A RESTLESS TRAVELER
Living in
another country is probably one of the most rewarding decisions you can make in
life. Regardless of the reason, studying or working, it is such a rich
experience that a person’s life will never be the same again.
To spend a part
of your life in another country makes you grow. You become independent and gain
maturity. But getting involved in a different culture changes you forever. You
reach a point where you stop comparing both cultures and just live. Live and
enjoy. So when you go back home you have opposing emotions. You used to think
life in your country was better, but you are not sure anymore. Some time ago I
read an article that made me think about this idea, “Returning home after
living abroad”1, by Corey Heller. She talks about what experts call the
Reverse Culture Shock as a
consequence of living in another country. It is, in a few words, the feeling of
always missing something. You miss your own culture while you are living
abroad, but when you go back home, you start missing the foreign country, and
it takes a while to readjust to your old life.
In some cases, you
start having that feeling all the time; even when you move to a different city
in your own country. You become a lonely traveler, who spends their life
missing people, places and situations. However, what you really miss is a place
in a concrete period of your life. In fact, if you had the opportunity of going
back there, it would not be the same, and it would probably disappoint you. It
does not look as you knew it. It is not the same anymore.
The only thing I
find the same is my hometown. Every time I go back there and stay at my
parents’, I feel I am at home. There you feel comfortable and safe. So you wish
you could stop the clock and stay. But after a while, you need to leave again,
even if you do not have to. You do not live there anymore, either. And start
over all the process.
Maybe you think
I am exaggerating. Perhaps I am just a nomad and I did not know that. Perhaps I
noticed it when I went overseas for the first time. But of one thing I am sure.
I am thankful for being a traveler, and if I had the opportunity, I would do
the same again.
By: Ines Pascual
America, Country Supersize?
There are lots of stereotypes about the US back in
Switzerland. One of the most common is that everything is a dimension larger.
The big American dream got a new meaning, because many Swiss have the
impression that America is the country where the definition of big is
regenerated. But what is the reality?
What's obvious is the size of the country. America has
a population of more than 315 million people 1), Switzerland on the other hand, has around eight
million- less than 2.5% of the US population. Not only is the country way
bigger, but also the cities are much larger. The largest city in the US is New
York 1) with
more than eight million residents. In fact the number of people living in “Big
Apple” is just as many inhabitants as the whole of Switzerland. The largest
city in Switzerland, with 380,000 citizens is Zurich and by US standards that's
just a little tiny town. For sure you know that the area of the US is enormous,
it's the fourth largest country in the world depending on the area 1). No
wonder that the Americans take the car for everything. Yes, maybe there are a
few lazy people, but the big distances between the cities is a huge problem for
public transportation and travelers. The Swiss think that the Americans are
just super lazy and that's why they take the car everywhere, but especially in
Colorado, one of the healthiest states of the US, it's not like that. In
Switzerland the distances are a piece of cake, in three hours you're across the
whole country by car or by train. Some people in the US have to drive more than
two hours just to go to work.
Small, Medium, Large is not enough for our friends in
the west, they always have a bigger size. In the fast-food restaurants they
call it “supersize”, “giant size”, “double the portion” or “all you can eat”. A
few places even let you take home a second meal for just a couple of bucks
more. That’s awesome! You don’t have to cook the day after, and you can enjoy
the good food from the restaurant twice, what more do you want? In Switzerland
you pay for everything; there are even places where they charge you for tab
water or bread. It’s rare but it shows the big difference between the food
prices. Thanks to international companies like Mc Donald’s, we are able to
compare the prices pretty well. A Big Mac in the US is $4.2, in Switzerland the
same piece of bread and the same piece of meat is $6.8. It’s more than one and
a half times the US-price. In the US you can have a good dinner for two for $30
in a fancy restaurant. In Switzerland? Forget that! It’s at least $60 per
person. Still there is a small thing that I don’t like about the US prices in
the restaurants and that’s gratuity and sales tax. Of course not in the cheap
fast food restaurants, but if it’s a bit a better place, they put a price on
their menu and you have to add 10-20% more depending on your satisfaction. For
me it’s still a mystery why they don’t put the final price including gratuity
and taxes on their bill. In Switzerland you have the right not to pay one cent more
than the advertised price; gratuity and taxes are included, so Swiss people who
are for the first time in the US think it’s crazy cheap until they see the
final bill!
Some Americans take the slogan “the bigger the better”
a bit too serious. They adapt this sentence to their weight and their calorie
intake per day. So far not so good, because that leads to a very high obesity
rate at all ages. More than one third of the US population is obese. 2) More
shocking is that this number is growing quickly. The connection between
education and shape is huge, people with smaller income are fatter than people
with big salaries. Besides the reason that educated people often care more
about their eating behaviors, the cheap fast food is also a big problem. In the
US unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food. You can get a Big Mac for $4.2
but a salad is around $6. Even if you cook for yourself it’s sometimes cheaper
to go to Mc Donald’s and eat a meal there. Now back to the comparison with
Switzerland, we are not the top sports nation on the planet, but there are
fewer fat people in Switzerland. Why? It’s hard to say because eating behaviors
are also a part of the culture. In general fast food is as expensive as if you
cooked for yourself, so there is no financial reason to go to Mc Donald’s.
Further, the average education in Switzerland is better than in the US. Poor
people have the same possibilities as rich people have, because in Switzerland
almost everybody goes to a public school. A part of the public school curriculum
is culinary school. We learn how to prepare cheap, but healthy and tasty meals.
I already talked about the price difference between
these countries. You take the Swiss price and you double or triple it and you
have the US price. Sure the average salary is higher in Switzerland than in the
US, but the purchasing power is still higher in the US. If for example, you
live in Zurich more than half of your income can be spent on an apartment, then
you have to pay taxes on it, health insurance, and a pension plan. The rest is
not that much if you have to buy food at Swiss prices.
Concerning the prices, the most ridiculous thing is
that in face Swiss products like watches and chocolate are cheaper in the US.
Switzerland is an export orientated country but it just doesn’t make sense to
me that the same product is cheaper after a flight of 4,000 miles and US taxes.
You even pay less for a chocolate bar from Lindt here in the US even if it was
produced in Kilchberg, Switzerland.
In the end we realize on our trips to the US and other
countries in the world, that we are a high-priced country. But at the end of
the day, it’s also an advantage because for many people Switzerland stands for
quality so they are willing to pay more.
By:
Fly to America!
The biggest dream of many people is
to travel. We want to travel and see the world. America is one of the greatest countries
on earth that we all certainly want to visit. Belarus is surrounded with five
different countries that have their own culture, language and weather. Why do Belarusians
want to visit USA which is miles away and not countries encircling or proximate
countries? Let’s find out why!
No matter the time of the year in Belarus, you can always find any season you want in America. If you are a tourist, you can always find all different kinds of entertainments, from alpine or cross skiing, to a warm and relaxing time on the beach. If your goal is to study, than you have made the right choice by going to USA. You will be surprised at the diversity of schools and classes. The best way to learn language is to live with it!
People
from many countries have connected in America. In the States every culture is
acceptable, every language exists, and every nationality has been adopted!
Going to USA we know we won’t be discriminated against. You will never be
homesick or feel lonely. There you can find native speakers, ethnic restaurants
or markets.
How
much money should I bring? Depending on where you are staying and your plans,
money can mean a lot or nothing. Foodstuffs aren’t more expensive than in our
country, but the two-bedroom apartment in the center of the city might bust
you. As in a fact some Americans can’t afford to go to the cinema,
Entertainment Park or even go out to a fancy restaurant. However the more money
you bring the better!
Everyone is the same! Not like other
countries America has many rules that even the visitors will have to comply.
For instance, the legal drinking age and drivers licensing laws are completely different.
Before entering the States I would recommend learning State laws. You can check
these website for more information.
So, should we fly? In
large or small, in cold or warm countries, we will always find something
exceptional, unique and attractive. However America is one of the places that
we all want to visit. Don’t hesitate, Fly to USA!
By: Tatsiana Staravoitava
The freedom thinking in the freedom country
I have been living
in the USA for a year, but before I came to the United State I had lived what
everybody who is not an American can live: the indirect American dream. Free
country, no judgment and justice for all.
First, I would
like to point out that I like the United States and I enjoy having the
experience of living in a foreign country, but at the same time I can’t omit
the most annoying things in the freedom community. If you have ever decided to
move to United State be aware of that people can be really judgmental over
here, which is surprising. If you are a Muslim, Mexican, Asian, African
American or even a Jew be ready to face a stereotype. Muslims are terrorists,
Mexicans are drag dealers, All Asians look the same, African Americans are
criminals and when we came to Jews they always cheap with a lot of money.
But why we are stereotyping? And why
is that more common in The United State? The reason, according to the research
at “simplypsychology.org” is because we are more likely to group as humans
and when we do that we start to deal with everybody else as an outsider. For
example, we can find a neighborhoods where Just Mexicans live in or just
African Americans. And not to forget the environment that we grew up in and how
our parents and relatives effect our way of thinking about others. However,
it’s more important to talk about why is that more common in The USA? And the answer
is that because United State is a big country and people who live in the United
States are from everywhere. Actually, there is a stereotype even between white
Americans themselves. For instance, people from Texas are always dumb and all
Coloradans are cowboys.
Stereotyping people can be insulting
and it’s basically a racial bias. Also it’s ugly thing especially when children
have to face it because of their religion or their skin color. Unfortunately,
you can find this kind of attitude in many American schools. It’s not right to
judge someone by his background or forget to look at him as an individual
person. I’m not saying that stereotyping exists just in United States, it’s
almost everywhere, but it shouldn’t be here because it’s against what this
country was built on: freedom and justice.
For me, as a native Saudi, people
suspect me of being a terrorist because I’m Saudi and a Muslim, which I can’t
accept. And they assume immediately that I ride a camel to work and sleep in a
tent, which is insulting. But how about
them calling me a princess? At first, I got mad because not every Saudi has a
lot of money but then I thought: Well, why not? I can always be a princess.
By: Zahra Al Huriz
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