Irish Girl Shocked by Weird Things Americans Think Are Normal

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]So today we're going to talk about what non-Americans who have visited the US I can say words. What's the strangest thing non-Americans that have visited America think is strange? I'll I'll refine the name. What's the strangest thing about America that Americans don't even realize is weird? Oh, he's gone already.

[00:00:18]He's gone. Do you think you'll ever go to America? Um, I would like to, but I'm afraid of getting quarantined. Yeah, we wouldn't like that at all. You'd be very good on the plane, though. So, this is on Reddit. I myself am an Irish girl from Ireland. If you've never seen me before in your life, I'm Diane Jennings.

[00:00:34]I've visited America, I think nine states now. I am aiming for all of them by the time I die, but life is short and also insufferably long. I'm going to need more patrons if I'm going to afford to do that. So, if you can. I think I'm in a good position to say whether these things are weird or not objectively. So, let's see. Ooh, this is a good one.

[00:00:55]Americans are not afraid or ashamed of a certain type of failure.

[00:00:59]>> You are a failure.

[00:01:00]>> For example, you go to LA and try acting or music and if it doesn't work out, oh well. That's just the fun thing you tried out. Start a business. If it goes under, start another. Write that book at any age. Go back to school in your 40s.

[00:01:11]It's my favorite thing about American culture. I so agree with this. Americans have a unique go you thing that as an Irish person, there are a great many wonderful things about Ireland.

[00:01:22]>> Guinness. That's my favorite. But we've talked before about notions being the worst thing you as an Irish person can have in Ireland and getting too big for your boots. In Ireland, a lot of people still think it's absolutely crazy and cannot make sense of the fact that I make a living online. When I first started online, my friends were like, "You're a weirdo." Like, no holds barred. They were just like, "You're a weirdo."

[00:01:48]>> I still think she's weird. And that's more or less to try and like cushion your fall in a way like that you won't be surprised if it doesn't work out.

[00:01:57]It's meant in a loving way, but in America, people are just so able to go and try things out. And if it doesn't work out, that's okay because you have to try to see if it works. You know, that is like a big thing that I do also like about American culture.

[00:02:11]Transactional friendliness. Ooh, I think I know what this means, but let's see.

[00:02:16]The strangest thing to me is transactional friendliness. People are incredibly warm and chatty with total strangers. Ask how your day is going.

[00:02:22]Make conversation in line and seem genuinely interested. Then you realize none of it leads anywhere. Back home, if someone starts a conversation like that, you're probably going to exchange numbers. In the US, it's just how people talk and there's no deeper intention behind it. Took a while to stop reading into it. Okay. I think there is truth and myth to this person's take. So if you are in a transactional situation like for example with a sales assistant or a waiter or waitress there is a transactional friendliness I call it from back in the day working in a shop the saleserson glaze. How can I help you? Thank you. Have a good day. No we don't have any more in the back. Yeah I'll go look.

[00:03:01]I'm sorry sir. We don't have any more in the back. Mind you I think that we all have like a transactional glaze. I'm doing it right now. you know, when you put on your work face, it's not necessarily the 100% genuine thing you are feeling in that moment at any one time. That being said, I do think people are very friendly in the United States, like when they are not trying to sell you anything. I think there's a level of friendliness that's just nice and sometimes that is just what it is. Like people are just being nice and pleasant.

[00:03:30]Like never more so than when I was in Texas was I invited into so many people's homes. Like there you'd meet them, you get chatting, and they'd be like, "Oh, you want to come? We're having a barbecue later." and you're like, "Wow, that is so nice." I think different parts of Europe have various degrees of this. Eastern Europe, they do not do so much the just random smileiness.

[00:03:49]>> I don't like >> Oh, my door is open this whole time.

[00:03:52]Hang on.

[00:03:52]>> You can hear the birds.

[00:03:53]>> Like, I will 100% know if I'm walking through my neighborhood and I smile at someone and they don't smile back, I'm like, they are Eastern European. They just don't do smileiness.

[00:04:02]>> I don't like to smile unless I have a reason.

[00:04:04]>> And that's okay. that that's their version of it being like authentic or not. Americans are smiley people. Like generally speaking, you're very smiley people. I think that's nice. I think it's a nice thing. Like when it is insincere and it's just for tips, like sometimes I do think it goes a bit too far. Like in Trader Joe's when they're like, "Oh, are you having a party?" And I'm like, "No, all this candy is just for me." And they're like, "Wow, I hope you have a great time eating it. That sounds terrific." You're like, "No, it doesn't." Like, you are being over the top. Sometimes it is a bit over the top. Like you don't care about my candy.

[00:04:38]>> I care. I really do.

[00:04:40]>> So yeah, there's truth to it, but also I do think there is a sincerity to American friendliness. The portion size thing is nuts. Well, I have been explained this by you guys online.

[00:04:52]Actually, restaurants are mostly in competition with each other. The overheads for the cost of actual food is not that high. Like you will have say French fries chips and say you're selling them for $10. The cost of actually buying those French fries for them to cook in a restaurant is maybe 50 cent per portion. And say there's three restaurants in a row and they're all selling French fries at $10. Well, they'll all try and give you more bang for your buck by giving you more French fries. I hope I'm explaining this. Okay, so that's the reason portion size is really large there as I understand it.

[00:05:26]And I think as a tourist, we sometimes are under the illusion that that's like portion size in people's houses, but as a tourist, you're not often going to be making your own dinner or being fed dinner in somebody's house. So, I think we get a full sense of American portion size versus the size people are actually eating. The nice thing about American portion size is to go cartons are the norm. The other day I took my dad out for his birthday and we went to this like quite fancy place, my treat. Happy birthday, Papa Jay, for his ve steak that he ordered. He got three huge breadcrumbmed ones. And of course, he wasn't able to finish them all. And I was like, "Oh, we should remember to ask for to take it home so you can have it for lunch tomorrow." And both of us completely forgot. And that was a bit annoying because in America, they would have just offered like, "Oh, you want to take that home with you?" And that would have been very handy cuz then he has no he had no steak. But I think we had a nice time. Adverts saying to ask your doctor about a medicine. This is an oddity. I will concur with this one. In Europe, the idea of like going to my doctor and telling them what I think I need as a medicine is like very odd.

[00:06:37]Generally, they will prescribe something and it's entirely up to them what they prescribe me. Can I say I've heard about a medication? Sure. But mostly speaking, we're not talking brands. Now, sometimes you'll go on something like and find that it doesn't agree with you and you'll say it to the pharmacy or your doctor and they'll give you like a different version of it, but you just don't you don't go and ask for a brand name. Like that's just not how it works.

[00:07:02]So, I think that's more just an interesting difference so much as an oddity or a strange thing. I guess that is strange. One thing I genuinely loved and did not expect was how easy it is to just start something there. People talk about their ideas openly, take them seriously, and nobody looks at you sideways for trying to build something.

[00:07:19]Oh, that that's kind of what we were talking about earlier. Like there is just a yay go you culture, I guess. I I I just think that's great. How much you need a car for everything. That is a thing. That is a thing. Like as a European, I find from place to place you may or may not need a car. Living in Dublin city, I did not need a car at all. I could get everywhere on the bus, the train, had to push a taxi. But in America, like they're talking about the World Cup coming up and a lot of Europeans obviously are traveling over for the World Cup and the idea that they aren't able to walk to the venues is like blowing some people's minds.

[00:07:55]>> This idea that people think they can walk safely is the most dangerous thing I've ever heard of.

[00:08:01]>> To prove that not only are you wrong, but you can actually walk the entire length of America to get to the World Cup. My name is Craig Ferguson. I've been walking the entire length of America.

[00:08:11]>> It is very much like a walking culture.

[00:08:13]I walk everywhere. Like my friend who is like very nutritional, healthy, she does this incredible pilatees. She asked me recently like, "Oh, how do you stay so dumb?" Thank you. And it's just cuz I walk everywhere. I walk everywhere. Me and Chewy walk everywhere. And we're kind of fit without actually meaning to be. So that's cool. But yeah, in America, you do need a car to do pretty much everything. Look, Dad, I need my car.

[00:08:39]>> Also, you start driving really young, which I think is a wonderful thing because you don't have the fear when you're like 16. You just start driving.

[00:08:45]And then when you're older and you're trying to learn to drive, it's harder because you know too much me stuff. Oh, this is an interesting one. Explaining to non-Americans that I joined the military and ended up fighting in three wars just to get free college is the one that leaves most people confused. This is one I can't really talk about personally as a tourist because obviously I didn't get an education in the United States, but as I understand it, university isn't as expensive in Ireland as it is in America, but I actually don't quote me on that. Is university in Ireland as expensive as it is in America? University in Ireland is generally much much less expensive than in the United States. Also like the fact that when you go to university in America, it also includes your living your like you'll have to live on campus a lot of times. Whereas for example, I was fortunate that I could get a bus to university. So like it saddens me a lot when I hear about like people going into debt for like their entire adult life cuz they want to go to university. Like that's not great. Education is a good thing. A circle of university education.

[00:09:48]Everything goes to trial right away. It does seem that way. It does seem that way.

[00:09:53]So I know a little bit about the legal system in parts of Europe and things can take decades for to go through the court system whereas in America you'll hear about somebody being arrested and like within the year their trial has happened and they've been given a verdict. Like I've also seen court cases that go on a really long time there but it does seem the turnaround is way faster than in Europe. The overt and casual god bothering. I think I can guess what they mean by this, but let me just read the rest. I've lived in Canada since the early ' 80s. I can still count the number of times a relative stranger has said anything to me about God or their religious belief. I'm not talking about evangelizers, people who are cost you for that specific purpose, but the way so many Americans just take it for granted that their faith is an open topic for conversation boggles my mind.

[00:10:38]Interesting. I think yeah, there's a lot more different religions in America than there is in most parts of Europe. We generally just have the big ones.

[00:10:48]Catholicism, Protestantism, Muslimism, and Judaism. And then we have like a couple of other ones just they're not as big >> crazy new.

[00:10:56]>> Yeah, I do find there is a lot more like people will talk to you about it who are American, whereas in Europe it's very much deemed more so a private thing that's like for you and your family to talk about, not really for general people to talk about. So interesting.

[00:11:12]Shoes on in the house. H I think this isn't true. Personally, I think this is very much house dependent.

[00:11:19]>> Quick, take off your shoes. Everyone take your shoes off.

[00:11:21]>> And I think that as a visitor to people's house, you might get an inaccurate idea of how much people wear shoes in the house. Generally, I think most Westerners when you're at home alone probably aren't wearing shoes in the house because you'll wear your socks or your slippers. But like, if I have a visitor to my house, I probably will put on shoes because I might have to go out to their car and stuff. Whereas, if I'm on my own, I'm never ever wearing shoes.

[00:11:44]I think I think we don't really know what people do in the privacy of their home. And I don't want to know what you do in the privacy of your own home and no one's around. But let me know. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you all do wear shoes in your house. And finally, bread is so sweet. It's like cake. Bread shouldn't be sweet. Well, there are different like rules and legal things about things like bread. I remember in Ireland we had to change the Subway bread because it was deemed cake in Ireland. So, they had to change the recipe. We actually have a video coming up on the channel where I'm going to react to American versus European food things. So, keep an eye out for that. Do subscribe. Shout out today to a couple of patrons who make videos like this possible. Our first shout out comes from Craig Babbot, who wants to give a big shout out to Riley and McKenna Cook, the soon-to-be class of 2026 high school graduates. Craig says his whole family is blown away by how amazing you two are. Out of the 500 student class, you both made the top 20 with Riley as validictorian. The girls have overcome some huge obstacles along the way, worked extremely hard, and deserve all the best. Craig is looking forward to your Orlando vacation this June before the girls start their summer semester at the University of Nevada.

[00:12:53]Congratulations to Riley and McKenna.

[00:12:55]Thank you so much, Craig. Our second shout out comes from Ricky Kerry and it's in loving memory of his uncle's dog named Panda. Panda crossed the Rainbow Bridge on May 5th of this year at the age of 14. He was half Chihuahua and Jack Russell Terrier mix. Ricky says, "Panda was a very loyal, playful, and loving dog who liked everyone, including other dogs. He even got to father a litter of puppies years ago. Panda loved playing, going for walks to the park, snacks, cuddling, and naps." Thank you so much, guys. That's it for today. See you on the other side. Five.