Local traditions and culture in North America

It would be handy to know a little bit of Spanish, there is a high Spanish influence there, I was lucky because Italian is close enough and so there were times when I went to little stalls/swap meets, I could understand if someone was a little 'dodgy' or not.

Aussies - fanny means something else in America, they aren't being rude ok.
Speak clearly - Americans sometimes have trouble with our accent - remember WE hear theirs on TV all the time.
Americans think our accent is a put on. IT ISN'T!!
Be polite to the police, they carry very big guns and are just doing their jobs.
Ask for help - Americans generally are very happy to give directions etc. I've found them , at home, to be a generous and friendly people.
Be prepared for a food selection and combination/variety which will blow your mind. They have enormous helpings - your eyes will be bigger than your stomach.
America is the place for cheap good quality clothing. Places like Gap are eerily cheap to me, while the quality is excellent.

Assume you have to tip if you are not sure. It is better to be told ' no, thats ok sir/madam' than to not tip an suffer especially in a Restuarant if you intend eating there more than once.

Aussies, Coke in LA tastes like our Pepsi and vice versa ( at least I found that )

don't try to convert them to the wonders of vegemite - it scares them.

Coors is not a bad substitute for Crown Lager but if in doubt try Labatt ( Canadian ) or take some with you.
lite beer in USA is LOW fat not LOW alcohol ( and yes there is a story behind that *hick * )

Perhaps the Most 'common mistakes made by travelers'
visiting Canada and the US is the assumption that the people and the general values are the 'same' on this continent,

Having travelled quite extensively, I want to point out that I found a significant difference/change aproximately every 100km.!

Much more on this as we go.
Infact, this topic is posing me with a Crusade that
I will likely accept. If I do take it upon myself to 'make waves' or become Loud about this perspective, I will formulate my thoughts on this page prior to sending the articles to respective media, etc.

Ask a local where they might stay...But, wait ask someone else too! That first person could be a dummy!
Ask a honest taxi driver...Find a Big Grocery store in town to do your food shopping unless you want to spend a fortune at a mini-mart on junk!!! Smile and be freindly and honest!! Hide your $$$ in two places on your body! Take advantage of people offering a place to stay..if you feel comfortable with them! We have alot of great people here who are really trusting and KIND!

ping...ping...ping.......... ...........ECHOES...the Floyd.........

Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
An echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine.

And no one called us to the land
And no one knows the where's or why's.
Something stirs and something tries
Starts to climb toward the light.

Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me.
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand
The best I can.

And no one called us to the land
And no one crosses there alive.
No one speaks and no one tries
No one flies around the sun....

Almost everyday you fall
Upon my waking eyes,
Inviting and inciting me
To rise.
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning.

And no one sings me lulabyes
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky....

from the book The Photographer' Bible by Bruce Pinkard
a section named 'Image Management

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


we are dominated by visual concepts *

faced with visual stimuli we seek pattern *

we then seek concepts*

we are primarily aware of change*

movement is change *

contrast is change *

asymmetry is change *

variable intensity is change *

pattern is imposed by the viewer, then grouped together *

we seek evidence of pattern *

constancy is sought by identifying the dominant stimuli *

constancy and rhythm encourage fantasy and imagination *

perceptions are organized into figure and ground *

ground is neutral, figure is not *

one is separated from the other by edge *

these processes are reflex, unconscious and subjective *

too much security, too little mystery, no introspection, generates boredom *

we try to understand the universal before the particular *

Memory

You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our
lives. Life without memory is no life at all, just as an intelligence without the possibility of expression is not
really an intelligence. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we
are nothing.

Luis Buñuel (1900-1983), Spanish filmmaker. My Last Sigh, ch. 1 (1983)

I can only give tips here for Canada and the USA.
Be nice to Immigration official, Policeman , Traffic warden and waiters. They can make your life hell.

Thew poeple in the US and Canada are usually helpful and pleasent natured.