Delalluvia -
Your post made me think of the time a few close friends of mine from Great Britain came to the U.S. to visit me.
While they were here, another friend of mine proudly told my British friends that his house here in Indianapolis was over 150 years old. My English friend turned and gave him a confused look and then said "Your house is 150 years old? In England, even our new houses are older than that".
I remember staying in Pasadena some years ago, with a family with whom my travel companion had lived as an au pair many years earlier. As a present we gave them a photobook about the Netherlands that they didn't even care to open; but we were given an extensive tour of Pasadena by the lady of the house, who was a member of the Pasadena Historical Society (that sounded slightly oxymoronic right away). The tour climaxed in a visit to a grubby back alley, where we were kindly invited to admire a brick wall that dated back all the way to... 1867. My! Half the houses in my street are older.
I was struck both by the lack of any wider historical consciousness as well as the complete disinterest in anything non-American. Which, to get back on topic, appears to be the main handicap of the present US president. But given the freak show that passes for a government over here, I will wisely refrain from any further comments...
(And, to move OT again, for somebody like me, who is from a busy, crowded little country, traveling through the States does make for a terrific holiday. The sense of space and freedom, the combination of great facilities and endless unspoilt natural beauty, are rare even in Europe as a whole. I'm looking forward to my next visit, though that will be limited to Chicago, and mostly work-filled - if they'll let me in, that is... I have an Iranian visa in my passport
)