For a lot of people, going to United States of America is like a dream come true. Recently, I got a chance to live that dream. My university had a tie-up with the University of Florida for a Certificate program, which was a student exchange program on some level. My last semester of under graduation would be at UF and the credits would get transferred. The term was to start in January 2016. I came around mid-December, going first to Seattle where my brother and sister in law stay, afterward, visiting relatives in Washington D.C. and finally coming to my destination Gainesville via Orlando.
The journey started with a seventeen-hour long flight at 2 in the midnight (IST), with one stop in between. The longest ever flight I have ever taken. I hated the first half because I couldn’t sleep. If you are one of those people who can’t sleep in flights, like me, it’s not going to be a fun ride. The second half was much better with three back to back movies. On reaching Seattle, there were all these people and I would spot an Indian face and feel like “Oh, there’s an Indian.” I still couldn’t believe that I was there. It felt unreal. Thousands of miles away from home, in a foreign land. I was jet lagged and slept like crazy on both Indian and Seattle time. I assumed that I would be able to quickly overcome jet lag, since I slept at odd times, back home. But that was not the case. It actually took me a week to get over my jet lag.
When people ask me how I am liking it here so far, I tell them everything is so different from India. Let me tell what these differences are. The apartments have a separate area for mailboxes, where letters and packages are dropped. The homes are carpeted, centrally heated and usually no tube lights or white lights. People here use lamps mostly. You do have smoke detectors so you really can’t go on burning incense sticks. The fine you end up paying is way too expensive (something from $300 – $600). These might not be huge differences, but they are differences all the same. Coming to the major differences, the transport system and rules. There are signs for pedestrians everywhere, rules that are actually followed strictly, amazing public transport system offering connectivity throughout the city and no honking. That last part is the best. And on top of everything, pedestrians have an upper hand here. People really stop and let pedestrians walk by and pass. Everybody is just so polite and friendly. They’ll just start talking to you and initially though it seemed odd to me, but I realized that this is how this country is. That’s just another thing I like about here. You can just go and talk to people, and it’s not awkward or weird. You don’t have to worry they’ll turn out to be some creepy stalker. Because probably they won’t. Everything is just done in a systematic and organized fashion. For example, the buses have this wire that you pull if you want to get off at the next stop. Else the bus skips that stop if no one wants to get off or get on. It’s something as simple as that, and it still was amazing to me. There is no bias and prejudice based on what you do or what you want to be or what you wear. The sense of liberality is overwhelming in a good sense. Trust is another quality that this country has. People are generally so trusting towards each other. The mailboxes for everyone are together, and anyone could take your package, but they don’t. Most of the restaurants here have a separate area from where you take sodas or water. They give you a glass when you place your order, and essentially, you could take anything you want, without paying for it, but people don’t. These are just a few instances and there are more.
Buses having a yellow wire to pull for stopping
I am not trying to argue or portray India in a bad light with this post. I am just trying to point out the differences, and that there is a lot India could learn from here. That said, USA has its fair share of problems too. This post was just my experiences with the country so far. There are more to come up. So if you enjoyed this, stay tuned.
Image Source: https://www.ufic.ufl.edu/PD/images/photocontest/2008/images/IS%201st%20Place-%20Shaving%20on%20the%20Bus%20by%20Tamas%20Kolos-Lakatos%20Gainesville%20Fl.jpg
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