Differences

One thing i have always wondered about visiting America is would i stick out like a sore thumb and be easily detected as just "another" tourist (if i wasn't carrying a camera).The thing that makes me wonder this is different words our countries use for different things such as a thong to us Aussies is actually what you guys would call flip flops a turtleneck we call a skivvy peppers we say capsicums scallions spring onions a yam is a sweet potato what you call runners we say joggers a cantelope we call a rock melon and I'm sure there are many many more to list.My cousin who will be my travelling companion has been to America before so i have heard some of her stories but my favourite is, one day she felt like just a ham and cheese sandwich and walked into a shop and for some reason the person serving her couldn't fathom that she just wanted ham and cheese so the sandwich she ended up with could have been her breakfast lunch and dinner she had to peel off layers of ham and cheese just to get a usual size sandwich she would get at home and then what amused her most is that everything comes with a pickle and a bag of chips this idea is foreign to me not only because it doesn't happen here but who would think potato crisps would accompany a sandwich is this the norm?.I also believe that our medium McDonald's meals are actually your small but that really doesn't matter seeing that McDonald's has drastically shrunk the size of their burgers of late. Spelling differences are common as well but our country is starting to become so Americanized that the next generation of kids will probably spell like Americans two easy differences are mom or mum to us or color or colour to us. One phrase I've recently been privy to by spending too much time with an 11yr old is: that's so random! when did this phrase become part of everyday language? it wasn't around when i was in school and when it comes out of my mouth it's just not cool apparently. These differences are minimal and they give the world variety but it's amazing how through TV, film, video games and books that we can learn about these things and i look forward to a few laughs on my travels with misunderstandings of certain phrases from our respective countries along the way!