya

Foreigners were amazed by the return policies that are standard at stores across the country

"None of my friends back in India believed me when I told them that you can literally buy anything， including food， and return it within ninety days for a full refund10） even if you don't have a specific reason for doing so （most stores actually have a 'Buyer's Remorse11） ' category under Reason for Return options while returning the product）."

―Aniruddh Chaturvedi

Outside of big cities， everyone has a car

"It's a big country and public transport is lacking. Hence， everybody owns at least one car and uses it for the smallest distances. It's like people forgot how to walk or bike. Although I saw many people bike， it was to do sports， not for day-to-day transportation."

―John Levingster

Americans love America

"The flag was everywhere. Literally. I came to know students are supposed to pledge allegiance12） to their flag since kindergarten！ （I can't fathom13） how they pronounce allegiance.）"

―Triya Bhattacharya

"I was surprised to see that the US flag is displayed in schools， on rooftops of houses， etc. India has very strict rules governing the display and use of the national flag. Also， something that struck me was how it was completely normal to wear the US flag or a US flag-like pattern as a bikini."

―Aniruddh Chaturvedi

一直都有人在Quora的公告板上发帖，分享他们对美国独特之处的看法，他们当中有的是老外，有的则恰好认识初到美国的人。对于“关于美国的哪些事实是老外去了美国才会相信的？”这个问题，他们的回答十分有趣。我们从中挑选出了一些特别有意思的回答。

美国太大了，要花上好几周

才能逛遍其主要城市

“老外无法相信美国的领土有多么辽阔。我住在美国西海岸，我的意大利亲戚们觉得他们可以在一周之内既拜访住在西雅图的我，又去纽约、迈阿密观光，并参观大峡谷和好莱坞――还是开车去。无论我怎么解释，他们就是理解不了太平洋海岸和大西洋海岸之间相隔3000英里意味着什么。”

――坎达丝・登普西

“好大的地方。我的天啊，美国这个国家好像很大。看看荷兰：我们国家的版图比佐治亚州的还要小，而且地价还很高。有这么一条基本准则：如果某种东西稀缺而许多人都想拥有它，那这种东西就会非常昂贵。但是在美国，这里可利用的土地数量惊人，而且价格还非常低廉。”

――克里斯・乔丹

其实，美国所有的东西看起来都要更大一些――尤其是食物的分量

“在我看来，食物分量大得有点离谱。我和老公或朋友一起在外面吃饭时，我们通常都会合吃一份食物。不是因为我们付不起钱，只是因为我们不需要那么多食物。另外，我也喜欢‘请问我可不可以打包带走’这种做法，可以把桌上剩下的所有食物都带走，这在欧洲――尤其是我所在的东欧――不太常见。”

――拉纳・科卢帕叶娃

“在美国很容易碰到过度肥胖的人。有些人胖到需要骑一种特制的电动踏板车去往各个地方。这种情景在沃尔玛超市很容易见到，肥胖的人骑着踏板车去购买更多的……食物。是的，在美国，食物分量一般都超级大。我完全可以跟别人分享一份饭，几个小时后都不会觉得饿。”

――阿迪蒂亚・莱斯马纳

不过，美国人似乎很热衷于运动和健身

“我曾经看到好多人在人行道上跑步或慢跑。我认识的很多人都会骑自行车或跑50多英里的马拉松。这与我遇到的那些体重通常超标的普通人形成了鲜明的对比。”

――特里亚・巴塔查里亚

对很多老外而言，美国超市――特别是沃尔玛――所售商品的种类多得不可思议

“一般的超市出售至少100种不同的冷冻比萨饼、50种品牌的混合干果等。即便在小型加油站的便利店都能买到各种各样的商品，这让我大吃一惊。”

――阿尼鲁得・查图维迪

很多东西都会被浪费掉，尤其是食物

“直到今天，我奶奶都记得20世纪70年代她来加利福尼亚教书时发生的一件事。当时，学生们的午餐通常会有苹果。他们没有一个人吃，不是把苹果扔了就是留在桌子上。看到他们竟然能把好好的食物就那样丢掉，而别的老师却都不在意，我奶奶很是震惊。”

――布里特・史密斯

美国人很少携带现金，而是依赖于信用卡购物

“我来自印度，那里的大多数地方都不接受信用卡，我们只需要携带现金；因此，我以前真的对美国的无钞结算系统感到非常吃惊。这里的每一个地方都接受信用卡。甚至连我参加过的一个需要缴纳报名费的小型野餐也接受信用卡支付――将某种移动应用软件和一个设备连接起来即可刷卡付款。太神奇了！”

――特里亚・巴塔查里亚

美国的退货政策全国统一，每家店皆是如此，老外对此很是吃惊

“在美国，你真的可以购买任何商品（包括食品）之后在90天之内退货同时获得全额退款，即使你没有一个具体的退货理由（其实，在退货时填写的‘退货理由’下面，大多数商家都设有一个‘买家懊悔’选项）。当我把这事告诉印度的朋友时，他们没有一个人相信我。”

――阿尼鲁得・查图维迪

居住在大城市之外的每个美国人都有一辆车

“美国幅员辽阔，公共交通不足。所以，每个人都至少拥有一辆车，哪怕是很近的地方都开车去，好像人们已经忘记该如何走路或骑车了。虽然我也看到过很多人骑自行车，可那是为了运动，而不是为了日常的出行。”

――约翰・莱文斯特

美国人爱美国

“在美国，国旗随处可见。真的。我慢慢了解到美国学生从幼儿园开始就要宣誓效忠于他们的国旗！（我真不知道他们是怎么念出‘效忠’这两个字的。）”

――特里亚・巴塔查里亚

“看到美国人把美国国旗悬挂在学校里、房顶上等地方，我感到十分惊讶。对于国旗的悬挂和使用，印度有着非常严格的规定。此外，在美国，穿国旗或国旗图案的比基尼竟是正常得不能再正常的事情，这是我万万没有想到的。”

――阿尼鲁得・查图维迪

1. Quora： 一个问答社交网站，由Facebook前首席技术官亚当・安捷罗和查理・切沃于2009年6月创建。

2. thread [θred] n. （公告板等上同一话题的）一连串帖子

3. portion [?p???n] n. （食物的）一份

4. obese [???bi?s] adj. （过分）肥胖的

5. scooter [?sku?t?（r）] n. 小型摩托车，小轮摩托车

6. humongous [hju??m???s] adj. 极大的

7. marathon [?m?r?θ?n] n. 【体】马拉松赛跑（全长42.195公里）

8. stark [st?k] adj. 明显的；突出的

9. trail mix： （野营者或徒步旅行者食用的、由水果干和干果等组成的）混合干果

10. refund [?ri?f?nd] n. 退款

11. Buyer's Remorse： 买家懊悔，是指购物后又后悔的情绪。这种情绪通常会在购买车、房等大笔支出时出现，多半是因为担心做了错误的选择、因为支出过大而愧疚，或者怀疑自己被卖家忽悠了。remorse [r??m??s] n. 痛悔，悔恨

12. allegiance [??li?d??ns] n. （对国家、政府、统治者等的）忠诚，效忠

13. fathom [?f???m] vt. [常用于否定句]理解；透彻了解