In my first post on this blog I made a few promises about what readers could expect to find. One of them was gross generalisations. I am nothing if not one who tries to follow through on a promise so without further ado, here are some of my thoughts on spending a month in the USA.
Preamble:
Over the past 3 years of living in Scotland, to my happy surprise, I have had the opportunity to make friends with a large number of Americans. In fact, my American friends were the ones who encouraged me to keep this blog! These friendships have changed the way that I think about being Canadian (we are so different!) and developed many of my ideas about America and Americans.
So, when I realised that my studies had the possibility of taking us to the USA I was so excited because I would have an opportunity to experience lots of things that my friends talked about and to further develop my understandings of things like the US media, the circumstances that underpin politically conservative ideologies, American religiosity and the US economy. See where the mass-generalisations part is going to come in?
Of course, I totally realise that a country as big as America and ideas as complex can not be explored by spending a month visiting a few places in the East. But once again I am going to take advantage of the blogging soapbox to give you guys my observations and opinions anyway!
And now, in no particular order, some things that surprised me in the US:
1.
 |
| A dollar coin! |
I did not know about it, and was very surprised to receive on as change in the DC metro. After a month shoving tattered dollar bills into my wallet I think the Americans should consider circulating their dollar coins a little more. They last longer and you don't have to suffer the crushing disappointment of realising they are not a $10 bill...
2. The variety and strength of the many different accents we heard. Of course I knew that there were many but American television certainly doesn't represent a fraction of them.
 |
| photo from here |
 |
| photo from here |
4. BBC on NPR. After many recommendations from friends in Scotland I was looking forward to listening to the National Public Radio station. Everyday in the car on my way to work I found the radio interesting and insightful. I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of world news focused content (possibly somewhat more prominent due to the important events in Libya) but I was also surprised at the extent to which they relied on British journalists and even broadcast entire BBC programmes. Of course I was in heaven because I love the BBC with all my heart but I am surprised that NPR (or PRI) doesn't have it's own in-house foreign correspondents.
5. Being a 'foreigner'.
 |
| Graham looking Canadian in downtown Cleveland. |
 |
| What do you mean I don't look like everyone else? (on a speedboat in Lake Erie) |
A very common misconception (and source of insecurity) for Canadians is the idea that we might be the same as Americans. The last three years have taught me that while we may watch the same TV and eat similar food there are many many differences. One of the crazy ones that I learned while living in America is that apparently I don't 'look' American! I noticed many people giving me inquisitive looks when I was out and about and then in Detroit when I asked our friend Will if we looked foreign he not only answered yes before I'd even finished my question but then went on to explain that Americans have a way of carrying themselves that make them immediately recognizable (and by consequence make me look foreign) anywhere in the world. So funny!
6. Economy obsession. Graham and I get our fair share of economy news every morning at home when we listen to the Today show but in America it seems that almost every program (on the radio) is at least partially devoted to the state of the economy. Interesting because Britain is arguably in much the same trouble as the USA.
7. Hudson.
 |
| My favourite house in Hudson |
I've already gushed about it in another post, but seriously, it was like the movies. The perfect little town. One night we walked into the village for an ice cream and there was a band playing on the bandstand in the park with everyone watching and small children dancing with each other at the front. Ridiculous!
8. Holy neo-classisism.
 |
| Supreme court in DC |
 |
| Inside the National Art Gallery in DC |
Of course DC was the apogee of this but so so many of the other civic and cultural buildings in all the other cities we visited were with the same over the top columns and other Greek revival detailing. Several people that we mentioned this to have said that it relates to the enlightenments ideals that were/are so powerful in America. So interesting.
9. Philanthropy. The area of America that we visited is famous for manufacturing and blue collar living. I think it should be better recognized for the fact that it produced some of the most generous people the world has ever seen. The Rockefellers, the Carnegies, the Mellons, the Fricks, and more. They were the wealthiest people in the history of the world (that's a real stat that I saw) and they used it to live lavish lifestyles yes, but also to fund philanthropic projects all over the world and to support the arts in an amazing and accessible way. I was so impressed that I'm thinking of making that the topic of my next project (as it relates to psychology, which they funded from an early stage).
10. The DC metro. Spotlessly clean and easy to use. Wonderful.
11. Ads for surgeons and medicine in general. I found this to be one of the strangest parts of living in America. Every morning on the way to work I passed giant billboards advertising specific surgeons or cancer clinics. Slogans like "travelling from Houston to Delaware for my cancer treatment at X health clinic was worth it". Creepy. I find it disturbing to think about all the different ramifications (cultural, practical, financial) of a health system that works that way.
12. Variety of local foods.
After reading several books in the past few years detailing the disturbing food production practices in America I was apprehensive about what we would find in the grocery stores. However, we were happily surprised to have a very good grocery store within walking distance of our house in Hudson which stocked a great variety of fresh, local, organic fruit and veg and high quality meat. The joys of staying somewhere which gets enough warmth in summer to grow lots of yummy things nearby! We ate corn on the cob, watermelon, green beans, berries, peaches, even heirloom tomatoes! It was fairly expensive (more than we usually spend in the UK) but the few times that we ventured to the other store (Acme) we were disappointed with the quality and didn't find things that much cheaper. I will definitely be relishing our cheap milk, cheese, cereal, snacks and tinned goods as long as we live in the UK. It seems like no where else is as cheap!
 |
| Purple new potatoes, yummy. |
As an American, I really enjoyed reading this. One of my most enlightening expat experiences has been learning about worldwide perceptions of Americans. Thanks for writing this!
ReplyDelete-Becca