After living in the US for four years, I thought it would be interesting to document a few things that I found different from where I’m from.
Here are some of my thoughts.
Credit cards are very common
One of the nice things about living in the US is you don’t have to bring cash all the time. Online stores, restaurants, gas stations, groceries stores, and most parking meters accept credit cards.
On top of it, you will get the rewards/cashback or other awesome perks of credit cards such as extended warranty and travel insurance. No need to bring a wallet or a purse, just slip the cards discreetly in your phone case and you are good to go. Simplicity at its best!
Whereas in Indonesia, cash is still often the payment method so bringing cash is very important. Traditional stores and most gas stations still accept only cash, so it is common to have ATM machines nearby the gas stations.
Wiping butt with dry toilet paper
This is a popular question I get from my friends in Indonesia. Do you use tissues to clean your butt? Yes, I do. Does it feel weird? It used to – I did not enjoy it that much at first though.
In Indonesia, people normally use spray water installed in the toilet or in a more traditional way, a scoop with a bucket of water and a soap bar to wipe the sensitive area down there. When I first doing it, yes, it indeed felt so strange and unclean. But I got used to it quickly (I have to – no other options).
Maid service is a luxury thing
Most people can’t afford cleaning services in the US. In Indonesia, middle-class people and lower can often afford maid services. They will do dishes, sweep floors, do laundry and cook for you. Even some of them will live in the house and be a part of the family.
Laundry services are a very popular business in Jakarta. It is not a coin-operated laundromat – it is a service where your clothes will be dried, washed, and folded and they may deliver for you as well at an affordable price. An awesome way to save time for strategically lazy people like me!
US is all about customer services
The online shopping and retail experience in the US is just so seamless. Retailers in the US such as Target, Amazon and H&M have a return policy of 30 days. More generous online retailers such as Zappos even give their customers a full refund if they send the item back in its original condition within a year. Although some merchants may ask why we return it, the reason does not really matter. You can just say you are not happy with the item and they will give you back your money.
Obviously, this is not a common thing in Indonesia. Although it may change since I moved to the US many years ago. Some merchants may let people return stuff but the return policy might be stricter.
No “oleh-oleh” or souvenir culture
In Indonesia and some other Asian countries, your coworkers and friends would expect you to bring something for you if you travel somewhere else, particularly overseas. This does not usually happen in western culture. Whenever I come back from a trip, my coworkers ask me about my story and experience instead.
As you grow up, you become more conscious in terms of what to give to your friends. Inspired by Mimi Ikonn, I do think that we should give a gift when we want to, not because we have to. There is will be no awkward situation as well when we don’t know what to respond to the gift.
Gap at the edge of toilet doors.
I don’t know if other people notice, but literally, you can peek through the crack in the toilet door. Not only I can slip my finger through the crack but could tell somebody wearing green pants and looking at her cellphone from the mirror.
Calling people by their first name
One of my first dumb mistakes in the US was calling my former supervisor “Ms.” followed by her first name (instead of her last name) since her last name is very long and I thought it was the proper way to use the title (Duh!).
But no.. the correct way is using their last name although it is uncommon to call much older people with Mr. Lastname (maybe children do). In some cases we do use a title, for instance, calling college professors with Dr/Prof. But in the workplace, adults would casually address each other with their first name. Different from western culture, we would use the honorifics such as “Mas” or “Pak” in Indonesia before the person’s name to the someone who is clearly older as a sign of respect.
Movie theater seating
In the US, most theaters are open-seating – you pay the ticket, go to the theater, and choose whenever you want to sit. Whereas in Indonesia and other Asian countries, film-goers will reserve the seat number in advance after purchasing the ticket.
However there is a rare case when I go to a luxury theater here in the US and I need to pick a seat right after paying for the ticket. But since there are very few people in the theater, I can pretty much change my seat and move to a different seat anyway. You even can move to a different movie since no one stands at the door and checks your ticket in each theater.
That’s it guys 🙂 I hope you find it interesting!
Vi, a software engineer with a keen interest in personal finance, had planned to retire once she reached her lean FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) goal. However, after achieving the goal, she took few months of a mini-retirement filled with travel and adventure and decided to continue her career.
For the past five years, Vi has been using Personal Capital (Empower), a free financial tool. Her favorite features include the dashboard for net worth, allocation, and planning, which help track her FI/RE goal and keep those investment fees in check.