40 Ways to Spot an American Abroad

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Tipping is important in America because most waiters make less than $3 an hour and rely on tips to pay their rent. However, most other countries actually make restaurants pay their employees. Those other countries don't understand our concept of tipping or not paying your workers a living wage. Crazy, right?

Tipping

Tipping is baffling across most of Europe, for instance. That being said, Americans are sometimes too cheap to tip at all--even though we feel an obligation to. Thus, know when to tip and when not to tip. Until we do away with the tipping culture, you'll just have to deal with the confusion.

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Did you know...

  • There are over 61,000 people on a plane in the air over the U.S. at any given moment. That makes sense because the U.S. has one third of all the airports in the world. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world with over 100 million total passengers every year since 2015.
  • You've heard of the phrase "wanderlust," but do you know the German word "fernweh"? It means "far sickness" or an intensely strong urge to travel. The next time you feel the need to head out on a road trip, you've got a case of fernweh. And the only cure is to travel somewhere new!
  • Jet lag is worse when you're traveling from west to east. That's because the changes in time zones become not only more physically apparent on your body, but they are also more culturally apparent. If restaurants close at 10pm on the East Coast, you'll just be getting hungry since it will feel like 7pm on your West Coast-adjusted body.
  • Taking a vacation is good for your health! Studies have shown that a vacation can help to lower your risk of heart disease. It's also a proven way to improve your creativity. So if you have some writer's block or need to lower your stress, grab a friend and go on an adventure!
  • The surface area of Pluto is just under 6.5 million square miles. The CIA Factbook lists the area of Russia to be just over 6.6 million square miles. That makes Russia bigger than Pluto (and much closer to visit). Are you still very upset that Pluto isn’t a planet anymore?