When I was here for the first time in US,I did take time to adjust myself with new terminology which they use in their day to day life . Its not very different but there are a few things which you would probably want to know before hand. Its always good to know about a place and their people because you will be spending significant amount of time here if you decide to come for your Master's or PHD.
I am not following any order while I am writing this article. Whatever comes to mind I will just jot it down.
Ordering Pizza - The first thing you will notice that they don't know what capsicum is. Here they call it green peppers.
When you go to Walmart ( which you will do a lot ) and ask for a "polythene" they would probably not understand you . Here it is simply a bag . So you just ask for a bag .
The ceiling fans here have very slow speed. It usually looks like this.
Yes the lights will be affixed on your fan itself . They are not at all like our Khaitan Ceiling fans which we usually get in India . Their speed is probably five times lesser than the speed of Khaitan fans. So in summers you have to switch on your AC because these fans are just a show piece.
The good thing is usually the houses here are centrally air conditioned and heated( but not all) . Also in winters because the houses here are built of wood so it does not matter how cold it is outside , inside you will feel insulated because of the wooden house. It is not the case in India as the houses have concrete walls.
You will of course love the internet speed here . As compared to India where there are places which still don't have 3G network and here usually everywhere we have 4G network.
Tips - Here giving tips is a big thing. Initially you would be hesitant in giving tips and I have seen a few people that don't give tips at all . You need to understand that there are few employees here work on only tips. So if you are taking a service ( A pizza guy delivering you a pizza, A hair stylist giving you a hair cut ) do tip them . I understand initially you would feel like giving a $2 tip ( at the back of your mind you are converting that in rupees and you think that you are giving Rs. 120 as tip ) is a lot. You will get use to it but keep in mind there are employees here who work only on tips.
Most of you know but for those who don't here it is Right hand driving . In India we follow left hand driving.
Indian English Vs. American English - There are a few words which we are use to saying like "shifting" . They call it "moving" which is probably the correct English . The equipment to heat your water , we call it "Geysers" they call it " Water Heaters". When we cross a road and it has those white and black lines , In India it is called as Zebra crossing , here they call it a crosswalk. We call spare tire stephanie , here they just call it spare tire. We call Yogurt curd , and they call it Yogurt. ( Irony isn't- We know it is yogurt but we still call it curd)
The good thing is usually the houses here are centrally air conditioned and heated( but not all) . Also in winters because the houses here are built of wood so it does not matter how cold it is outside , inside you will feel insulated because of the wooden house. It is not the case in India as the houses have concrete walls.
You will of course love the internet speed here . As compared to India where there are places which still don't have 3G network and here usually everywhere we have 4G network.
Tips - Here giving tips is a big thing. Initially you would be hesitant in giving tips and I have seen a few people that don't give tips at all . You need to understand that there are few employees here work on only tips. So if you are taking a service ( A pizza guy delivering you a pizza, A hair stylist giving you a hair cut ) do tip them . I understand initially you would feel like giving a $2 tip ( at the back of your mind you are converting that in rupees and you think that you are giving Rs. 120 as tip ) is a lot. You will get use to it but keep in mind there are employees here who work only on tips.
Most of you know but for those who don't here it is Right hand driving . In India we follow left hand driving.
Indian English Vs. American English - There are a few words which we are use to saying like "shifting" . They call it "moving" which is probably the correct English . The equipment to heat your water , we call it "Geysers" they call it " Water Heaters". When we cross a road and it has those white and black lines , In India it is called as Zebra crossing , here they call it a crosswalk. We call spare tire stephanie , here they just call it spare tire. We call Yogurt curd , and they call it Yogurt. ( Irony isn't- We know it is yogurt but we still call it curd)
These are just a few things which I can think as of now. If you have something to add to it , do leave a comment below . Don't forget to like our facebook page for latest updates. Also follow us on Twitter.
You would also want to look at my article : A day in a Life of a Master's Student in US
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