Whenever you're talking about vanilla options, _always_ mention the exercise type - European or American (or Bermudan/whatever). Single-name stocks like Facebook, Google have exchange-traded options which are American. Index-options such as those on the S&P500 are usually European.

Also, it's a good intro for buy-and-sit strategies but rarely does anyone sit on options till expiry. They try to make some gamma-based profits (delta-hedged option) or some vol-based profits (strangle/straddle etc).