Hello and goodbye to michigan
Trip Start
Jan 30, 2006
1
26
Trip End
Jan 13, 2007
Troy, Michigan
Monday, January 30, 2006
Even though many people outside of America think we are all over consuming idiots with no concept of lands outside our borders, there are so many people that prove this image wrong. It was interesting for me to notice that some of the clichés are true in America, but there are many people that don't even come close to fitting into that image. It will be something I will be able to take away with me and use as a defense against some that stereotypical anti-American sentiment. Just as in every country, there is some bad and there is some good. It just seems that a lot of the good is with the people of the country and not with the image that is projected to the rest of the world through the media and politics.
One interesting thing for me to experience about being back is how much I had forgotten. I didn't forget anything hugely important, but there are so many small details of American life that I rediscovered. Here is a list of a couple luxuries that I had forgotten about: garbage disposals, garage door openers, drive through fast food, frosties from Wendys, wide variety of radio stations, mail delivery on Saturdays, free car vacuuming with the purchase of a $5 car wash using 6 colors of soap, the TV guide channel, selections of international food, endless samples at the organic food store, thirty choices of beer on tap, choices of clothing in sizes and colors and most importantly the ability to be able to speak English to anyone and be understood! Also I enjoyed the American way of being able to be comfortable, ie wear sweatpants to the grocery store, because especially in Korea everyone was dressed up all the time.
Some things were also disturbing to rediscover, such as customer service numbers with number selections to problems and no person to actually service the customer, late fees at the video store, huge lines at the post office, competitions on the radio to win breast augmentation, the lack of efficient and cheap public transportation in the metro Detroit area, and bumper stickers on huge SUVs that say "Viva Bush."
One of the ways that I was best able to reassess the states right now is by television. I put myself through a rigorous program of studying and examining everything that is on. I have to confess that I spent more time than I would like to admit by falling back into America's number past time: TV watching. I caught up on all the celebrity happenings, watched at least one episode of every reality show and discovered that there is only one television show worth anything (Extreme Makeover - Home edition where they build a new house for deserving family in a week) and the rest is all mind numbing garbage to help anesthetize the viewers. So I have had my mind numbed to a level of a slug and am ready to have some stimulation again. And of course my favorite form of stimulation is to travel into the unknown. All of the emotions that come with leaving a place and stepping into the unknown are actually my preferred vice (even though TV was desperately trying to take it over). It is sad to come and go so quickly.
This time back was enough time to reconnect with people, but not enough to be able to really make a difference in the fact that this was a visit. I continue to find really great people and leave them as this desire to travelers itch hits me again and again. But the way I see it is that I have a little piece of everywhere I have been and everyone that I have ever met with me at all times. Just because I'm not in the same location with so many friends and family members doesn't mean that I forget about them. So as I again say hello (to Australia) and good bye (to the states) to many people, I will be taking a stronger appreciation of American people (and television) with me.
