Finally, after 48 hours of traveling (due to a 10 hour delay, thanks to United Airlines – a so-called service company) I arrived in North Carolina. Coming straight from Hong Kong, the vast cultural differences hit me right in the face as soon as I got off the plane.
If I were to explain the most eye-opening experiences I have had and the most significant observations I have made, this would be my list:
I'm in the US!
The American Dream: The first person I talked to in the airport was this really friendly lady at the information counter. Before I could even start asking her a question, she looked at me, smiled and said: ”You look so pretty today. Are you auditioning for American Idol?” Welcome to America!
I knew that Americans love their cars. However, I did not quite expect the extent of it: When I exited the airport there was literally no way out unless you had a car: No sidewalks and no public transportation.
The clothes: I know I am biased on this one: I come from Europe where we tend to praise our own sense of style to a quite unreasonable degree and I have been exposed to Asian fetish fashion for almost 8 months. However, I have just one question: What is up with the running shoes, the sports shorts, the white tennis socks and the T-shirts with you university’s logo? That is sports clothes. In other words: If you are not working out I do not understand why you would choose to wear that!
It is a well-known fact that obesity is one of the largest health risks in America – and it is for that matter also a huge health issue in Europe. Maybe it is just because I’ve lived in a country where you can never be too skinny (there is no such thing as a diagnosis for anorexia in Hong Kong) but I was utterly surprised by the number of severely overweight people here: The busses have a special ramp to accommodate for this and all chairs are 1.5 times the size of their Asian counterparts.
The food. Everything here is deep-fried, full of sugar or super sized. After eating Asian portions for a long time I am now struggling to even digest the vast amount of food contained in small American portions. And since I am in the South they deep-fry literally everything (Oreos, coke etc. – you name it, they fry it). And apparently, breakfast is another word for candy here: I walk down the super market isle thinking that the insulin producers must be extremely fond of the way most Americans start off their day.
Student organizations are huge here – and they pledge for causes I would never have imagined: There is a ton of religious organizations, very specific minority-oriented groups and a vast amount of teams participating in any sport you could possibly imagine – or how about joining ”Students Against Abortion”?
There is so much space here. Everything is bigger! My new room has a closet the size of my dorm room in Hong Kong and most student houses are huge. Also, you can go for a walk without constantly bumping into people. That is such a strange experience when you come straight form one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
Strangers talk to me everywhere: On the streets, in shops and in restaurants. People are so chatty here and I have no idea how to respond to them. Mind you, I come from a country where you would normally think that a stranger just smiling to you either has a mental condition or is some kind of criminal. It’s nice that people are friendly but I have no clue how to react to them.
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