USAPinoy

• They greet you with “Hi, how are you doing?”, some would basically answer back, “I’m good ” but I still prefer the demure, “I’m fine, thank you” courtesy of 14 years of education in the Philippines.
• They have a sales tax of 8.25% on everything, but tax rates vary per state. i learned that in some, there is no tax so i think we should be transferring to wherever that state is…
• They love their pets here to the max, treat them like people. not that i hate pets or animals but aren’t they suppose to waste their money on people who needs it the most ?
• Car seats and seat belts are a big deal here, no car seat for the baby, no car ride then , lest you want to be apprehended by the polizia .
• Oh they love to hug here, be ready for the big bear hug but a fellow Filipino( a guy ) said that I should place a distance between the other hugger’s bod and mine ( baka daw chancing na ginagawa)
• You have to learn how to drive a car, or else you will have to endure waiting for two hours for a bus ride.
• Americans are not shy people, which is good. they can readily belt out songs even if they know they are out of tune. at least you don’t have to beg for them to sing at parties.
• There are good people and bad people here as like with all other parts of the world. you see crimes on tv that are unimaginable and yet you also see acts of kindness and people coming together for one great cause like helping victims of the Hurricane Katrina. it seems to me they are not stingy , they have big hearts when it comes to helping out. but again, as i’ve said, there are bad people here too, you can check it out on “america’s most wanted ” and other tv shows dealing with crimes and you will be shocked as to how they have the guts to do such a heinous thing.
• They donate cars here.
• They have big bins for your used clothes if u’d like to throw them away.
• They advertize on newspapers the things they want to throw away like, ” FREEBIES , slightly used TV,36 inches, you haul…”
• You don’t drink water straight from the tap…
• You have to pay your bills on time, especially utility bills or else they will cut it off right after the due date, no questions asked. no considerations given for forgetful people so never forget okay ???
• You get a lot of junk in the mail because of the many advertisements of various stores, companies etc. they really do go out of their way to entice you to buy like having flyers, brochures printed out and mailed every day…
• They have storage companies here. if you have a lot of things, items to store, you can rent out a space from them, really cool idea.
• In California where there is earthquake, houses here are made of wood, and sheetracks ( have i spelled it right? ) and styro and just a little of concrete..

There is a lot more to discover about USA , bad things, good things… stay tuned for the next issue…