Culture shock

I have visited three different Countries, without counting the airport stopovers -Germany, United States and Hong Kong. Mentioned by the order visited. All three of these Country’s offered different experiences, each different from the other.

Growing up along with American sitcoms, pop songs and TV shows I expected to find similarities in America rather than in any other Country. To my surprise, the biggest cultural shock I got, came from Uncle Sam. Maybe because of the transition from one of the busiest and congested cities in the world - Bombay, to a city in the lone star state - Dallas, Texas. The first thing to learn there was a local saying - “Everything’s bigger in Texas” and ohh boy, was it true!

As an automobile enthusiast, I can’t help but observe cars, regardless of where I am put. If you’ve been to Texas you’d know cars are almost synonyms with Indian mini trucks. The concept of small cars is almost not known. A Maruti Ritz running in Texas roads, would look like a baby among Megatron’s.  Not just automobiles; television, stadium, houses, green land and average size of a person…everything’s, bigger in Texas. The visit to the Cowboys stadium only proved that the local saying is indeed true. The vast land and the amount of sky one can see by standing in the front yard was simply epic!

On the adverse front the public transport system was as good as nonexistent. The food was bland, but thanks to Mexican food I could have something similar to the Indian spice rich meals. Fortunately, my stay was too short to experience the full agony of culture shock. The time to leave came just when I was about to experience the pinch of homesickness.

Now that I have visited few states in America I am looking forward to the opportunity to experience the big apple - New York City!