Wednesday, February 13, 2013

AMERICAA

This Christmas I went to America for the holidays. It was one of the stranger experiences of my life, although I have to say that I am very glad I did it.

Going to America for a brief moment reminded me of all the things I loved and hated about the place. And generally just confused the fuck out of me. To start with when I got to America the sim card on my cell phone was broken, probably due to being turned off for the past 15 months. This left me entirely unable to communicate, except for the bountiful amount of Wi-Fi available seemingly everywhere in America. when I landed in the Houston airport I b-lined for an Einstein’s bagel, I hadn’t seen a bagel that didn’t oddly resemble a cracker in month. I ordered your standard blueberry bagel with cream cheese. And here’s the ringer. The woman then asked me what kind of cream cheese I wanted. I totally forgot there were more kinds of cream cheese than plain. I replied in one of the worlds creepiest voices “….what kinds of cream cheese arrree there?” She stared at me as if I was a crazy person; since I sounded like one I cant blame her. After an intense stare she then pointed non –chelantly at the list of cream cheeses and said those on the list there. To wit I instantly replied, “America is awesome.” Naturally.

Then I boarded the plane to LA. I was shocked by one thing on the plane- and this is going to sound ridiculous, which it absolutely is- I was surprised by the number of African Americans on the plane. I actually had to refrain myself from shouting out “there are so many black people on this plane!” When I got caught staring at a man for far far too long I realized shouting this out on a crowded plane may not be the world best idea. When I finally made it into LA I then realized I had no cell phone to call my friend to tell me that I made it in. I also realized I had no American money…so off to the ATM.

ATMs in Peru always suck the card in, ATMs in America not so much. So it took me about 15 minutes how to get money out of the ATM. You have to put the debit card into the machine and pull it back out with lightning speed that I am not quite used to. Then I also came to another unfortunate realization- you only get 20s out of an ATM machine in America, you don’t get quarters. To be fair coins don’t come magically popping out of a Peruvian ATM either, that was really just a lack of thought process. So completely forgetting to get my 20 broken I then was left with one option, to pay for a pay phone with a credit card. Who on earth even knew that was a possibility.

When I finally made into western civilization I went out to dinner, of course entirely forgetting my id. The concept of needing to have an id to order a drink was not something I had even thought of. This train of acting like a whack job at nearly restaurant was a continuing trend. Nearly every time I saw a menu I ended up blurting out at nearly every restaurant “I can’t believe they have ____ on the menu!” Also the first time I ate with a large group of people and my food came significantly later than everyone else’s I noticed something odd. They were all sitting around uncomfortably eating one or two French fries. Not diving in, just picking at what looked like the most delicious French fries. I though initially´that maybe they were all trying to lose weight and eat really slowly. But then it occurred to me that that would be far too much of a coincidence for 8 people to be simultaneously trying to lose weight by eating French fires slowly. Because lets get serious that would not be the best tactic to go about losing weight. After an awkwardly long time I told everyone they could eat without me. At this point is seemed like a wave of relief splashed over everyone as they dug into their food. Oh the subtleties of American dining behavior.

Nearly all of America can be compiled as a blur surrounded by food and family. My father was impressed by how I was keeping it together…that was until I had a complete breakdown about cereal. One day he drove me home, after let’s say more than one drink, and I discovered just how much cereal was in my grandmother’s house. This lead to a tirade about the glory of cereal and just how much cereal there was in the United States of America. I nearly got so caught up in the magic of cereal and its availability in every grocery store that I feel asleep on a granite countertop. Obviously the most comfortable place to go to sleep.

Although America was pretty much a blur of food, family and sensory overload I did realize one thing. I left America with more questions than I arrived. I still have little to no clue what I plan on doing after these two years. At this point I feel like flying to the moon would be a logical option, except for the fact I’m pretty sure we no longer have people flying up to space, that and I am afraid of heights. America, although it is home and I will return there eventually, is one strange ass place. I can wholeheartedly admit that I don’t know if I am ready for a job where I will sit indoors and be bound by the clock. This is probably the only time in my life I am making decisions with nothing binding me. I have no one thing tying me to one place. It is a terrifying and yet really freeing concept. How often do you get to look into the future and get to say I could really do whatever I want and go anywhere in the world?

Going home to America was amazing because I got a chance to see family, reconnect with old friends, but it was nice to come back and remember what hunger felt like. And New Years on a Peruvian beach is the definition of why there are firework regulations in the USA. Something I wouldn’t have given up for the world. Not often you get to see a spent firework fall directly into someone´s pocket and nearly destroy a car by setting off fireworks in the wrong direction. Although America will always be home, I´m glad to have the chance to experience something else while I am in the unique position not having ties to something else pulling me in one direction. Eventually I will have those responsibilities, but for now I´m enjoying figuring out who I am working in a foreign country, free to make as many mistakes as possible.

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