It's difficult to explain to an American who has never lived anywhere else. Something as simple as friendship is different to any other country in the world.

When I first arrived in the States, virtually every single other immigrant mentioned to me, the inability of Americans to understand friendship.

I once met a fellow South Africans who became very rich in America. He told me that America was a very difficult country. I asked him why as he had done so well. His response to me? "I have been here 35 years and I've never made a friend."

I met another guy - from Jamaica. He came to America to go to university. He joined the military afterwards, became a citizen, etc. He told me that in all the years he had been there (30 or 40) he had never made a friend.

Friendship in other countries is different.

It's also a dog-eat-dog country, a place where there is no protection for workers. You don't have laws that force every business to give very worker sick leave and holiday leave. In other countries, one gets between three weeks and six weeks paid vacation every year.

You don't have medical provision for people who get sick if they don't earn very much.

You don't have a welfare system for those in difficulties. What now exists is extremely limited. Bill Clinton destroyed most of it.

Your police are like the military. They scared the hell out of me. Police in other countries are friendly, looking after citizens, not threatening them. The bullshit about 'You have been read your rights, etc." is horrendous.

You recite a pledge of allegiency to a flag. The first time I saw that, I got the creeps.

The level of ignorance and arrogance is something to behold. People I spoke to didn't know what sterling was. Or what British sterling was. They thought that America had won WWII on behalf of the allies. If any country contributed more to WWII than other ocuntries, it was Russia.

There is so much, it's difficult to explain. It was difficult having a conversation with someone because what I 'knew to be true' was very different to what Americans 'knew to be true.'