r/AskAnAmerican

I have heard many people say that the national parks are the key highlights of being in America, and in general how cool they are, but how many Americans have actually visited it?

I've often wondered if the idyllic vision of small town America, shown in things like Gilmore Girls, does exist. Or if there are US equivalents to the British villages we have in places like the Cotswolds or Cumbria.

So, can "small town America" be quaint and interesting, or am I being led astray by Stars Hollow?

America is a big country with each state having their own laws, education system or customs. Does that factor into someone's decision to move states or even simply travelling across one state to get to another? I imagine it makes it very confusing but maybe that is something you're able to adapt to better than most.

I have recently learnt (on social media, of course) that apparently americans eat/get dipping sauces with their pizza. Is this true? Is it common? What sauces are commonly used?

The entire concept of sauce with pizza is so alien to me, yet very intriguing.

So, I am not sure if this is only in America or is something that’s spread through all the anglosphere, but for me, as a spanish native speaker, hearing a woman/girl call her boyfriend “bro” is just nuts. Like, if my gf called me that, I would think she aint into me or just sees me as a friend. In fact, my gf and I never address each other even by our first names (its always “amor(love)”, “corazon(heart)”, “cariño(sweetheart)”, “bebé(baby)”, “mami/papi”). That’s why when I see this, for me its mindblowing.

Guys, I'm learning English and I created a new account on YouTube, but I'm accustomed to my algorithm in portuguese, can people help me? I like videos about science, Interesting facts, Biology, Gameplays and humorous videos.

(My previous post crashed, so I deleted it, sorry)

Hello everyone, I occasionally scroll youtube/insta and there I find multiple videos of American couples finding out the gender of their babies through cutting a cake or confetti.

I am from a country where getting to know the gender of the unborn child is illegal due to past atrocities on which I won't go on.

Like how do these gender reveal parties work? Like if no one including both parents don't know the gender of the baby, who gets these cakes? The doctor?

I mean it just doesn't make sense who is delivering all these cakes with the colour blue or pink inside if everybody is oblivious?

Thanks.

In a while, I might work in the US, and I know everyone uses iPhones because most people use iMessage, but personally, I don't like iPhones. I only use Samsung, and I know that for years it was limited until RCS came along for both iMessage and Google Messages (which is now Samsung's default messaging service). But I don't know if there are any limitations. Can anyone here who lives in the US tell me if it's easy to use Samsung?

For people who fully quit Diet Coke: why did you stop, what did you replace it with, and did you notice any improvements?

Dessert

I see this place has MORE American users, it's true, okay?

My mom was a teacher, so she was always home with my siblings and I during summer break and never needed to worry about childcare. I never had the experience of my parents needing to figure out what to do with me while they worked. I'm curious about all the various things that parents do to keep their kids safe and occupied when they can't watch them, from leaving them at grandparents' houses to summer camp and everything else.

When a few Big Tech firms dominate digital markets, they control vast portions of our data, ads, app stores, search, and even public discourse. That kind of power concentration hurts privacy and consumer choice — which is why the EU has been tightening regulations on large platforms.

In other English-speaking countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, it's pretty normal for a mix of shows from other English-speaking countries to be on television. For example the Australian soap opera Neighbours was famously popular in the UK, the UK quiz show The Chase is very popular in New Zealand. What non-American tv shows are popular in America?

I always picture it as something really popular in smaller cities and towns. With next to no presence in bigger cities.

Probably a pretty common question, but I would like to ask regarding my own curiosities.

I am from a country where the only things that matter when applying are your university admission exam score, and your GPA (albeit in a much lesser extent).

Maybe this is bias caused by social media, but it feels to me like you need to be either very wealthy or very lucky to get into top schools, I see stories about how students with perfect GPA, god knows how many APs, a gorillion extracurriculars get rejected because "nothing sets them apart from the others". I know international students are treated a bit differently, so ignore them when answering. Does it all come down to luck or connections (like legacy admissions)?

Logically they're opposites, but we hear so much "I could care less" in (mostly) American media these days, that everyone understands it anyways.

Are we all just used to it already, or does it bother anyone?