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Facts about US ...from a different angle:)

4K views 51 replies 10 participants last post by  Speed Racer 
#1 ·
I thought some of you might be amused to find out how your country(US more exactly) was perceived from Romania, which is a small country in Eastern Europe.

So here are a few random facts:

- During communism (up to 1989) having a relative that had emigrated to US was a serious risk for all your family. "Security" militia kept checking you night and day, all the letters were cautiously read before you'd receive them and so on, fearing the "infidel" might poison you with some capitalism.
Talking about America, Americans, and anything else related was also a really bad idea.

Immediately after revolution however, a burst of american stuff came up. Especially media ones.
Dallas was a huge hit in here. It was incredibly big :lol:
My grandma named a whole generation of sheep with the character's names. She was crazy about Bobby Ewing and she could tell you all about the series with no mistake.

Also a huge hit was Beverly Hills - the teenage series + the action movies with Arnold and Jackie Chan. Surprisingly, we didnt know much about Chuck Norris untill recently (last decade)

When McDonalds came in, in was so new that the prices were actually quite big for a fast food. It was actually considered a fancy place to go out or to take your friends out to impress at first, such was their success :))
Nowadays it kinda mellowed down to the "yet another fast food" place.
Ruby Tuesday has however few restaurants, with great food and incredibly expensive prices :shock:

If you were a kid 15 years ago and had jeans or sneakers "from America" it didnt matter if they were ugly as sin or 4 sizes too big. You simply rocked.


Another huge TV hit was Bonanza. A neverending cowboy soap opera.

Nowadays, my grandmother seems to go into another world when The Young and The Restless starts. Speaking of which, has it finished yet? In here they're broadcasting episode nr 6000 something.
Few years ago we had a TV show , something like "We're listening, voice your opinion" and then taped messages from viewers. A guy said in a heart melting trembling voice:
"Madam, I am 75 years old and my favourite series is the young&the restless. I heard we have 4 more seasons ahead? If so, please tell me how it ends. This definately is out of my life span"

We hardly got any of the american horse breeds around, except for some suspicious colored horses all called "pinto's" (nothing to do with any sort of breed though)
However, we got your...chicken! Quite early as well. There is an ornamental miniature breed of chicken. Everyone calls them "american chicks". I have no idea if they are american at all, but they are beautiful


A mandatory reading during my school time was Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Also one of the most enjoyable.


The initial image of a "cowboy" was "guy who shoots other people and wears funky hats" , due to the huge amount of western movies we received.

I was scolded for using an american accent during my english lessons :/ British English was considered "proper" while American English was promptly shunned as if it was the language of devils and MTV or something.

Um. I can't think of anything else, but thats about it :)
 
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#2 ·
Interesting tidbits, Ina. Thanks for sharing.

I'm always curious as to how the rest of the world views the U.S.

I know some folks hate us while others love us. It's easy to be polarized about the U.S., since we have a lot of contradictions.

We can be pigheaded, ignorant, short sighted, and yet when disaster strikes our people tend to be some of the first on the scene.

We're generous and selfish, have big hearts, and prejudices and bigotries.

I love my country. I know not everyone feels that way, but I certainly hope they feel that way about their own country.
 
#4 ·
yet when disaster strikes our people tend to be some of the first on the scene.
We had a saying, it's slowly fading away in our generation though. Whenever you'd hear a weird sound on the sky, someone would joke and say "The Americans are coming!"

Intrigued by the origins of this joke I asked my grandma - survivor of 2 world wars. She explained me that while we were occupied during the second world war some people would just keep giving hope "Don't worry guys, the americans are coming any day now, they will save us. They save anyone, they'll surely come to us too!"

Well.
That time they didnt but its ok :) No problem
We got a huge chunk of culture, economy, knowledge and many more instead coming from US now.
And the Americans did come, around 5 decades later, in the form of tourists :)
 
#3 ·
Naaah I'm certainly not going there, SpeedRacer :)

A very slippery hot topic and even if I had any sort of opinions I would avoid entering a debate about a whole nation.

Just wanted to give you an (incomplete) image of how America made its entrance in our lives, after communism fell
 
#5 ·
Even I'm not an American, that was interesting to read, inaclick.

I've sometimes wondered how Western countries have been conceived/ have been taught in Eastern Bloc during communism era.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Tamma, the Eastern Bloc countries were taught that the West was evil, dangerous, and wanted to kill and enslave everyone.

Of course, during the 1950s the American children were taught that the communists were evil, dangerous, and wanted to kill and enslave everyone.

The U.S. is a country of contradictions. We preach freedom, and then interred some of our own citizens in concentration camps during WWII.

Our Declaration of Independence states, We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, but up until the late 19th century we owned slaves.

We've only had one civil war, and the U.S. managed to pull itself together and become one country again afterward. In fact, we capitalized it because there was only one. The Civil War is still studied by scholars and school children alike.

We have vast amounts of land, and can go 5,000 miles east to west and 3,000 miles north to south, and never need a passport. We have regional differences of speech and culture, but we're all one huge country.

We may squabble and fight among ourselves, but we come together as a united whole when we're threatened by outside sources. It may seem as if we're spoiled, stupid, and have short memories. While all that might be true of some, many of us have never forgotten that freedom isn't free, and we're willing to die if necessary in order to preserve that freedom.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Tamma, the Eastern Bloc countries were taught that the West was evil, dangerous, and wanted to kill and enslave everyone.

Of course, during the 1950s the American children were taught that the communists were evil, dangerous, and wanted to kill and enslave everyone.
I know, since we were taught that people were taught like that :lol:. It's still always interesting to hear how people who've undergone that theirself have experienced it personally :).

The U.S. is a country of contradictions. We preach freedom, and then interred some of our own citizens in concentration camps during WWII.

Our Declaration of Independence states, We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, but up until the late 19th century we owned slaves.

We've only had one civil war, and the U.S. managed to pull itself together and become one country again afterward. In fact, we capitalized it because there was only one. The Civil War is still studied by scholars and school children alike.

We have vast amounts of land, and can go 5,000 miles east to west and 3,000 miles north to south, and never need a passport. We have regional differences of speech and culture, but we're all one huge country.

We may squabble and fight among ourselves, but we come together as a united whole when we're threatened by outside sources. It may seem as if we're spoiled, stupid, and have short memories. While all that might be true of some, many of us have never forgotten that freedom isn't free, and we're willing to die if necessary in order to preserve that freedom.
Personally, I've always taken a positive attitude toward USA. I guess one of the main reasons I chose a place like Horseforum over Finnish horse forums to discuss is that I'm interested in Anglo-American culture and it's nice to (virtually) meet people who come from there.

But anyways. I think I'm not going to hijack inaclick's thread more but step back with my thoughts :).
 
#9 ·
Tamma, regarding my own experience in living in an ex-communist country: it's very limited, as the Revolution came when I was 7 years old.

What I do remember however is the constant fear. Fear of being betrayed, not trusting anyone, fear of going to jail for saying a joke or listening to Free Europe radio.

Going to jail equalled death many times. Also, some people who opposed the regime were sent to so called hospices never to return. For ratting out your colleagues or even family members, you would receive rewards and so nobody dared to trust anybody completely. Horrible, horrible world.

And what I also clearly remember is lacking everything. Food, books, clothing.
I remember everything rationalized. 1 bread per adult, 1 half bread per child.
I remember queues of 3-5 days to get a bottle of milk or vegetable oil.

You were not allowed to drive your car whenever you wanted; you had specific days in which you could.
You HAD to be member of the one and only party.
Refusing to go to the meetings equaled more or less getting yourself out of the society and loosing your job and home.

America was like some sort of distant planet in another galaxy of which you only hear rumours, but to which you are not allowed to think of.
It was this land too good to be true, in which people had anything they wanted, traveled wherever they wanted and said whatever they thought.
A direct negative consequence is that the American tourists are often harassed by some locals who think of them as being uber-rich just for being from US.

And there are many many more horrors of communism that I remember of, but honestly this thread is about America :)
However, if you are interested in more facts about what communism applied incorrectly can do, here's a link to a documentary (in english most of it):

Thats part 1. the rest are...around there, in "related videos"
I would have to warn you though as there are some quite strong images and facts described there.
 
#10 ·
Ina, I thank God every day that I was born an American citizen.

As a child, I had no idea how lucky I was to be born and live in the U.S.

As an adult, I realize how truly blessed I am to have been given the opportunities and rights that have been denied to so many others in the world. Especially so, since I'm a female.

In so very many places around the world women are valued as even less than the farm animals, and their only worth is in the children they'll bear. Male children, of course. Females are worse than useless.
 
#11 ·
:shock:

After reading that I think also I'm very happy I was born in a country that is free and represent Western values.

I've thought that sometimes earlier too but since things are/have been well here, you just forget it sometimes.
 
#12 ·
Very interesting to see another viewpoint.. not that I'm American, but close enough!

I live so close to the border that I really don't see much of a difference between Americans and Canadians, though I suppose the farther away from the border you go the more extreme the differences. There are certainly somethings that re quite different though..

I do recall a time when I worked at a White Spot near the border and Americans would always come in, they LOVED White Spot (it's a BC only company, with 2 or 3 stores in Alberta but thats it). Some people would come up, buy huge amount of our coleslaw and then take it back across with them haha.

I also recall a time at the same restaurant an American guest absolutely freaked because we served a pickle on top of our burgers.. apparently that was just so weird to him! Haha
 
#13 ·
American views and others

This is really cool to read all this stuff from you all. I also live near the Canadian border and enjoy going to Vancouver BC several times a year. I used to go to a horse camp every summer near there. The Canadian kids were very tough and self reliant. They played rough and never complained, and didn't suffer fools lightly.
One thing I noticed on my most recent trip to Van was that very few people are fat! In the US, there are soOOOOOO many fat people, and I mean FAT! In Vancouver BC folks are very outdoor oriented and I believe that their generally high level of satisfaction with their lives meant that they did not eat to sooth anxiety or bring meaning to daily life. If you go to some places in the US you will be shocked at how fat, and big, people are. What saddens me now is to see how many young people are already the size you might see in a middle aged woman, and they are only in their twenties.
I lived in Tokyo for 3.5 years, back before you were even born, and when we came back to the US for a couple of visits, after 18 months abroad, I was shocked at how BIG everything and everyone was. We in North America are so used to having more than enough space (and other precious commodities) available to us that we don't have to be conservative or creative in how we utilize it. Japan is SOOO different there. Every bit of space is used, there are very few empty lots or things like large mediums between two parts of a freeway. That's valuable land going to waste! I could go on and on.

I just wanted to say, persuant to the thread topic, that I have really enjoyed reading the threads from Inaclick. Your view point is really refresshing to hear. We don't want to forget those times. What's the old saying, . . . That which we forget we are doomed to repeat" Or something like that.

I spent a few weeks in Yugoslavia in mid 1987 and that was an experience. It was sooo different. The thing I remember mostly was the desperate, hardscrabble faces of the people. They weren't very nice to us, but they didn't have the mental energy to do so. They were suspicious and only looked at us as added burden unless we could provide some benefit to them like US dollars or Duetchmarks. Otherwise, they couldn't be bothered with us. They were too interested in their own petty squabbles among the ethnic groups, and their constant shortages of things they needed. They didn't look happy or healthy. Then you would see German tourists go through and they were the picture of health and wealth, and to my dismay, were often much more of "Ugly American" tourist, worse than Americans. I did, however, on my many travels in those years meet Americans overseas who caused me to be embarassed. Especially in Tokyo. So, I felt it my duty to make up for them be being as polite and sensitive to my host country's culture as possible. Speaking the language is #1 to that end.

So , back to Inaclick. Your English is certainly very good. Your posts are really interesting and don't feel shy about expressing your honest feelings. That truly IS the greatest thing about my country is that we CAN agree to disagreee and still be neighbors. We loudly express our opinions . There is a lot of debate going on now about our relationship with the Muslim world. Although it really hurts to hear Christians saying that they will burn Koran's as a symbol for honoring 9/11, I will defend their right to say this. I hope they will not do this but not because they are not allowed to express their anger toward Islam, but rather we don't need to insult ALL Muslims to express our anger toward the extremists.

Sorry, I went off there. Wierd.

That's all for now.
Caroline
 
#14 ·
Oh, I forgot that I read this book about a year ago titled "Bliss" and it was about one man's search for the happiest place on earth. He went to Finnland, Iceland, The Netherlands, Moldavia, USA, Dubai, Iceland, Bhutan and some others but can't remember. It is a fascinating read on the nature of "happiness" and whether or not it is a universally measureable state. I won't tell what he finally decided regarding the happiest and unhappiest places on earth. Read it.
 
#15 ·
According to latest studies, the "happiest" people on earth are the Danish people. They hold that record since few years ago consecutively.
Happiness was regarded as a quantum of:
- how the individual considers he achieved his personal goals
- educational values provided
- how secure / protected an individual feels inside the society
- how confident they are about their future
- how happy their are with their current state of being
 
#16 · (Edited)
It's a pity that I don't know any American in person. Your culture seems to be very warm and social. It'd be very nice to take a trip to USA some day and meet for example some of you who discuss here.

Also I've heard that western products, for example pantyhoses, were admired in previous Eastern Bloc countries. Even so admired that you, as an individual tourist, were able to use them as money and do business using them.



Now I have to brag, seems we were the 2nd one :wink:. Scandinavian countries seem all to be on the top.
 
#17 ·
happiness measured

Ina click, did you read that book? I remember one thing he stressed as a measure of happiness in a people was the amount that they trusted each other and their government. Yes, being able to trust each other was very important. And that is based on the rule of law, and not law enforced by terror nor by graft (bribery). Not that our law system is without flaw, but overall , we can trust each other and the police and the justice system, overall.
I think this is a legacy of our British beginnings. Mexico is just as rich as the US in natural resources but because of the system of government being entrenched in corruption, they struggle to make the most of their natural gifts. Now, every person from Mexico will be angry at me. I mean no insult. I have lived in Mexico and we Americans can learn a lot from the Mexicans and their "joi d'vivre" (spell?).

I have never been to Finland or Northern Europe/Scandanavia . I met some Finnish ladies in Japan who were rather reserved. Their language was fascinating to listen to , as it sound unlike any other I have ever heard. They seemed very thoughtful and elegant, ,very well educated and maybe a bit cool to me, but I am very outgoing. .
Finnish horse lover, it would be very nice if you could visit here and ride with us. I am always delighted to welcome visitor. The Us is SOOO big that you cannot see all of it in one visit, and though we are all one country, the people and landscape are very different from one area to another. I , myself , would love to take a summer to drive around and see the different areas. I have barely seen New York, and I want to see the old south and Maine and Florida. And . . . .
 
#18 ·
Yes, that's another thing I've heard. Your American culture is very diverse.

I have never been to Finland or Northern Europe/Scandanavia . I met some Finnish ladies in Japan who were rather reserved. Their language was fascinating to listen to , as it sound unlike any other I have ever heard. They seemed very thoughtful and elegant, ,very well educated and maybe a bit cool to me, but I am very outgoing. .
Finnishes are considered as a reserved folk. Kind of melancholy is typical for us, just like being very humble or being precise for it that you won't step on someone's personal territory too. Tho it's a bit hard for me to estimate our culture compared to others since I've grown in that culture but don't know others closely enough.
 
#19 ·
My son, who is quite the linguist, does a lot of online chatting with people overseas who are also interested in languages. He once said to a Finn, "I would like to learn Finnish". The Finn answered, "Don't even bother to try." Could be interpretted to mean , one: It's not worth the effort as it's such an obscure language. or , Two: You shouldn't even bother to try as you could never learn our very difficult language well enough. My son did not know which meaning was implied. However, he did comment to me that Finns are very direct and value precision . He would try to say a few words in Finnish to them (learned from books) and they would promptly correct him.
I see nothing wrong with precision. I love some of the Finnish designs that I see in such things as fabrics and household items and furniture. There is a very sophisticated quality to it that is very attractive.
 
#20 ·
^^In my (Finnish) ears it sounds like this Finnish guy isn't very skilled in online communication or then he's very blunt. I wouldn't use that straight expression without some explanation online where you can't hear tones etc... On the other hand, I'd perhaps say that face to face as a joke, I personally love beating about the bush so I'm perhaps an exception and if you for example follow Finnish media like internet forums etc. you see a lot of 'straight' communication like that. Then it often leads to an open conflict when people become mad at others. So yes... that'd kind of describe a Finn.

One of the indicators I've heard is a bus example. Let's think that you take a bus and there's just one person besides you and the driver in the bus. Do you take a seat next to that lonely person and start to talk with him or do also you sit alone? I'd say most of Finnishes take a lonely seat since it'd be over a kind of social norm to approach some stranger and start to talk with him in a situation like that, in a situation in which you haven't been invited or which hasn't specially meant for meeting new people.

What would an American do? :lol:.
 
#21 ·
More than likely, we would also take a seat seperate from the other lonely passenger. However, I might sit near, (not next to) the other person and if, after observing them for a bit, they seemed friendly, I might talk to them. It really depends on the situation. In all honesty, I would probably sit in my own world, lonely too.
When the bus is more crowded, people are more likely to talk to each other. I am far more outgoing than average and I meet the nicest people by being outgoing. Most people are really good and worth knowing.
I need to check out of the forum for a bit as I am going for a ride; in the rain. Fall is already here. We had a short and cool summer; very disappointing.
 
#23 ·
Cori, that's a lovely shot, but I'm a mountain lover.

Give me the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming, or any of the Yellowstone areas of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.

I've never seen such beauty in one place. I think Virginia's lovely, but next to those places, Virginia looks like an ugly step sister! :lol:

Snake River, just outside Jackson Hole:


Another Snake River view:


Grand Teton National Park:
 
#24 ·
^^SR that was very bad of you. I already have a list of national parks to visit and now you have added another grrr. After Yosemite, Yellowstone and Big Bend I guess I will have to visit Grand Teton. And when will I ever find time to get to Peru?

Interesting thread, I have always wondered how different parts of the world view each other.
 
#25 ·
Oh I love the mountains. Love em! I live near em! There are so many breathtaking places here...I get so irritated when people think there is no vacation unless it involves the beach!

This is a natural ampitheater in Colorado. We drove all the way from PA to see a concert there and it was amazing.
 

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#26 ·
Sarah, a group of us went to Wyoming for a riding vacation five years ago.

The whole Grand Teton area around Yellowstone and Jackson Hole looks like that.

We rode in scenery like that for a full week. That was the only vacation I've ever taken where I cried the day we got on the plane to come home.

If I had been 20 years younger, I'd have moved out there in a heartbeat. I still miss it terribly. I'd go back in a New York second if given the chance.

That is truly God's country, and one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
 
#27 ·
One day! My sister (who does endurance racing) is desperate for us to go away camping with the horses. Although we probably won't take our horses that far maybe I could convince her to come with me and we could hire some horse up there, it would be amazing. I probably wouldn't want to leave either!
 
#28 ·
Horse vacations

OMG! this probably should come under a new thread, but since I'm new to the whole forum format and online communications (I'm 52 so probably a dinosaur to you'all), anyway, I would love to solicit from folks the best horse riding vacation they have ever done. Now, as I dont actually own a horse (I lease) and I don't have a trailer to take my lease horse outside of the area he is living in. SOOOO, I would love to do a commercial horse vacations someday and I would love to hear from folks regarding their recommendations.

I live in Washington State. We have everything; mountains, farmland, deserts, rivers, beaches. Seattle is one of the most beautiful modern cities in the world. I do not put it in the same class as old European cities, Heck we only have 150 years here, so give us a break.
Ok, I will quit braggin' and you all see what you can come up with for your riding vacation ideas. I will see if I can start a new thread too.
Liny
[
 
#29 ·
I live in Washington State. We have everything; mountains, farmland, deserts, rivers, beaches. Seattle is one of the most beautiful modern cities in the world. I do not put it in the same class as old European cities, Heck we only have 150 years here, so give us a break.
Ok, I will quit braggin' and you all see what you can come up with for your riding vacation ideas. I will see if I can start a new thread too.
Liny
[
Hey, BC's pretty well the same! Beautiful area, I love living here. :D
 
#30 ·
Of course, I think I mentioned that I love Vancouver. BC is totally awesomely beautiful and magnificent. But don't tell too many people, ok? Let's keep it our secret, for you to live in and me to occasionallly visit.
Are you in the Vancouver area? Lot of horse stuff around there and around Kelowna.
 
#31 ·
Yeah I'm in Langley, the horse capital of BC! ;-)

Speed Racer, Corinowalk, Sarahver - if you guys want beautiful mountains, you've got to check out BC. Not trying to toot my province's horn too much but...



Heck, just google image search "BC Mountains".
;-)
 
#32 ·
Ohhh ages ago I rode in BC. Loved it there. Our mountains are more rounded than sharp these days. Pennsylvania aint no slacker in the beauty department. Lots and lots of nature here.
 
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