I remember getting off the plane at JFK in August 2017. All sad and depressed for leaving my family and friends, I felt so lonely in the crowd of tourists. I remember that day the only phrase I had in my head was, "Where the f*** am I?"
When I finally got to the baggage claim, I was shocked to see people's appearances. Some of them smelled really bad, some of them were dressed like homeless people. I had certain prejudices about this country that were imposed by media, politics, and TV, so I was possessed by trying to prove to myself that all of those were true. The next couple of months I remembered how everything seemed just so annoying to me.
Why do I need your "Hey! What's up?" if you don't want to continue talking to me?
Whenever people said that to me, I was expecting a following conversation... but they would just leave. Rude!
Why don't you use the metric system? It is so much easier!
The whole big world is using it! Why do you, Americans, need to show off?
Why is there no public transport? And where are the sidewalks?
After living in a big city with a subway and buses two seconds from my house, Long Island seems uninhabitable!
Why are taxes not included in the price? How do I know how much to pay?
My first visit to the supermarket was a mess. At first I thought that my math skills sucked!
Why do you use Fahrenheit? Celsius is so much more logical!
The same as metric system! Just why?
Why do your churches look like business corporation buildings?
In Europe most of the churches are Orthodox or Catholic, so you can always tell it from other buildings. But here I sometimes get confused.
Why is one liter of Coca-Cola more expensive than three liters? Makes no sense!
I discovered the wholesalers here like Costco. Not that I am complaining...
Why are your TV advertisements so fake and annoying?
Just. Why.
I believe that after time goes by, I will know and understand this country better, so I won't make fast criticisms. I hate when people are judging other countries by what they see on TV or hear from friends or politics. The only way of getting familiar with foreign places is living there. And this can be applied to any country, not only the US.
