In most restaurants, soda and water always come with ice, it's just the standard way they serve drinks and they don't change their process based on the weather. At home I keep drinks in the fridge and fill my water using the fridge water filter so everything is already cold, so I almost never put ice in it. I think people subconsciously associate water that isn't cold with not being clean or safe to drink.

I too do not understand how sensitive people are over pronouns.

That’s def just a movie thing. I’ve met more people who take off their shoes than not

What course do your students belong to? my university is so understaffed I have a professor who teaches a class to 50 students from 5 different courses

wow youre so dedicated. like ive never met a teacher who cares this much

Im never buying a journal for the new year. I bought one this year, it was so so freaking expensive, i filled it witg goals for the year, and now i cant igonore any of them. I wake up, see that overpriced journal on my desk, and just think to myself ``i dont wanna disapoint past me, he was so excited about 2025`` every single one of those entries haunt me from the back of my head the whole day

Are you meant to eat the apples or just keep it? May sound kind of dumb but there’s a few things in my home that we like to make but not eat like gingerbread houses or cookie ornaments

I love that that’s so sweet

Happy Christmas!

I assume you can and already have answered your students questions yourself but since im also a teacher i want to answer some no comments answered yet: Yes, eye contact is considered important! I remember getting scolded as a kid for not making eye contact, but to be honest i dont really like it- i cheat and look at eyebrows or nose :) Black Friday is definitely all about shopping but... i think the deals have gotten a lot worse! When I was a kid, you could see things being 75% off or even more! Now i feel like even 20% off is not super common and i see worse deals than that more frequently. You really did used to see deals so good huge crowds of people would fight or step on each other, but its not common anymore No, not all schools have fraternities and sororities but most major schools have them! They are getting less common though, becuase many get in trouble for mistreating their members

I've never noticed how many words there were for money, especially food related words. Probably has something to do with historicaly wealth = access to food.

i drink ice water all year round. water feels wrong without ice

Are you in a public school or a private school?

“Why are Americans so sensitive about pronouns?” I’m an American and I still don’t know why and think it’s ridiculous lol

I love the question about money - now I wonder, do they only use one term in Chinese? If so, why? Is Chinese society less focused on money? When I visited, I had the impression that young people were very focused on getting a well-earning job rather than studying/working in a field that interests them. Coming from Switzerland I feel like for most it‘s more about doing something you like, which I’m aware is a privilege not all have, because not all have a social net ready to catch you. Thinking about it, I don‘t think we use so many different terms for money either. And now I wonder if there‘s a difference between economic classes, like do people from lower economic background use a larger variety of terms for money because it was a bigger issue? I think there‘s probably a connection. But wouldn‘t it be similar all across the globe and in China as well?

"technically its a republic" That's a misconception right there, republic and democracy are not mutually exclusive. Most democracies are republics. Republic just means run by a president.

It's not a republic, it's an autocracy

What a fun and interesting class session this would be.

Slight correction, we are specifically a democratic republic. Not JUST a republic.

Just found your channel. You are delightful!

The answer to the sweetness question is primarily Prohibition! Lots of very sweet desserts were invented and popularized in the 1920s to try and replace alcohol consumption.

This is my 9th year staying in the US and I still share many of these questions lol

lifestyles are different in all parts of america, not just east coast and west coast. people don’t usually kiss each other’s faces. i feel horrible about the american government tbh, very unsure, i don’t feel like they have the people’s best interest in mind. and no salads are pretty big and have a lot of stuff in them like chicken, so some people but usually a salad is enough to make me full.

Money can be called bread, cheddar, bacon, cabbage, etc. We could make a whole money sandwich.

Bc they don't like themselves

Bc money is that cheddar 😂

Love britts accents

Yes unless it's a fully loaded salad & u have a small appetite

No we don't kiss faces

Lgtbq is how to spell hurt feelings

Yes big difference between every city and state especially coast to coast

Sick people always pay doctors bills

It's a republic not a democracy lmao.

You would say "them", not "him or her"

Technically, the US is a democratic republic.

OK but sleeping with shoes on is diabolical😅

These are all really good questions

I mean, imagine explaining to an ancient greek person from the city states that invented democracy that theres a Democratic country out there where the guy with less votes can still win the election? Democracy is supposed to mean the will of the majority after all. Im from Brazil, and america's or Canada's concept of democracy doesn't sound like democracy

I love how ice water tastes I would stop supporting an idol if they were boring or in a scandal like Burning Sun Women are slightly lower socially than men 😢 Lying in bed with shoes is gross I love eye contact Black Friday is when I do all of my shopping. Though it is less intense than it was. All schools have frats

Lol. Yea, I understand where the American sweetness comes from but as someone who likes lighter taste more than the a.verage chinese, I can't stand many desserts😂

They're all valid questions, I was expecting silly questions tbh, could probably spend a whole class just explaining a few of these

And dough!

Anne Hathaway caught a stray oh my days

i love your passion about teaching. people like you literally came from heaven to spread knowledge, wish i had it in me

My parents made me start paying rent when I dropped out of college at 18.... I moved out and don't really talk to them that often, but I'm still on their insurance. So, it really depends.

Never I think it’s an old term that died out

It's an old term that's not used anymore 😊

Very 1980’s. As a child may have said it in a comedic way.

Oh uh. Can you explain to them that western media isn't representative of the American experience

I know many countries in Europe have banned a lot of artificial flavors and artificial colors, but those are very common in food here. Not sure how it is in China but I would guess those are less common there. There's also a lot of sugar in things. Our chocolate is also a bit waxy compared to European chocolate unless you buy the fancier chocolates. I think Chinese food tends to have more MSG. Chinese food also has more rice, whereas in the states we more often have pasta, bread, or potatoes. From what I've heard, school in the US is much less intense than most Asian countries. Though you can take AP courses which tend to give a lot of homework and require quite a bit of studying. You can also take CE courses, which means Concurrent Enrollment. It's a class taught by a highschool teacher, but the curriculum and the exams are made by college profs, (or at least the tests?) and so if you pass the class, you get college credit for it. Those are not as homework heavy as AP courses in my experience. (AP stands for... Advanced Placement? I think?) When they're done with homework (or before starting it) they tend to hang out with friends, play video games, go on social medias, watch shows, read books etc. Grades are also much more private, at least compared to Japan, idk if China posts the class standings or not. I much prefer being able to elect our leaders than to have a monarchy. I think the way we go about voting is flawed though. I'd much rather have a voting system closer to those in Europe. Children are not always as good at a job as their parents, and so even if you have a good monarch, their heir could be terrible. If elections are done well, then people get the kind of leader they want most of the time. The two party system is terrible though. There aren't only two kinds of people. It's a monopoly, (I guess bi-opoly?) which America is supposed to squash those... I think a minority of highschoolers do drugs, but I don't know the stats. I think drinking alcohol underage is more common but still minority? That or smoking/vaping. Teachers make so little they often have to have a second job in order to afford rent. (Or have a partner whose job pays better.) For tipping, you should tip 15% at least. My family tips 20% because we're able to and out of respect for servers. The buttons at checkout usually say "10%, 15%, 20%, or Custom Amount, or No Tip". Most servers think people who leave no tips are stingey and rude, unless it was a small purchase. I try to always tip if it's a restaurant, delivery service, etc. But you don't usually tip at fast food places or stores that aren't restaurants, unless they do an extra service for you like wrapping a gift or they were super nice or helpful. Couples dating, I think the trend is moving towards splitting the bill? Some couples, whoever asked the other out is who pays, and they try to take turns treating the other. Some parts of the states still favor men paying. Most Americans love pie yes 😤 So much so that we have it for Thanksgiving, and then also many celebrate Pi day, based on the mumber Pi (3.14, or March 14th because of how we write dates). I think we more often eat cake though. Cake is for birthday parties and other celebrations, pie is more for specific days or a neighborhood potluck. Pumpkin pie, fruit pies (apple, cherry, banana cream, peach), chocolate, and pecan pies are the most commonly had pies I think. Lemon meringue and key lime pie are if you're a baker or prefer slightly bitter things. Often folk buy the pies frozen and then warm them up or defrost them when they want to eat them.