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What Does America Look Like?I am 82 years old and been around the block a few times. I was raised in 1940s - 50s Milwaukee, then a very liberal city that was diverse and on the top of civilized accoutrements e.g.: ethnic - religious diversity, top education, good jobs, lots recreation - cultural, Music - Milwaukee Fest, infrastructure - parks, museums, libraries, health care, etc. That progressive environment existentially formed my life to this day. In between I lived in the 1950s - 1960s Jim Crow segregated conservative South and saw a very primitive, poverty stricken, violent poor man's existence exemplifying man's inhumanity to man all set up by local/state governments implementing legal and institutionalized racial - social restrictions all supported by the evangelical church who said the Bible justified a segregated society with no diversity of ideas and life styles, For some of those years, I was in the Navy and traveled the western world and saw countries struggling to recover from the destruction of WW II and appreciated the USA. But I needed social, economic and intellectual freedoms and moved to New York City where I found a completely different universe, even better than my Milwaukee growing up altruistic experiences.As a Corporate salesman for the Fortune 500 headquarter and Banking accounts, I traveled to more than 40 states in America for customer meetings, training, setting up district and regional computer installations. I think every state is different and the USA is a really large country, the third biggest in the world. New York is totally different from Laredo, Texas. The South is different from the North, West from the East. So I basically experienced culture shocks in different states. Rout 66 does exist all over the USA. It's easy to have a road trip in America. I often traveled America by car, and I don't remember how many nights we just parked in front of Wal-Mart and slept in the car. I felt safe and it saved me a lot of money. You can take showers in service stations and everything was simple and comfortable. There is not much traffic on highways too, so you can just enjoy the view! An 8-hour road trip is really not that long; it's fairly common since living in such a large country twists your perception of distance. I used to think any drive taking more than an hour is basically a road trip, now I've realized there's people that commute for over an hour… every single day. I've also gotten the opportunity to drive from NC to Montana (~40 hours) twice. The US have every landscape imaginable. Anywhere you go there is 24 x 7 shopping. You want to buy cheese, bread, jeans, rifle and a TV at 3am? You can do that. Then you can visit a fast food place on your way home. Everything is just open … all the time. Try that in Europe!From what I've observed, big cities tend to have lots of Universities, high tech, industry and immigrants. States that have big immigrant populations include: Hawaii, California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, and New York, Florida. So where are good places to live in the United Stares if you don't want the hustle of places like New York but not want to live in the middle of nowhere? Places with good schools, decent job prospects, low crime rate and not stupidly expensive? I would suggest the middle south, like Tennessee, Kentucky or Georgia.America is made up from great towns with lots of diversity, low cost of living, good jobs, not too crazy at all, plenty of outlying neighborhoods and small towns to live in that are low crime, traffic isn't horrible except on maybe 3 roads but there are ways around it, everyone gets along for the most part, we don't have all the craziness of the big cities, nobody gets too worked up about anything. The downside is the weather; hot and humid for about 6 months out of the year, chilly and rainy for 4 months. The birth of the Rust Belt was created by the loss of industries to automation and the flight of low-skill high-pay manufacturing abroad; the flight of the middle class to the suburbs; and government neglect. Many Black communities were stuck on the sinking urban ship, and (to keep the metaphor going) were already in the bottom holds of the ship to begin with.Each state has pretty and ugly parts. For example, I went on an 1100 mile road trip from Wisconsin to Florida, passing through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. Each state is pretty and ugly. As the song says, West Virginia has pretty mountains, but a lot of the state is run down and in poor repair. There's not much zoning with the housing, so anything goes from property to property. Lots of tin roofs, rusted. There is a good deal of poverty. It's not quite South enough to be warm in the winter.Unlike other states, there really isn't a major city there (with what can be described as attractive buildings, pro sports stadiums, etc.); though maybe the college town is better.Easily one of the most depressing places on Earth, I drove through Iowa and I thought it was so boring, farmland all around. Nevada is a desert wasteland. When you drive deeper into it, especially the northern area, everything is roped off. Yes, everything. Nothing lives, no plants, animals, or anything; only miles of salt off the highway. It's all roped off, which makes me believe the government does some weird stuff there; miles of nothingness, just beige rolling hills. I felt claustrophobic; absolutely nothing redeeming out there. Las Vegas has its vague charms, but it really is a mess. Northern Nevada is an entirely different world. The Lake Tahoe area is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. New Jersey has both the ugliest sights and some of the prettier sights. The ugly side includes vast refineries. They also smell terrible but it does have the best part, the Jersey Shore.Pretty much the worst drive one might take in the US would be like starting out from San Angelo (a dreadful town) and going north, up to Amarillo and into the panhandle of Oklahoma and across the border into southwest Kansas and southeast Colorado. It's this sort of flat and dry scrub land. It looks like shit, basically. And it sucks to find yourself anywhere within this red zone. It's Satan's Vacation Land! In terms of being unappealing to the eye and sheer uninspiring views, Kansas takes top place for me. It's a boring rectangle in shape, its highways are arrow-straight and it's under populated. Oh, and it's anvil-flat. If your wife leaves you, you can spend three days watching her walk away. Ohio usually has an overcast sky. When the sun comes out people get excited. It's part of the rust belt. Industry has left and so have the young people. What are left are retired union workers who are getting their pensions cut and people who don't work. The infrastructure is crumbling. All of the roads need to be repaved but the cities don't have money because no one pays income tax because no one has income. You have a few places like Columbus and Dayton that are booming, but much of Ohio isn't a place you'd want to visit, unless you're a historical photographer. Some of the country areas are beautiful though.Culture WarSomething is broken in the American political system despite America is the envy of the world. The country is wallowing in pessimism and cultural conflict; Congress has an approval rate somewhere around 7 - 9 per cent and is useless as a governing body. The GOP is on a rampage, they say everything wrong with the world is President Obama's fault albeit the US recovery from the great recession and economy is the envy of the world. The GOP refuses to participate in democracy which requires compromise and negative thinking and 'it’s my way or the highway' is their new normal. I ask myself why all this trouble when the USA has always rose above internal - external discontents and been the world leader in getting things done. I think it is a physiological divide based on long standing cultural differences coming to the forefront; Glass half full compared to glass half empty - Optimism verses pessimism, people verses business interests, we verses they type of stuff. It's conflict over the very essence of the American Dream and truths of our basic foundation as a country.The cultural War has deep roots in the USA going back to the Founding, with slave states verses free states and all that entails, and snippets of those cultural remnants continue on to this day; as slavery was inextricably tied to the southern region's economy and [separate] culture. In fact, there were almost as many slaves in the South as there were whites (4 million blacks and 5.5 million whites) at the time of the Civil War that raged across the nation from 1861 to 1865 and was the violent conclusion to decades of vast cultural differences and extreme - for and against - attitudes about slavery. Gradually, throughout the beginning of the nineteenth century, the North and South followed different paths, developing into two distinct and very different regions cumulating in deep cultural ideological divide that now defines the USA in the 21st century. It's the battle of ideas and destiny verses tradition and fear, a sad and terrible thing for our country. It has frozen us inexplicitly in place and stagnated the US which has lost much of its pre eminence as a dynamic world leader. It has gotten so bad across our north - south regions and in Washington that people can't communicate or cooperate much anymore.Unfortunately, extremist religion and politics tends to be based on culture driven weirdly irrepressible and often backward thinking ideologies, it can make a person feel they are right and then become ugly with fear, hate, racism and prejudice. For example, northern Christians tend to be open minded, liberal and more tolerant than southern Christians who tend to be more conservative and judgmental, Westerners being libertarian, Californians being just weird and Floridians absolutely crazy. The base root of the Cultural War is over diversity, the love or fear of it, the ephemeral destiny of the differences based on conservative verses liberal. e.g.: Educated and people from big cities tend to be more liberal, while rural and small town people are more conservative either in the north or south. Culture drives the 'what you are' paradigm which then drives religion and politics. Even Muslims from some countries (USA, India and Indonesia) are quite modern and sophisticated, while from other countries (Saudi Arabia / Pakistan) are brutal and primitive.When I turn on Fox News or conservative talk radio, there they are, the horribly racially opinionated that live on fears and exhibit ultra right demigod view points far outside American mainstream believes. I can't get MSBC where I live, but I hear they have the same problem but they are on the left. - isn't that charlatan Al Sharpton on that station as an anchor? It would seem our society lives for absurd and outrageous demigodry rather than sane and reasonable. dialogue. Do they do it for fun or do they actually believe the trash talk? Or am I an ancient American that belonged to the 'Greatest Generation' and am out of place today here in this great land I still believe in? Well, at 78 years old, I might just be an old fool!My dad used to say that arguing religion will get you nowhere because the argument has a tendency to escalate and you won't win anyone over. The real irony I see in these issues is that politics by definition is the art of winning people to your point of view. However, the history of mankind is filled with warfare and intolerance in these matters. Maybe it's because these matters are so ingrained into our fiber and being that civil debates on politics and religion are practically next too impossible without escalation. Maybe some people see it as an attack on their personal integrity or heritage. If we've been fighting since the beginning with no end in sight, then I'm not optimistic that we ever will stop.Religion is the chief Cultural War prognosticator: It's easy to think that ISIS is some sort of Medieval cancer that is infecting the world with murder, torture and untold mayhem all based on Islamic extremism. Well, we have Christian religious extremism too but it has not gotten violent (yet) as it did in our own past with [sic] Ku Klux Klan extremism. Religion is where people often hide when they are frustrated and angry at the status quo. It's an easy escape into justifying your deleterious reactions to change, uncertainty, fear and hate using scriptures from the Bible, Koran, Tora or what ever holy book you use.We have our dumbed down unconscious crowd: We are living in a social media generation, which exhibits a maximum of choices and minimums of meaning to morality and the essence of exceptionalism in real life. We should be in discovery mode, learning and needing altruistic ideas to solve our real life circumstances, but their are [sic] conservative forces that are afraid of change and fight new ideas, feeling more comfortable in prophesizing old myths and legends that defy common sense and especially science.How can the South be so religious and yet so hateful and judgmental? They justified Jim Crow segregation with the Bible and today their dislike of Jews, Catholics, Yankees and anyone not like them. Science and history can go home in the south - they don't want these modern explanations of mankind and cosmology. It doesn’t seem plausible in what they call a Christian-based society. I think it is all about culture being the dominant force in a civilization, which in turn drives religion and politics. And here in the South, it is all ultra conservative and anti [non white] immigrant based.So who are the crazy ones ruining our country? They are mostly religious or political extremists -e.g.: the ultra conservatives - who seem to be the basic trouble makers and pervaders of hate groups, the basic 'we are right' no compromise group saying it's my way or the highway; the NRA guns for everyone crowd; Confederate flag flyers - yes, the Civil War was based on slavery; hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, ISIS and some 'Can Do No Wrong' Black organizations; anti everything thinkers against science, immigration, personal rights, education; fanatics who hate more than they love, use the Bible as a weapon against modernity, if you don't belief like them you are going to Hell, like those who condemn & hate unconventional life styles, free thinkers, Yankees, progressives;e.g.: The ultra liberals - snooty, snobby know-it-alls, another 'we are right group'; the free lunch crowd who think they deserve government handouts (by the way - people get the least and corporations get the most dollars); the political correctness crowd who say 'thugs' is the new "N" word, elevating to star status extremely violent racist elements of Black Lives Matter, forgiveness for criminals and rioters because they are black, where 'Black on Black' crime is code for racism; incompetent - can't be fired - government employees with platinum benefits; the celebrity / sport worshipping crowd where decency is not respected;e.g.: Christian Right fanatics - the God is on my side ultimate 'we are right group,' who tell you how to vote and what to believe politically from the pulpit; those desiring theocracy - put God back in my government - over constitutional democracy; radicals wishing 'their' very judgmental religious beliefs protected a.k.a. the Religious Liberty crowd; those who think we are (only) a Christian nation and want 'their' absolutist beliefs inserted into US schools, politics and the work place; hating free thinkers and open mindedness, the religious disbelievers and modernity deniers - evolution, global warming, science, historical discoveries; the afraid and hateful anti everything bunch who (want) live in the 19th century; mega Christian churches collecting dollars and not saving souls; Christians who say God gave the West Bank (Sumeria) to the Jews and we should help the Jews fight for it; Christians who say all history and science is expressed in the Bible;e.g.: The extreme foreign religious crowd - Jewish Zionists who won't go for a Two State Solution and work for Middle East Peace with the Palestinians; Oh, and of course, Islamic extremists and ISIS Islamic terrorists who murder and destroy based on their religion. It seems that religion is the great evil in the world, the thing wars and destruction is based on, all in the name of 'your' God.e.g.: the 'get away with it crowd' - Corporate and Wall Street shysters woes greed caused our worst recession and were never jailed and politicians who let them get away with it; drug addicts and criminals playing the system; free loaders with underserved disability / welfare / government subsidies; Healthcare gougers - ambulance chasing Tort Lawyers, corrupt pharmaceuticals & insurance organizations, obese and addicted abusers who suck up 80 per cent cost of the healthcare system; Politicians who advocate their - often hateful and greedy - stuff over what is good for the country; gangsta rappers;I could go on and one . . . it's always the greedy and hateful ones who cause trouble; bottom line, trouble comes from selfish - self centered people who think their religion, politics, morality are better than everyone's else's. To everyone I say it is not a persons race, skin color, gender, sexual orientation that should define a person but their actions and how they treat others.I am afraid the cultural war is going to go on for many years to come too.The AmericansSo, who are the Americans? There has been debate about this in recent times, but it still holds true. Anybody that lives in America is considered an American. Asians are Americans, Blacks are Americans, Indians are Americans, Whites are Americans, Arabs are Americans, Italians are Americans. People can retain their home culture, but they dissolve into the large American society and are considered a part of it, not strangers or outsiders.If you would believe the media, you’d think there’s a race war going on and there’s an open season on black people. This is grade-A bullshit. I’ve traveled coast to coast, right through the Deep South, and people in general get along just fine pretty much everywhere. Sure, racism is a real thing, but it is not nearly as bad as they’d like you to believe. They just like to put the cameras on the scumbags of society like the KKK, Neo-Nazi’s, BLM, and Antifa. These assholes don’t represent the population, thankfully. Remember: news media is a for-profit business. All they give a shit about is ratings, and they’ve been caught by video-bloggers plenty of times fabricating and twisting stories. They are the main reason for the bullshit that’s been going on lately.Friendships seem to be one dimensional. Most people live in bubbles. In my experience, your school friends remain your school friends. You may occasionally grab a bite to eat, but the topics of a conversation focus on school. Your sport friends remain your sport friends. Your work friends are simply your work friends and so on. Friends from one circle of life don’t automatically enter other circles or groups. Everything seems very isolated from each other. Friendships also don’t have such strong bonds. You may have some good childhood friends that you keep in touch with, but for the most part, people simply do not have a strong nucleus of friends that lasts forever. People veer to the extreme sides of things on almost everything. A good example is the way people look. There’s a lot of fat people and super-fit people in the USA, and not much in-between. Most of all, it’s an awesome place with a wide variety of people. Some of them are assholes, but most of them are great. Americans have a kind of happy excitement about them that I find very fun and pleasant. Europeans are generally a little more stoic compared to them.Beneath the glorious and over fantasized “American Dream” is the harsh reality that Americans slog their back off to survive. On an average 35% Americans are doing more than one job, either to pay bills or to reach a level of a lifestyle that they aspire for. American Dream is not a fallacy. But Americans are really wanting to work hard to achieve it. There is a charm to America, beautiful landscapes, friendly people. But for all the stuff they talk about how great they are, seeing reality is actually really shocking! The people I met were genuine, friendly warm hearted individuals. There are a lot of hugs and kisses. In my entire life I have seen people of different sex, even the married ones hugging or kissing all across the USA.I have an International friend who traveled around the USA too with the following observations.I was raised in England, lived in India for years and now call New York City home. The diversity of people in NY is unbelievable. The whole world lives there. The first day I was here I walked the streets of New York, where 47% are foreign born from every country in the world, but everyone spoke English, not just the upper classes, academics, musicians and actors. I would go to a café, or to a bookstore, and stay there, pretending I was reading a book while listening to people talk. What a pleasure to see that English was a real language! All these racial, ethnic and religious differences between people and everyone gets along. Pakistanis and Indians in the US are friends. Palestinians and Israelis are friends. We see that common man is no different and has more problems in his life than border wars. How exuberantly friendly people are. Unfailingly upbeat and polite, Americans are really friendly . . . to almost everyone on first contact. It’s probably the “oil” needed to lubricate the tremendous social and economic dynamism in this 30 million metro city area in this continental-sized nation.I moved to Brooklyn seven months ago. What amaze me here were the people! They are smiling when we cross eyes, willing to help and have a sense of civism. I don’t want to generalize for the rest of the country but I felt the same in the south (Louisiana, Virginia, Carolina) when I was traveling there, in small towns. This is definitely refreshing, especially if you lived in Paris. My first restaurant experience in the US was a Vietnamese restaurant, where I ordered a bowl of noodle soup. When the soup arrived, I thought I was supposed to use that bowl to wash my face before eating the soup. Then the Mexican restaurant. I sat down, the waitress very quickly came over, placed a HUGE basket of tortilla chips and a bucket of salsa in front of me, and a menu. When the tacos came, I was already full. I didn’t see many averagely fit person in the US. Rather, I saw very athletic or very obese people.There were tons of fun cultural shocks I got used to and actually adopted a few, I would like to share some of the shocks I encountered. People ask you how are you even though they don’t know you at all, neither did they care how your responses are. Waiters will come to your table, asking you “how is everything” while you were eating and can barely talk with food in your mouth. No security checks entering the subway, and no mobile signals in the subway. God knows where the subway will go and when it will come during weekend and holidays. You can always find someone or the other performing in the NYC subway. It is a big stage for them to showcase their talents. Many subway performers are front runners now in American music industry. People stop their busy life and watch them perform, they show respect. It’s not for money they perform always, sometimes. It’s just for respect.It was my first day at a job and like most places we had a custom that a new employee would send an email introducing themselves. I did the same. Three hours later I was washing hands in the restroom and the janitor comes from behind and says “Hey Man, Welcome. It's your first day.” I still don't know how he knew it was my first day. I doubt he might have been in that email distribution list, but anyway he made me feel welcome. We talked for about a good 10 minutes. He told me about his kids, what they want to be when they grow up. What he wants them to be when they grow up etc. The shocking part was, while having that conversation I started wondering is he really the Janitor? I worked in India as well for a short period of time. The support staffs such as Janitors were treated so differently there - there was a class system, servants called everyone "Sir" and wore uniforms. This man had the confidence to come and talk to me so effortlessly, maybe because he had never been made to feel different. People around him never behaved as if the job he does as a janitor is in any way less than the others, who would typically be converting coffee to code. Later, I found the guy was surely popular amongst my techie colleagues. They would call him by his first name and so would he. No “Sir“ involved. Dignity of Labor, it matters here and rightfully should.Contrary to popular belief, there are almost no guns on NYC streets, neither are uniformed soldiers. The only guns I saw were in police officers’ holsters, and they were invariably small arms. European cops sometimes carry assault rifles; railway security has submachine guns. No such thing in NYC, except for, possibly, in airports. I took a road trip from NYC to my old university in Connecticut. Wow! The USA is too BIG.The day I landed in JFK Airport and my first road journey from JFK to Hartford was on I-95. The highways were so huge and the roads were filled with cars, SUVs and trucks. The way everyone behaved while driving and the way others followed rules while driving in the interstates showed an excellent example of discipline. People seem to be respecting law and order. If tourists want to cover a lot of landmarks in USA, then Northeast is the best option, as we can cover most areas with road trips. We can pretty much cover Boston, Rhode Island, NYC, Philly, Washington, D.C. I have heard my friends say that in Texas we can drive all day and still be in Texas. USA simply is too BIG and people love their cars and driving. Road trips are so common here thanks to the extensive Interstate system that made this possible.I traveled straight away to Atlanta, Georgia and points south into Alabama and Mississippi. It's a very poor White and Black region, with lots of poverty, lousy healthcare, crime and social dysfunction. It seems most people live in trailers, drop out of school, have lots of babies and have few skills. There is an over-presence of religion. Religious billboards everywhere, churches on every corner, with signs admonishing to believe or else. I can’t figure the South out! It seems they are still living their Civil War over and over again . . . always fighting what is good for them because of their animosities toward outsiders and especially what they call Yankees. IT almost seems that the Age of Enlightenment had never occurred, stuck in pre-18th Century mind sets regarding science, logic and humanism. Logical discussion seems beyond the range, almost an alien concept, of many who just tout set slogans and opinions, with no basis in observation or research for themselves. It’s mind boggling to find in a “Developed Nation.” It shows all the signs of Brainwashing. For example, in Europe many of the “uneducated poor from the sticks” (who would be called rednecks, trailer trash etc. in the U.S.) vote for left-wing parties which are known for complex social compensations of the lack of responsibility for one’s life, whereas many right-wing parties (unless they are far too nationalist) are associated with white-collar jobs, business etc. Ironically, had the U.S. poorest (but still with shelter over their heads, warm beds, running water and possibly jobs) lived in Europe, they would probably be communists. So my biggest cultural shock visiting the U.S., for a long time, was that the Southern rednecks, trailer park residents etc. are nearly uniformly right wing conservative Republicans who politically have absolutely no interest in their well being.I experienced colorism in my world travels, but never racism. But America! Wahoo … that was a different kettle of fish. I have friends of every hue, I know the lighter hued you are, the better you get treated in society, but with me and my people, your character is what really sells you. I never understood why someone’s color or the country they came from determined who they were in America. I mean people are just people . . . Aren’t they? My worst experiences were in several small Southern towns like Mobile, Biloxi and Gatlinburg. Especially Gatlinburg, where I was heavily discriminated until I opened my mouth to speak, and then they heard my accent and all was right in their but by then the damage was already done. The south is so white, and religious and pure, and perfect! The only things that will make this perfect American image even more perfect is Jesus Christ in the background with an American flag and gun on his hip! The most annoying ones with the patriotic stuff are the middle-aged white Americans who have never been outside of the US. In my country, for the most part, if we believe you’re a good person we like you, if we think you’re not, we won’t go near you … regardless of your skin tone, or financial status. Actually, except for the south, I didn't see so much racism across the country, there are a lot of open-minded Americans.From what I noticed, you can probably encounter racism to some extent in small cities in the southern states, but in big cities like New York, Washington, Dallas, people are generally quite open. I find most Americans I met in my trip are very friendly and open-minded. Almost everyone I encountered at stores and restaurants were really nice. They were very warm, always asked about my day and were helpful in every way possible. Some of the best conversations I had when I was in America have been with people I randomly met on the street.But the biggest weirdness for me was the religiousness of southern people. In the UK, religion is a private thing. In the US people will talk about God, or J.C., pray in public etc. (I’ve seen it in Heathrow airport - a big group of Texans praying together before their return flight, and often wondered what would happen in Houston airport if a group of Muslims started unrolling prayer mats and reading from the Koran.) And meeting really lovely people who then casually espouse the most right-wing / racist / homophobic / sexist views.As a dark-skinned African with a very Indian-looking face, I was prepared to face racism when I was about to go to America. I traveled to more than 20 cities in the US and have never experienced any forms of discrimination at all. People are so friendly and welcoming to me. Even in places like Boston and New York where the people are known to be pressed and rude, people still say “thank you” and “sorry” a lot. Another thing that I find shocking most is the cultural diversity of the country. Foreigners like to think that the whole America is not much different from one another, but it’s actually much more diverse. The contrast between the Western and the Eastern parts of the country is very strong. They almost feel like two different countries. Though overall my biggest culture shock (or reality) of America is that it’s a very highly contrasting society and country, with huge geographic differences and that even people’s opinions varied hugely, people are not people but a black woman, white man, Asian guy, Mexican dude, white girl, black kid! And each subsection of Americans has their own stereotype assigned to them and they meet it more or less.A few days into my trip, I noticed a trend. Every time I made a cash payment with a large bill, the person at the cash register would have to stop in order to thoroughly inspect the note to ensure that it was not fake, usually using a detection pen or some other contraption. I was in Chick-fil-A buying lunch one afternoon and I handed over a 100-dollar note. There was no one behind me so I struck a conversation with the girl taking my order. I’m really sorry, I don’t have a smaller one, and you will have to run this through your detection machine. Oh don’t worry honey; I can hold it up to check the watermark and the security thread. She was really kind too; giving me all the extra sauces I wanted for my chicken nuggets. Also, Chick-fil-A is the BOMB! There are a lot of fat people in the south. It was shocking to see how many people suffered with obesity compared to the numbers you see in New York. The fast food, and in general food, culture is much more apparent with food portions being of a much bigger size, and in some cases quite cheap. Going to the cinema and seeing the portion sizes of popcorn and Coke was definitely a shock.I have said it before "Americans are very friendly." “How are you doing?” is a common generic question you are going to be asked when you go up to a counter to get your coffee or place order at McDonald or Burger King. Strangers smile at you. Even girls. And the worse thing about an introvert like me is that I am expected to smile too. Imagine a very average looking guy smiling at an attractive young lady in the streets of Delhi and Kolkata? Yeah, you end up being in Police station making promises that you won’t repeat your ill-behavior in public again. Here, you are smiled at. Such is life.In the USA, everything is huge, the space between the stores, the roads, the cars, the people. I found when driving in the Midwest the sense of endlessness to the land around me gave me vertigo. It was a really strange and discomforting feeling. It is no wonder Americans find the UK so quaint and cramped.In most American cities, you don’t see people walking on streets, all you see are cars, cars, cars! When I was in Dallas, I noticed that except in downtown area and tourist spots, you basically don’t see people walking on streets! A small city of 200k people ends up being the size of London because it’s all massively spread out, and of course there is no public transportation so you need a fucking car to get around whether you like it or not. As a result no one walks, no one is on the street, you don’t see anyone anywhere, all you see is cars and cars and people in them. How insular American culture is, they are generally oblivious to anything outside of the US. But they were intrigued and very keen to learn. I felt like the people were deliberately kept in the dark. Everything here is Real BIG! The cars, food portions, grocery quantities, supermarket like Wal-Mart, Target, CostCo etc. is massive. And people here buy stuff in bulk. How big the divide between rich and poor really is. I was shocked how many ordinary people were struggling to get by. Historic items 200 years old is considered old in the US.In England it is usual to see a church or castle nearly 1000 year’s old. The way people in America abide road rules and regulations is amazing to watch. I had very rarely seen a person skip a red signal when he is waiting to cross a road or when he is driving. The respect pedestrians get in this country is tremendous, I had seen big trucks coming to full stop just to let pedestrians cross to road even if he has a green signal to go. People here are very independent and they rely on themselves by setting strict schedules for every task at hand. When they give their time for you, it is 100% dedicated for you by clearing out rest of their tasks. This discipline is astonishing. people can be anything they want to be and work whatever they may please. Example, in India, if I see a carpenter guy working on a door, I would assume he is a carpenter all the time and he doesn't do anything else. He would be sorted into a certain social class and be given a certain level of respect and not more. In the US, the same carpenter guy could be a programming genius on a hefty scholarship plus a high paying job waiting when he graduates and yet chose to be a carpenter for one day to earn money for a concert ticket. Or the Mayor of the town could do bartending work on weekends just for fun. The janitor could be your classmate. (All true stories)Here, a job is a job and there is no such thing as low level job which is unheard of for Indians. You never know who you are talking to and all that they are capable of. Hence giving equal respect for a fellow human is established deep in their values. I have heard story of Indians treating a waiter boy bad by demanding everything in assertive tone(and not saying thank you, please, etc. which are considered polite requests). Later they came to know that the kid was the son of two professors in the university and wished had they known he was from an elite family, they might have treated him better. The point they are missing is no job is elite or degrading in the US. A job is a job. Waiter, professor, janitor, student, Mayor deserve the same respect.There aren't any class distinctions in the USA. I have seen a man wearing a suit and moving trash bags. I have witnessed high profile executives addressing the taxi driver, the Barista at coffee shop as Sir and Mam. And I know for sure that in large corporation, referring your seniors/superiors as Sir is offending. And this is shockingly divergent from a culture that I come from. This comes naturally to all Americans - they can wait in traffic lanes depending on which direction they are turning, they can wait at coffee shops till the server has finished serving the previous customer, at ticket counters, at football games . . . you name it. Despite their aggressive stances, Americans can wait like no other culture.There are two United States. There are the US of A we all know, the USA that we see in the news and the imprint the country leaves in the world’s history. That’s the West and East coast. The cities there are insane. People are techie and advanced. Cars are either European or Teslas. Society is very forward on most issues. You’ll see gay couples, people in the middle of gender transition, and so many cultures in one place your mind will get boggled. Then you go inland and detract about 200 years from the current date. Now, I am quite certain there are big cities and advanced bubbles of society inland, but most of it simply isn’t.My average day of traveling through the inland was a four-hour drive through nothing (that alone is crazy to Europeans. Four hours gets you to another country over here), then by random finding a tiny “town” in the middle of a bloody desert, or bloody mountains, or bloody wilderness. There is nothing there, nothing. Tiny, ragged, sometimes even torn down houses, three massive “Pick Ups” in front of each of them. No people in sight. No shops, no businesses, no internet. This is followed by two to three more hours of drive through nothing. What exactly do those people do? Where do they go every day, how do they make money, where do they buy food?I drove through northern states where there was snow stacked up everywhere on the sides of roads. It was really cold for me. I couldn't remove my jacket for first 2 weeks at least. On the other hand, starting from the very airport, people were roaming around in T-shirts like it was middle of summer! I could not get used to it since every day I go out, covering myself and still shivering while people all around me are half naked! It's spring for them and pretty usual, rather nice weather for them. I kept having this shock throughout my whole trip of three weeks. Even though it was very cold for me, everyone everywhere greeted me with a very warm smile and tone. This of course melted my heart every time and felt very good with this method of greetingsIn summary, here are some of my Observations:Americans are nothing like Europeans. They are not as educated or knowledgeable about the world, history and politics in general. Obesity is rampant. They can be very generous and kind hearted. Believe it or not, they're not nearly as racist as some of the other western cultures. Americans tend to dress for comfort not style. Other than a few older areas, America is not built based on a human scale. Everything is grand, distances are great, food portions are extra large and the roads are super wide. America is a multi cultural society. You will have a culture shock going from the North to South or East to West. Americans are trained to be outstanding consumers. For most Americans, America can be a harsh place to live. They live by the strap of their own boots. As long as they are healthy and have a job, they can live somewhat comfortably. But all that can be destroyed with one serious illness or a job loss. The odd thing is that this idea seems normal to them. America is truly the land of plenty. Plenty in beauty, and resources. Almost all believe in the notion of “American exceptionalism.” While the politicians feed this narrative, behind the scenes they are doing all they can to undermine it. Corruption is rampant. Corporations are now people. They have deeper pockets and are more powerful. They run the show!So far I had great experience here, US is vast with awesome free highway system. I can also feel the breeze of freedom. Friendly people. People greeting me in the street, in bars, in cafes, in airports - everywhere! The confidence and self-assuredness of people generally are wonderful! Nobody seems to doubt themselves or think twice about expressing themselves. It can be a little too much sometimes but I’m envious of it for the most part. Multiple religious places and spiritual centers everywhere including small cities. Surprised to see Indian cashiers at Wal-Mart and CostCo talking in Hindi with Indian customers. Americans don't walk. It is so strange. They drive for even short distances. Number of cars are more than number pedestrians. Even in grocery stores. Some people use some kind of electrical shopping cars. And drive-thru. Drive-thru pharmacy, drive-thru ATM! So weird! The style. ANYTHING goes. Absolutely anything at all. People, for the most part, dress casually but nobody bats an eyelid if you wear bright pink shorts and a bright yellow T-shirt with green sneakers/trainers. In larger cities, eccentricity is accepted and nobody will look at you twice - you can be whom you want to be without judgment - I loved that.Food is cheap and comes in huge portions. I once ordered a chili and tortilla dish at a simple Mexican restaurant for $6.5. It was huge - I couldn’t even finish half of it, and I am a person with a big appetite. In Israel you would pay more than this for half the amount of food at the same quality. The same goes to all restaurants I went to. Food is cheap, and comes in huge portions. Fast food restaurants are all over the place. Political satire: The late night show hosts mock, question the residents of highest offices on national television and make money. I can't imagine the same happening in India.Flags, flags, flags. Everywhere. It’s like no one in US would know which country they are living in if they didn’t put US flags on every square foot of their porch, front lawn, a cemetery, shopping malls . . . Exception to confederate flags - those folks are proving they don’t know which country they are living in. Or maybe they do. There was this one huge flag, probably almost the size of a house, in Interstate-5, with a sign, "GOD BLESS AMERICA. Support our troops!" In the South, religion is in your face and mixed up with everything. Everywhere. Only in US have I seen “Jesus is Lord” sign under “Mike’s furniture” or bible verses on store flyers. In your face and everywhere, just like the flag.Homeless people. They are everywhere. They stay in public spaces and use toilets at fast food restaurants. Too weird to me. The poverty in cities, so many homeless people with absolutely nothing and suffering from severe addiction and mental health issues. And at least in the cities I visited most of them were black. I didn’t expect that from a wealthy country and it was quite upsetting. You don’t get that scale of poverty in most of Europe.Many of these thoughts are contextual to the background that I come from and may not be shocking to a large number of people. But my background is inherent part of my being and hence the world is how I see it. Cheers.

American ValuesAmerica TodaySomething is broken in the American political system. The country is wallowing in pessimism and cultural conflict; Congress has an approval rate somewhere around 7 - 9 per cent and is useless as a governing body. For years technology has replaced blue collar jobs and globalism has increased competitive pressures and painfully changed the rules for economic development. Now demigods push racial reasons like non white immigration for the decline of the economic stability the average American. In today’s America, the predominant emotion among the majority of its citizens is dissatisfaction with not getting what they deserve, fear of the non white mixture brewing in America’s melting pot and anger with established political system. It happened before! Remember the 1960s social revolution? Traditionalists feared and fought it, but it happened anyway with dramatic organizational and moral changes to society and government. Society changed for the better, with things like Civil Rights for African Americans and women. Today the civil rights battles are being fought for woman controlling their own bodies, homosexual rights, and immigrants being recognized as an asset rather than as a problem.The USA is overwhelmed now with left and right crybaby dissenters. They complain and blame instead of exhilarate! Anti everything ideologues coming from a racial blend of black or white, evangelical religious nuts, all uneducated to the issues but full of righteousness, they think the worst of everything. And they are ruining my America! You can easily recognize them right off the bat, they have an enemies list, lots of things they don't like, they have an 'Us or Them' mentality. They believe they are right and non believers are wrong, there can be no compromise, for their views are sacrosanct. And do we ever have demigods! They are not lovers of humanity, innovation, imagination, science, intellect, but are contented with extremism, fears and anxieties, their minds full of conspiracy, threats and end times. They have got us pegged too, to them you are either a socialist, immoral or the worst, someone who is an open minded 'Free Thinker' and believes modernity and in the First Amendment and wants to change the world for the better.Worst of all, in today’s America, we share, in any meaningful sense, frighteningly few moments together. I believe this is a large part of why our politics are so maddeningly deadlocked. Today, it appears that we have divided ourselves into ever-shrinking tribes into silos isolated by our own truths which are encased in the bubble of our own self-serving realities. We are largely no longer the USA, but rather the Divided States of America.Even religion plays an ugly hand. Not a good guy anymore, but a firestorm builder. Once upon a time, the Christian faith had an overwhelming influence on every day life in America. But the evangelicals have soured the taste for religion what with their discriminations and fears towards others not like them. Contrary to popular belief, it was segregation — and not abortion — that mobilized the religious right in the 1960s and ‘70s. Conservative political activists worked to organize evangelicals around segregation as an issue of “religious freedom.” Today they organize to stop abortion and Gay Marriage. Evangelicals are also against non white immigration, free trade, environment and global warming. Prior to the 1970s, the relationship between evangelical Christians and the Republican party was negligible. In 2016, it’s hard to imagine a Republican party without its hard core evangelical voting bloc.I thought America was well past its ugly past - you know that slavery, Jim Crow, Ku Klux Klan thing - and we had grown into a more moral and altruistic nation like we were founded to be . . . that shinning light on the hill that illuminated the glimmers of hope throughout the world that looked to us for inspiration, freedom, better things and ideas.Enter misogynist – bigoted – lying – cheating Trump. He is voted into office intent on punishing both the political establishment inside the country and its many outside enemies, scrubbing the pot clean of whatever ingredients are unappetizing to the ordinary folks in the majority, and reinstating the American dream: “Make America great again!” Trump’s promise to scrub the melting pot and reinstate white majority rule was the second reason why Americans voted for him. As he made quite clear during his campaign, he dismissed accepted social norms of “political correctness” toward any minority and, without caring about whether he was accused of racism, misogyny or bigotry, he spoke in the name of the majority of “the forgotten men and women of our country,” vowing that ordinary people who work hard should have a voice, pledging “I am your voice.”America is not perfect and we suffered though great changes, from southern slavery into being a free nation, we manifested ourselves as a liberal democracy, won two world wars, fought a Cold War against communism, won Civil Rights battles, led the world's free economy and were a nation of ideas for the good life and betterment of mankind. That was my America! We were always moving forward and setting an example. It was so easy to see the divide in the USA back then. I think that today these are the same 'bones' for our present day division. It's more subtle today, a cultural, governing, religious, economic divide . . . something like between communism/fascism and democracy. You could even call it our own "Cold War." It manifest in adjectives like optimism verses, pessimism, theocracy verses secularism, progress verses regression, freedom verses restrictions, absolutism and monolithicism verses diversity. But underneath it all were very unhappy and angry people exhibiting a creeping ugliness that was boiling away . . . e.g.: like the Christian Right working on getting the USA to be a theocracy and the removal of separation of church state, the rise of white nationalism, my way or the highway thinking by outlawing other peoples freedoms - born that way homosexuality and women's choice for abortion, practicing religion and voting like you want to, stopping immigration especially from non white or Muslim countries and a paranoia toward modernity and open minded critical thinking.These days we are fighting Islamic terrorism, gun violence and mass shooting at home, a horrific black on black crime wave, nasty populist movements across the world [and in the USA too] seeming to move toward fascism. Our major problems are trying to understand and work with the impacts of highly advancing technology and competitive globalism, the resulting weakening of the old economy and loss of good jobs and the shrinking of the middle class. And enter Donald Trump! He will make America great again! Trump is an ugly person with hateful messaging, he personifies the ugliness, the fear and anger, he feeds it, lives off it, enables ugliness to being the new normal, which is seriously diminishing the greatness of the USA. Our bright light is dimming and only fervently glows now. What we need is a leader who shows us to create the new high tech economy the most people can succeed in.Yes, I have concerns; I think [in general] our government has gotten bloated, bureaucratic fat and sloppy. We have corrupt ideological politicians who work for their own selfish ends and not for the good of the country. There are too many people and corporations on the dole and even looking for more handouts (benefits and tax breaks), some actually expecting bailouts from the government. That includes the unethical "To big to fail" banks, protected government [oxymoron] workers getting can't be fired security with platinum benefits, the Wall Street mentality where anything goes to make a buck, health care that cost to much and provides limited results and misses the poor (we need a single payer system like Europe), the Christian Right that exhibits the worst bigotries, the South looking like the confederacy again and loving it, the bloated military industrial complex - its become a safety net jobs program e.g.: we don't need any more M1 Tanks, southern cultural backwardness Bible Belt mentality that loves the 19th century and is afraid of scientific modernity and social progress.So what happened to my country? We used to be the world's leader and now we follow the devil incarnate. We are terribly divided and our government is totally dysfunctional. What is next?American ValuesOur American Values remain strong on several things;The absolute freedom of speech. Yes it is OK to offend people. Yes it is ok to make fun of people. Some so called liberals are trying to change that but as of right now it is still ok. And yes freedom of speech gives you a right to be racist, anti-Semitic, etc. It is your right to be an a-hole.America is a huge country formed on immigration and consequentially is very diverse what with its different races, religions and ethnicities. America has always been considered strong on 'Rugged Individualism' and 'Self Reliance' and in its gut still retains these values in the 21st century. The belief in a small government and (for now) rejection of socialism, a system for the weak and needy while capitalism is a system for the strong and competent.The American dream is what makes’ US produce companies like Apple, Tesla, Google, etc. No other country comes close to the opportunities that US has. As John Steinbeck said “Socialism never took roots in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”What Does America Look Like?I am 82 years old and been around the block a few times. I was raised in 1940s - 50s Milwaukee, then a very liberal city that was diverse and on the top of civilized accoutrements e.g.: ethnic - religious diversity, top education, good jobs, lots recreation - cultural, Music - Milwaukee Fest, infrastructure - parks, museums, libraries, health care, etc. That progressive environment existentially formed my life to this day. In between I lived in the 1950s - 1960s Jim Crow segregated conservative South and saw a very primitive, poverty stricken, violent poor man's existence exemplifying man's inhumanity to man all set up by local/state governments implementing legal and institutionalized racial - social restrictions all supported by the evangelical church who said the Bible justified a segregated society with no diversity of ideas and life styles, For some of those years, I was in the Navy and traveled the western world and saw countries struggling to recover from the destruction of WW II and appreciated the USA. But I needed social, economic and intellectual freedoms and moved to New York City where I found a completely different universe, even better than my Milwaukee growing up altruistic experiences.As a Corporate salesman for the Fortune 500 headquarter and Banking accounts, I traveled to more than 40 states in America for customer meetings, training, setting up district and regional computer installations. I think every state is different and the USA is a really large country, the third biggest in the world. New York is totally different from Laredo, Texas. The South is different from the North, West from the East. So I basically experienced culture shocks in different states. Rout 66 does exist all over the USA. It’s easy to have a road trip in America. I often traveled America by car, and I don’t remember how many nights we just parked in front of Wal-Mart and slept in the car. I felt safe and it saved me a lot of money. You can take showers in service stations and everything was simple and comfortable. There is not much traffic on highways too, so you can just enjoy the view! An 8-hour road trip is really not that long; it’s fairly common since living in such a large country twists your perception of distance. I used to think any drive taking more than an hour is basically a road trip, now I’ve realized there’s people that commute for over an hour… every single day. I’ve also gotten the opportunity to drive from NC to Montana (~40 hours) twice. The US have every landscape imaginable. Anywhere you go there is 24 x 7 shopping. You want to buy cheese, bread, jeans, rifle and a TV at 3am? You can do that. Then you can visit a fast food place on your way home. Everything is just open … all the time. Try that in Europe!From what I've observed, big cities tend to have lots of Universities, high tech, industry and immigrants. States that have big immigrant populations include: Hawaii, California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, and New York, Florida. So where are good places to live in the United Stares if you don't want the hustle of places like New York but not want to live in the middle of nowhere? Places with good schools, decent job prospects, low crime rate and not stupidly expensive? I would suggest the middle south, like Tennessee, Kentucky or Georgia.America is made up from great towns with lots of diversity, low cost of living, good jobs, not too crazy at all, plenty of outlying neighborhoods and small towns to live in that are low crime, traffic isn't horrible except on maybe 3 roads but there are ways around it, everyone gets along for the most part, we don't have all the craziness of the big cities, nobody gets too worked up about anything. The downside is the weather; hot and humid for about 6 months out of the year, chilly and rainy for 4 months. The birth of the Rust Belt was created by the loss of industries to automation and the flight of low-skill high-pay manufacturing abroad; the flight of the middle class to the suburbs; and government neglect. Many Black communities were stuck on the sinking urban ship, and (to keep the metaphor going) were already in the bottom holds of the ship to begin with.Each state has pretty and ugly parts. For example, I went on an 1100 mile road trip from Wisconsin to Florida, passing through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. Each state is pretty and ugly. As the song says, West Virginia has pretty mountains, but a lot of the state is run down and in poor repair. There's not much zoning with the housing, so anything goes from property to property. Lots of tin roofs, rusted. There is a good deal of poverty. It's not quite South enough to be warm in the winter. Unlike other states, there really isn't a major city there (with what can be described as attractive buildings, pro sports stadiums, etc.); though maybe the college town is better.Easily one of the most depressing places on Earth, I drove through Iowa and I thought it was so boring, farmland all around. Nevada is a desert wasteland. When you drive deeper into it, especially the northern area, everything is roped off. Yes, everything. Nothing lives, no plants, animals, or anything; only miles of salt off the highway. It's all roped off, which makes me believe the government does some weird stuff there; miles of nothingness, just beige rolling hills. I felt claustrophobic; absolutely nothing redeeming out there. Las Vegas has its vague charms, but it really is a mess. Northern Nevada is an entirely different world. The Lake Tahoe area is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. New Jersey has both the ugliest sights and some of the prettier sights. The ugly side includes vast refineries. They also smell terrible but it does have the best part, the Jersey Shore.Pretty much the worst drive one might take in the US would be like starting out from San Angelo (a dreadful town) and going north, up to Amarillo and into the panhandle of Oklahoma and across the border into southwest Kansas and southeast Colorado. It's this sort of flat and dry scrub land. It looks like shit, basically. And it sucks to find yourself anywhere within this red zone. It's Satan's Vacation Land! In terms of being unappealing to the eye and sheer uninspiring views, Kansas takes top place for me. It's a boring rectangle in shape, its highways are arrow-straight and it's under populated. Oh, and it's anvil-flat. If your wife leaves you, you can spend three days watching her walk away. Ohio usually has an overcast sky. When the sun comes out people get excited. It's part of the rust belt. Industry has left and so have the young people. What are left are retired union workers who are getting their pensions cut and people who don't work. The infrastructure is crumbling. All of the roads need to be repaved but the cities don't have money because no one pays income tax because no one has income. You have a few places like Columbus and Dayton that are booming, but much of Ohio isn't a place you'd want to visit, unless you're a historical photographer. Some of the country areas are beautiful though.The AmericansSo, who are the Americans? There has been debate about this in recent times, but it still holds true. Anybody that lives in America is considered an American. Asians are Americans, Blacks are Americans, Indians are Americans, Whites are Americans, Arabs are Americans, Italians are Americans. People can retain their home culture, but they dissolve into the large American society and are considered a part of it, not strangers or outsiders.If you would believe the media, you’d think there’s a race war going on and there’s an open season on black people. This is grade-A bullshit. I’ve traveled coast to coast, right through the Deep South, and people in general get along just fine pretty much everywhere. Sure, racism is a real thing, but it is not nearly as bad as they’d like you to believe. They just like to put the cameras on the scumbags of society like the KKK, Neo-Nazi’s, BLM, and Antifa. These assholes don’t represent the population, thankfully. Remember: news media is a for-profit business. All they give a shit about is ratings, and they’ve been caught by video-bloggers plenty of times fabricating and twisting stories. They are the main reason for the bullshit that’s been going on lately.Friendships seem to be one dimensional. Most people live in bubbles. In my experience, your school friends remain your school friends. You may occasionally grab a bite to eat, but the topics of a conversation focus on school. Your sport friends remain your sport friends. Your work friends are simply your work friends and so on. Friends from one circle of life don’t automatically enter other circles or groups. Everything seems very isolated from each other. Friendships also don’t have such strong bonds. You may have some good childhood friends that you keep in touch with, but for the most part, people simply do not have a strong nucleus of friends that lasts forever. People veer to the extreme sides of things on almost everything. A good example is the way people look. There’s a lot of fat people and super-fit people in the USA, and not much in-between. Most of all, it’s an awesome place with a wide variety of people. Some of them are assholes, but most of them are great. Americans have a kind of happy excitement about them that I find very fun and pleasant. Europeans are generally a little more stoic compared to them.Beneath the glorious and over fantasized “American Dream” is the harsh reality that Americans slog their back off to survive. On an average 35% Americans are doing more than one job, either to pay bills or to reach a level of a lifestyle that they aspire for. American Dream is not a fallacy. But Americans are really wanting to work hard to achieve it. There is a charm to America, beautiful landscapes, friendly people. But for all the stuff they talk about how great they are, seeing reality is actually really shocking! The people I met were genuine, friendly warm hearted individuals. There are a lot of hugs and kisses. In my entire life I have seen people of different sex, even the married ones hugging or kissing all across the USA.I have an International friend who traveled around the USA too with the following observations.I was raised in England, lived in India for years and now call New York City home. The diversity of people in NY is unbelievable. The whole world lives there. The first day I was here I walked the streets of New York, where 47% are foreign born from every country in the world, but everyone spoke English, not just the upper classes, academics, musicians and actors. I would go to a café, or to a bookstore, and stay there, pretending I was reading a book while listening to people talk. What a pleasure to see that English was a real language! All these racial, ethnic and religious differences between people and everyone gets along. Pakistanis and Indians in the US are friends. Palestinians and Israelis are friends. We see that common man is no different and has more problems in his life than border wars. How exuberantly friendly people are. Unfailingly upbeat and polite, Americans are really friendly . . . to almost everyone on first contact. It’s probably the “oil” needed to lubricate the tremendous social and economic dynamism in this 30 million metro city area in this continental-sized nation.I moved to Brooklyn seven months ago. What amaze me here were the people! They are smiling when we cross eyes, willing to help and have a sense of civism. I don’t want to generalize for the rest of the country but I felt the same in the south (Louisiana, Virginia, Carolina) when I was traveling there, in small towns. This is definitely refreshing, especially if you lived in Paris. My first restaurant experience in the US was a Vietnamese restaurant, where I ordered a bowl of noodle soup. When the soup arrived, I thought I was supposed to use that bowl to wash my face before eating the soup. Then the Mexican restaurant. I sat down, the waitress very quickly came over, placed a HUGE basket of tortilla chips and a bucket of salsa in front of me, and a menu. When the tacos came, I was already full. I didn’t see many averagely fit person in the US. Rather, I saw very athletic or very obese people.There were tons of fun cultural shocks I got used to and actually adopted a few, I would like to share some of the shocks I encountered. People ask you how are you even though they don’t know you at all, neither did they care how your responses are. Waiters will come to your table, asking you “how is everything” while you were eating and can barely talk with food in your mouth. No security checks entering the subway, and no mobile signals in the subway. God knows where the subway will go and when it will come during weekend and holidays. You can always find someone or the other performing in the NYC subway. It is a big stage for them to showcase their talents. Many subway performers are front runners now in American music industry. People stop their busy life and watch them perform, they show respect. It’s not for money they perform always, sometimes. It’s just for respect.It was my first day at a job and like most places we had a custom that a new employee would send an email introducing themselves. I did the same. Three hours later I was washing hands in the restroom and the janitor comes from behind and says “Hey Man, Welcome. It's your first day.” I still don't know how he knew it was my first day. I doubt he might have been in that email distribution list, but anyway he made me feel welcome. We talked for about a good 10 minutes. He told me about his kids, what they want to be when they grow up. What he wants them to be when they grow up etc. The shocking part was, while having that conversation I started wondering is he really the Janitor? I worked in India as well for a short period of time. The support staffs such as Janitors were treated so differently there - there was a class system, servants called everyone "Sir" and wore uniforms. This man had the confidence to come and talk to me so effortlessly, maybe because he had never been made to feel different. People around him never behaved as if the job he does as a janitor is in any way less than the others, who would typically be converting coffee to code. Later, I found the guy was surely popular amongst my techie colleagues. They would call him by his first name and so would he. No “Sir“ involved. Dignity of Labor, it matters here and rightfully should.Contrary to popular belief, there are almost no guns on NYC streets, neither are uniformed soldiers. The only guns I saw were in police officers’ holsters, and they were invariably small arms. European cops sometimes carry assault rifles; railway security has submachine guns. No such thing in NYC, except for, possibly, in airports. I took a road trip from NYC to my old university in Connecticut. Wow! The USA is too BIG. The day I landed in JFK Airport and my first road journey from JFK to Hartford was on I-95. The highways were so huge and the roads were filled with cars, SUVs and trucks. The way everyone behaved while driving and the way others followed rules while driving in the interstates showed an excellent example of discipline. People seem to be respecting law and order. If tourists want to cover a lot of landmarks in USA, then Northeast is the best option, as we can cover most areas with road trips. We can pretty much cover Boston, Rhode Island, NYC, Philly, Washington, D.C. I have heard my friends say that in Texas we can drive all day and still be in Texas. USA simply is too BIG and people love their cars and driving. Road trips are so common here thanks to the extensive Interstate system that made this possible.I traveled straight away to Atlanta, Georgia and points south into Alabama and Mississippi. It's a very poor White and Black region, with lots of poverty, lousy healthcare, crime and social dysfunction. It seems most people live in trailers, drop out of school, have lots of babies and have few skills. There is an over-presence of religion. Religious billboards everywhere, churches on every corner, with signs admonishing to believe or else. I can’t figure the South out! It seems they are still living their Civil War over and over again . . . always fighting what is good for them because of their animosities toward outsiders and especially what they call Yankees. IT almost seems that the Age of Enlightenment had never occurred, stuck in pre-18th Century mind sets regarding science, logic and humanism. Logical discussion seems beyond the range, almost an alien concept, of many who just tout set slogans and opinions, with no basis in observation or research for themselves. It’s mind boggling to find in a “Developed Nation.” It shows all the signs of Brainwashing. For example, in Europe many of the “uneducated poor from the sticks” (who would be called rednecks, trailer trash etc. in the U.S.) vote for left-wing parties which are known for complex social compensations of the lack of responsibility for one’s life, whereas many right-wing parties (unless they are far too nationalist) are associated with white-collar jobs, business etc. Ironically, had the U.S. poorest (but still with shelter over their heads, warm beds, running water and possibly jobs) lived in Europe, they would probably be communists. So my biggest cultural shock visiting the U.S., for a long time, was that the Southern rednecks, trailer park residents etc. are nearly uniformly right wing conservative Republicans who politically have absolutely no interest in their well being.I experienced colorism in my world travels, but never racism. But America! Wahoo … that was a different kettle of fish. I have friends of every hue, I know the lighter hued you are, the better you get treated in society, but with me and my people, your character is what really sells you. I never understood why someone’s color or the country they came from determined who they were in America. I mean people are just people . . . Aren’t they? My worst experiences were in several small Southern towns like Mobile, Biloxi and Gatlinburg. Especially Gatlinburg, where I was heavily discriminated until I opened my mouth to speak, and then they heard my accent and all was right in their but by then the damage was already done. The south is so white, and religious and pure, and perfect! The only things that will make this perfect American image even more perfect is Jesus Christ in the background with an American flag and gun on his hip! The most annoying ones with the patriotic stuff are the middle-aged white Americans who have never been outside of the US. In my country, for the most part, if we believe you’re a good person we like you, if we think you’re not, we won’t go near you … regardless of your skin tone, or financial status. Actually, except for the south, I didn't see so much racism across the country, there are a lot of open-minded Americans.From what I noticed, you can probably encounter racism to some extent in small cities in the southern states, but in big cities like New York, Washington, Dallas, people are generally quite open. I find most Americans I met in my trip are very friendly and open-minded. Almost everyone I encountered at stores and restaurants were really nice. They were very warm, always asked about my day and were helpful in every way possible. Some of the best conversations I had when I was in America have been with people I randomly met on the street.But the biggest weirdness for me was the religiousness of southern people. In the UK, religion is a private thing. In the US people will talk about God, or J.C., pray in public etc. (I’ve seen it in Heathrow airport - a big group of Texans praying together before their return flight, and often wondered what would happen in Houston airport if a group of Muslims started unrolling prayer mats and reading from the Koran.) And meeting really lovely people who then casually espouse the most right-wing / racist / homophobic / sexist views.As a dark-skinned African with a very Indian-looking face, I was prepared to face racism when I was about to go to America. I traveled to more than 20 cities in the US and have never experienced any forms of discrimination at all. People are so friendly and welcoming to me. Even in places like Boston and New York where the people are known to be pressed and rude, people still say “thank you” and “sorry” a lot. Another thing that I find shocking most is the cultural diversity of the country. Foreigners like to think that the whole America is not much different from one another, but it’s actually much more diverse. The contrast between the Western and the Eastern parts of the country is very strong. They almost feel like two different countries. Though overall my biggest culture shock (or reality) of America is that it’s a very highly contrasting society and country, with huge geographic differences and that even people’s opinions varied hugely, people are not people but a black woman, white man, Asian guy, Mexican dude, white girl, black kid! And each subsection of Americans has their own stereotype assigned to them and they meet it more or less.A few days into my trip, I noticed a trend. Every time I made a cash payment with a large bill, the person at the cash register would have to stop in order to thoroughly inspect the note to ensure that it was not fake, usually using a detection pen or some other contraption. I was in Chick-fil-A buying lunch one afternoon and I handed over a 100-dollar note. There was no one behind me so I struck a conversation with the girl taking my order. I’m really sorry, I don’t have a smaller one, and you will have to run this through your detection machine. Oh don’t worry honey; I can hold it up to check the watermark and the security thread. She was really kind too; giving me all the extra sauces I wanted for my chicken nuggets. Also, Chick-fil-A is the BOMB! There are a lot of fat people in the south. It was shocking to see how many people suffered with obesity compared to the numbers you see in New York. The fast food, and in general food, culture is much more apparent with food portions being of a much bigger size, and in some cases quite cheap. Going to the cinema and seeing the portion sizes of popcorn and Coke was definitely a shock.I have said it before "Americans are very friendly." “How are you doing?” is a common generic question you are going to be asked when you go up to a counter to get your coffee or place order at McDonald or Burger King. Strangers smile at you. Even girls. And the worse thing about an introvert like me is that I am expected to smile too. Imagine a very average looking guy smiling at an attractive young lady in the streets of Delhi and Kolkata? Yeah, you end up being in Police station making promises that you won’t repeat your ill-behavior in public again. Here, you are smiled at. Such is life.In the USA, everything is huge, the space between the stores, the roads, the cars, the people. I found when driving in the Midwest the sense of endlessness to the land around me gave me vertigo. It was a really strange and discomforting feeling. It is no wonder Americans find the UK so quaint and cramped.In most American cities, you don’t see people walking on streets, all you see are cars, cars, cars! When I was in Dallas, I noticed that except in downtown area and tourist spots, you basically don’t see people walking on streets! A small city of 200k people ends up being the size of London because it’s all massively spread out, and of course there is no public transportation so you need a fucking car to get around whether you like it or not. As a result no one walks, no one is on the street, you don’t see anyone anywhere, all you see is cars and cars and people in them. How insular American culture is, they are generally oblivious to anything outside of the US. But they were intrigued and very keen to learn. I felt like the people were deliberately kept in the dark. Everything here is Real BIG! The cars, food portions, grocery quantities, supermarket like Wal-Mart, Target, CostCo etc. is massive. And people here buy stuff in bulk. How big the divide between rich and poor really is. I was shocked how many ordinary people were struggling to get by. Historic items 200 years old is considered old in the US. In England it is usual to see a church or castle nearly 1000 year’s old. The way people in America abide road rules and regulations is amazing to watch. I had very rarely seen a person skip a red signal when he is waiting to cross a road or when he is driving. The respect pedestrians get in this country is tremendous, I had seen big trucks coming to full stop just to let pedestrians cross to road even if he has a green signal to go.People here are very independent and they rely on themselves by setting strict schedules for every task at hand. When they give their time for you, it is 100% dedicated for you by clearing out rest of their tasks. This discipline is astonishing. people can be anything they want to be and work whatever they may please. Example, in India, if I see a carpenter guy working on a door, I would assume he is a carpenter all the time and he doesn't do anything else. He would be sorted into a certain social class and be given a certain level of respect and not more. In the US, the same carpenter guy could be a programming genius on a hefty scholarship plus a high paying job waiting when he graduates and yet chose to be a carpenter for one day to earn money for a concert ticket. Or the Mayor of the town could do bartending work on weekends just for fun. The janitor could be your classmate. (All true stories)Here, a job is a job and there is no such thing as low level job which is unheard of for Indians. You never know who you are talking to and all that they are capable of. Hence giving equal respect for a fellow human is established deep in their values. I have heard story of Indians treating a waiter boy bad by demanding everything in assertive tone(and not saying thank you, please, etc. which are considered polite requests). Later they came to know that the kid was the son of two professors in the university and wished had they known he was from an elite family, they might have treated him better. The point they are missing is no job is elite or degrading in the US. A job is a job. Waiter, professor, janitor, student, Mayor deserve the same respect.There aren't any class distinctions in the USA. I have seen a man wearing a suit and moving trash bags. I have witnessed high profile executives addressing the taxi driver, the Barista at coffee shop as Sir and Mam. And I know for sure that in large corporation, referring your seniors/superiors as Sir is offending. And this is shockingly divergent from a culture that I come from. This comes naturally to all Americans - they can wait in traffic lanes depending on which direction they are turning, they can wait at coffee shops till the server has finished serving the previous customer, at ticket counters, at football games . . . you name it. Despite their aggressive stances, Americans can wait like no other culture.There are two United States. There are the US of A we all know, the USA that we see in the news and the imprint the country leaves in the world’s history. That’s the West and East coast. The cities there are insane. People are techie and advanced. Cars are either European or Teslas. Society is very forward on most issues. You’ll see gay couples, people in the middle of gender transition, and so many cultures in one place your mind will get boggled. Then you go inland and detract about 200 years from the current date. Now, I am quite certain there are big cities and advanced bubbles of society inland, but most of it simply isn’t.My average day of traveling through the inland was a four-hour drive through nothing (that alone is crazy to Europeans. Four hours gets you to another country over here), then by random finding a tiny tiny “town” in the middle of a bloody desert, or bloody mountains, or bloody wilderness. There is nothing there, nothing. Tiny, ragged, sometimes even torn down houses, three massive “Pick Ups” in front of each of them. No people in sight. No shops, no businesses, no internet. This is followed by two to three more hours of drive through nothing. What exactly do those people do? Where do they go every day, how do they make money, where do they buy food?I drove through northern states where there was snow stacked up everywhere on the sides of roads. It was really cold for me. I couldn't remove my jacket for first 2 weeks at least. On the other hand, starting from the very airport, people were roaming around in T-shirts like it was middle of summer! I could not get used to it since every day I go out, covering myself and still shivering while people all around me are half naked! It's spring for them and pretty usual, rather nice weather for them. I kept having this shock throughout my whole trip of three weeks. Even though it was very cold for me, everyone everywhere greeted me with a very warm smile and tone. This of course melted my heart every time and felt very good with this method of greetingsIn summary, here are some of my Observations:Americans are nothing like Europeans. They are not as educated or knowledgeable about the world, history and politics in general. Obesity is rampant. They can be very generous and kind hearted. Believe it or not, they're not nearly as racist as some of the other western cultures. Americans tend to dress for comfort not style. Other than a few older areas, America is not built based on a human scale. Everything is grand, distances are great, food portions are extra large and the roads are super wide. America is a multi cultural society. You will have a culture shock going from the North to South or East to West. Americans are trained to be outstanding consumers. For most Americans, America can be a harsh place to live. They live by the strap of their own boots. As long as they are healthy and have a job, they can live somewhat comfortably. But all that can be destroyed with one serious illness or a job loss. The odd thing is that this idea seems normal to them. America is truly the land of plenty. Plenty in beauty, and resources. Almost all believe in the notion of “American exceptionalism.” While the politicians feed this narrative, behind the scenes they are doing all they can to undermine it. Corruption is rampant. Corporations are now people. They have deeper pockets and are more powerful. They run the show!So far I had great experience here, US is vast with awesome free highway system. I can also feel the breeze of freedom. Friendly people. People greeting me in the street, in bars, in cafes, in airports - everywhere! The confidence and self-assuredness of people generally are wonderful! Nobody seems to doubt themselves or think twice about expressing themselves. It can be a little too much sometimes but I’m envious of it for the most part. Multiple religious places and spiritual centers everywhere including small cities. Surprised to see Indian cashiers at Wal-Mart and CostCo talking in Hindi with Indian customers. Americans don't walk. It is so strange. They drive for even short distances. Number of cars are more than number pedestrians. Even in grocery stores. Some people use some kind of electrical shopping cars. And drive-thru. Drive-thru pharmacy, drive-thru ATM! So weird! The style. ANYTHING goes. Absolutely anything at all. People, for the most part, dress casually but nobody bats an eyelid if you wear bright pink shorts and a bright yellow T-shirt with green sneakers/trainers. In larger cities, eccentricity is accepted and nobody will look at you twice - you can be whom you want to be without judgment - I loved that.Food is cheap and comes in huge portions. I once ordered a chili and tortilla dish at a simple Mexican restaurant for $6.5. It was huge - I couldn’t even finish half of it, and I am a person with a big appetite. In Israel you would pay more than this for half the amount of food at the same quality. The same goes to all restaurants I went to. Food is cheap, and comes in huge portions. Fast food restaurants are all over the place. Political satire: The late night show hosts mock, question the residents of highest offices on national television and make money. I can't imagine the same happening in India.Flags, flags, flags. Everywhere. It’s like no one in US would know which country they are living in if they didn’t put US flags on every square foot of their porch, front lawn, a cemetery, shopping malls . . . Exception to confederate flags - those folks are proving they don’t know which country they are living in. Or maybe they do. There was this one huge flag, probably almost the size of a house, in Interstate-5, with a sign, "GOD BLESS AMERICA. Support our troops!" In the South, religion is in your face and mixed up with everything. Everywhere. Only in US have I seen “Jesus is Lord” sign under “Mike’s furniture” or bible verses on store flyers. In your face and everywhere, just like the flag.Homeless people. They are everywhere. They stay in public spaces and use toilets at fast food restaurants. Too weird to me. The poverty in cities, so many homeless people with absolutely nothing and suffering from severe addiction and mental health issues. And at least in the cities I visited most of them were black. I didn’t expect that from a wealthy country and it was quite upsetting. You don’t get that scale of poverty in most of Europe.Many of these thoughts are contextual to the background that I come from and may not be shocking to a large number of people. But my background is inherent part of my being and hence the world is how I see it. Cheers.