More on the view from here

A person will develop an instinctive feel for something once they've done it long enough. I've lived among Americans for about twelve years, in their country. When I lived in other countries, I spent 90 percent of my schooling years in the American education system, so I was always around Americans for a large part of my life.

It used to irritate me when my cousin, who had never left Malaysia before and had only been in the States for two or three years, made blanket statements like, "Americans don't brush their teeth before having breakfast" like he was some kind of an expert.

Being American is a complex thing. They might seem very laid back on the surface, always guffawing and sharing jokes with strangers, always on a first-name basis with everybody, yet they are everything but laid-back. Underneath the loosy-goosy outer layer, there is an uptight Puritan. They are good about brushing their teeth, flossing after meals and going to their dentist every six months. They dress very carefully, never wearing a black brassiere under a white t-shirt. Armpits are always shaved and smothered with deoderant. Clothes are always dry-cleaned and pressed before being worn to a party. There is always enough small change in the wallet for tips.

Their sense of humour (like holding a big sign at a baseball game that says "Bachelor's last game!") is subtle. Only a certain type of person can go to a ballgame holding up a sign with an irrelevant message and have it be funny.

If I went to a ballgame with a huge, cardboard sign that said something stupid like that, it wouldn't be funny -- I guarantee it. I would be told to put that thing away because I'm blocking the view!