I wrote this in 2002 after Claire and I spent three weeks travelling around the USA. Just found an old copy so I thought I would put it up.
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Things you need to know about America or travelling to America from New Zealand
This is a series of observations and comments on things that are quite different in America when compared to New Zealand or things that are worth knowing. It is based on a recent trip to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington DC and New York. We also went to Montreal, Canada… but that is a whole different kettle of fish.
Not knowing some of these things can lead to culture shock. This is surprising given that New Zealand and America are both relatively wealthy western societies.
1. After travelling 12 hours from New Zealand to the USA, don’t try anything brave like being in the front passenger seat of a car on the LA freeways. The standard speed on the freeways is 140km/hr. Having cars flying around you at this speed, going the wrong way is very disconcerting. What is more disconcerting is that you do not have a steering wheel even though you are on the right hand side of the car. It appears after 12 hours flying that you lose all ability to think though your base reflex which is to reach out for the steering wheel that is not there and make a B-line for the other side of the road.
2. More driving tips. In the USA you are allowed to turn right on a red light. Do this in New Zealand and you will be looking for a good panel shop and a good lawyer.
3. New Zealanders are not very patriotic. When coming into the LAX terminal we were greeted with American flags and a lovely picture of George W. Bush. Can you imagine being greeted by a picture of Helen Clark?
4. In New Zealand a light switch works by being flicked down for on and up for off. In the USA it is opposite. Power plugs seem not to have switches in the USA but some do work off light switches.
5. Do not plug an electrical device purchased in USA into a NZ power plug. Firstly it probably won’t fit. Secondly it probably won’t work. Thirdly, if it doesn’t work, it is unlikely to ever work again. If you plug in an NZ device into a USA plug it probably won’t work but it seems not to do too much.
6. Toilets are very different. In general the water level in USA toilets sits about three inches from the very top of the toilet bowl. When you flush, this huge mass of water forms a whirlpool and goes all the way out leaving no water in the bowl. The toilet then refills from the bottom. What is very scare is the second before the whirlpool starts to form, the water level actually goes up. When you flush a NZ toilet, where the water level is only a couple of inches from the bottom, the water level tends to rise a good 4 inches before mass evacuation occurs. When you first see a USA toilet start to rise and you only have 3 inches from the top and you know your normal toilet rises 4 inches… You do the maths!
7. In the USA there is more space devoted to bottled water in the display fridges in shops than Coke. There is a very good reason for this. The water from household taps either tastes like biting a piece of tin or diving into a swimming pool with your mouth open. Bottled water is cheap in the USA. Buy it and save yourself a few high-speed trips to the toilet in the middle of the night.
8. Go to Disneyland. It is all it is cracked up to be. Take a Southern Californian resident and you will get US$10 off the per ticket price.
9. Go to the Getty Centre. It is fantastic! Te Papa is a bit of a let down when you see what a real museum/gallery can be like.
10. Go to the Smithsonian’s. They are excellent.
11. Downtown New York smells. It doesn’t matter if it has rained the rain of a thousand years in 5 minutes. It still smells. Fantastic shops though and the Staten Island ferry is a must.
12. If you are travelling overnight on a train, get a sleeper unit whatever the cost. Preferably with its own toilet. If there are none available, take a laptop with a DVD and watch a movie. There is no way to sleep in a carriage with 100 other people, kids and other goings on.
13. Toilets in trains are disgusting where ever you go in the world. Guys, as good as your aim might be, you can’t be 100% on a train. The people running Amtrak should get some of the conductors who are doing nothing for most of the trip to periodically clean the toilets.
14. The people running Amtrak should also put the sleeper units at the back of the train. Trains seem to have to blow their horn at every crossing all through the night. For the people paying more money for a sleeper, which is the first carriage on the train, this must be disturbing, although not as disturbing as almost a hundred others trying to sleep around you.
15. Cops in the USA have guns. Guards in airports have very big guns. Strangely everyone loses their sense of humour when someone has an M-16 five metres away.
16. NZ has the best internet availability and market penetration. It is really hard to find an internet café in any of the downtown areas and when you do they charge like the proverbial “wounded bull”.
17. When in southern states, learn to say “ya’ll”. This the words you and all smashed together and generally used in the phrase… “How are ya’ll doing?”. The common response if you are two or more is “we’r’ll good”. “We’r’ll” is of course the words we, are and all smashed together.
18. You can spend an entire day at Disneyland, in and outside and not get sunburnt. If I spend 30 minutes at lunchtime outside in the summer in Wellington I turn into a cooked lobster. Ironic really when you think of where most CFC have emanated from.
19. Americans drive very big cars and increasingly what they call SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles???). The reason for this was said to be that petrol (or gas as it is called in the USA) was cheap. Petrol was not that cheap. The real reason is that if you are in anything but one of these battle wagons in a car crash, you are history. Two reasons… One… you will probably run into one of these big vehicles. Two… you will be travelling at 140km/hr when you run into the backside of the car in front which has managed to slow to 20km/hr because of a traffic jam. Traffic jams seem to form for no reason unless of course some poor person didn’t make the transition form 140km/hr to 20km/hr in about two seconds. That said Americans don’t seem to have too many accidents… very odd.
20. American wilderness with its deciduas trees is spectacular. The pines in NZ are not very inspiring.
21. NZ video tapes don’t work in the USA, and visa versa.
22. ATM machines charge you US$2 per transaction. ATMs tend to be inside and McDs has them.
23. The USA version of EFT-POS is very new. It has only been working on a large scale for about a year I believe. Hence people carry a lot of cash.
24. There are more fast food chains than you can shake a burger bun at. Many seem to be specific to a state, which actually means there are more outlets than McDs in NZ. Chick-fil-la, Bahai Fresh and Rocket were worth a go. If you get a chance, try something that is described as barbequed. What this really means is that they have used barbeque sauce instead of tomato sauce. Still it does seem to make things taste nice. Chick-fil-la has waffle fries. Wonderful invention.
25. American cheese is inedible for New Zealanders. Don’t even bother having anything with cheese in it unless they advertise that it as having some special cheese.
26. NZ Coke is actually Classic Coke.
27. There are beggars everywhere in the big cities in the USA. Some appear to be professional beggars. Others are old folk or people with psychological problems. As a New Zealander you may find this very distressing. What’s more distressing is to know that there is no option for these people. While we complain about our taxes being too high and the government spending too much, it is a lot better to know that there is a “safety net” for people like this in New Zealand.
28. American money looks all the same if it is a dollar or more. A dollar is a piece of paper as is a five, ten, etc. Coins are confusing. The five-cent piece (called a nickel) is bigger than the ten-cent piece (which is called a dime). There are also one-cent pieces, which seem to be only good for chucking in water attractions, and quarters (25 cents). To overcome this confusion, most big chain stores use an automated change dispensing machine to deal with the coins. If you only get handed notes and you expect coins, look for a small silver dish. NZ notes are of course coloured differently, there are one and two-dollar coins and the sub-dollar coins are worth more as they get bigger. No one-cent pieces. Fives are the smallest.
29. Fly Delta internally in the USA. Their planes might be a bit older but their service and food is first rate.
30. Don’t fly United or Qantas between New Zealand and the USA. Their planes are old and their legroom… what leg room! Air NZ may have the business nous of an on-heat moose but at least they understand you are not a midget.
31. When going through US security, realise that the word “random” to US security means search all New Zealanders at least once. If you are lucky, “random” will mean you get searched twice.
32. When going through NZ security, realise that the word random is not used and everyone goes through a detector and has their bags X-rayed. It took 2 minutes to get through Customs and security in Auckland.
33. Forget about converting the US prices to NZ prices. It is too depressing.
34. Book hotels within downtown when staying in US cities. Don’t rely on taking a train to your hotel because it is just too stressful. We recommend the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York.
35. US hotel check out times are way later than NZ times. In NZ 10am is standard. In the US it seems like 1pm is ok.
36. Most houses in the US have air-conditioning. This is because temperatures seem to vary a lot. In NZ our temperatures are very stable which I guess is because most parts of the country are very close to water. This provides a stabilising influence. Because of this air-conditioning, opening windows is very much a novelty. You can end up feeling quite claustrophobic in a US house, particularly if you are not used to venetian blinds.
37. Cars are used extensively. Even for a 2 minute drive which would equate to a ten minute walk on the flat.
38. Tipping is what you are expected to do at most food outlets except fast food places. The little places have a bowl that you can dump your change into and anything else you might want to give. Flasher places expect you to add it to the bill. This is the way waiters and waitresses earn their money. Ten to fifteen percent is standard. This applies to taxis. The good things about this are that it means people who rely on tips are so helpful and the food is cheap.
39. Related to tipping, most nice places will provide you with “free” entrees and top ups of your drinks, if they are water or fizzy drink. Don’t pig out on the entrees, which can be endless, as the mains tend to be huge.
40. Showers in the US are what we call shubs. They are bigger than the metre square cubicles we call a shower. They also generally don’t have a separate controller for the tabs and the shower. The ways of switching between tap and shower can be quite a challenge, especially first thing in the morning.
41. After a 12 hour flight, have shower. You will feel awful because of the air-conditioning in the plane. Whoever decided that it was acceptable to pack people into a tin can (ie 747) like sardines and try to freeze dry them with a zero percentage humidity environment should be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
Well there are forty-one things to know. If you are thinking of going to the USA, my suggestion is go. Despite all these differences and strange things, the USA is a very interesting and enlightening place. You will learn a lot, principally about yourself. This is a good thing.
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