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Q. How many people were living in Louisiana Territory when Lewis and Clark came?A. Total population living in Louisiana Territory in 1803, around 70,000.Non-native population was around 60,000 inhabitants, of whom half were African slaves.Native population from census below - 7,460 (700 not counted, possibly perished from small pox). Statements regarding 1000 families. If true , can raise the population to above 10,000.Indians in the Province of Louisiana in 1803 – Access GenealogyUpdated: December 7, 2014At the time of the purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803 the knowledge of the province and its Indian tribes was very limited. The Louisiana purchase of 1803 embraced almost all the area of What now comprises seventeen states and two territories, with gross areas as follows: part of the state of Alabama, west of the Perdido and on the Gulf, below latitude 31° north, estimated to contain 2,300 square miles; part of the state of Mississippi, west of Alabama, adjoining Louisiana on the Gulf, and south of 31° north latitude, estimated at 3,600 square miles; the state of Louisiana, 48,720 square miles; the state of Arkansas, 53,850 square miles; the state of Missouri, 60,415 square miles; the state of Kansas; all but southwest corner (estimated), 73,542 square miles; the state of Iowa, 50,025 square miles; the state of Minnesota, west of the Mississippi River, 57,531 square miles; the state of Nebraska, 77,510 square miles; the state of Colorado, east of the Rocky Mountains and north of Arkansas River, 57,000 square miles; the state of Oregon (nominally and by discovery), 96,030 square miles; the state of North Dakota, 70,705 square miles; the state of South. Dakota, 77,650 square miles; the state of Montana, 146,080 square miles the state of Idaho, 81,800 square miles; the state of Washington, 60,180 square miles; the state of Wyoming, all but the zone in the middle, south, and southwest part, 83,503 square miles; the Indian territory, 31,400 square miles; Oklahoma territory, 30,030 square miles; making a total area of 1,108,021 square miles, or 766,733,140 acres.The Department of State, by direction of President Jefferson, prepared a descriptive statement of the Indians and tribes in this province. It contained all the information then possessed by the government as to the several tribes, as follows:The Indian nations within the limits of Louisiana as far as known are as follows, and consist of the number specified:On the eastern bank of the Mississippi, about 25 leagues from Orleans, are the remains of the nation of Houmas, or Red Men, which do not exceed 60 persons. There are no other Indians settled on this side of the river either in Louisiana or west Florida, though they are at times frequented by parties of wandering Choctaws.On the West side of the Mississippi are the remains of the Tounicas, settled near and above Point Coupee, on the river, consisting of 50 or 60 persons.In the AtacapasOn the lower parts of the Bayou Teche, at about 11 or 12 leagues from the sea, are two villages of Chitamachas, consisting of about 100 souls.The Atacapas, properly so called, dispersed throughout the district, and chiefly on the bayou or creek of Vermillion, about 100 souls. Wanderers of the tribes of Biloxes and Choctaws, on Bayou Crocodile, which empties into the Teche, about 50 souls.In the Opelousas to the northwest of AtacapasTwo villages of Alibamas in the center of the district near the church, consisting of 100 persons.Conchates, dispersed through the country all far west as the river Sabinus and its neighborhood, about 350 persons.On the River RougeAt Avoyelles, 19 leagues from the Mississippi, is a village of the Biloxi nation, and another on the lake of the Avoyelles, the whole about 100 souls.At the Rapide21 leagues from the Mississippi, is a village of the Choctaws of 100 souls, and another of Biloxes, about 2 leagues from it, of about 100 more. About 8 or 9 leagues higher up the Red River is a village of about 50 souls, All these are occasionally employed by the settlers in their neighborhood as boatmen.About 80 leagues above Natchitoches, on the Red River, is the nation of the Cadoquies, called by abbreviation Cados; they can raise from 800 to 400 warriors, are the friends of the whites, and are esteemed the bravest and most generous of all the nations in this vast country; they are rapidly decreasing, owing to intemperance and the numbers annually destroyed by the Osages and Choctaws.There are, besides the foregoing, at least 400 to 500 families of Choctaws, who are dispersed on the west, side of the Mississippi, on the Ouacheta and Red Rivers, as far west as Natchitoches, and the whole nation would have emigrated across the Mississippi had it not been for the opposition of the Spaniards and the Indians on that side who had suffered by their aggressions.On the River ArkansasBetween the Red River and the Arkansas there are but a few Indians left as most tribes are almost extinct. On this last river is the nation of the same name, consisting of about 200 warriors, They are bravo yet peaceable and, well disposed, and have always been attached to the French and espoused their cause in their wars with the Chickasaws, whom they have always resisted with success. They live in three villages; the first is 18 leagues from the Mississippi, on the Arkansas River, and the others are 3 and 6 leagues from the first. A scarcity of game on the eastern side of the Mississippi has lately induced a number of the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, etc., to frequent the neighborhood of Arkansas, where game is still in abundance; they have contracted marriages with the Arkansas, and seem inclined to make a permanent settlement and incorporate themselves with that nation. The number is unknown, but is considerable tool is every day increasing.On the river St. FrancisOn the river St. Francis, in the neighborhood of New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Reviere a la Pomme, and the environs, are settled, a number of vagabonds, emigrants from the Delawares, Shawnese, Miamis, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Piorias, and supposed to consist in all of 500 families. They are at times troublesome to the boats descending the river, and have even plundered some of them and committed a few murders. They are attached to liquor; seldom remain long in any place. Many of them speak English; and understand it, and there are some who even read and write it.At St. GenevieveAt St. Genevieve, in the settlement among the whites, are about 30 Piorias, Kaskaskias, and Illinois, who seldom hunt for fear of the other Indians; they are the remains of a nation which 50 years ago could bring into the field 1,200 warriors.On the MissouriOn the Missouri and its waters are many and numerous nations, the best known of which are the Osages, situated on the river of the same name on the right bank of the Missouri, at about 80 leagues from its confluence with it; they consist of 1,000 warriors, who live in two settlements at no great distance from each other. They are of a gigantic stature and well proportioned, are enemies of the whites and of all other Indian nations, and commit depredations from the Illinois to the Arkansas. The trade of this nation is said to be under an exclusive grant. They are a cruel and ferocious race, and are hated and feared by all the other Indians. The continence of the Osage River with the Missouri is about 80 leagues from the Mississippi.Sixty leagues higher up the Missouri, and on the same bank, is the river Kanzas and on it the nation of the same name, but at about 70 or 80 leagues from its mouth, It consists of about 210 warriors, who are as fierce and cruel as the Osages, and often molest and ill treat those who go to trade among them.Sixty leagues above the river Kanzas, and at about 200 leagues from the mouth of the Missouri, still on the right bank, is the Riviere Platte, or Shallow river, remarkable for its quicksand and bad navigation; and near its confluence with the Missouri dwells the nation of Octolactos, commonly called Otos, consisting of about 200 warriors, among whom are 25 or 80 of the nation of Missouri, who took refuge among them about 25 years since.Forty leagues up the river Platte you come to the nation of the Penis, composed of about 700 warriors in four neighboring villages; they hunt but little, and are ill provided with firearms; they often make war on the Spaniards in the neighborhood of Santa Fe from which they are not far distant.At 300 leagues from the Mississippi and 100 from the river Platte, on the same bank, are situated the villages of the Maims. They consisted in 1799 of 500 warriors, but tire said to have been almost out of last year by the smallpox.At 50 leagues above the Maims, and on the left bank of the Missouri, dwell the Poneas to the number of 250 warriors, possessing in common with the Maims their language, society, and. vices, Their trade has never been of much value, and those engaged in it are exposed to pillage and ill treatment.At the distance of 450 leagues from the Mississippi, and on the right bank of the Missouri, dwell the Arlearas to the number of 700 warriors, and 60 leagues above, the Mandane nation, consisting of above 700 warriors likewise. Those two last nations are well disposed to the whites, but have been the victims of the Sioux, or Mandowessies, who, being themselves well provided with firearms, have taken, advantage of the defenseless situation of the others, and. have on all occasions murdered them without mercy.No discoveries on the Missouri beyond the Mandane nation have been accurately detailed,, though the traders have been informed that many large navigable rivers discharge their waters into it far above it, and that there are many numerous nations settled upon them.The Sioux, or MandowessiesThe Sioux, or Mandowessies who frequent the country between the north bank of the Missouri and Mississippi, are it great impediment to trade and navigation. They endeavor to prevent all communication with the nations dwelling high up the Missouri to deprive them of ammunition and arms, and thus keep them subservient to themselves. In the winter they are chiefly on the banks of the Missouri and massacre all who fall into their hands.There are a number of nations at a distance from the banks of the Missouri to the north and south, concerning whom but little information has been received.Returning to the Mississippi and ascending it from the Missouri, about 75 leagues above the mouth of the latter, the river Moingona, or Riviere de Moine, enters the Mississippi on the west side, and on it are situated the Ayons, a nation originally from the Missouri, speaking the language of the Otatachas. It consisted of 200 warriors before the smallpox lately raged among them.The Sacs and RenardThe Sacs and Renards dwell on the Mississippi about 300 leagues shove St, Louis, and frequently trade with it; they live together and consist of 500 warriors; their chief trade is with Michilimakinae, and they have always been peaceable and friendly.The other nations on the Mississippi higher up are but little known to man. The nations of the Missouri, though cruel, treacherous, and insolent, may doubtless be kept in order by the United States if proper regulations are adopted with respect; to them.It is said that no treaties have been entered into by Spain with the Indian nations westward of the Mississippi, and that its treaties with the Creeks, Choctaws, etc., are in effect superseded by our treaty with that power of the 27th October, 1795.How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the WorldHISTORY STORIES10 Little-Known Facts About the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionBY EVAN ANDREWS // OCTOBER 26, 2015Lewis & Clark ExpeditionIn 1804, Jefferson sends a team to explore lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery will travel nearly 8,000 miles over three years, reaching the Pacific Ocean and clearing the path for westward expansion.In May 1804, President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s Corps of Discovery on an expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase and hunt for an all-water route across the North American continent. The two-and-a-half-year trek saw the men travel some 8,000 miles from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back, mostly by boat and on horseback. By the time they finally emerged from the wilderness in September 1806, they had made contact with dozens of Indian tribes, survived repeated brushes with death and become the first U.S. citizens to lay eyes on the wonders of the uncharted West. Explore 10 surprising facts about one of America’s first and greatest expeditions of discovery.Lewis first met Clark after being court-martialed by the Army.Lewis (L) and Clark (R). (Credit: Jean-Erick PASQUIER/Getty Images)While serving as a frontier army officer in 1795, a young Meriwether Lewis was court-martialed for allegedly challenging a lieutenant to a duel during a drunken dispute. The 21-year-old was found not guilty of the charges, but his superiors decided to transfer him to a different rifle company to avoid any future incidents. His new commander turned out to be William Clark—the man who would later join him on his journey to the West.Lewis had served as Thomas Jefferson’s secretary.In 1801, Lewis left the army and accepted an invitation to serve as Thomas Jefferson’s presidential secretary. Lewis had known Jefferson since he was a boy—he’d grown up on a Virginia plantation only a few miles from Monticello—and the pair went on to forge a mentor-protégé relationship while working together in the White House. When Jefferson conceived of his grand expedition to the West in 1802, he immediately named the rugged, intellectually gifted Lewis as its commander. To help the young secretary prepare, Jefferson gave him a crash course in the natural sciences and sent him to Philadelphia to study medicine, botany and celestial navigation.Thomas Jefferson believed the expedition might encounter wooly mammoths.Woolly Mammoth. (Credit: Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia)Before Lewis and Clark completed their expedition, Americans could only speculate on what lurked in the uncharted territories beyond the Rocky Mountains. Even Thomas Jefferson, who’d amassed a small library of books on the frontier, was convinced the explorers might have run-ins with mountains of salt, a race of Welsh-speaking Indians and even herds of wooly mammoths and giant ground sloths. The expedition failed to sight any of the long-extinct creatures, but Lewis did describe 178 previously unknown species of plants and 122 new animals including coyotes, mountain beavers and grizzly bears.The Spanish sent soldiers to arrest the expedition.Jefferson often described Lewis and Clark’s expedition as a scientific mission to study the lands acquired in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, but the explorers’ central goal was to find a water route to the Pacific, which would increase trade opportunities and help solidify an American claim on the far Northwest. That was distressing news for the Spanish, who feared the expedition might lead to the seizure of their gold-rich territories in the Southwest. On the suggestions of U.S. Army General James Wilkinson—a Spanish spy—the governor of New Mexico dispatched four different groups of Spanish soldiers and Comanche Indians to intercept the explorers and bring them back in chains. Luckily for Lewis and Clark, the hostile search parties failed to locate them in the vastness of the frontier.Clark brought his slave on the journey.York statue by Ed Hamilton. (Credit: Dennis Macdonald/Getty Images)Along with more than two-dozen enlisted men and officers, the Corps of Discovery also included Clark’s personal slave, York. The tall manservant was a hit with frontier tribes, many of whom had never seen a person with dark skin. The Arikara people of North Dakota even referred to York as “Big Medicine” and speculated that he had spiritual powers. Though not an official member of the Corps of Discovery, York made the entire journey from St. Louis to the Pacific and back, and became a valued member of the expedition for his skills as a hunter. When the explorers later voted on where to place their winter camp in 1805, he and the Shoshone interpreter Sacagawea were both allowed to participate. As historian Stephen E. Ambrose later noted, this simple show of hands may have marked the first time in American history a black man and a woman were given the vote.Lewis and Clark’s arsenal included 200 pounds of gunpowder and an experimental air rifle.The Corps of Discovery carried one of the largest arsenals ever taken west of the Mississippi. It included an assortment of pikes, tomahawks and knives as well as several rifles and muskets, 200 pounds of gunpowder and over 400 pounds of lead for bullets. Lewis also had a state-of-the-art pneumatic rifle he used to impress Indian tribes on the frontier. After pumping compressed air into the gun’s stock, he could fire some 20 shots—each of them almost completely silent. Despite being armed to the teeth, most of the explorers never had to use their weapons in combat. The lone exception came during the return journey, when Lewis and three of his soldiers engaged in a gun battle with Blackfeet Indians that left two natives dead.Sacagawea reunited with her long lost brother during the journey.“Lewis & Clark at Three Forks,” mural in lobby of Montana House of Representatives. (Credit: Edgar Samuel Paxson)One of the most legendary members of the Lewis and Clark expedition was Sacagawea, a teenaged Shoshone Indian who had been kidnapped from her tribe as an adolescent. Sacagawea, her husband and her newborn son first joined up with the explorers as they wintered at a Hidatsa-Mandan settlement in 1804, and she later served as an interpreter and occasional guide on their journey to the Pacific. During a run-in with a band of Shoshone in the summer of 1805, she famously discovered the tribe’s chief was none other than her long lost brother, whom she had not seen since her abduction five years earlier. The tearful reunion helped facilitate peaceful relations between the explorers and the Shoshone, allowing Lewis to procure much-needed horses for his trek over the Rockies.Only one member of the expedition died during the trip.The Lewis and Clark expedition suffered its first fatality in August 1804, when Sergeant Charles Floyd died near modern day Sioux City, Iowa. Lewis diagnosed him as having “bilious colic,” but historians now believe he suffered from a burst appendix. Over the next two years, the expedition endured everything from dysentery and snakebites to dislocated shoulders and even venereal disease, but amazingly, no one else perished before the explorers returned to St. Louis in September 1806. One of the worst injuries came during the trip home, when an enlisted man accidentally shot Lewis in the buttocks after mistaking him for an elk. Though not seriously wounded, the explorer was forced to spend a few miserable weeks lying on his belly in a canoe while the expedition floated down the Missouri River.Lewis later died under mysterious circumstances.Meriwether Lewis. (Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)Lewis battled depression and mood swings for most of his life, and his condition only worsened after he returned from the transcontinental expedition in 1806. The great explorer reportedly suffered from money troubles, drinking too much and struggling as the governor of Louisiana. He was twice prevented from committing suicide during an 1809 journey to Washington, but only a few days later, he was found dead in a cabin along the Natchez Trace with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Some have since speculated he was murdered, but most historians believe he took his own life.Clark adopted Sacagawea’s children.During her time with the Corps of Discovery, Sacagawea was accompanied by her newborn son, Jean Baptiste, whom the explorers nicknamed “Pomp.” William Clark took a shine to the boy, and when Sacagawea left the expedition in August 1806, he offered to adopt him and “raise him as my own child.” Sacagawea initially turned down the offer, but she later allowed Clark to provide for her son’s education in St. Louis. Following Sacagawea’s death in 1812, Clark became the legal guardian of both Jean Baptiste and her other child, a daughter named Lisette. Little is known about what became of Lisette, but Jean-Baptiste later traveled to Europe before returning to the American frontier to work as a trapper and wilderness guide.RELATED CONTENTTOPIC Louisiana PurchaseNEWS 8 Things You May Not Know About the Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana PurchaseConsequences of the Louisiana PurchaseThe Louisiana Purchase has often been described as one of the greatest real estate deals in history. Despite this, there were some issues that concerned Americans of the day. First, many wondered how or if the United States could defend this massive addition to its land holdings. Many New Englanders worried about the effect the new addition might have on the balance of power in the nation. Further, Jefferson and Monroe struggled with the theoretical implications of the manner in which they carried out the purchase, particularly in light of Jefferson's previous heated battles with Alexander Hamilton concerning the interpretation of limits of constitutional and presidential powers. In the end, however, the desire to purchase the territory outweighed all of these practical and theoretical objections.The increases in population, commerce, mining, and agriculture the Louisiana Purchase allowed worked to strengthen the nation as a whole. The opportunity for individuals and families to strike out into unsettled territory and create lives for themselves helped to foster the frontier spirit of independence, curiosity, and cooperation that have come to be associated with the American character.Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionLouisiana Purchase - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.comLOUISIANA PURCHASE: BACKGROUNDBeginning in the 17th century, France explored the Mississippi River valley and established scattered settlements in the region. By the middle of the 18th century, France controlled more of the present-day United States than any other European power: from New Orleans northeast to the Great Lakes and northwest to modern-day Montana. In 1762, during the French and Indian War (1754-63), France ceded French Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain and in 1763 transferred nearly all of its remaining North American holdings to Great Britain. Spain, no longer a dominant European power, did little to develop Louisiana during the next three decades. In 1796, Spain allied itself with France, leading Britain to use its powerful navy to cut off Spain from America.Did You Know?President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery Expedition (1804-06), led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, among other objectives.In 1801, Spain signed a secret treaty with France to return Louisiana Territory to France. Reports of the retrocession caused considerable uneasiness in the United States. Since the late 1780s, Americans had been moving westward into the Ohio River and Tennessee River valleys, and these settlers were highly dependent on free access to the Mississippi River and the strategic port of New Orleans. U.S. officials feared that France, resurgent under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), would soon seek to dominate the Mississippi River and access to the Gulf of Mexico. In a letter to U.S. minister to France Robert Livingston (1746-1813), America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), stated, “The day that France takes possession of New Orleans…we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.”Livingston was ordered to negotiate with French minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838) for the purchase of New OrleansLOUISIANA PURCHASE: U.S.-FRANCE NEGOTIATIONSFrance was slow in taking control of Louisiana, but in 1802 Spanish authorities, apparently acting under French orders, revoked a U.S.-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store goods in New Orleans. In response, Jefferson sent future U.S. president James Monroe (1758-1831) to Paris to aid Livingston in the New Orleans purchase talks. In mid-April 1803, shortly before Monroe’s arrival, the French asked a surprised Livingston if the United States was interested in purchasing all of Louisiana Territory. It is believed that the failure of France to put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great Britain and probable British naval blockade of France, and financial difficulties may all have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for sale to the United States.Negotiations moved swiftly, and at the end of April the U.S. envoys agreed to pay $11,250,000 and assume claims of American citizens against France in the amount of $3,750,000. In exchange, the United States acquired the vast domain of Louisiana Territory, some 828,000 square miles of land. The treaty was dated April 30 and signed on May 2. In October, the U.S. Senate ratified the purchase, and in December 1803 France transferred authority over the region to the United States.LOUISIANA PURCHASE: AFTERMATHThe acquisition of the Louisiana Territory for the bargain price of less than three cents an acre was among Jefferson’s most notable achievements as president. American expansion westward into the new lands began immediately, and in 1804 a territorial government was established. On April 30, 1812, exactly nine years after the Louisiana Purchase agreement was made, the first state to be carved from the territory–Louisiana–was admitted into the Union as the 18th U.S. state.Louisiana Purchase - WikipediaThe Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane "Sale of Louisiana") was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles or 2.14 million km²) by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid fifty million francs ($11,250,000) and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million francs ($3,750,000) for a total of sixty-eight million francs ($15 million, equivalent to $300 million in 2016). The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; the portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River; a large portion of North Dakota; a large portion of South Dakota; the northeastern section of New Mexico; the northern portion of Texas; the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the Mississippi River (plus New Orleans); and small portions of land within the present Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Its non-native population was around 60,000 inhabitants, of whom half were African slaves.The Kingdom of France controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762. In 1800, Napoleon, then the First Consul of the French Republic, hoping to re-establish an empire in North America, regained ownership of Louisiana. However, France's failure to put down the revolt in Saint-Domingue, coupled with the prospect of renewed warfare with the United Kingdom, prompted Napoleon to sell Louisiana to the United States to fund his military. The Americans originally sought to purchase only the port city of New Orleans and its adjacent coastal lands, but quickly accepted the bargain. The Louisiana Purchase occurred during the term of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Before the purchase was finalized, the decision faced Federalist Party opposition; they argued that it was unconstitutional to acquire any territory. Jefferson agreed that the U.S. Constitution did not contain explicit provisions for acquiring territory, but he asserted that his constitutional power to negotiate treaties was sufficient.The original treaty of the Louisiana PurchaseIssue of 1953, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of signingFlag raising in the Place d'Armes of New Orleans, marking the transfer of sovereignty over French Louisiana to the United States, December 20, 1803, as depicted by Thure de ThulstrupThe Purchase was one of several territorial additions to the U.S.

If it were one thing, and one thing only? Don’t assume all Americans are alike. We’re a wide and varied country, with 300 million residents of all faiths and lines of political thought. There are stereotypical Americans — the fat redneck, the sleazy guy from the NYC area, the surfing/stoner Californian, just to name a few — but that’s as stereotypical as the image of the dour German, or the workaholic Japanese, or the stiff-upper-lip Brit. Spend time talking with us — even if your English isn’t perfect, most Americans love to share their local culture (and it is local — what’s normal in Houston or Miami might be exotic in Boston or Chicago), and will generally be very welcoming and open if you give us a chance.If you’re looking for a more general list of things to keep in mind while in the US as a foreigner, however, in no particular order….Avoid talking politics and religion. They’re often considered “impolite” topics of conversation, and some people may take offense to a “foreign” point of view in what are considered mostly private affairs. A good rule of thumb, is if someone brings up either subject, say “I’m not sure of the specifics. What do you think?” and let them talk.Avoid talking about guns. This is a subset of the prior bullet point, but it probably merits it’s own note. The gun debate in the US is a very hot topic — and a very sore point, from both sides. Please don’t involve yourself if you can avoid it.American sports are different than most of the rest of the world. Sports are played at several levels — high school, college, minor league professional, and top-league. There is no mandatory club-level promotion or relegation. Soccer is a minor sport, cricket is basically unknown, and rugby is super minor (aside from the US national team, most rugby teams are college club teams).The major sports are American (gridiron) football (especially NFL and college levels, although in some localities high school football is a major event), basketball (again, NBA and college ruling here, although in some places high school ball is huge), baseball (mostly MLB), and hockey (NHL, although some minor league teams draw multiple thousands of people to games).Soccer is a big draw in some places (MLS is a major draw Seattle and Portland, and Atlanta United FC drew over 70,000 people to their first game in their new stadium last year), but is generally a minor sport outside of places with a good MLS team. You might be able to find English Premier League showing on TV, but don’t expect to see anything from Spain (aside, perhaps, from Barcelona or Real Madrid, and even then only if they’re playing each other), France, Germany, or Italy. Finding scores will require searching the Internet.If you’re in the US during American football season (roughly September through December), taking in a big college or pro game (or even high school, in places where high school ball is a big deal, like Texas) might be worth it for the spectacle, but you might want to brush up on the rules beforehand, as they can be a little arcane and obtuse. Baseball (April through October) would also be worth watching, even at the lower levels of the minor leagues, if you’re interested in seeing sports.Tax is not included in the price. Most locales will have some form of sales tax, so a $19.99 shirt will cost more like $21.38. Alas, sales tax varies widely within the US, from 0% in some states (Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon), to as high as 10%. Different counties and cities may have local sales taxes, so even knowing what state you’ll be in isn’t enough. A good rule of thumb is that sales tax should be 10% or less (unless you’re in Chicago or Long Beach, where total sales taxes are 10.25%, ouch!), so inflate all prices by 10% and you’ll get change back if you pay cash.Tax is not charged the same way on all things in all localities, either — in some places, clothing and food are not taxed, or are taxed at different rates. Yes, it’s confusing, and no, we don’t like it either.Remember to tip. Most service industry workers are paid less than the minimum wage, with the expectation that tips will make up the bulk of their salary (their employer does have to compensate them if their tipped wages are less than the minimum, which is how they get away with low pay). In general, tip people who handle your luggage for you (at the airport or hotel) about $1 a bag, tip waitstaff at sit-down restaurants (where you sit, are presented a menu, and order) about 20% of the bill before tax, tip staff at counter-service restaurants (where you go to a counter and order for delivery to your table — there should be a “tip jar” on the counter) about $1–2 per meal delivered, tip bartenders $1–2 a drink, tip taxi drivers $1 per 15 minutes drive time. A good rule of thumb is to tip a dollar or two if you’re not sure; you can also ask other patrons of the business if tipping is the norm (again, it’s a cultural norm, so it may vary from place to place). Yes, it sucks that “the price isn’t the price,” as one of my French friends exclaimed when we were having dinner out, but that’s just the way things are here.Be careful with cash. Most Americans don’t use cash all that much — I personally rarely carry any at all, preferring to use a credit or debit card, even for small purchases. Showing large sums of cash in the US can be a bad idea, as it might invite someone to attempt to rob you; if you’re here with a large sum of cash (more than a couple of hundred dollars), I’d keep it separated into smaller amounts. Have “walking around” money in your pocket, but secure the bulk in your hotel room’s safe, for example. Also, be very aware of the denomination you’re using — most American currency looks substantially alike (black, white, and green, dead white guy on the front, picture on the back), and it would be easy to accidentally hand someone $50 instead of $5 if you’re used to multi-colored currency. Use a credit card if possible.We don’t use metric. Much. Driving distances in the US are reported in miles (or, often, in travel time: “It’s an hour to get there from here” is more meaningful than “It’s 40 miles from here” in many cases). Weights are in pounds and ounces. Liquid volumes are often in gallons/quarts/cups/ounces — although not always, we measure large sodas and all alcohol in liters and ml. Temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit (water freezes at 32, and boils at 212).General rules of thumb — a mile is a little over 1.6 km. For mental conversion, I multiply by 1.5 and add 1 km for every 10 miles; that should get you close enough to have a good estimate. A foot of distance is about 1/3 of a meter. A gallon is about 4 liters, a quart is about a liter (a little less than one), a pint is about 500 ml, a cup is about 250 ml, 12 ounces (a standard soda or beer can/bottle) is about 355 ml, and an ounce (of liquid volume) is about 30 ml. A pound is about 500g, an ounce (of weight) is about 30 g.For temperature conversions, 50F=10C, and every 20 degrees F up or down from there is about 10 degrees C (again, this is for mental conversion. 32F=0C, so it’s really every 18 degrees F up or down).America is huge and varied. Really. I’ve talked with tourists who fully expect to drive from Miami to Chicago in a day (that’s around a 1400 mile drive, or 2250 km, roughly like driving from Madrid to Berlin). If you’re visiting for a short period, plan on staying in and around one or two cities, probably in the same or adjacent states. Plan your clothing choices accordingly — as I write this (April 8), it was snowing yesterday on my friends in Michigan, but I was swimming outside in the pool in Florida. When in doubt as to the realistic-ness of plans, do a Google search (Google Maps for driving directions and timeframes, search “weather in [cityname] in [month]” for weather ideas).Also do note that, outside of major cities (DC, NYC, Chicago, Boston) we tend to have terrible public transit. You will likely have to drive, even in town, as the bus schedules are usually only polite suggestions and getting anywhere will involve transferring at least once, often multiple times. Getting from city to city definitely will involve either driving, flying, or taking a bus (the least desirable option). There is little passenger rail service in the US from city to city, outside of the northeast and up and down the east coast, and most Americans have probably never traveled by passenger rail.

It's going to take me a while to flesh this answer out, because like the proverbial blindmen trying to describe an elephant, it can be answered in multiple ways (like Rashomon in a way). I'll try to give you a couple ways of seeing various answers to the question.So I'm a 3rd generation Californian, born in the same hospital in Los Angeles that my mom was (my Dad was born in Montana and raised with my uncles in Utah and further grew up in Chicago). I've also worked with 7-8 generation Californians. So during WW2 mom was allowed to finish high school (Los Angeles High, later used as the backdrop for the series Room 222) and started internment in a horse stable in Santa Anita Race Track.One way to answer this question is to give observations I had in life about life elsewhere like: one of my first plane trips when I was young was to Salt Lake City, UT. This trip and later numerous business trip to Washington DC surprised me by the number of brick (dirty brick from when coal was burned more) buildings and structures. Europe had similar coal stained buildings with other older materials as well.Many people elsewhere value the old, tried and tired, and staid. California is one of the places where a 20 year old can become a billionaire with good reason.California homes and buildings are code covered from a 1925 and a 1933 earthquake standard. We use more stucco, glass, steel, and brick (where it appears) are mostly found in few remaining chimneys. At least 3 friends own and live in geodesic dome homes (or have an attached dome). One friend lives out of 2 tee pees (no, she is not a native American, and she used to own an Alaskan wolf, oh that's another issue). Several friends own and raise what might be termed wild animals (one professionally for use in the TV and movie industry (another acquaintance owned 200 armored vehicles (tanks and more) used in various movies)).Until recently, ranch style homes had more yard space. I grew up with a front yard and a back yard where we kept 3 desert tortoises (you can't take them as pets anymore) and variously dogs, cats, a chicken (got small eggs), etc. Now you can only find homes like that in the Central Valley.The main population centers in California are the Los Angeles corrador which depending how you count extends South to San Diego and NW to Ventura, or Santa Barbara ...Santa Maria, SLO ... or ... and the San Francisco Bay Area. The population centers have a democratic (note small 'd') emphasis which make them think everything is for them (this is the story of the country mouse versus the city mouse). I'll say a little more about that in the next section. Of course there is all kinds of weird music about all these California locations.One difference: odor, if and when you travel South into Mexico, south past Ensenada (but you can experience this South of TJ if you go in land into the mountains (which go up to 9-10K ft), you don't smell the trash burns in the country side. The odors are different in a number of ways, and you can experience them when you get here. The LA Basin was where Arnie H-Smit did his first studies on smog, and I can recall seeing the San Gab (Mtns) when we switched to un-Pb gasoline for cars. LA Basin smog is bad for the topography (the highest point of LA County is over 10K ft, and the highest point in So Cal is over 11.5K ft, and the lowest pass is just over 2K ft (from sea level). People have proposed tunnels with fans.Life has a considerable Spanish/Mexican motif. The differences are slight and subtle. In LA they tell you to go visit Olivera Street in old LA. SF only has the Mission District (you need to find out about Fr. Serra's Missions), and Redwood City for instance. You will pick up Spanish/Mexican phrases by osmosis. Cities like Santa Barbara (1925 earthquake) architectural Review Board force building review for a Spanish motif. You will also get a little of the Catholic religion forced upon you, since that came with the Spanish/Mexicans. Anglo students in elementary schools get some Spanish language exposure. However, this is changing since there are now other ethnic groups having a hard enough time with English. Hola! See separate lower paragraph on the 2 Baja states.Annoying: non-locals and newbies who mispronounce Js without using an H: like La Jolla or Jesus or Juanipero or Jorge. Try these city names: Eureka, Ukiah, Yreka, Yucaipa.Earthquakes are a great topic to scare prospective residents off. That and fall fire season (you know what Phos-check and aluma-gel are), and winter flash foods and mud slides. And spring hay fever season.What's unique about the State of California's geography is like Chile: a long narrow skinny state (not as extreme as Chile). We span 10 degrees of latitude as opposed to original states further East which chose -East-West expansion. It's also where the 10 degrees at a transition belt in a temperate area: the South part of the State is desert, and the North is forest. This is why we have water problems. CA is comparatively narrow in a N-S sense.Our state requires extensive water movement for a population to live in its pseudo-Mediterrean climate (I've been to Cadiz and Tarifa, Andaluccia, Spain as well as Gibraltar: you almost can't tell the difference in veg.). The critical clever idea was to tap the annual snow pack for water. This is because it requires the use of fewer smaller dams. The phase change of 80 Cal/cc (almost 2 orders of magnitude) from ice to water is what makes our water system useful. This is accomplished by 2 (3) major N-S mountain ranges: the coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada/Cascade ranges. The total relief in CA from sea-level to almost 14.5K ft. squeezes water out of the air and forms snow. Snow is far more important than water because of that 80 Cal. difference. California is a 3-D major state.The Central Valley (Sacramento River Valley in the N, and San Joaquin River Valley in the S), and the lesser Salinas and Imperial Valleys are major ag centers. These are slowly being converted into urban areas. These Valleys as well as San Diego and Orange Counties for the major part of the conservative political base in California. You will even find the hints of both the California Nationalist Socialist (Nazi) Party (the documentary California Reich), KKK, and JBS (John Birch Society with "Get us out of the UN" signs).The State Government is composed of 58 counties in a State Senate and an Assembly. By now, I may have visited all of them (not intentionally). This is mostly about agriculture (land). They have very little concept about technology (GPS and chemicals are used extensively in agriculture but before that it was map, compass and surveying equipment). I've had discussions (representing the Feds.) in Sacramento, and they were good ones (I was challenged to visit 4 counties to see Internet connectivity: 2 good ones, and 2 poor ones (this was a geographic knowledge test (Siskiyou and Shasta (I had no problems), and then Inyo and Plumas (I've friends in the first and may retire fully there), and at the time I was stumped briefly (have been to Quincy a number of times now (including small plane flying)))))). A book about all county high points exists.I should note that if you want a survey of the whole State, visit the Cal Expo in Sacramento from the end of August to the beginning of Sept. This is the State Fair. Some city folk will poo-poo Fairs, but this is a survey of activity, not all agricultural in every CA county. I took a 2nd place for technical drawing (I drew an incomplete drawing for a Sikorsky S-64 Sky crane) while in Jr. High School and I started getting college offers while still in 9th grade. This is the kind of thing which distinguishes you in college and life.A neighbor and I have landed at over 100 public airports in CA (mostly Northern Calif. including OR, WA, NV, AZ, and UT, over 260) in a small plane.The urban Democrats learned the lessons of their defeat in the 2004 Presidential elections (too much time in the cities), and went into Nevada, AZ, and OR (the first two were difference) in 2008. Various Republicans are irked. Interior counties are more red but not like the East coast, ditto Orange and San Diego counties.So I know where Republicans live; in the Central Valley from Redding to Bakerfield (Demo studying rural health care economics). My HS mentor moved to Visalia. Friends grew up in Fresno. The other major areas at Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and San Diego as well as the North Coast and Central Coast. Dad rose to the level of Dept. official in the American Legion.The motion picture industry (it's not called Show BUSINESS for nothing) is a major force in So. Cal. So much media is recorded here, that when the video is placed, residents can identify when and when something was recorded/filmed. The house I grew up in (just a middle class house) was used in a film. Because of the aforementioned latitude location, you can just about find any natural environment for filming, and they have location scouts for this. Yeah, you can tour studios, get jobs, grow up into the industry. Friends from high school and college work in the industry: I see their names roll by on credits occasionally. I briefly considered, when younger, working for WED Enterprises (Walt E. Disney) in Burbank as an Imagineer. Friends from my ACM/SIGGRAPH chapter (in the Bay Area) did (Jim has since died from Covid-19).Lucas made effective use of his time in Modesto and Petaluma.Because of WWII, a lot of aerospace industry is in So. Cal. and a little in Northern California. This has shrunk substantially, as has the oil industry (on and off shore). There is a gun culture; it's the Democrats who own cannons (really; I’ve attended cannon shoots). Some places do Renaissance Faire and Civil War reenactments. But the car culture reigns big (hot rods, motorcycles, etc.). The Conservatives count gays and Lesbians among them. What you will occasionally see are the Libertarians (people citing Ayn Rand are common (Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead)) around the coastlines and the Green Party in the far NW.Proposals to splint the state go from 2 (5 degree dividing line in CA 145 thru Madera near the geographic center of the state), three, and most recently 6 States. If you travel to the North you hear about how they almost combined with Southern OR (don't forget that part, they have their problem with OR government) to form the State of Jefferson (prospective State insignia of 2 Xs for Double Cross).Education is a big deal. It's not as snooty as the Eastern Ivy League. If you examine the very first ARPAnet map, 3 of the first four universities were in California. The 4th (Utah) was still in the West. They were thinking about the future of technology back then. They didn't have excess baggage. Unfortunately the education system is stressed. The first think tanks were here (e.g., RAND Corporation).Smokers in CA are basically very accommodating of non-smokers. It was tough dating one, but she was the finest woman I ever dated (her dad was a Caltech physics prof who recently passed away, she was not your average smoker).When you went to elementary school, you learned we are the Golden State for the brief Au rush. Other important California topics were citrus (can you name the types?), what was the California fishing, in particular tuna, industry (they were the cause of Chile and Peru to adopt 200 mile limits from the earlier 12 mile and 3 mile). The cultures which moved here, got clobbered here, would all be studied.The weather helps an outdoor health craze to this day (not that every one partakes). Public transit is poor and attempting to catch up. Distances are long and people feel forced to buy cars (Teslas are coming on but also other electrics). The Eastern US talks about the Atlantic and Ellis Island and Columbus (Italian, much less Leif Erickson). California has the Pacific and Angel Island. Some of our parents got rounded up and interned, this was overruled, and some people still to this day complain about that action (the over turning).Slavery didn't have a big hold during the Civil War. CA was part of the "North". This is lost on many on the East Coast, South. The Mason-Dixon Line took a turn South at Texas. The natives enslaved by the Missions weren’t counted.You can be in a snow storm (winter is optional; we go have quite a number of real glaciers) one moment and in a desert dust storm in a couple hours. The best place to experience this is the Palm Springs aerial tramway during a serious winter storm, but not so bad as to shut the tram down. Doesn't require car chains.Surfing is another story. Said enough.And Woody Allen noted the cultural advantage is the ability to make a right turn at a red light (not all, make certain to read all traffic signs). Many in CA like it that simple.You do need to be mindful on freeways and highways of road rage. This includes your pets.You have remaining tall Redwoods of various species (most were cut down). You have some of the oldest Bristlecone pines. Agriculture is still a big industry which many city dwellers tend to discount. Prisons are the new industry in part due to the three-strikes law. They are most visible at night in areas away from population centers. Some counties have rejected prison jobs.Many foreign countries have consulates in California. The Russians have major signal collection facilities from the Soviet era. We have the People's Republics of Berkeley, Oakland, and Santa Cruz.Tourists are always wondering what to see. We have more ghettos than people realize; some have corporate HQs like Nissan, Toyota, and Honda. Californians tend to drive more Priuses, than Honda Insights: a friend from Houston once commented.I know 3 German markets, a Scandinavian market, 3 Japanese markets, numerous Chinese, Mexican, Indian/Pakistani/Afghan markets. Mexican food isn't just tacos and burritos: it's mariscos, too. Abalone is a complex eating issue now (caught by self North of SF Bay or farm raised (hope this works)).Some of us residents have to put up with the meat and potatoes crowd making fun of our eating rice and raw fish. And tofu. The lactose intolerant have to put up with the assumptions of the lactose tolerant.Upper and middle class people pay to play harvesting wine grapes. Meanwhile, Mexicans are doing it in the Central Valley as professionals. Friends and I are caught in the middle doing it as a neighborly thing. I'm accused to taking high value PhDs and turning them into slave labor (they are just glad to get away for the day). Does this increase the value of the grapes (and then the wine) if people knew who picked them?The status car is a Tesla (one friend at google owns 2: one West coast, one at their East coast home) or various other electrics like RAV4s or EV-1s when they were out. Volts are coming along. Gas powered cars for an older generation or live in the Central Valley (Camaros, Chargers, Mustangs and many other foreign gas powered cars). I just had my car broken into (3x in my 2 vehicles now).....Many of us bike. And someone tried to steal my bike (couple of different times, it's a cheap bike, now stolen, got a donated bike from a friend). I live in a neighborhood of multi-colored bicycles most of which are single gear. We also have weird self driving cars, street view cars, etc. And they aren't all from google. They include bing (.com) and other panoramic mapping cameras, and other self driving cars from Michigan and the major automakers.Growing up as a kid, many white kids thought that the Asian kids knew Tae Kwondo, or Judo, or Karate. So I picked it up. (Actually, my parents said we descended from archers, so I've tried archery (actually recently got a gift bow (a compound model not a simple recurve bow) for a friend's son who joined the Scouts). I have to wrestle with the lethal force problem (to stay current), and may be purchasing a shot gun for trips to Alaska. I've expended $200 in 2 seconds (ammo for an M-134). Jumped out of perfectly good planes. Did the sail plane thing with my high school chemistry teacher. In turn, I taught him the basics of night sky astronomy.Many of the new rich don't feel the need to wear suits. Zuck legitimized the hoodie. The old rich (I know a few: I had Thanksgiving dinner at the SF Yacht Club: you will know if you know the rules of dress there) are disgusted by this. Women are caught in the middle of this but pull to the old, conservative. Ditto other non-whites.I see less ROTC, and church going, compared to other parts of the country.Let's see: I finished hiking the Muir Trail at the end of the 1980s. Climbed the 14Kers a number of times by various routes by that time, too before heading out of state for other objectives. We have the university which developed the atomic bomb (in another state no less, but they brought it back here later).I, at least, had a nice time in all my schools (public). Had fantastic educational experiences. Got to know a few Nobel laureate families. Met a few veterans in their time. Traveled the roads extensively (from Alturas (I edited a Knuth paper mentioning it) and Likely in the NE (Cedarville is also very nice) to Algondones near Yuma, National City to Crescent City. Our state has islands and a lot of interesting ocean. Nuclear reactors and accelerators, National labs and space and aero facilities. All Mach 3 planes were developed here.We have Death Valley. We have to share Lake Tahoe and the Colorado River with neighboring states. We have a 3rd world country to our South (rapidly changing toward 1st world). We have a fence which is porous with tunnels with a cross section for trucks which are found underneath it.We have a lot of privately owned wide open space. We have a few playas, but Nevada has more easily accessible day lake beds (CA's are used for bombing ranges, etc.; well El Mirage is open (flew in a sail plane (an S-33-2 with my HS chem teacher here)).One stands in a crowd. And some annoying person notes that everyone here is an immigrant to California, not even acknowledging that some of us grew up here.California is the home of both Sunset magazine and Scotts Lawn care products (Scotts Valley). If you are a keeping up with the Jones type, this is our version of Martha Stewart.If you are a real geek or nerd, you will know how to pronounce "halted .com". If you are a software person, your pronunciation can be forgiven. You know what district of Tokyo to visit.The most irksome thing about new California drivers is that they fail to pay attention to the road or freeway they are driving. When they miss a turn or ramp, they will attempt to cut across 2 or more lanes of traffic to make the ramp or turn, instead of realizing they blew it, get off at the next ramp and backtrack. You try to be too smart/clever and be overly quick to make up for your failure of attention. This is how you might cause a traffic accident here.Cars I have owned. This is a common computer security verification question. Largely economy cars. I've owned a car which got over 50 MPG, 4 decades ago (got over 300K miles on it). I've owned 2 SUVs (1 got over 400K miles on it), and I use 4WD low with some frequency (like yesterday in Silicon Valley). 2 of my new vehicles I didn't even bother to buy an AM/FM radio (this should give you an idea how dull I am). I care almost nothing about their color except urban camo (see my answer about Do men care about the color of their computing devices?), and thermal issues.I have met some amazing people growing up in California. Part of that was via correspondence (paper letters: introduced me to a now long time friend named Marvin Minsky, had nothing to do with computers). Then in college, I had the ARPAnet (no email at the time) and with email I was able to email people in computing like Marvin. Work allowed me to meet Nobel laureates. And Usenet was a great way to expand Internet horizons. While I didn't grow up in Silicon Valley and didn't get into microprocessors until later, I had contact. And most of these guys I run into grocery shopping. Or sometimes we carpool together (John McCarthy of Stanford was one such friend). You'd get bored with this if you didn't understand the place.California also refers to 2 States in the United States of Mexico: Baja California and Baja California Sur. Not nearly as populated, and most news concentrates on immigration (legal and illegal), but some very nice small towns like Loretto, Tecate (yes that's where they make the beer), the wine growing region. La Paz, Guerrero Negro, Todos Santos. Yes, there is crime, but there's also snowy 10K ft. peaks (possible to X-C ski). The largest Chinese population in Mexico is in Mexicali (they speak Spanish; do you expect them to speak English along with Chinese?). The Baja California States are not quite treated like the mainland Mexican states.Silicon Valley: if you have or hear of a problem (tech), you hear or get the weirdest reactions. An early noted OCR software, had an early version problem. So I called Tech Support (which just happened to be in Los Gatos). And the person on the phone said that Yes, that was an early bug and we fixed that and can mail you the update. And I gave my work address. "Do you know Frank ...?" Yes he's one of our Branch Chiefs. "He's my dad. I'll see him at dinner this evening and give him the disk then." And I got it in an interoffice mail envelope (this was back in the 1990s).East coast positives: Seasons: summer time fireflies are quite amazing. East coasters cite fall colors (New England). I've now visited Maine. California has nothing like that, but in certain higher elevations in the various mountain ranges where snow falls, you can get select fall color, like places where there are Aspens and cottonwoods. You just have to work on it. The duration and areal extent are shorter and smaller than the East coast. We have many more evergreens and scrub oaks. We are a little like coastal Spain. Better beaches (gradual slope).If you don't "Like" California, you can leave. This is why Oregon came up with the word Californication. We now have to deal with Oregon tourism ads (“It’s the economy, stupid”).For college summer jobs, I worked and climbed in Yosemite Valley. Ask me my zip code. So I have answers to tourist questions there. Friends still live there, but it’s best for me to visit them in winter or at least the off tourist season. Following that I drew masks for thin film circuits for 2 summers, so I’ve also have VLSI development.My body shop mechanic, Hispanic, once said, “You have to know 5 languages to do business in this place (Redwood City).”The furtherest South Russian colony/settlement was Fort Ross, CA, just North of SF.CA isn’t for everybody, but some of us were born here. And 1 friend’s relatives were here before statehood and were among the Donner Party rescuers.The Chinese-Americans can spot the Chinese spies (intelligence operatives trying to recruit Chinese-Americans) in Chinese restaurants. You can even read about them here on Quora (company).Quora (company) is here. It’s why you are reading this. It’s also the home of Facebook (See the movie Social Network? ever wonder why?), google, Yahoo!, even Microsoft, IBM, Wal-Mart know to have labs and offices here. The bio-tech Silicon Valley is South San Francisco where Genentech and it’s associated companies. Amgen has an office on the other side of the Bay.If you have a life variable you want addressed, let me know.Reference links:What was Mountain View, CA like before Google? Did Google have a huge impact on the development of the surrounding area, or was it just another piece of the growing puzzle?What facts about the United States do foreigners not believe until they come to America?