Anyway I Just Wanted To Say That - Tumblr Posts

Had to reblog because I love this so much

My favorite thing about seeing non-Americans online is how they’re so shocked by things that you just take for granted and don’t even think about.

Like that whole restaurant post explaining how portion sizes aren’t a reflection of how people typically eat every day and that you’re practically expected to take leftovers home. It’s because between things like the Great Depression and coming off of having to ration our meals there was a big deal about being hospitable and giving guests lots of food that they could save for later thanks to the invention of refrigerators.

Or how non-Americans just shrug their shoulders at the idea that “Oh that house is old and haunted SOMEBODY DIED IN THERE!” because the U.S. has only been around a few hundred years and ghost stories like that are a common occurrence because we don’t have still-standing homes dating back to the Renaissance era and we have very different ideas of what is considered “old” because we really are such a young nation.

You dont’ quite realize that America does have its own cultures until you start exposing it to people who aren’t surrounded by it. And I think it’s important to realize that America does come with a culture but most people don’t see it as a culture because they’re so used to that whole “Melting Pot” thing but see that’s just it. The fact that there is a history and people who’ve been shaped by that history and those experiences is how culture is created and you can’t stop it. But it’s kind of like how if you’re a fish you don’t really know what’s “wet” because there’s water everywhere. If you’re American you don’t really know there’s an American Culture because you live and breathe it every day.