I just got home from the gym, where I went to take a sauna.

Recently, I've gone to do that every Sunday night because it relaxes me, and I always feel better and have more energy Monday morning to start the week on the right foot.

But tonight, I think I got more worked up than relaxed from doing that. But, that hour in the sauna was much more interesting than usual. When I got in, there were about 6 or 7 other guys, all in deep conversion. Absolutely ranking on the United States.

I spent the whole hour in there listening to them, without letting them know that I happened to be American.

Here are some of the more interesting things that they believed:

1. Apparently, Floridians don't care about the rest of the world apart from Florida. Why? Because they have the beach, the good weather, and a dozen theme parks. So, with that, they don't need the rest of the world, and therefore don't care about it.
2. They don't understand four-way stops. They couldn't believe how four people could drive up to the same intersection, and each wait their turn, and that it could function like it's supposed to. They said that in Spain, the people would show up, and just forget about turns and just go, and then a lot of people would die or get hurt. Even though we know that that does happen every once and a while in the U.S, we think of those people that don't wait their turn as assholes or idiots, but these people thought that the people who did that weren't either of those, but instead the intelligent ones.
3. They think we're stupid because the majority of our houses are made of wood, because they're easier to destroy.
4. They think our health system is the worst in the world because it's not universal. I beg to differ. I think I actually prefer our system. Why?  First of all, they pay much more taxes to be able to have universal health care, and then, you see so many people that go to the doctor's because they have a headache. I personally would not feel very good paying for other people to go to the doctor's, just because they had a headache.. Also from what I've seen about doctors here, is that you walk in, tell them your problem and they just give you a prescription of whatever medicine, and call it good. I think that in the U.S, we get what we pay for, and that here, it's not as good as it's said to be.

Even after saying all of this though, I was surprised at how many times they said they've been to the United States, and how many places they've gone, and how they want to go back, what cities and places they still want to see.

The best part, was that just before I left, I called Mary Beth so I could speak in English in front of them, and discreetly let them know I was American.

When I started speaking, they all looked at eachother with scared faces, and kept looking back and forth between me and the others. And then, I left. Without saying a word.

Maybe that will teach them a little something.