everyone's been asking me about my recent trip to the states... frankly, i've not quite made up my mind as to what i think of it... i guess i am somewhat suffering a certain amount of cognitive dissonance...
all the prior impressions i had of america and americans were mostly formed through Hollywood films, news and perhaps some personal encounters with a few americans themselves... which i am somewhat embarrassed to say, are mostly negative and rather skewed... but in general, i really haven't got a real clue as to what it is like despite having been to that huge land mass some 5 years ago. this time... my visit has led me to rethink and question my preconceptions and prior impressions...
here are some random views and thoughts (probably guilty of naive generalisations) in no particular order:
- everything is so spaced out there... large buildings in the middle of nowhere... and you could drive for years before you reach the next civilisation... that is something which i could identify with being in Australia... so half the time, i thought i was on the other side of the world... terribly confused.
- americans shop a lot... the Mall of America in Minneapolis is swamped with visitors everyday... most of whom leave the multiplex with bags of purchases... i wonder how on earth they can afford to spend so much and so often...
- i wear size 'Small' in the UK... and am probably more comfortable in a Medium for some things in Singapore/Asia but i need to find something smaller than Small in the US...
- unlike the clusters of quaint little stores in the continent, they have huge malls... not my cuppa tea...
- they do not etch numbers on their coins... i still don't seem to be able to distinguish between dimes, 5cents, quarters and fifties (are there fifties?!) ?! i wonder why they even print the words so small... maybe they don't ever use coins?! all notes are of the same size... so you really need to check a few times what you are using to foot your bill... don't forget to tip... it's almost a defaut pre-requisite of a proper consumer.
- people seem rather posh and proper... Harvard Business School is truly a utopia of its own... some americans hold wine-tasting parties... (maybe they are all inspired by the film "Sideways" -- which i finally saw in Minneapolis! it was a good laugh.) ... and apparently, some americans are more environmentally friendly than we would give them credit... maybe it's just in Minnesota?!
- most americans are descendants of european ancestors... their surnames suggest they are foreign but they are americans -- this is what fuels my cognitive dissonance most. and because of this apparent illusion, i keep having this tendency of wanting to converse in german but keep having to tell myself that they are not germans and probably don't understand any german... most of them tell me they only know one language -- (american) english.
- people are very warm and friendly... but i don't know if they really feel that way. people in the continent are more willing to express their displeasures right out and americans just seem friendly and nice all the time... ?! well, that's not true... they don't always return your smile...
- Starbucks is found on every corner/street in America... little wonder that it is also dubbed the coffee nation...
- everyone keeps asking me where Singapore is geographically located... i felt like an alien.
- McDonalds has a mexican foodchain called Chipotle... which serves healthier food than burgers...
- arts and culture are not as well-subsidised by the Govt. as they are in the continent or here in the UK.
- there are many fancy restaurants with flamboyant names and menus...
- they queried me if food in the UK is really bad... i didn't say that i found it appalling that fried oily stuff is sold in their hospital cafeteria... i just responded that each country boasts its own bad cuisines... BUT you can find so much good authentic asian cuisines in New York... i was utterly impressed and convinced that everything oriental that is available in the continent and in the UK is really so terrible in comparison... not even the food in London's chinatown could beat what you can find in Manhattan! and as you'd probably guess, i'm suffering my withdrawal symptoms far too soon because of this!
- i don't know if i like the vast physical open-ness and the fact that you are so reliant on having to use the car... i wonder why they never really made use of bullet-trains... train-travel would be such a great thing across the large expanse of land and along some of america's beautiful scenic places...
- i don't know why they kept their imperial units when britain has moved to use metric... i can't think in farenheits nor in pounds, nor in feet, etc...
--- i'll add more when i can recall other quirky things...
posted by ~overacuppa~ on Sunday, 17 April, 2005 at 02:50 hrsFYI, I just blogged about this post: http://proactivebusybody.com/?p=1426
I found you on Chocolate and Zucchini.
Posted by: Abby on Tuesday, 19 April, 2005 at 15:55 hrshello Abby!!! thanks for popping by and for blogging about my silly views...
Posted by: overacuppa on Tuesday, 19 April, 2005 at 17:56 hrsvery interesting post!
maybe why they seem to spend so much is because of credit. I think credit cards can be obtained quite easily there, no?
Other than that i can't comment much 'cos i haven't been to the US in eons!
Posted by: dsd on Wednesday, 20 April, 2005 at 05:01 hrsHello May. I found your impressions of the States facinating. I love hearing other peoples impression of my home and how it differs from my own impression. Yes your guilty of generalizations but it's understandable, we all come away with our impressions when we travel. I can only speak for myself and where I live in the states but Being American I understand your impression to everything being spread out. I didn't realize this until my first trip to a densley populated Europe as a child. A short train ride and your in another country. I can't speak for the entire US or every American but I love it that I can drive 15 minutes out of my city and be in the country away from "civilization".
Ther certainly are people who shop quite a bit but personally I've never been one for shopping with the exception of the farmers market (only the freshest will do),oh, and I rarely use credit cards.
I know exactly what you mean with the sizes. I'm a petite Extra small or petite size 2, so the regular smalls just don't cut it for me. Next time your here look for petites. I don't have any trouble finding my size but depending on the store and location the sizes may vary. In my area of the country it seems most clothes are made for very tall thin women so a size 2 in women or misses is still too large.
Yep, there are many starbucks and coffe houses. I've been to starbucks once but their coffe wasdn't as good as my favorite coffe shop where they make the outstanding coffee. They also sell books and magazines and provide large comfortable overstuffed chairs so you can curl up with a great cup of coffe and read.
I'm not sure what the figures are in Europe regarding Government funding of the Arts but in the US we have the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the private sector funding. Last year the government funded little over 100 million for the arts. That may sound like alot but unfortunately (thanks to the worst US president in history) that number is lower than in previous years and when you compare that to how much we spend on illegal wars it's really a small amount.
Seems people don't pay much attention to geography these days. A friend of mine from Oregon who just returned from Sweden was constantly asked "where's that" for some strange reason several people thought Oregon was in Canada or on the east coast of the US.
I had no idea McDonalds has a mexican foodchain. I've never seen a Chipoltes. I guess they haven't made it to my part of the country yet.
I think malls are for the most part a suburban thing.As People moved away from the city malls sprouted so residents wouldn't have to drive into the city to shop. But small shops are very prevalent in large cities and towns.
I think the idea that the UK's food isn't too good doesn't hold true anymore. I think the UK has some fabulous resurants. I think Americans still see France as the food capital of the world even though the UK has made leaps and bounds with regards to food in the past several years. In fact a british restaurant was just named best in the world . The best in the world list consisted of mostly British and American establishments with only one French. So in fact other countries, Spain for example, are now surpassing the French with regards to cuisine. I have to agree that most Americans are very reliant on their cars especially in the suburbs. Sheesh, now cars come equiped with DVD's and wireless internetplayers so the pasengers can watch movies and surf the net. Call me old fashioned but what happened to good old fashioned sightseeing out the window while driving. I suppose it does make long car trips with your kids more tolerable though.
Yes we are generally warm and friendly, and yes we really like people, especially from other countries. I love to see friendly faces when I take my morning walk. It's much better to start out your morning with a smile and a good morning than with a sour face. People are generally very nice but now and again you run into a rude person. But that rings true everywhere. In every city I've been in around the world Ive come across very nice people and rude people. Fortunately most have been friendly.
Last but not least, we did try the metric system but no one seemed to like it so we stuck with what we thought worked for us. Although many fields require knowledge of the metric system. And it sure does help to be familiar with it when traveling.
One thing about the US that many people find interesting is it is very different from region to region. Sure there are constants but for example, San Francisco Calif. and Fayetteville NC are like night and day. I've even experienced culture shock in my own country and at times I thought I really didn't know Americans at all.
wow... thank you for all that personal views Ingrid... and for tolerating my generalisations! i really appreciate that. your country is incredibly huge... i must admit that i was rather impressed with some things i've not actually mentioned (e.g. university and research resources/facilities)... and it seems i will be returning again for a longer time and will definitely try to see more of your country while i am there.
dsd, you could come visit me! =C)
Posted by: overacuppa on Wednesday, 20 April, 2005 at 12:44 hrs*Note: in case you were thinking of leaving a comment and the option isn't here anymore... it is because the comment section of each entry is closed after sometime to prevent malicious comments... if you are looking for the actual entry, type in the keyword(s) in the little box on the main page http://overacuppa.com where it says "fossicking pebbles & seashells" and press *search*... thank you for popping by and happy browsing!