{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 22 - 17 Things About The USA: Critique of Benny Lewis' Article ","description":"We changed up this week's podcast just a bit! A few weeks ago, Matt and I discovered an intriguing and unique article posted on Business Insider. The original article, titled "17 Cultural Clashes this European has in America" but also more famously called "I'm Irish and I spent a year traveling the US-- here are the 17 things that surprised me about day to day life," had gotten an insane amount of publicity-- and it's really no wonder why. The Irish author, Benny Lewis, who is known for his website on helping people become fluent in a new language in just three months, had traveled and lived in the US, noticing a lot of things about the country, then wrote an article, focusing on 17 grievances he had with the country\/overall culture.  After reading this article, Matt and I found a lot of things that we completely agreed with and some things we didn't particularly agree with. We've been traveling the world for four years now and have also discovered a lot of things we never noticed before about our own country. In this unique podcast episode, we critiqued this infamous article and added a little bit of our own opinions into the mix! We talked about:  Americans are way too sensitive Everything is "awesome"! Smiles mean NOTHING Tipping False prices on everything Cheesy in-your-face marketing Wasteful consumerism American stereotypes of other countries Heritage ID checks & stupid drinking laws Religious Americans Corporations win all the time, not small businesses A country designed for cars, not humans Always in a hurry Obsession with money Unhealthy portions Thinking America is the best We also talked about: Our agreements and disagreements with these points Our own personal experiences abroad and in America  What we thought about the positives he found in America What we wish more Americans would do more often Thank you for reading\/listening! If you'd like to see our blog post on this along with some pictures and more information, check it our here! Cheers! Wine: Lindemen's "Unexpected Friendships Make Me Smile" - Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia) ","author_name":"Words with Winos - Travel Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/www.wordswithwinos.com","html":"