"Do you guys actually use those cups in America?"

Taylor is studying in England this semester; she's been there since February. Taylor actually has a bit of an edge on many of us who study abroad in that she spend a significant part of her childhood living in England and she maintains frequent contact with a good friend from that time who still lives in England; as a result, Taylor already had a taste of British culture before she arrived for classes. Also, because the university she attends in England is also where her British friend studies, she was able to interact immediately with British peers with whom she shared a social link.

The questions Taylor's been asked are generally pretty standard: "Where are you from?" "What university do you go to?" "Why did you come to England?"

She's also had people ask her about politics: "Who did you vote for in the primary?"

But my personal favorite is: "Do you guys actually use those cups [Solo cups] in America?" referring to the plastic cups college students have been known to use to hold their…beverages at parties. Most TV shows or movies that show American college parties will have the students holding these cups, and they are genuinely used at real college parties.

Taylor says she thinks people are asking her these types of questions (the latter two, that is) because "they were just generally interested in our country, and wanted to know what was going on in our country through an actual American rather than just what they hear on the news."