European Reacts to My Culture Shock as a Russian in the USA 

Wow. Im an american watching a russian react to a russian in america. 😂😁

😊don’t feel bad. I grew up in the states and at the dinner table we were always told to “finish your dinner. There are starving children in China”.

I think every grandmother in the world told us to eat everything on our plates. The world went through a huge food shortage so every grandmother says clean your plate

Most people in the US order a lot of food, but we always carry some home to have it the next day.

Actually, Russian people I know, are so sweet. I worry about the ones who are still living there. Most Americans I know, don’t like the Russian government, but feel badly about how the Russian people are always the ones that suffer the consequences. So, there’s a lot of empathy towards them.

The chances this kid will die on that motorcycle is way higher than getting shot. I live in the USA for my entire life and I know many people who have guns and I don’t know anyone that has been shot. The media makes a huge deal out of shootings. UK has tons of stabbings. Getting a gun is not easy everyone has to get an fbi background check and in most states there are waiting periods and other restrictions some states it is harder to buy a gun. It depends on which state you are in.

When I got full early, my mother used to tell me that I had to eat everything on my plate because "There are starving children in Africa." I finally got tired of her telling me that, and told her that they wouldn't appreciate me getting fat. She actually laughed and told me that she wished she thought of that when her mother used that line on her. We then put the leftovers in the refrigerator for later.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I can't speak for everyone, but for me at least, I don't have anything against Russian people, just Putin. Same as North Korea. No problem with the people, just their half pint dictator.

As an American,we dont care where you come from as long as its done legally

I think the " finish your food" saying was world wide because of the food shortage during and after WW2. It was very common in the USA.

On Guns, the reason why it can be confusion is each state has different laws and different regulations, so he's in South Carolina that will have no waiting period, no background check in private sale, where in Colorado you have a 3 day waiting period to NYC where it is illegal to own most guns and very restricted.

To help you be less confused about obtaining guns- the laws vary by state so depending on where you attempt to buy a gun it can range from being difficult to very easy. In Utah, it's pretty easy basically the "hardest" part is waiting for the gun store to run your background check which can take a couple of hours (if it the gun store is really slow). Also compared to most if not all of Europe, even the difficult places in the US are likely easy.

You get large portions at reataurants usually but that is why we have "doggy" bags to take half home.

With the high cost of the US healthcare system, he needs to be careful on that motorcycle.

As a US citizen, interacting with people from other countries is great. We have nothing against other nationalities. Just their leaders. If you come farther North, you will find more support for Ukraine. I have a Ukranian wreath on my front door that has been there since almost the beginning of the war. It will not come down until the end of the war. Sweet ride by the way. I saw your first video, Zach, and I am proud of you for coming to America. You are a sweet guy, and people react positively to you. Hope you continue to enjoy your journey here. By the way, southern food is really calorie laden😊.

I’m 42 and have been working since I was 14. Worked through high school and college.

Comparing the U.S. and Canada is like comparing Australia to New Zealand

Because of the quantity of food served at restaurants here many of us asks the servers to bring us a "to go" box. We box up the leftovers and eat them later at home. We too were told by our grandmothers and mothers to "clean our plate". That was their shorthand telling us to eat everything on it. The "to go" boxes are our way of not wasting food.

It’s a common thing to ask people where they’re from. We’re usually curious and want to learn about where you’re from.

Being a former EMT, wear a helmet if your going to drive a motorcycle kids. And pants... and appropriate shoes.. during my time as an EMT I saw waaay too many accidents involving motorcycles and the amount of carnage that can happen is crazy.

I learned a little about why you sound Russian to so many of us! Apparently both Russian and Portuguese are stress-timed languages, and have similar intonation. Both languages also heavily use the "sh" sound and have more nasal pronunciations.

He has no idea how many people in the US don't have cars, they are not confined to the Outer Limits either.

Bro, he's riding a 1600 cc motorcycle? For a first ever motorcycle? Dudes definitely confident in himself, to say the least lol

If you take away firearms, better take them away from the government, too. Wait...

The thing about laws is that we have Federal laws that apply to everyone in every state and State laws and regulations that pertain to each individual state. Some States have very few gun laws while others have more state regulations

In larger US cities you don't need a car. We have good public transportation.

I would be embarrassed to death if anyone in the USA said anything derogatory towards a Russian citizen. I think everyone would be very interested to visit with a Russian. I would!

He doesn’t have to eat his food all in one go. We order a lot, but we take half home in a doggy bag. He has to learn to do that. And the gun issue, he was raised to be afraid of guns, so his attitude is fear. School shootings have happened, but it’s few and far between. Not that that’s an excuse, but what choice do we have? Give up guns completely and let bad guys buy them on the black market, knowing we can’t defend ourselves? Hell no.

He’s not joking about the sugar in the bread. Some bread is very sweet. But there are plenty of bread recipes that do not have sugar.

Having transportation is important in most areas outside the larger cities especially. We are 20 mile drive from our nearest grocery store and other stores. The closest school is over 5 miles. Motor cycles owners have gotten a bad reputation from some bad gangs and the media. But recently in our area a fallen soldier was honored by independent riders who PAID to ride...over 5000 strong and the money was donated to his family.

There is zero correlation between gun ownership rates and gun violence in the US. In fact it's an inverse correlation for example Maine and Montana. There is a direct correlation between gun violence and demographics.

The USA IS a CAR CULTURE. Even in Russia, they don't have great transportation. Most places in Russia don't have roads. Far as food goes if you go to a fast food place and you don't eat it, you take it home and eat it later. As far as sugar in food goes, we have many options. Go to organic stores, and the food is high quality. Go to Walmart and get low quality. WE HAVE CHOICES HERE! Ppl from other countries are way too concerned about guns. I never once thought about guns, and I live in a city. Russia is having a problem with guns as I type this. What about the terrorist attack in Moscow recently? Canada has a much smaller population than the USA, too. Canadians and Americans ARE NOT THE SAME!

I dropped when he said “This city ONLY has 200,000-300,000 people” 😂 my city is considered typical for suburb size and it’s around 30,000 people. Even the closest very big city has 300,000 or so people in the actual city maybe 1,000,000 in the greater metro area and it’s considered to be very populated.

They probably wouldn't notice. I took my boyfriend who was Russian up to see my family in Ohio. Our town is in northern Ohio, where most of the population is like second generation American, and whole sections of Cleveland are ethnic. So the first conversations we had, in a restaurant was like, "Where at in Russia? My mom's from there!" And they started in, Russian. Everywhere we went had a corresponding country that everyone came from, which was normal life for me as a kid, but he was blown away.

We live in a senior community. We have clubs to meet people. Dinner dances, tennis, water volleyball, water exercises, golf, quilting, card groups, crafts, RV groups that go on trips, etc.

man I would have NOT guessed Portuguese.

I love your non-Russian Russian accent. You should learn to say "Da!" or "Privet!" for funnies. I actually would like to see some Portuguese content - a walk around a part of your town, or your grocery - just what everyday is like there. You've learned so much about our everyday lives in the US!

My grandma is a Great Depression baby so that’s why she always says to eat all the food on the plate. But when you go out to eat you don’t have to eat all the food that’s in your plate, that’s why we have doggy bag is for. Then you aren’t wasting food you are saving it for your next meal. Like I sometimes make huge amounts of soup or food that I freeze so I can eat it for weeks or months after I make it.

That’s a very beautiful bike. And we like classic cars and classic bikes. We don’t call anything old. It’s classic. And yours is looking very sharp. Good job.😂🎉

Whether good or bad, Americans love using flags to show patriotism for their own country, support for disenfranchised countries (Ukraine for example), or for celebrating their ancestry (where I'm from, you see a lot of Irish or Italian flags).

Grandma's of earlier era's have been through it. My grandmother survived the great depression and WW2. She spent most of her most impressionable years getting the most out of everything possible. Cutting sponges into several pieces to stretch them out. Turning worn clothing into new clothing or rags for rugs or cleaning. Saving food items by various means. That lady knew how to pinch a penny. There's a saying that goes.... "they pinched a penny so hard, they created copper wire" lol. That's really stretching the old copper penny at a new level. But it was different times. Unfortunately, times are getting more like that with each passing day. 😕

My mother hated driving so on my 16th birthday I got my Driver’s License. From that day forward she had me drive everywhere including traveling in multiple states We lived in a mountainous area and I didn’t get car sick when I drove and she hated driving in the windy roads I have had my license for 36 years

Obtaining a firearm in the US is dependant mostly on the state. For example in Texas, if you're buying from a authorized dealer such as Walmart, Bass pro, Academy, Cabela's and most firing ranges, it can be fairly quick depending on how long it takes for that location to run a federal background check and come back cleared, usually can be up to a few hours, and you'll be on your way. But also you have to be 18+ for rifles and shotguns, or 21+ for handguns. Now PRIVATE sales is where it's "easy" say my friend wants to buy a firearm that I have, all I have to do is draft up a bill of sale with both of our photo ID's for my own records, and that firearm is now legally his. Private sales in Texas are unregulated, and there are also several laws that differ from state to state.

People do put Ukrainian flags on their houses here.

Each state has their own gun laws.

the US was still wide open when cars became a thing, so that's probably why our society depends on them so much. Cities like Phoenix were laid out to accommodate cars

How difficult it is to buy and own and carry a gun depends on many factors: what city and state you live in, your criminal history, what type of gun it is, where you buy it, if you buy it from just another person or from a store or at a gun show. In the South, the gun laws are more lax (less restrictive) than like where I live in Seattle, where a new law went into effect that no one is allowed to buy or sell semi-automatic weapons (military-grade weapons like I trained on when I was in the Army) in the state of Washington. But people can still own those type of guns if they purchased them before the law went into effect. In some states you can buy a semi-automatic and walk around with it the same day. In some states you can't. But the fear of guns by most foreigners is usually our of proportion to the actual reality. The tough part is that all of the U.S. is sometimes seen as just one really big country that's the same everywhere, just like smaller countries in Europe, where in reality it's a lot more like the European Union, that has a lot of independent, very different countries with their own laws that have some common laws and currency from the EU. You wouldn't go to Spain and be afraid it's going to be really cold because they're in the same EU as Switzerland. German laws are different than Italian laws, but both countries still are part of the EU. So, more "liberal" states like Washington state (not D.C., the one with Seattle) has more conservative (restrictive) gun laws than "conservative" states like Alabama or Mississippi that have more liberal (less restrictive) gun laws. It can get VERY confusing, even for Americans. But just because you saw a mass shotting in the news that happened in Ohio, that doesn't mean you should suddenly be afraid when you visit Idaho. In other parts of the world, the news just comes across as, "another mass shooting in the U.S.", without considering the size and diversity of the U.S. Seriously, the only countries larger than the U.S. are Canada and Russia. So when you're that damn BIG, saying that there are a lot of shootings in the U.S. is like saying there are a lot of sharks in the ocean. Where the sharks are is more important than that it happened in the ocean. If you're worried about a vacation to the U.S., look up that state and look at its most recent statistics on gun violence. If you feel it's too high and makes you uncomfortable, visit a different state. OH.....the whole reason I even started this rant.....LOL....is that, yes, buildings, businesses and schools can all prohibit the carrying of guns on their property or premises. In many state and federal buildings, especially buildings with courtrooms in it, guns are not allowed and it can feel like you're at the airport, taking off shoes and going through metal detectors. But it's to keep people safe. It's kind of like smoking. Most businesses and buildings not only prohibit smoking in the building, but also within 25 feet of the building. I am 50-years-old. I have lived in Arizona, Florida, Texas, California and now Washington state. My father and grandfather are also veterans, as well and my ex-husband and his mom and dad. Yet the only place where I saw and handled a loaded weapon was in basic training in the Army. That doesn't mean I don't know people that have met with tragic ends because of guns, but I have personally never seen it. The majority of Americans do NOT own guns, and the vast majority of Americans that do own guns use and store them safely. OMG, this was SO long! SORRY! But guns in America is a complicated issue and deserves more discussion than just pro- or anti-gun.

Yes, our parents said that because there was a mass starvation going on in China. Things in China were horrible.😢❤

Always wear a helmet please!

He would be surprised by restaurant portions. An acquaintance of mine went to Russia after the Soviet Union dissolved, to teach Russians how to build a small business and he said he ate breakfast in a restaurant, ordered an omelette, which was $6.00 (US equivalent, 30 years ago) and it was an omelette the size of a US dollar, folded in half. That's it. Nothing else! No potatoes, toast, bacon, nothing!

About guns: It strikes people from elsewhere as being odd for guns to be so "easy" to get, but they were not raised around guns from the cradle as we are. Most of us have had at least one relative who owns guns, and many of those have taken us shooting at least once. When we have gone shooting (perhaps as young as 6-7 years), we are taught the basics of safe handling. We also see guns constantly on TV and in movies and, often, the proper (and improper) handling of a firearm is part of the story. Guns permeate our culture such that we are not nearly as frightened of them as people from other communities. It is like a shark not being afraid of drowning, or a bird not being afraid to fall. (The origins of WHY guns are so common in the US are another story and involves the throwing off of tyranny, but also, and perhaps more, about how truly enormous the nation is, and "taming" it was a daily struggle against beasts and enemies, making guns absolutely necessary to build a nation.) Disclaimer: I do not own any firearm, but that's a function of my very small budget. Had I the money I would own at least one for personal defense. Cheers, y'all.

Fun fact: Most Americans don't own a gun. Only about 42% of households have a gun and that percentage has been relatively stable for decades.

In most states, those which are gun friendly, it is easy for a normal person who does not have a criminal record to get a gun. There is a background test which needs to be passed and a minimum age. In some cases firearms training is required. It's not the guns. It's the people. Look at Switzerland for example. Gun ownership is required, so is safety training and it has the lowest gun violence crime in the entire world. Only a few decades ago we actually taught gun safety in our schools, using live firearms. Firearms safety is a culture. The more people we have practicing that culture the better off we will be.

The no guns in this building was probably a court house. I've never seen that sign at the places I go to.

Gun laws vary from state to state and even from city to city. This guy is more likely to die in a motorcycle crash than be killed by any kind of weapon.

Some people fly multiple flags (state, college, sports team, and Ukraine, Italian, Irish, etc) depends on where they live and their preferences. Only rule is the American flag should be on the top if it is a flag pole with others underneath. And you don’t have to fly the American flag just a lot of us do.

A school is a " gun free" zone( by law, no guns allowed)..which makes them easy targets. An armed society is a more polite society

2:55 LOL. I'm not any kind of language expert, but, like he is saying, if asked, I would have guessed that his accent was Russian.

people think you're Russian because that's how American actors make it sound.

Regarding the sign about "No guns in this building" - some states allow people to carry guns, and/or have concealed carry permits for guns, but some places, usually federal buildings, court houses, police stations, etc., do not permit entry with a weapon.

The acquisition of a firearm is typically a straightforward process, albeit subject to regional variations. In certain jurisdictions, such as Pennsylvania and Florida, the procedure involves visiting a gun shop, selecting the desired firearm, and completing a basic form. Subsequently, the gun shop conducts a background check by running the individual's name through a database. Assuming the absence of any felony convictions, the individual is cleared to purchase the firearm and can depart with it promptly. However, it is important to note that the process may differ significantly in other locations, such as New Jersey, New York City, California, or Hawaii.

They city people are in love with being on top of one another.

Accents are being minimized by TV. Access to guns depends on which state you live.

24:50 - I think the reason you are getting mixed messages is because the laws for getting a gun vary a lot depending on the state.

Great video as always Comrade!

I think of possible active shooters everyday but I also work at Walmart. We have active shooter training 4 times a year. I had a little bit of a scare at work the other day with a mentally unstable person (which turned out fine) but I did feel compelled to send a quick text to friends and family saying “just in case something happens, I love you.” I wasn’t overly panicked and continued with my work but it was definitely present in my mind that this could be it.

We put flags out for any country we support.

Bike is pretty magnificent ! Easy to enjoy !

Lord! I am so sick of the constant comments about guns! Andre has seen them before! Enough already!

The food issue lives here too. My mother is from Europe, starved under the war, and required we eat all our food. My Russian father was the same - with Russian grandmother, you must clean your plate.

It's not hard to get a firearm legally if you pass a federal background check, depending on the state you live in. Getting one ilegally, also varies. I have bought them legally myself and am responsible with them.

Okay.I gotta say when you said that your neighbors probably didn't like it that your bike was too loud. ❤ americans love motorcycles.

You have the same cadence and accent as a Russian person. The two people I love most in this world are Russians. She is a pianist who streams on Twitch and we have become very close friends in the past 4 years. I love that since watching you, I can tell the difference. 🥰

Nationwide, you need to pass an FBI background check. State-to-state varies in restrictions.

He hasn't learned that most people ask for a box at restaurants and take our leftovers home to eat the next day. I never can finish it all

I like listening to his perspective

I first drove at 14. My Dad commuted to work and left the car for her to use if my 2 younger brothers or myself needed anything. The problem for her was- it was a 3 speed on the column AND she couldn't drive a stick. She stalled it out in an intersection and panicked. I got out, pushed her over and got in and drove it home. From then on I drove. My Dad never knew.

As a person from the north of the United States, Wisconsin, when I moved to South Carolina my accent changed dramatically just living and being around the South Carolinians. It's almost like an infection haha.

America towns and cities are spread out.There's lots of suburbs, people that don't like living in the city.There's lots of small towns.You need a car to get around. Cars are not cheap. If you have good credit you can Make payments monthly.

A lot of older Americans have not bought guns recently, but still have guns from their youth. Hunting!

I traveled to St. Petersburg about 10 years ago, and all the Russian people I met were just lovely. And they hated Putin, didnt know how to get rid of him

A 1600 cc Motorcycle for his first bike? That's a brave man, even on an old cruiser like that an overly zealous twist of the throttle can mean bad things with that much engine behind it.

I didn't drive until my 40's. I always lived in big cities with good public transportation. I moved to a college town that had transportation, but not as much as I was used to - it stopped early at night and didn't run on Sunday. I think a lot of smaller cities have transportation, it's just not much good outside of rush hour or weekdays, so you need a car.

My dad taught me to not only finish everything on my plate but lick the plate clean.

Most people in the United States have no issues with the people from Russia, we may dislike Russian politicians, but a lot of Russian's also dislike their own politicians too (and American's also dislike our own politicians as well).

Okay, so to clear up your confusion, it's relatively easy to get a *long gun* (rifle, shotgun, any long barrelled non--fully-automatic firearm), but it is considerably harder to get a pistol because it requires certification and a permit, as well as a background check (most guns require cursory background checks but pistols are more intensive). The reason for the difference is that pistols are smaller and easy to conceal, as well as being faster and easier to carry/aim/operate. People will always choose pistols over long guns for self-defense and therefore are more likely to own and use one in cases of domestic violence, small scale robbery, etc. So they are considered more of a security risk, especially because they can be concealed. If you want to conceal-carry a pistol you have to get an extra permit. It's a whole thing. But you can just walk into any Walmart or Cabella's and buy a bolt action rifle with only about 10 min of paperwork. In some extremely gun-happy states you'll see people just casually coming into Walmart with rifles slung over their backs. To be fair, there ARE valid reasons for wanting to carry a gun besides that of defending yourself against another person or going hunting. You have to remember that in North America we have alligators, wolves, bears, coyotes, cougars, and moose, plus many deadly snake species. You feel a lot safer when you randomly encounter a bear whilst taking out the trash if you're packing, lol.

american here old school my youngest so shipped off for the US Navy yesterday and he knew all his life, " I will feed you until you can't move, it's up to you. take all want but eat all you take. we waste nothing around here."

In the US if you live in rural areas, you can live in big open spaces without money. Our big open spaces are our cheapest places to buy

That's what , I was told to do. You eat everything on your plate. You don't throw it away.

For some reason I have picked up a lot of languages other than my native American (not Native American) English. I have been schooled in German and Korean, but also picked up a lot of Spanish living in New Mexico, plus bits of Navajo, French, Japanese, Chinese and even a very slight bit of Russian. Much of the Chinese I know was taught to me by servers at Asian restaurants! I became friends with the owner of one Chinese place who refused to speak Chinese to me, and when I asked him why, his answer broke my heart a little. He said that he has a "terribly strong accent" and he didn't want me to pick up the bad habits! (Humble Brag: For some reason I do not speak "foreign" languages with much accent of any kind. My Korean instructor one day mentioned that I had so little accent that, if I were speaking to a Korean on the phone, they would know for a fact that I was not Korean, but they could not guess where I was from ... Japan, Germany, US, Portugal ... anywhere. My Chinese friend with the accent said I spoke such good Chinese that it was equivalent to "BBC English".) Sadly, I do not speak any Portugese, although it is similar enough to Spanish that I can comprehend broad meanings if I read it, or it is spoken slowly.

I think we're individualistic in a personal sense but also communal in a way as well. We value personal achievements above all else but celebrate it communally. We value our own independence but value family as well so we tend to be louder and opinionated but friendly and supportive.

Im shocked he can understand how much different it is from his homeland, yet criticizes the gun rights of that country while failing to realize that those very gun rights are reason these countries are so different to begin with. 😊

"Hell yeah, brother!" Made me laugh out loud!

To be fair there are some shockingly violent places in the US and they can be in areas that are otherwise fantastic places to live so it does tend to surprise people. It isn't just guns either we have some very wild criminals just across the board and as a culture we are fascinated by our criminals so they don't get hidden, you will hear about the stabbing or the shootings and other crazy stuff that happens nationwide for better or worse.

Enjoyed thanks

I was 23 before I got my driver’s license. I lived in big cities with public transportation, so didn’t need to drive. Then my husband was accepted to graduate school in Laramie, WY, and I had to get a license, to go anywhere.

I bought my first car (a 1961 International Harvester, so technically a truck) at age 18. I saved up enough to buy it after working my first job for 3 months. But that was long before the "Cash for Clunkers" program drove up car prices by reducing the supply of older cars.

The people who say it’s easy to get a gun, have never gotten a gun. It’s not easy

Love your content thanks for making my day

Thats a lot of motorcycle for a beginner, but he is a big guy. In the US, a car learners permit is filled with restrictions. The biggest being the need for a licensed driver in the front passenger seat. A motorcycle learners permit generally just restricts you to daylight hours, no passengers an staying off the interstate highway system.