Adventures of: First Impressions of America

Posted on July 14, 2009
Filed Under CMU, May I Interject? |

My darling friend from India who is in my grad program made this list of observations regarding these united states:

“- Americans ARE overweight. It’s not just something they say. It is NOT an exaggeration. It is a common sight. I LOOK SMALL COMPARED TO THEM. That’s the awesome part.

- The suburban houses have shutters like we used to have on our lego sets as kids. They’re identical. Lego shutters.

- Cutlery is heavier. Water glasses are just huge and heavy or even small but really heavy. So are plates. Everything is heavy.

- Spanish is spoken on every corner almost. If you plan to learn a language, this is a good one to learn I think.

- Kids are really, really privileged. They have great lifestyles.. not in terms of having lots of money necessarily. They can bike on beautiful streets and are exposed to art and culture by their parents and it’s fantastic. They have the greatest exposure for their minds to develop….

- Family life is very important to American families… when their kids are young.

- ALWAYS read the fine print because you get ripped off. And I got ripped off for not reading the fine print.

- Tax is a bitch. Everything is taxed and how.

- Everything is easy and made simple. Simple living, no complication.

- You have 55.1 million options for everything. Right from the knobs on your draw set to your door frame.

- You can return stuff you’ve bought and opened if you find out about a new discount activated a day after your purchase. But then you won’t read the fine print and when you think you’re saving, they actually charge you for returning the crap in some shape or form, thus significantly reducing your total savings and making you curse yourself.

- People are really friendly. They will talk to you like they’re your best friends, but they actually don’t give a shit.

- Things I did in 3 days:

1. Went to the MET to see the Egyptian exhibit. Egyptian jewelery is awesome.
2. Went to the rooftop of the MET and got to see an amazing view of the city.
3. Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.
4. Went to the ballet.
5. Went for an amazing brunch in Soho and had poached eggs for the first time.
6. Went to China Town to shop for Chinese spices and Little Italy to see if I could spot the mafia.
7. Went to the Bronx Zoo.
8. Walked UNDER Times Square.
9. Ate hotdogs on the grass in Central Park.
10. Went to Cafe Lalo which is the Cafe that Meg Ryan waits in in You’ve Got Mail. They have the BEST desserts and it is the cutest little cafe.

- Broadway shows are amazing - but the ballet is quite something else. Beautiful.

- The ‘Godot’ in ‘Waiting for Godot’ is NOT pronounced Goad-oh as I was taught in Lit class, but GOD-OH!

- Freaks are common. I saw a lady walking down the street coming towards me. She was wearing a low top…and did NOT have a tattoo on her chest, but her SKIN on her chest was shaped in the form of a raised Spider’s WEB. It was huge, thick and by far, the most disgusting and interesting thing I’ve ever seen.

- There are AMAZING Sales in NY. Shop ONLY during Sale time, you can get amazing deals. Also, if you’re really hard up on cash like I am, go to CENTURY 21. It’s the BEST shop ever. I got an originally $85 wallet for $18 !

- Sushi is the most fantastic thing to eat in New York apart from hotdogs in Central Park, but it’s quite expensive. I also ate at an Indian Chinese Restaurants. The Indians either own restaurants in Little India or they own hotdog stands, much like the Bangladeshi’s.

- There are a fair amount of white people in NY, but they are NOT Americans. Also, you don’t see that many Indians in NY. I was expecting MUCH more.

- You can chose what kind of existence you want to have in New York and the way you lead your life will probably be 100% different from the person standing next to you on the metro.

- New Yorkers DO dress up in BLACK for work. It’s hilarious, but true. Black, Grey, or Dark Blue is all you will see during the mornings on a work day.

- The buildings are smaller than the appear, and the Empire State building is MUCH smaller than what you imagine it to be. It’s like when you see the palace in London for the first time and you’re like, wow, it’s really small.

- New Yorkers are NOT AS rude as they are made out to be in movies. They’re not that scary either. They’re polite and will give you place to sit on the train, grumbling perhaps, but still.

- You’ll see at least 4 Indian aunties in Saris or Kurta’s walking around NY blissfully happy. You will also hear typical Indian accents frequently and they are hilarious.

- Despite everything you may see or do in NY, the MOST exciting thing is just walking down streets. It NEVER gets old and it is fascinating.”

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