This is how I saw it. Some people say it is “the land of the free”, others call it “the imperialist power”.
You may not agree with the list below; however, during my stay in the USA I was particularly struck by the following things:
- Easily approachable people on the streets (well, not valid in the biggest cities). This was kind of awkward to me and, I assume, to the rest of the world. They can come straight to you and tell you some details about their private lives or what had happened a couple of days before. It’s like they have known you for ages. Thumbs up!
- Sometimes clerks (at airports) will speak as if they have come out from a movie. “Show me the gaddam’ passports” is what I heard once transferring from a flight.
- Peanut butter. Used for almost everything, this product dated my mouth almost every day.
- Meat (back then -I don’t know what the current situation is) cost less than vegetables. I suspect the vegetarians over there are persecutedJ
- There were two or three (if you want, I can name them) stores selling clothes at reasonable prices and especially when the stock was out of season. Which reminds me of the following story: I bought a hooded sweatshirt during my stay and was quite pleased with it. Back home I discovered it had actually been Made in Russia. Hehe. Up to this day I am wearing it.
- The Latin American community. It is so vast that I saw a poster entirely in Spanish in the Western States; they did not even bother to translate it into English!
- Orange County, California. There are multiple one dollar stores there. Prove me I am wrong. The rich appear to be a bit stingy;
- Tattoos. One big wow! When I arrived there I was blown away by the number of people wearing tattoos. Ranging from Scooby Doo to the faces of their sisters or brothers, everybody has the ink spot.
- Obesity. Sorry guys. You would be surprised at the sight of so many people using mobility scooters in the shops.
- Celebrities. In California you can bump into them anywhere. I for example nearly shook hands with Arnold Schwarzenegger at a county fair.
Enough said. I hope I will not get the black stamp on my next visit for this post.