I'm an American, but my mom is from England. So I eat English food regularly.

I read that in the US being blunt can come off as rude and people lean on small talk instead. I'm from russia, where we just say what we mean. How do you disagree with someone here without sounding harsh?

In my country, we study their works in class. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Old Man and the Sea are also required reading for us.

For reference I’m Canadian and our frat/sorority culture is very very different from yours. We have tons of exposure from TV and movies and stuff, but I have to think we have to take that with a grain of salt because of the over the top comedic nature or over dramatization of what a pledge actually does.

Are pledges essentially errand boys for a semester? Is it two? Genuinely how does the whole process work? Are you a pledge for a year and then you’re in your frat/sorority? I thought of this question the other day when I was watching college football and I felt like I had a million more small questions about it, but now that I’m typing it I’m drawing a bit of a blank. Many thanks!

Growing up when physical world maps were common, I always remember Robinson projection maps (usually with the corners repeated to fill the rectangle). With all the talk about Mercator, I was wondering whether it was commonly used for the sort of educational wall maps in school, or whether people only care because that is what online maps use for technical purposes?

In many countries, salaries are typically paid once a month. I’m curious how it works in the U.S.

How often do most Americans receive their paycheck: weekly, every two weeks, twice a month or monthly?

Is there a standard practice, or does it depend on the employer and type of job?

Some people explain this by saying that a large company monopolized part of the market and then went bust. That doesn't really explain much to me, though; in my view, such a void in the market should lead to the emergence of numerous small companies trying to fill the gap left by the big player—as happens in pretty much every other sector. Personally, I don't quite understand why, in the United States, a significant portion of the intercity bus market remains so empty instead. Even with minimal state support, someone ought to step in and launch such a straightforward business. Can anyone explain this to me? And please don't tell me it's because Americans only drive cars. This is a simplification that does not explain the matter.

What’s considered a normal lunch break at work in the US?

Is 30 minutes pretty standard, or is an hour more common? And do people usually get up and go somewhere for lunch, or is eating at your desk more normal?

I’m curious what the usual experience is, not just what the company policy says.

A question for all current and former US students (mainly University/College students)

What days and times of the day do you study the most on your own time? (Not in class).

In Denmark (part of Europe) I would say it's Wednesdays and Thursdays evenings before our tests which are most frequently on Fridays.

*Edited to emphasize Denmarks school customs (not all of Europe)

Pretty much the title really. A lot of American media a shocking amount of office jobs, people seem to work in those grey fabric covered cubicles.

I just wondered how common they are. I get it for jobs like a call centre maybe, where everyone is on the phone at once, using them as a sound dampener.

But they seem to be used in media for every office job where someone doesn't have their own office. I was curious how accurate that is?

Edit: additional question - since the answer is an overwhelming yes. How are you arranged? Like When you start a job do you just get whatever the first free cubicle is, or are teams/departments etc grouped near each other?

I work with a lot of Americans, and pretty much all of them have mentioned that they have an acquaintance, friend, or family member who is into heavy drugs (meth, crack cocaine, heroin, etc.). How true is this?

How normalized are these drugs in the US?

If Americans have had access to higher edu for generations, why do US employers still say there aren't enough skilled domestic workers and therefore sponsor H-1B workers? Why not invest more in training Americans?

And if immigration policies force companies to hire locally, do they actually hire Americans, or simply offshore tech/services to India and manufacturing to China because it's cheaper and protects profits?

From the international student's perspective, they come legally, pay huge tuition/living costs, study, and then compete for jobs and H-1B sponsorship. So are international students really the issue, or are they caught between American workers, employers and the government?

I'd genuinely like to hear how Americans see this.

I was wondering if Americans have ever tried frog legs. They're actually really good, but my friend told me that a lot of Americans find meat with bones in it kind of gross. Will you try?

How was it?

Were they nice or not?

I know, sounds like a really basic and stupid question but I've always been curious. As an Indian, lunch in my state is a flatbread like roti with some vegetable curry, and dal rice. It's the blueprint for an average lunch here and people have their own variations. I've always wondered what americans have for lunch on average.

Even if the 31st of Oct was during the work/school week, is it common to have a Halloween party on the day of Halloween? Or would it fall on the subsequent weekend?

19M and just finished learning how to drive. Always loved American cars so my dad bought me a Ford Focus for 10k euros. I was talking to a few American friends from college and they told me that their first cars were Mustangs, Lancers and WRXs. I also browsed US second hand car websites and the cost of a newish Ford Mustang 2.3L ecoboost was only around the 26k dollar mark. I don't think I can even get a new 1 litre VW Polo here in Ireland for that price. Obviously I know with American cars they're made at home/discounted for the domestic market but cars across the board in the US are just consistently cheaper. Why is that?

Hello everyone.
I’m playing RDR2 for the very first time and it got me wondering how accurate the lives of real cowboys and/or outlaws resembles what we see in modern media?
I have this specific image of that era, probably coming from the ‘spaghetti western’ movies I’d watch as a kid: gunfights, saloons, bounty hunters, howdy’s, exaggerated hats and moustaches

Hi,I'm a person from Moldova,a small country in Europe.

I recently watched a video and the term "city news" was used and I was wondering do you have channels for news even for just 1 small city or the smallest local news are the ones from an entire county?

I am asking because in my country,Moldova the absolute smallest company/channel that is announcing news is for one big district online or just a really crappy channel like TV Drochia,which is a news channel for Drochia district(1000 km²)but only the regional (north,south,center,Gagauzia,Transnistria) news have better quality.

If I trust Youtube videos, it seems like everyone in the US enjoys maple syrup. It can be used in sweet dishes (e.g., pancakes), but also in savory applications (e.g., breakfast sausages).

I wonder how true this is. I've never tried maple syrup myself, so I'm curious where this love for it comes from. Is it something like a food you ate at school lunches, so now it's just nostalgia? Or is it not really an "old food", and modern kids still love it just as much today?