First Impressions of the US

An Indian student from Pune named Siddhesh jotted down his initial observations about the US where he has gone for higher studies:

“To be fair, I haven’t experienced any culture “shock” per se. Exposure to tons of American pop culture and the internet helped make sense of a lot of things. But there have been plenty of surprises - some hilarious, some puzzling, some impressive.”

 

His first comment is about the “bigness” of everything:

“Every single thing here is at least twenty percent bigger than it is in India: street widths, road signs, cars, people, footpaths, beverage sizes, houses, wall posters, general equipment, food servings, lawns.”

On the language front, he writes:

“Spanish seems to be almost sort of like a second official language here.”

 

After a lifetime of Indian beverages, not surprisingly, he says:

“I have to say this - for a country this obsessed with coffee, the cappuccinos really aren’t that good.”

The absence of neighborhood shops takes time to adjust to:

“There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that sell grains and rice and vegetables here… Or small stationery shops, or shops of any kind.”

 

About Americans:

“When you look at people, they just somehow seem a bit more free and confident.”

Also:

“Striking up a conversation with an American stranger is much easier than it is with an Indian stranger.”

The lack of class distinction is striking:

“People in lesser paying jobs, like say waiters, are less timid and subservient than in India.”

The gun culture is barely hidden:

“Watchmen and policemen are heavily, scarily equipped.”

 

Mobile data is way, way more expensive in the US!

“Mint Mobile gives me 4 GB of mobile internet per month, while back in India, Jio gave me 1 GB of internet per day.”

 

He has multiple observations about the differences in payment systems:

“You can’t make a physical credit or debit card transaction anywhere in India without entering your PIN code. But here, no PIN necessary!”

And:

“You also can’t use your card for any online transaction in India without getting an OTP (one time password) on your phone. But here, as above, no OTP necessary!”

He summarizes it the way all Indians feel:

“In general, payments here seems to be: a) much more cashless, b) much faster, c) much less secure. Once a card is swiped, or details entered, there’s no additional layer of security at all, which seems reckless.”

 

On house interiors:

“All house floors, apart from kitchen floors, obviously, are carpeted… if you accidentally spill something (in other rooms), you’re screwed.”

For blocking out light/privacy:

“Windows don’t have curtains, only vertical blinders.”

The bathrooms lack something basic:

“The only drain in the bathroom is in the tub. So if you spill water from the sink, wait for it to dry out, I guess.”

 

Crossing roads is a different experience altogether, esp. in the not-busy streets:

“Most cars will immediately stop if they see you’re about to cross the street. It takes some getting used to at first.”

Busy streets have walk signs:

“At busy intersections, you sometimes have to wait for more than a minute to get to cross. I honestly prefer the “risk your life and cross from anywhere, anytime” model - it’s faster.”

 

All this is from his first two months in the US; he says more might follow.