america makes some awesome tv, and some god awful tv. sometimes you wonder why the fuck someone would watch some of the shit they make.

most of the americans i have interacted with are great. some are ridiculous and make me worry about what kind of place it is. people seem a bit misguided and full of themselves, but every country has those. australia has this obsession with mateship during the war. like we were the only country that did that or something. uh no.

i could care less about the government there because i don't live there.

i don't like that any time america does something [your elections for example] that it has to be plastered all over the news everywhere else when it doesn't apply to anywhere outside of america. i think it gives some people a big head.

the level of knowledge about the world outside america by average americans is a bit worrying. i mean it's not really necessary i guess to know everything about the world, but you'd think you'd want a little bit of knowledge about the rest of the planet?

*shrug* not that we control what other countries put on their nightly news though

upon re-reading my reply i never actually said you did. funny that.

it's annoys me that our news thinks we need a second by second update on another country's political business. we probably had as much coverage as america did. being that it wasn't our potential leader i don't think we needed that much saturation. if our election had been on your tv every second i'd think you'd be a little fed up with it too as they aren't your political leaders.

Oh, I know! Just today in class, we were talking about Obama. My teacher mentioned how many countries know we elected him. Then he said the name "Gordon Brown". I was one of a very small number of people that said they knew the name. Dx

Who cares? He doesn't affect me.

He effects your military.

If you really think that, then you're even more stupid than you seemed on the previous page. Why do you think American presidents spend so much time sucking up to British prime ministers? Because they know they need us. Do you remember the start of the Iraq war? Do you think that was an American decision (of course I'm not saying it was the right decision, but the Americans damn well wanted the Brits to be going in with them and we, possibly stupidly, obliged).

Wow, you're such a lovely girl.

Seriously, from the girl who called Sumamen a tard! Really, you're hardly one to be lecturing. Compared to you I'm as sweet as sugar!

I haven't called anyone names. But if you come into a public forum and make a comment as stupid as to say the British prime minister doesn't affect you because you're American, then you have to expect to get told you're stupid.

You contradict yourself, did you know that?

Where did I contradict myself? I haven't called anyone names.

I have described someone as stupid (a descriptive term, not a name) because they said something stupid. That is not the same as calling someone names like 'tard' just because they suggested that starting this thread may lead to drama.

"If you really think that, then you're even more stupid than you seemed on the previous page". Word. :P

See previous comment.

I did... :D :D :D

i know gordon because i think australians having that link back to the uk our news still cares about what they're doing lol.

I've only been to Orlando, when I went it was weird, everyone seemed to be wearing clothes from the early 90's. The staff in the hotel we stayed at were all really rude apart from one woman who must of been in her 70's. When you went around the place though it was blatantly obvious that all the white people had the better paying jobs and all the coloured people had the crap low paying jobs, even in the theme parks too, that was very unsettling. Your jewellery doesn't (or didn't at that time) have to be stamped to prove what metal it is made from and have a certificate for the stones, so buying jewellery was a no no.

There were lots of stupid cars, we hired a car and asked for a small car, but what we got was a massive family saloon, we also noticed we were virtually the only none 4x4 on the road.

Tipping, a concept a understand, but I don't expect a waiter/waitress to become an arsehole when we don't tip rubbish service.

Taxes added at the till, confusing! Why not add it on the shelf price.

Your chocolate is strange, it is like eating a block of vegetable oil, there isn't any flavour to it, also your bread is sugary, why?

I don't know if this is just the area we went to, but there weren't any true restaurants, you just went to a buffet for your food, unless you wanted ribs or a steak.

Loads of Americans thought we were Australian, which was a bit odd for us.

Your Arizona green tea with honey and ginseng, I want it.

There was a new shopping centre when we went, you had to go through a shop covered in dead animals to get to it, but inside they did the best ice cream ever.

we don't tip here. if i had to go to the states that'd confuse me. are the staff being paid for their job or what? i don't really feel the need to tip someone that is already being paid.

Like I don't mind tipping good service, but it pisses me off when crap waiters hang around your table for a tip, if they did there job properly they'd get one, but they aren't so they can get lost.

Actually in America waitstaff makes almost all their money through tips, therefore their employers are allowed to pay them way below minimum wage. So here not tipping at a restaurant (unless you get absolutely horrible service) really is cheating someone out of their pay. Generally waitstaff is very friendly and pleasant, because they know their attitude is going to gauge their tip. It's one of the big reasons we don't go out to sit down restaurants frequently, though, it costs too much money to buy a meal or two plus drinks and leave a tip. Usually a five dollar tip or so is sufficient, but it depends on how large your bill is.

It's kind of funny though, I bet places with a lot of non-American tourists have a bad image of people from other places if they don't know they're suppose to tip ;D. But then of course it will just be assumed that other people are cheap, rather than realizing that other countries don't leave waiters tips!

In SOME PLACES in American this is true, but not all. I worked as a waitress and I made minimum wage while also making tips. They didn't reduce my pay simply because I got tips. In some places they do, but in some places they don't.

Also, they are required by law to compensate. Meaning if they reduce your wages below minimum wage because you are expected to get tips, if you do not make enough in tips to make minimum wage, the employer is required to pay you enough to compensate for that difference.

That is true, but still minimum wage isn't much for anyone to live off of either. I've known a lot of waitresses so I guess I'm just very pro tipping lol.

god that's ridiculous. i don't understand why they can't pay them a proper wage. people here would lose their mind if wait staff got paid via tips only/mostly.

in restaurants, servers are paid $2 an hour instead of minimum wage, hence needing tips to make up the difference.

Woah that's crazy! Some restaurants in the UK do that but the government is trying to (or has) outlawed the practice.

When I worked as a waitress I made £4.90 so slightly over the minimum wage at the time, and the tips were an added bonus. But I wouldn't expect a tip if I gave crap service. Nor will I give it unless the service is exceptional.