I think that's probably true, on average- in the UK, when I was a kid, eating out was something you did on a special occasion. Having said that, both various European countries and the US (through immigration) have a history of 'family' restaurants that you can have a relatively cheap, high-quality yet filling meal at. In the U.K., we don't really have that, and even pubs selling food is only a relatively recent thing to offset the breweries insane dominance over beer prices. 30 years ago you'd be lucky to find a pub selling hot food other than a toasted sandwich or a pie of dubious origin, whereas now they've all become gastropubs as that gap between takeaways and the top-end restaurants was wide open and a lifeline for them.
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Misconceptions about your home country.
- Thread starter Spaced Harrier
- Start date
Sangetsu-II
Member
That Puerto Ricans aren't American.
Only filthy Immigrants...lol
Only filthy Immigrants...lol
Pandora012
Member
Anecdotal, but most if not all of the people I know don't eat out. They are more likely to make meals every day. If they are going out to eat, it most likely is not a fast food place. But this is NY, so I imagine it changes where you live and the resources you have.
My favorite is when some people ask if they need a pass port to go to Puerto Rico.
Sangetsu-II
Member
Exactly lol.
The Last One
Member
People usually think we speak Spanish in Brazil but we don't.
I can guarantee you the amount of people that sees the US as some mythical bastion of freedom drops pretty drastically the moment you step outside US borders, at least among the developed world.
Silurus
Member
We all have bad teeth in England. We drink tea, eat scones and have posh accents.
The rest are not really misconceptions but things I found funny or annoying.
When I lived in New Jersey for a year an American girl asked if we celebrate Independence Day in England. I said yes we celebrate getting beat :s
Got asked if I knew the Queen more times than I can count.
Got fed up of explaining the difference between could care less and couldnt care less.
The rest are not really misconceptions but things I found funny or annoying.
When I lived in New Jersey for a year an American girl asked if we celebrate Independence Day in England. I said yes we celebrate getting beat :s
Got asked if I knew the Queen more times than I can count.
Got fed up of explaining the difference between could care less and couldnt care less.
Pankratous
Member
Scotland is in England.
Ssshhhh. We keep that myth going to keep the immigrants away.
While we're in the national misconceptions thread, I think 'bastion of freedom' an example of a misconception about the US repeated to US people by US politicians. The idea that other western nations are somehow imprisoned, indentured servants because they don't bang on about freedom all the time.
Rellik
Member
I blame Jeremy Kyle for that first one. Them grills...
Come on now, it's lovely that we have something in common in that our two nations both celebrate our greatest act of historical treason with fireworks
kqedequalsvolvo
Member
Word. And on top of that, it really annoys me when people desperately want to share their impression of an English accent with me when I'm in the US, because 99% of the time it's this cross between Dick-Van-Dyke-in-Mary-Poppins pidgin Cockney and Benedict Cumberbatch.
"Ello gov-er-nuh, moy nay-ame is 'Arry Pot-tah! Hahahahahahaha".
GTFO. It's weird as I'm never really fussed about having much pride of being 'British' beyond the NHS and Alan Partridge, but assuming that everyone talks the same way, ignoring the diversity of the country and thinking that that's funny rather than rude does annoy me. It's almost like some people think acknowledging Britain is a place and there's Dr. Who there is worthy of a pat on the back or something.
Not as much as this post makes it sound, right. But still.
You should have said that you just visit the giant zoo wedged between Canada and Mexico.
Oppo
Member
Northern Canada, huh? 'cause that summer estimate is better than Toronto. I think you're exaggerating a bit. Winter doesn't end here till and of April really and we're almost as far south as you can get in-country.
Foreign people are kind of surprised when I tell them that Toronto weather is basically NYC weather, though.
I've been living in galway for the past year and lost count of how many times I was asked if we spoke brazilian or spanish
kqedequalsvolvo
Member
That's interesting with you talking about being in NY, because one of the stereotypes I've heard about NYC from friends who live there is that most people eat out for most of their food because there's so many places that are reasonable and a lot of people live in apartments with small kitchens, so eating out/getting take out is affordable and easier. Certainly seemed that way when I've been in NYC and staying with friends but that may just be coincidence.
Also, realise you may well just mean you're in the state rather than in the City itself, so that may actually be true of the City. Interesting!
Black Pewter
Member
Nigerians call the entire British Isles 'London'
Chilli_Axe
Member
We don't call prawns "shrimp" in Australia
Chairmanchuck
Member
That this is German Culture and everyone loves that:
Or, mostly from Asians I met, that we all somehow still love Hitler.
Or, mostly from Asians I met, that we all somehow still love Hitler.
I'm not gonna lie, i really like this picture, everyone was so much more elegant back in the days.
HackTheSlash
Member
Not at all. Its 25 right now at 9:30 am where i am.
And im a carpenter. Our build season starts in mid March when the snow starts to melt.
Damn, what did they say?
Fbh
Member
My parents are swiss but I was born and raised in Chile. I've been living in Switzerland for 2 years and one thing that never stops annoying me is just the stupid and ignorant questions I get from friends and family.
Seriously, for as good as the education is over here it just blows my mind that the mental image of South America that a lot of people have is like some small village in the jungle.
I still remember like 10 years ago when my sister told my aunt that she would be studying medicine and my aunt was like "wow, you can study that there ?!?!?"
Seriously, for as good as the education is over here it just blows my mind that the mental image of South America that a lot of people have is like some small village in the jungle.
I still remember like 10 years ago when my sister told my aunt that she would be studying medicine and my aunt was like "wow, you can study that there ?!?!?"
Weltall Zero
Member
Those say more about Americans than your own nationalities, especially the first one.
Come on now, it's lovely that we have something in common in that our two nations both celebrate our greatest act of historical treason with fireworks
In the case of Independence Day it's more obvious why it's celebrated, but it's downright surreal (in a totally awesome way) that you UK folks celebrate the Gunpowder Plot. I wonder how many people outside the UK learned about it thanks to V for Vendetta (at least that's how I did).
Pandora012
Member
I'm in the City. It really depends. Like in the Bronx, I lived in the Hispanic part of the neighborhood and the people I knew all made their meals. Then my Aunt is Haitian and, she tends to cook a lot too. For me eating out is only done if I don't have time or I'm just being lazy.
I probably should have mentioned that I might have surrounded myself with people that like cooking.
Gangster Bastard
Member
Sweden is a war zone.
Chairmanchuck
Member
Its mostly stuff like "You like Hitler, right?! Such a good leader!"
Oh that fucking pisses me off the most. The whole thing about there being "No-Go Zones" is fucking ridiculous.
It's Czech Republic (or Czechia if you want since last year). Not Czechoslovakia. Even those damned millennials often say Czechoslovakia. Guys. The countries split up in 93. If you are born in 1987 or later there is no way by the time you had geography in school that the map would show Czechoslovakia unless your schools didn't update their books or kept old maps. If you ever watch the Olympics or other international sports competitions there is also no way you would hear the word Czechoslovakia because you would have competitors from the Czech Republic or Slovakia.
I expect to hear Czechoslovakia till the day I die though
I expect to hear Czechoslovakia till the day I die though
Pandora012
Member
I always find that interesting, more so because I've noticed many people from 'Europe' do that to.
To be fair, it isn't a celebration of it (although 'the last man to enter parliament with honest intentions was Guy Fawkes' is a modern saying for the cynical, and so your mileage may vary!Those say more about Americans than your own nationalities, especially the first one.
In the case of Independence Day it's more obvious why it's celebrated, but it's downright surreal (in a totally awesome way) that you UK folks celebrate the Gunpowder Plot. I wonder how many people outside the UK learned about it thanks to V for Vendetta (at least that's how I did).
). It's origin was a celebration of stopping the plot, as the fear was that, should King James have been killed, his daughter would have ruled as queen alongside a Catholic-sympathetic Lord Protector, hence the anti-catholic message following the far-more-commonly-used first lines here:
http://www.potw.org/archive/potw405.html
V for Vendetta is probably the most influential modern interpretation, which then also contributes the modern idea where some people thought Fawkes and co (he was only the explosives expert, not the instigator of the plot, and became the face of it as he got caught at the scene) had the right idea.
johancruijff
Banned
are we aiming at the gaming community subforum?
Panthalassic
Member
Not all Caribbean countries have Jamaican accents. Especially not mine.
Like the hat?
Banned
American cheeses are bad
It's Czech Republic (or Czechia if you want since last year). Not Czechoslovakia. Even those damned millennials often say Czechoslovakia. Guys. The countries split up in 93. If you are born in 1987 or later there is no way by the time you had geography in school that the map would show Czechoslovakia unless your schools didn't update their books or kept old maps. If you ever watch the Olympics or other international sports competitions there is also no way you would hear the word Czechoslovakia because you would have competitors from the Czech Republic or Slovakia.
I expect to hear Czechoslovakia till the day I die though
My geography books in school still had the soviet union in them in 2000.
Never underestimate what budget prioritising can do to the materials used in education.