there will be lots of things i've to try to get used to while i am here in the us of a... i don't think getting used to them is anything good... but to get on with life i kinda have to... here are some recent qualms/observations...
1) telesales people will forever bombard you with offers e.g. better phone packages, mortgage options, local newspapers deals etc.... how they manage to get my number is questionable... switching the answering machine off doesn't really help either... and telling them you aren't interested doesn't work either. they are so persistent.
the privacy law here clearly doesn't exist.
2) you get a weekly postcard telling you who's been missing for years...
3) if you think sales assistants' manners are bad in certain countries... here, they think they are not doing enough if they don't get asked questions about their products and i am wasting their time etc. honestly, i like browsing the labels of tea-boxes just as i do with books... and i like to be left in peace and IF i have a query i WILL seek help! thank you.
4) this country is built such that you NEED to drive to large supermarkets to stock up on 'cheaper' products (because these places buy in bulk) and then with all these 'cheaper' things, you NEED a large fridge/freezer to store your purchases... and then because they have these DEALS every so often you keep chasing after them... and then you keep stocking up and... etc. i know people who do that... and i wonder how much they really save... and how much they reallly eat... where are the little quaint shops with the personal touch in their service?!
5) traffic lights are placed in stupid junctions and motorists do not appear to notice pedestrians...
6) people don't seem to understand why i don't necessarily want to subscribe to their credit card so as to have a 10% discount if i shop there again...
7) they don't necessarily appreciate why i don't have a car and cycle instead... cycling here is like a "recreation"... people drive to the park with their bikes and then they cycle... ?!?! likewise, bike accessories here cost more than they do in europe... i wonder what people here will do if gas prices keep soaring...
8) banks here are most stingey. you get free checkbooks and checkbook covers and statement folders by default in the UK and i believe in Germany too, but here they think you are not special enough unless you invest over US$ 25 000 etc. they are that service-oriented...
9) you don't get any student concessions at movie theatres here... bummer! and the foreign films arrive here so late!!!
10) people here often presume that i speak english because i've been in the UK for so long and not because people in singapore and other places in the world speak english too... i, on the other hand keep having to remind myself that while many americans have european surnames, very few of them actually speak an european language...
while this article asks: "what's wrong with america?", i sometimes ask myself: "what is it that makes the usa the way it is?!"... hmmm
posted by ~overacuppa~ on Sunday, 11 September, 2005 at 15:48 hrsInteresting observations! I was thinking along similar lines to point 4 yesterday - I needed some coloured paper to make a birthday card, and I went to a nearby gigantic mall to get it, and found that while they do stock just about everything, they also tend to have a pretty meagre selection of each thing...
Posted by: nick on Sunday, 11 September, 2005 at 20:21 hrsYou can find points 1, 4 6, 8 9 and 10 here in Singapore....hey may soon we'll have blue colour on our national flag...crikey!! We're not that far off :P
Posted by: Gor on Tuesday, 13 September, 2005 at 09:27 hrsGor!! you know what?! Singapore is SO AMERICANIZED!!! they almost worship this country's idea of 'luxurious life'-- i am so ashamed...
blue??? what would blue symbolize?! crikey indeed...
Posted by: overacuppa on Tuesday, 13 September, 2005 at 09:55 hrsFunny Minneapolis doesn't have smaller independent theaters? Ann Arbor had two small ones where we got student-price tickets.
Posted by: monoceros on Tuesday, 13 September, 2005 at 17:56 hrsmonoceros! the only cheaper place (with no distinction given to students/non-students etc.) is either at the uni, where they sometimes do screenings or one other theatre i was introduced to that screens older films many months after the original releases. that place charges like 1/3 the mainstream price...
maybe i need to ask others about that and go with younger people at the lab instead!... the annoying thing is that my Ucard says i am a staff! hmm. have to use my UoE card perhaps if the concession is available...hmm.
Posted by: overacuppa on Tuesday, 13 September, 2005 at 18:07 hrsDefinitely try using your UoE card. I sometimes use my UM card in Singapore! =)
By the way, been meaning to write you to say thanks - I got your lovely card! I've been very behind on emails. Illness in the family so I've been in and out of the house and hospital quite a bit. Will write more soon.
Posted by: monoceros on Wednesday, 14 September, 2005 at 00:56 hrsno worries monoceros!... family is important especially when there is illness. i really hope that whatever it is, it isn't too serious and there's good chances of recovery... big hugs!
Posted by: overacuppa on Wednesday, 14 September, 2005 at 14:12 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!