Here are interesting things Ghanaians must know when travelling to the US

pulse-ghana admin

February 6, 2018 3:21 PM

These are some of the things to look out for on your next visit to the US to avoid any embarrassment

Many of the over 70 million tourists who troop into the US every year face a montage of potentially confusing situations which can be quite embarrassing for first-timers.

Find out some of the scenarios that can spark such embarrassing moments:

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The Time zones

There are 9 time zones by law in the USA and its dependencies, including those of two uninhabited US territories. The contiguous US has 4 standard time zones. In addition, Alaska, Hawaii, and 5 US dependencies all have their own time zones. As neither Hawaii nor the 5 dependencies use Daylight Saving Time (DST), there are only 6 corresponding DST time zones. This can be confusing to new tourists and having foreknowledge can at least make your stay comfortable.

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Misspelling American words

The differences in the spelling of some words can be a source of embarrassment to new settlers in America. Especially with those who are more biased towards the English spelling, it is possible to get a few stares for writing labour, colour and neighbour in the US.

Floor labelling

Especially for tourists who are used to the British numbering of floors, the American system of naming floors is one more than the British system. While the Americans start their numbering from the ground floor, the British ignore the ground floor and start from the next. What is, therefore, a six-floor building in America, will be called a five-floor building.

Date Format

The British format for writing dates is to write the day, followed by the month and then the year, like, 5 February 2018. This is so important where dates are written all numerical like 9/2/18. There is likely to be confusion if the British format is consistently used on American soil.

Sports

Unlike Ghana were football is the popular sport, Americans are more enthused about rugby, basketball, baseball and ice hockey. You are therefore likely to be disappointed if you to visit the US expecting the Ghanaian football euphoria.

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