Bathrooms.
There are self flushing toilets. Yip, once you get off the seat with the front piece missing the toilet takes it upon itself to flush. Then when you exit the stall you get to the self thinking tap which ejects water onto your hands. There's just one flaw with this whole system. You have to actually touch the soap dispenser to clean your hands. So while you've been so clean up until this point, germs still await. But it's doesn't stop there, there are some bathrooms with clever thinking soap dispensers but you have to push a button on the paper dispensing machine. So whilst the theory of not actually touching anything in a bathroom is a good one, I have yet to go into a bathroom that can do all of the no touching elements stated above.
Banks.
There are no banking fees here. None for withdrawing from an atm, none for having an account and none for upgrading your card. Whilst i'm sure there are some for other things, the day to day irritation of actually having to pay someone to hold your own money is somewhat cheaper. And whilst the thought of paying an institution to safe guard our hard earned money is still a rather crazy notion (especially when they see fit to lend it out to anyone who may or may not be able to pay them back), I take small comfort in the fact that banking in America seems to burn less of a hole in my pocket than it did in SA.
Cars.
There are about a bazillion different makes and models of cars in America. Hundreds to which the likes of South Africa will most probably never see. And most of them are automatic. It is, in some cases, more expensive to buy a manual car here, which I personally think is awesome. However there is a serious drawback to all of this. Whilst I like the variety and automatic-ness of all vehicles here, I still do not like the speed at which they wizz past you, on the wrong side of the road whilst talking on a cellphone. Yes, it is still legal to talk and drive here.. really really not sure why!
Pizza.
I love pizza. I can and have lived on pizza. I have entered pizza heaven. One slice of American pizza is the same size as 1 whole medium Butlers pizza, no jokes. And you can order it online and have it delivered within 20 minutes. Person to person telephonic contact is not necessary, just a bank card and a big appetite! And with all the money I save on the lack of banking fees, this is a really really good system!
Pharmacies.
They are pretty much exactly the same as they are in South Africa except for one GLARING difference. Whilst the drug selection is larger, the sweet selection worse for your teeth and the oddities you would find in your grandmother's formal lounger more prolific, they are basically just the American super-sized version of our own pharmacies. Except for one thing, they sell cigarettes. I KNOW, weird right??? A health zone openly being unhealthy... maybe it's just me but is seems very strange indeed.
