An alien in America

Everything in the United States, seems to be bigger and larger. It is as if someone took the picture and stretched it proportionally. The roads are wider, the cars are bigger and meaner, the buildings are taller, the fields are greener, the malls and stores are larger, milk and fruit juices come in bigger cartons, the standard ice cream scoop is more than two times that of what we get in India and even the people of this country are bigger - both in terms of height and waistline! Perhaps, this is what development is all about. Consume and Expand. Consume and Expand. Consume and Expand. Keep doing it until everything is left exhausted, parched and dry.

Before the United States was infiltrated by European settlers, there was practically nothing in this land. No roads, no buildings, no infrastructure. Yet, in a matter of a couple of centuries, everything changed so drastically. No wonder, this country is the epitome of development and progress. For instance, addresses in this country follow the exact same naming conventions throughout the country. Number, Street Name, City and State. It's the SAME everywhere!

One of the other prominent things that I noted, once I came here was the traffic and road system. The roads and highways are wide and expansive. Everyone drives in their own lanes (except those who feature on World's wildest police videos :P) Traffic lights are strictly observed. Cars stop at red lights, even if there is no traffic coming from the other end. Everywhere throughout the country, all right turns are free. Pedestrians cross the road only on intersections and only when the 'walk' sign is on. Cars stop at zebra crossings to let the pedestrians through. People follow the speed limits within the city (On the highways, they only slow down when they see a cop with a speed gun :P). The level of organization left me spellbound. Everything moved in clockwork fashion. I felt as if I was in one of those well built cities of Sim City!



Apart from all that organization and precision, one thing that stands apart is the American tendency to do the opposite of what the rest of the world does! Vehicles are left-hand drives, switches need to be pushed up to be turned on, pressed down to be turned off, the doors open in the opposite direction and their hinges are on the left than on the right. The list is practically endless!

All said and done, the bottom line is...I feel like an Alien in America...for the moment at least ;)