I spent a few days in the (Southern) USA myself recently, and must say it's left me feeling a smidgen envious of Ezzer. The areas I visit may differ from Ezzers but on that visit, as previously, I find myself overwhelmed by the courteousness of rural Americans. The likes of New York would be a different different matter of course but, down South, even on the roads, I've always found that their patience and good driving manners would put many of us to shame (self included, I admit).
Even when the homeless guys ask you for cash, it's done with more courtesy, a common wheeze is to hold open a door for you then ask for a few coins in payment. Another guy spent a good five minutes telling us how to use the transit system ticket machines, before politely asking for a couple of dollars in return (I paid up that time). And contrary to popular belief, you can say 'No', with no more chance of getting attacked for it than in London.
And once you get used to the fact that their equivalent of a UK superstore might also have a guns counter, they seem a very law abiding society. I went for a walk in one of the parks, and there was a sign similar to a UK park, reading all the do's and dont's... don't let your dog foul, do obey the no cycling signs, don't leave litter, etc. What differed from the UK was the instructions underneath... '
If you see these rules being broken, dial 911'. Can you imaging the reaction in Britain if you dialled 999 to report a minor crime these days, let alone dog-fouling!?
Eating out is good too, I always find that the 'junk food' area of shopping malls is something we could learn from. I'm not suggesting the food is any less 'junk', but somehow they achieve it with a certain amount of enthusiasm, style and adequacy that makes it a fun and rewarding (if fattening) indulgence. The UK equivalents, served luke-warm with a grimace from a bored teenager, followed up by a shortage of seating, just depresses me. As for more elaborate eating out... what on Earth is that they do to the livestock (or the chefs), because a succulent steak in any run of the mill US eatery, even just the big chains, is a universe away from anything I've found the UK can come close to, even in the more expensive places.
Sadly though there's the pubs... Ice-cold beer (which I hate) and strange rituals when you enter a bar, such that you are greeted at the door and led to a table (and charged more) or sit at the bar on a row of perfectly aligned barstools for the benefit of slightly cheaper prices. If only the US had proper pubs I'd be out there in shot.
Ezzer may not agree with any of that, of course.
