Pluses and Minuses

So after the excitement of moving in, screwing up by not buying any bed slats (Ikea sell them separately), burning my fingers near off on my first attempt at cooking up a storm, and using the (now discovered to be broken) washing machine to clean my clothes, in the process getting them all soaked and having them not dry in the (discovered to have the ventilation pipe bit loose) tumble drier, I have settled in. Our house is very nice actually, it has three bedrooms and mine is a kind of en-suite, but there is another door around the side so people can use the shower, which is in that bathroom. I’ve made my room my own at last (hello, big Ferris Bueller and Beatles posters!) and just generally feel comfortable to have my own place. However, I cannot beat around the bush, so I have to say that yes, I still miss England a lot. Thing is, I can’t complain; I’ve got a fantastic opportunity and I have to make the most of it. America does have enough however that puts me off making a life out here. Let me give an example or two:
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the strange road rule that in America you can make a right at a red light. No big deal, you say, in fact it’s a good idea. Yes and no; makes crossing the road harder than a glued up Rubik’s Cube. Silly thing, yes, but still makes life that little bit harder.
Also, in England you go into a shop and pick that latest CD by your favourite band off the shelf. It costs you £12.99, so you take it to the counter and pay £12.99. You do the same in the great United States, yes? WRONG. You pay your tax ON TOP of that price. So you never know how much something is going to actually cost you until you get to the counter, seeing as it’s near impossible for your average punter to just work out tax before getting to the counter, especially without a calculator.
These seem small follies, but there are loads of bigger problems that scare me off this place. Healthcare is an issue: sure, the NHS is not the great institution that many Americans have lauded it as, but can you imagine having to pay for all your healthcare? Race is still an issue, and through talking to people they have all observed that there is an issue within the race issue. The best example to use is to say that there is tension between Blacks in America and Mexicans in America. This to me doesn’t make sense. If you were supposed to be the minority in a country, why would you feel the need to fight amongst your race?
There are of course, pluses. For this I shall explain my fantastic trip down the bay to San Francisco, a most gorgeous city and somewhere I recommend you all go. On the one hand, down by the pier you have wonderful walks and views along and across the Pacific Ocean, and the ocean breeze coupled with that beautiful cloudless Californian sunshine is near blissful (and deceptive, explaining how I got sunburnt badly across the face!) We walked along the more tourist driven part of the piers, called Pier 39, and it was a conglomeration of knick-knack shops, great restaurants and to top it off, more great panorama’s over the Pacific. Landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz somehow subtly blend into the gorgeous scenery, and at one point we saw near to 300 Californian Sea lions just resting on some jetties! An amazing sight. When you get away from the ocean front you get into San Francisco’s downtown area. Parts of it rival Barcelona for street performances; breakdancing artists jockey for your attention with graffiti masterminds, caricaturists, living statues and, I’m reliably informed, a man who dresses up as a bush, scares the shit out of you then charges you for the privilege. I was disbelieving as no doubt you are right now, but my friend asked a cop where bushman was and we were directed down the road! We didn’t see him, but what a talent!
When you get ‘above’ the city and take a walk down those famous streets from the car chase in Bullitt, you get your first taste of what it is like to be above the skyscrapers that dominate the San Francisco landscape. Not much fun getting up there however, those streets are amazingly steep! The smell of fresh coffee, pizza and pasta greets you down in Little Italy, where chairs are set out for patrons to watch downtown outside the cafes and restaurants. I know all of this sounds like I work for the San Francisco tourist board, but I had a really great time and it was lovely there!
So that’s my initial perception of America I think: it has its flaws, and I personally believe that yes, it is more flawed than England, even more so than the United Kingdom combined. But sometimes you can just forget that when you see some absolutely amazing sights.
Thanks for reading!