What was the biggest cultural shock you encountered after going to America?

In fact, during my life in the United States, I sometimes realized that the United States is not as full of guns, drugs and extremely bad public security as domestic cynics think, and may die at any time. Personally, I think American society is divided into three levels, depending on your ability and income. At the bottom, of course, are low-income, homeless and criminals, such as Compton in Los Angeles, where residents' income is very low. So here in a vicious circle, internal security is very poor, there is no city police station, public security can only rely on the state police, but outsiders do not go in, the people inside do not come out, so don't go in and die!

The second layer is the huge middle class group in the United States, with personal income at least 2000 after tax. Between $65,438 and $00,000/month, these groups pay taxes well, so all the places where they gather are apartment, and the house price is about $654,380+and $200,000. Local police stations, hospitals, post offices, supermarkets, stadiums, parks, fire brigades, etc. Well-equipped, patrolled by police, good public security. Generally, when calling the police, the police and fire brigade will arrive within five minutes. I witnessed a car accident in Lahabra. A motorcyclist ran into a car and was injured. Within five minutes, the police, fire control and ambulance departments are all in place. This is the situation in the middle class area. Your ability determines your income, and your income determines your living environment. I can walk my dog, walk and walk in Roland Heights in the middle of the night.

As for the top, not to mention the American rich whose annual salary ranges from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of thousands of millions, such as Beverly Hills, where there are not only many policemen, but also hard security guards. Do you want to commit crimes there? Hehe, go and have a try! The property tax of those rich mansions may be more than your annual salary for ten years.

There is also urban planning in America. In China, we plan provinces and cities, with districts below the cities, while in the United States, counties are below the states and cities are below the counties, such as Los Angeles. It is not a city, but a county. It is said that there are more than 80 cities under this huge county, such as Alhambra Alhambra, Monterey Park, Montreal Park, Elmont Elmont and so on, and there are expressways between each city.

The living habits of Americans are different from ours. Public transportation is extremely underdeveloped, and there are few buses and subways, so most people have cars. Rich people drive luxury cars, those with good incomes drive good cars and those with low incomes drive used cars. There is a car for you at every stage. The price of used cars ranges from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars. For example, the price of Toyota Corolla in 10 was about $3,000, while the price of brand-new Toyota Corolla was about $20,000. Without a car, it is difficult to move in America. It takes 10 minutes to drive to the supermarket, and it may take half an hour to come back. If there is no bus near your home, the bus can only stop on the main road of your city, which is generally far away from you.

There are still some problems that deserve our consideration and attention. This is the place where culture has the greatest influence, that is, living habits. I believe we China people will not spit everywhere now, but some people may not pay attention to smoking. In America, smoking is forbidden in all public places, even in the bathroom. Most buildings, including private houses, have smoke alarms. Once you trigger the alarm in the bathroom or other places because of smoking, you will cause great trouble. First, evacuation. Second, police and fire departments.

In addition, we must be careful not to talk loudly in public places and not to say the word "that" because it is easy to cause misunderstanding. "That" is a homophonic word for niggers in English, and it is a disparaging term for blacks. Many people in China have caused unnecessary misunderstanding. Good language can explain, and bad language can easily cause trouble.

Then talk about food, clothing, housing and transportation. The first thing to say is that there are almost no tolls on expressways here in the United States, and there are few toll roads. I used to drive from Los Angeles to Denver, from Salt Lake City to Vancouver, and from Northern California to Maryland. I never paid a penny for the tolls, which made me feel good and the oil price was very low. When I first arrived in America, I felt incredible.

As for food and clothing, it is even more worth mentioning. I bought almost all my clothes, pants and shoes at Wal-Mart, Target and Costco, ranging from T-shirts with a few dollars to clothes and pants with a dozen or twenty dollars. At the peak, I only spent fifty or sixty dollars on cotton-padded jackets. Sometimes when I go to Ross Supermarket Taobao, I often buy Nike Jordan basketball shoes with the original price of 200 yuan and 300 yuan, but they only cost 50 to 80 yuan, and the shoes are all new. As long as you are lucky, you can find your number. Costco's supermarket is a membership supermarket and needs to apply for a membership card. Card fees range from 1 10 to $50. There are three cards to choose from. The prices of many commodities here are much lower than those in other places. The more you buy, the more you save, and the fast food in Costco is also very cheap. A large pizza is 17 inch. Moreover, some big cities in the United States have Chinatown, China City, and some Chinese-inhabited areas also have China supermarkets. You can even buy Laoganma, Hongxing Erguotou, Master Kong instant noodles and other domestic products. The food you can buy covers the southeast and northwest, even more than domestic supermarkets. I often rinse hot pot at home and tell you a little secret. There is a shop selling sliced mutton in Monterey Park. A pound of mutton is only $6.99? If you eat in a restaurant outside, you don't need to tip except McDonald's, Subway, KFC, Burger King and other fast food. Remember, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, because the monthly income of American restaurant waiters is very low, and the basic salary is about 500 dollars. They want to give you meticulous service and smile at you. To put it bluntly, I hope you can have them. Many waiters are students who come to restaurants to earn tuition and living expenses part-time, so if they don't make you feel uncomfortable or offend you, please be sure to tip. There is no specific limit to the amount, but the customary tip amount is 65438+ 00% to 20% of your consumption. Depending on your mood, you can give cash. If you use a bank card, you can also sign the amount you gave on the consumption bill, and they will deduct the tip from the bank card.

Let's talk about life. American middle-class housing is divided into apartments, single-family houses and townhouses. The first type of apartment is between one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom and three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Property fees, rents and house prices are relatively low, but there is no garage, only parking spaces and no independent yard.

The house is almost equivalent to the standard of domestic villas. There are generally three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open kitchen, a living room, a front yard, a backyard and a garage. The price of this kind of villa generally ranges from150,000 to millions, depending on the house prices in various counties and cities. For example, a house of the same size costs $500,000 in Roland Heights, $800,000 in San Francisco and $200,000 in Salt Lake City, depending on local conditions.

There is little difference between a townhouse and a house, except that your house is next to another house, separated by a wall, and your yard is smaller than House's, but there is also a garage, which can usually park one or two cars.

In addition, the United States uses English units, they use pounds, inches, feet and miles, and the temperature is Fahrenheit. This generally won't have much impact. You can check it with your mobile phone at any time. After a long time, you will know something about it.

On the whole, American society is very calm, with no major changes. Unlike in our country, Alipay and WeChat paid today, so they don't need cash. Tomorrow, we will enjoy cycling and take a taxi the day after tomorrow. I remember returning home from studying in Russia on 20 13. In my home Harbin, taxis never stopped, and some even stopped until I got on the side of the road. At that time, I just caught up with Didi and Kuai, and I could pay the fare of 10 yuan twice a day for a penny. But I just didn't go home for more than half a year, and I couldn't keep up with the changes, and the United States didn't change so much and so fast. I still keep the habit of taking my wallet, credit card, mobile phone and key when I go out, but I can't decide which is good or bad. Different people have different opinions. Personally, I think America is more suitable for me. I like it.

Let's talk about some details of American life. First of all, briefly talk about medical care. I have never been to a hospital when I came to the United States, but I only got medical insurance. But a friend of mine went to the hospital once, and then I heard him say that there was no window for payment from the time I got treatment to the time I was discharged from the hospital! I also heard that a decoration worker in China was seriously ill and had an operation in the hospital. The bill is as high as more than 300 thousand dollars, and the insurance is not guaranteed. Therefore, as long as his account has money, it will be removed. So his salary only takes cash, not checks. The medical expenses in America are staggering. My friend once prescribed three kinds of prescription drugs for a fever and received a bill of more than 2000 dollars, but fortunately, the insurance can pay for it, so it is equivalent to no money. When he comes to America, he must have medical insurance.

As for the family, I personally think that the unique culture of the United States makes it just right for them to deal with family relations. I mean, mostly, not absolutely. There is a popular saying in our country that American children will live alone without their parents until they are eighteen. It was not until I came to the United States that I found it so easy to live alone without their parents. But it is true that the dependence on parents is not so strong, but the relationship between most American family members is neither so cold nor so strong as we thought. Americans pay attention to the equality of family members, parents respect their children's opinions, and children should learn to listen to their parents' suggestions. In the eyes of China people, it seems cold, but behind it is full of love. American society places special emphasis on individual rights, even children. Their rights are also inalienable and inviolable. Our country can beat and scold children and believe in stick education. When I was a child, I was beaten by my parents and teachers because I was too naughty, but remember, this kind of thing is absolutely not allowed in the United States, zero tolerance! If you beat, scold or physically punish a child, if a neighbor or teacher sees that the child is injured, whether it is caused by the child himself or not, call the police first, and then the police will investigate. American society thinks that children are a gift from God and you don't have them. You should treat this gift well. If you can't take good care of it, it will be taken back. Children will be taken away by social welfare institutions. ) I remember Tony Leung Ka Fai played a movie called Scraping, in which Tony Leung Ka Fai scraped a child, making Americans think that Tony Leung Ka Fai abused the child and went to court. It can be said that the protection of children in American society is even abnormal. As long as the red stop sign is hung, even the motorcade of the president of the United States will stop and wait in the back. I think it's true. How to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors and ensure that their rights are not violated? After all, children are the future of the country and the nation. It is absolutely right to put more energy into children!

In addition, American society has some established rules that really make people feel comfortable. For example, when two strangers meet, you can naturally say hello or hello! The other person will also say hello to you. When I ride a bike on the mountain, I often meet other climbers or cyclists. Everyone will say hello, or tell you that there are still a few people behind me, or that it is a little dangerous. Attention, I remember that when I first came to America, I once drove to Huntington Beach to watch the sea, video with my parents in the car, and charged my mobile phone with the car power supply. I lost track of time. As a result, the battery was dead and could not be started. Just when I was at my wit's end, an old man passing by saw it and asked me what was wrong. I said the battery was dead and I couldn't start it. The old man said my truck was nearby. You push the car out of the parking space and I'll start it for you. Passers-by came to help me push the cart again It took me more than ten minutes to start the car. I really think it's good to mind your own business and help each other.

In addition, when driving in America, you must pay attention to the traffic signals. Pedestrians have great rights and must make way for pedestrians. There is a line on the American road that says stop. If you drive across this line without a signal light, remember to stop completely, look around and make sure there are no pedestrians and other passing vehicles before you can pass. If you don't stop completely, or stay too short, and are seen by the police, a ticket of several hundred dollars is inevitable! One morning, I went to work in Elmond from Roland Heights, and I met a traffic light failure at an intersection in Colimma. In the same situation, I think the traffic jam in China has long been blocked! However, in America, everyone follows the habit of stop signs. Whoever gets to the intersection first, stop for three seconds, and whoever gets there first will go first. Not everyone is fighting for it. There is a wave in the east-west direction and a wave in the north-south direction. Although there are no signal lights, the traffic is still orderly. I really felt a little shocked when I first arrived in America. I immediately took a small video and sent it to my circle of friends.

In addition, on the highway between American cities, there is an express lane called carpooling on the far left. Many times, the three rows and four rows of lanes on the right are very congested, but no one walks in the lane on the left. Occasionally, a car will drive quickly through the carpool lane. This is because the carpool lane stipulates that you can only use this carpool express lane if there are two or more people in your car. This is to encourage people to carpool. But most people still have one, so there are fewer cars using carpooling, and the traffic speed of this lane is faster. Of course, there are always some Americans who are smart enough to put a dummy in the car, and many people are arrested by the police. American highway patrolmen really look through the window to see if there is anyone else in your car. If you use this lane illegally, congratulations on getting a ticket of several hundred dollars.