As Obelix would say...
..."these Americans are crazy!"
Yes, I'm here. I don't really have jet lag; I think the trick is to pretend the brief period of darkness over the Pacific is a truncated night. Despite the darkness, I didn't sleep, except for about an hour of faux-sleep: (tiredness) + (closed eyes) + (thoughts of the impossible being normal). Instead, I played tetris on the individual anti-social consoles installed in the back of the seats.
I arrived in San Fransisco airport with very dry lips because no liquids, gels or anything like that are allowed on board for fear of waiving a terrorist's bomb-making ingredients. Oh well, whatever it takes for safety. I said that to an American today and they ignored me, starting to talk of something else. I think my Machiavellian statement so offended her 5th Ammendment sensibilities such that she wouldn't do the typical American thing - and say something.
[warning sweeping generalisations based on a regional case study ahead]
That's right, Americans always have something to say. This is both good and bad.
It's nice not to have to do all the work in a conversation. Although sometimes I'm left speechless because the American has just delivered a whole bunch of information, and I'm not sure which angle to take.
Also, everyone in America talks to strangers. If you like someone's dog, you don't think twice about saying something. So, you're unlikely to get lonely if random acts of conversation is what you're looking for for communitas.
The downside of this is that the there is no possibility of escaping public humiliation. Because strangers are garranteed to comment, they will say something if you slip up. Don't they realise that embarressment is embarressing enough without someone pointing out that you've just done something embarressing? How do people here handle this psychologically??
I know, this is what they do: They just say something back, loudly. The loudness escalates. Person A says something about person B, who overhears because A is speaking so loudly, and B retorts, loudly. Person C has something to say about all this and the only way to get heard is to say it loudly. So you get a loud nation.
That is a wierd word when you type it out lots. Loud loud loud. [tighter segue needed] Like how nothing here is done by halves (my domain here is quantity. In regards to quality, manyAmericans are quite happy to do it by halves. Like the kebab I had today. It was worse than any kebab I've eaten in Australia. Processed meat, tasteless sauce and bread - I ate two bites and abandoned it). So many things are supersized: cop cars (actually, they're pretty cool - black and white), SUVs (SUV limos at weddings are normal), portion sizes, roads (but they're bad quality) and people.
There really does seem to be more fat people here. Or maybe its because fat Australians hide away in shame. There seems to be a whole fat pride thing going on - they waddle around with supersized ice cream cookies in fat little hands wearing their beige polo shirts and pleated shorts. Fatness is also non-discrinatory - I've seen fat rich young white men, fat hispanic women, fat old black couples. Fat fat fat.
They're fat due to a cultrally induced eating disorder. Food and the advertisment of it is part of the landscape. Friday night's baseball game was not so much about "Borl", but more about food (and being loud). The baseball stadium is basically a food court that happens to have a pitch in the centre.
But the baseball game was good fun to watch. Very fast paced (especially when you're used to cricket ;)). The team my cousins "root" for (he he he) won. The game was followed by supersized fireworks. Seriously, they were the best fireworks I've ever seen. See, when you do things to the max, you're going to get some things right, like fireworks.
But post-game was truely bizzare. When I lived in Melbourne last year, footy supporters would occasionally be on the same train as I. Before or after the game the fans would be going crazy if their team had won - singing, shouting, talking to strangers. Compared to Americans, Australians are somewhat subdued and quiet. So it would seem to follow that the post game leaving the stadium celebrations would be positively racous in America. Not so. In fact, someone did yell out in support of the Oakland Athletics and was told to shut the f__ up (by a stranger of course). And the hometeam won!
The only possible explanations I can think of are: 1) this is a one-off bizzare occurence or 2) Americans compartmentalize their enthusaism. Perhaps 2) is reasonable, because they're somewhat more conservative than Australians.
Anyhoo, I'm rambling. Next post I shall put up some photos, so if you didn't read my analysis of America so far, you can at least get something out of my blog. :)
Yes, I'm here. I don't really have jet lag; I think the trick is to pretend the brief period of darkness over the Pacific is a truncated night. Despite the darkness, I didn't sleep, except for about an hour of faux-sleep: (tiredness) + (closed eyes) + (thoughts of the impossible being normal). Instead, I played tetris on the individual anti-social consoles installed in the back of the seats.
I arrived in San Fransisco airport with very dry lips because no liquids, gels or anything like that are allowed on board for fear of waiving a terrorist's bomb-making ingredients. Oh well, whatever it takes for safety. I said that to an American today and they ignored me, starting to talk of something else. I think my Machiavellian statement so offended her 5th Ammendment sensibilities such that she wouldn't do the typical American thing - and say something.
[warning sweeping generalisations based on a regional case study ahead]
That's right, Americans always have something to say. This is both good and bad.
It's nice not to have to do all the work in a conversation. Although sometimes I'm left speechless because the American has just delivered a whole bunch of information, and I'm not sure which angle to take.
Also, everyone in America talks to strangers. If you like someone's dog, you don't think twice about saying something. So, you're unlikely to get lonely if random acts of conversation is what you're looking for for communitas.
The downside of this is that the there is no possibility of escaping public humiliation. Because strangers are garranteed to comment, they will say something if you slip up. Don't they realise that embarressment is embarressing enough without someone pointing out that you've just done something embarressing? How do people here handle this psychologically??
I know, this is what they do: They just say something back, loudly. The loudness escalates. Person A says something about person B, who overhears because A is speaking so loudly, and B retorts, loudly. Person C has something to say about all this and the only way to get heard is to say it loudly. So you get a loud nation.
That is a wierd word when you type it out lots. Loud loud loud. [tighter segue needed] Like how nothing here is done by halves (my domain here is quantity. In regards to quality, manyAmericans are quite happy to do it by halves. Like the kebab I had today. It was worse than any kebab I've eaten in Australia. Processed meat, tasteless sauce and bread - I ate two bites and abandoned it). So many things are supersized: cop cars (actually, they're pretty cool - black and white), SUVs (SUV limos at weddings are normal), portion sizes, roads (but they're bad quality) and people.
There really does seem to be more fat people here. Or maybe its because fat Australians hide away in shame. There seems to be a whole fat pride thing going on - they waddle around with supersized ice cream cookies in fat little hands wearing their beige polo shirts and pleated shorts. Fatness is also non-discrinatory - I've seen fat rich young white men, fat hispanic women, fat old black couples. Fat fat fat.
They're fat due to a cultrally induced eating disorder. Food and the advertisment of it is part of the landscape. Friday night's baseball game was not so much about "Borl", but more about food (and being loud). The baseball stadium is basically a food court that happens to have a pitch in the centre.
But the baseball game was good fun to watch. Very fast paced (especially when you're used to cricket ;)). The team my cousins "root" for (he he he) won. The game was followed by supersized fireworks. Seriously, they were the best fireworks I've ever seen. See, when you do things to the max, you're going to get some things right, like fireworks.
But post-game was truely bizzare. When I lived in Melbourne last year, footy supporters would occasionally be on the same train as I. Before or after the game the fans would be going crazy if their team had won - singing, shouting, talking to strangers. Compared to Americans, Australians are somewhat subdued and quiet. So it would seem to follow that the post game leaving the stadium celebrations would be positively racous in America. Not so. In fact, someone did yell out in support of the Oakland Athletics and was told to shut the f__ up (by a stranger of course). And the hometeam won!
The only possible explanations I can think of are: 1) this is a one-off bizzare occurence or 2) Americans compartmentalize their enthusaism. Perhaps 2) is reasonable, because they're somewhat more conservative than Australians.
Anyhoo, I'm rambling. Next post I shall put up some photos, so if you didn't read my analysis of America so far, you can at least get something out of my blog. :)
posted by The Borg at
9:24 AM
4 Comments:
Yay Shiloh! I really enjoyed your photos and reflections on American culture. I've only spent 14 hours in (barely long enough to tick the "America" box), but it was long enough for an enormous man with an equally enormous smile to call me baby and offer me strawberries. Actually, everyone seemed to call everyone baby, even the strangers at the airport who would stop you to comment on how nice your perfume was (I don't wear perfume), and then ask you to donate to charity. Oh how I miss travelling!
By
Anonymous, At
12:10 PM
Great observations... :)
Your findings are exactly what i expected to find when in NY, but i was strangely surprised how not-loud and not-fat NooYorkers were.
My suspicion is that this is the exception to the rule...perhaps the population density has squeezed out all the fat people and theyve given up talking loudly cause they know nobody is listening
em g
By
Anonymous, At
1:16 PM
Baseball not cereberal as cricket but perhaps draws a somewhat "philosophical" crowd I'm thinking. I expect you'd see more passion in football crowds.
Glad lack of sleep didn't drop you in the bleachers. :-)
By
Steve Isham, At
7:46 AM
I was once in Seatle for a weekend with a friend Jack Andrews. We didn't know what to do but remembered Mr Isham may have been from Seatle. So we found a phone book in the phone booth and Jack looked up Isham for some bizzar reason. It was cold so he just ripped all of the Ishams out of the book to read later. Weird. That is my American story.
By
Jonny, At
12:59 AM
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