All The Good Places

When I first arrived to the United States of America, I noticed something strange. America was different from what I thought it would be. It was a lot nicer than many other places I have visited, but it wasn’t as interesting. I didn’t feel I was in America, and I was disappointed that I have travelled over 13 hours to get to this very “ordinary” place.

Most people at the airport spoke Spanish and other languages. I heard people in the street using a variety of languages and English accents. I had to adjust my ears to each individual I met. I couldn’t simply see how that could be English, and I kept waiting for the feeling that I’m in America to come. An American friend of mine told me upon communicating that feeling to her that I needed to decide what America is to me before I can actually see America for what it is! That caught my attention, and it took me a while to understand what she meant by it. In the end, I did! And almost suddenly, I noticed something very confusingly obvious; the diversity of the place and its people. Everyone is different, and, in that, they are all the same. At that moment, the meaning of America started to form in my head: it is simply a different place “advertising” a different thing.

My first lesson was, “ No one is different yet no one is the same”. There is no such thing as the right accent, way to dress, way to think, etc. It was interesting for me to observe that and come to this conclusion about the American society.

I’ve been to other countries without learning that lesson or even noticing the fact. Mostly, it is because the countries I’ve been to were so close to my own in culture and traditions, so the differences were minor and unnoticeable. America can shock you when it comes to being a pot for this unique mixture of all other cultures in one where all are the same in being different. In a sense, in America, even I can be an American and for a precious, short year, I was.