Wow this topic has gotten very popular!

Even though I am American I look at football as the actual football American sport and football around the other countries like UK, Central and South America, Spain, etc I look at it as soccer.

I would love to ask a few Brits on here if they like American football? If this was already asked then I'm sorry.

Okay, this might be a stupid question (I also think that my last question was about music as well) but: Is Ellie Goulding really popular over there, or is she just well known in the states?

@Shadowlander:
Boxing Day is a day when traditionally rich people gave gifts to servants or the poor (in boxes? I have heard the expression used here for a Christmas bonus/gift from employer to employee "your Christmas box" or "your box") on the day after Christmas. Perhaps there was leftover food?
There are several theories about the name.
The sport of boxing is not connected to it!

wild rose as far as foods go, the only things I can think of that are truly American are like hamburgers, hot dogs and apple pie, and I'm not entirely sure that anything but apple pie is truly American! Anyone else have any input? I know we eat a lot of different types of food like Mexican (tacos, burritos, etc.) Italian (pizza, spaghetti) Chinese (rice, egg rolls), stuff like that.

National Holidays (I'm sure I'm missing some!) include New Years Eve/ Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Fourth of July (as you know ), Halloween (which I am totally against!!), Thanksgiving and Christmas. At least those are the main ones. If you want me to go in depth on any, I'd be glad to.

Reenactment... my family was just recently bitten by the reenactment bug, so I'm not yet sure how popular it is here but yes we do have the, and I personally am interested in seeing some soon!

Any other questions for Americans I'd be glad to answer.

Lu

P.S. Questions for Brits, etc: do you always say 'straight away' where we say 'right away'? Because Arabella Morton (the girl who played Gael) used that term too and I think she is Australian?

1. Perhaps it is because everything is reversed anyway in the opposing hemispheres? In Canada, water flushes clockwise. In Australia, water flushes counter-clockwise. We drive on the right side of the road, they on the left.

Can't be this, since we drive on the left in the UK too. I have no idea why it differs though.

For Brits: Do Americans ever star in your movies like Brits do in ours?

Sometimes, but it's less common. This is probably because the British film industry is much smaller than the US's, so our films tend to done on a smaller scale.

Do you have the same kinds of cars as us Americans?

No, we all drive Italian or German cars. Occasionally British ones.
Edit - by this, I meant we don't drive American cars, not that you guys never drive Italian cars or whatever

What are the stereotypes (if any) surrounding us in your country?

The most popular one is probably the loud American tourist Although I suspect this is because you guys speak English as a first language so you're more likely to be chatty, if that makes sense.

What is health-care like there?

We have a nationalised health service, sometimes waiting lists can be quite long but that depends where you live (for example, in my home county it was sometimes difficult to get a NHS dentist, but where I live now it's really easy), but otherwise it's a system I appreciate.

Is it true that the Queen is mostly a position, or does she make decisions? Is there a King? (realizes this is probably silly to ask )

No king, the Queens husband is Prince Phillip. I don't know the exact details, but I imagine it's because the system only allows one monarch at a time.

Second edit, completely forgot to answer the other half of this The Queen technically holds some power to influence Parliament, but she rarely uses it, so I'd say it's a ceremonial position more than anything. I suspect if she did try to exert said power it wouldn't go down well.

Brits: What's the architecture like? Do you just have to look next door to find an old house or estate? Or, do you actually have to go hunting for something old?

Some newer areas don't have much, but most places have at least some older buildings. I'm originally from a town just outside London and there we have a lot of 1600's buildings, wonky old Tudor houses, thatched cottages, that sort of thing. I live in a medium sized city now and there's a lot of the 1700-1800's grandeur buildings, you can't swing a cat without hitting a listed building

I would love to ask a few Brits on here if they like American football? If this was already asked then I'm sorry.

As a country, we don't (me neither). We play rugby, which is similar to American football but without all the body amour.

Okay, this might be a stupid question (I also think that my last question was about music as well) but: Is Ellie Goulding really popular over there, or is she just well known in the states?

I have a fuzzy memory of my little sister mentioning her...I'm probably not the best person to answer this one

P.S. Questions for Brits, etc: do you always say 'straight away' where we say 'right away'? Because Arabella Morton (the girl who played Gael) used that term too and I think she is Australian?

I've not noticed a spilt between these terms. Thinking of it, 'right away' does seem like a more American term, but it's not something I've noticed.

Yes, Arabella is Australian and we say "straight away" here. There are people in Australia who celebrate Thanksgiving but probably not many of them. Americans who have moved here to live celebrate Thanksgiving but that's about it.

Btw, Warrior, how easy is it for a Canadian to move to Australia as compared to an American? I've heard that Canadians are better accepted.

Watziznehm, that's absolutely correct. I don't know many Canadians here but those that are, have been readily accepted. Unfortunately much of America has a bad reputation in Australia (of course many of you lovely folk here aren't part of that).

No king, the Queens husband is Prince Phillip. I don't know the exact details, but I imagine it's because the system only allows one monarch at a time.

Actually, I think it is more to do with who inherits the throne. When Prince William inherits the throne and becomes King, his wife will be Queen. However, if was a Princess inherits the throne, say William's daughter, should he have one and no sons, her husband would be Prince, and not become King, even though he married a Queen. This most likely has something to do with the fact that the throne would still pass to a son, even if he has an older sister.

Is it true that the Queen is mostly a position, or does she make decisions? Is there a King? (realizes this is probably silly to ask )

England (and subsequently the United Kingdom after 1707) has been a constitutional monarchy since at least 1680, with the Restoration, after Cromwell's "reign", and when William III and Mary II, and the Bill of Rights (which was passed in 1689). Of course, the beginnings of the the constitutional monarchy in England started with the signing of the Magna Carta. While it is true that the Queen and the Royalty to an extent are symbolic positions only, Her Majesty still does retain significant reserve powers, which may be exercised in times of emergency or constitutional crises. Which is pretty much what Shantih said, except for I just added some terms and some history behind why our monarchy is what it is. (Which, I might add, I rather like. I hope that's not too political of a statement?) So basically, the Queen is the Head of State, but she must act within the parameters of (I believe) the unwritten Constitution, and the laws and rules set down in such documents as the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights 1689, and the Act of Settlement 1701. Now, other constitutional monarchs may or may not have different "freedoms" and powers, it all really depends on what is put forth in the constitution of their land.

Wow I really knew what that meant! Yay for good American history teachers! I have always been fascinated with English history more than my own state's or country's history. I have some more questions for who ever would like to answer!

How in the world do you play cricket? I looked it up and I could not understand.

What is one thing that makes you proud to live where you are? This is to anyone anywhere in the world who would like to answer!

Oh wow, that's interesting about Thanksgiving! Thanks for answering. This thread is really neat! I love learning about these kinds of things. I'm going to have to go back and read through it.

Just curious - how many people here are bilingual? Are there more bilingual people in other parts of the world than in the United States? (I really wish I was bilingual, that would be neat!)

Ah, that makes sense! Thanks for the answers, Fanny, Watziznehm, and n_a_h! Now I have a better picture of it.

I apologize, Whatziznehm- I should have gotten "provinces" right. Thanks!
That's very neat that they came from Russia! So they're originally Russians who were one of the first in Canada?

To those in Alaska, is the accent there leaning towards General Standard American, or is it more Canadian, or something quite different?

... is Thanksgiving celebrated by people outside of the United States?

I was born in Kenya, and yes, over there we do celebrate Thanksgiving. I don't remember celebrating it there quite well, but from what my mom told me the traditions are similar to what Watziznehm said about Thanksgiving in Canada. Singing worship songs with guests, children reciting verses, etc. is a usual traidition there for Thanksgiving.

This is for anyone outside of the US. Are labels on packaging of various items in stores (ie. food products, health products, electronics) in multiple languages? Here they tend to at least be in English and Spanish. Often French, Ocasionally Dutch, and other languages I can't recognize (one might have been German).

In answer to Lady Lilliandil's question, I'm proud to live here (USA) because of the diversity of cultures. There are people with all sorts of different backgrounds so there's always a wide perspective on things, or at least there is for me. As for my state (NY) its not so much the cultural range as it is the difference in habitats. Obviously you have the big city area, NYC/ Long Island/ Manhattan, but you also have a six million acre state park in the north, the Adirondacks- much of it is wilderness, and just about every level of wilderness vs city in between. And the Adironacks are beautiful, My dad says you just can't get anything like the freshwater beaches of the Adirondacks. We camp in Raquette Lake, although I've been to Lake George, Blue Mountain Lake, Inlet, and Old Forge frequently. My cousin had a wedding in the High Peaks region not too long ago, and I've been yearning to go back there ever since. I've been to NYC two or three times. Once in Time Square. I was in awwe looking up at the buildings, and almost walked into a taxi-cab But I'd have to say that for me the little glimpse I got of the High Peaks region was even more amazing. I just can't get over the fact that one state can have such opposite kinds of area.

This is for anyone outside of the US. Are labels on packaging of various items in stores (ie. food products, health products, electronics) in multiple languages? Here they tend to at least be in English and Spanish. Often French, Ocasionally Dutch, and other languages I can't recognize (one might have been German).

Yes, because so many countries are bilingual. My sister lived in Germany for a while and she brought home some things with her that were still in their original packaging, some had several languages (including English and Chinese and other more [for lack of a better word] popular languages) on them and some did not. I expect it has to do with the budget of the store that's selling them.

To each other does it sound like you have accents?- Good question. Yes we do notice each others accents like you might notice the difference between a New Orleans & and Manhattan accent. We notice the difference in accents especially in the different countries in Britain. For instance in Scotland, It tends to be a higher accent coming up at the end of each word, but also quite ruff and in England there are so many different accents that i can't make a round up of them all and i don't know about Wales.

What does beef Mash and new Potatoes mean? -Beef is beef . Mash is mashed potato and new potatoes are a nice type of potatoes, But generally we don't eat like that often. I don't know if you use this term in America or Australia or were you come from but it's really just pub food.

What do British people think of American Accents?- Well, it depends. Lots of people think American Accents are dead cool others think that they're are really whiny (I'm sorry to tell you that but you asked.) Me personally. don't mind your accents. I do n't really mind them or love them but when i'm with Americans I often start to subconsciousnessly start to speak with an American assent but as soon as i realise i'm doing it i stop because i don't want them to think i'm taking the mick.