Living
alone has its disadvantages, alarm clock is your only alarm, but it comes with
its perks, amazing new friends!! Some of my friends have asked me to put
together a travelogue but I, being me- enough said. However, I have put
together a list of some new experiences that I enjoyed, some not so much, about
US, travel and living here:
- You meet new people from different backgrounds, cultures, languages and learning about all that is pure leisure. Gives you different perspectives; you start viewing things from various angles. Sure there are so many resources available but nothing parallels learning about a place from someone who has been born and bread there.
- People want to learn about your culture and in the process you learn more about your own culture and get a chance to view it from a different lense.
- You become more responsible. If you are out of shampoo, you will have to replace it- its not on auto-replace. That magical power is limited to Pakistan.
- You realize that many simple things in life were privileges and start valuing them; fridge with food, grocery cupboard?
- You start valuing simple things that were once privileges – jam paper glitter grosgrain with shamrock bow!
- Broke doesn’t mean you have enough to survive broke money no cash in bank!
- Things like frozen-packaged-chicken-tikka-masla-rice, anti-bacterial-lemon-musky-multi-surface-cleaning spray, lavender smelling garbage bags EXIST!
- You explore yourself- I didn’t know that I was so bad at cooking. I have always known I was bad but didn’t know I was THIS bad. If you think it’s something easy and can be picked at any stage, you are sadly mistaken my friend- the language of food is e=mc2!
- You pick on new habits or get to develop them- reading and writing. I have always loved writing and I have gotten the opportunity to write a lot more. My friends are amazed at how I can find time for pleasure reading with all the school readings- I am too!
- One word: Planner.
- Drinking is okay, smoking is not. Weed is cool, McDonals is not.
- Pumpkin is popular and loved in this part of the world and it comes in all sizes, shapes and forms. You will find everything pumpkin from a muffin to latte to a shirt!
- The definition of drones is very different in this part of the world. Popular use of drones here includes deadly, NOT literally, aerial photography.
- Obesity was a cultural shock. I shall never EVER call Zakoota jin fat.
- Protein bars!
- Freedom of speech means freedom of speech but excess of every thing is bad.
- Gender equality- means no separate (read: short) ques. L
- Autumn is beautiful- red trees, yellow trees, green, red, orange, brown, russet?
Last
but not the least, American people are not like the ones we see on TV- they are
actually very friendly. I hope they can say the same thing about Pakistanis!
Photo credits: Miriam's AWESOME photography skills
