AMERICA- WHAT I SAW - PART two

The network of roads in USA is the lifeline of the nation. The network is amazing. Roads stretch from one end of the country to another and travelling by road is the main mode of transportation. Roads are wide, straight and in excellent condition. Traffic moves very fast and there are traffic cops all over the place. If any car is signaled by the traffic Marshall to stop, there is total obedience and the car stops and waits for the cop to come and take action. People are law abiding and therefore life of a common person is usually bereft of small tensions. This does not mean that crime is absent.

Weekends are always for the family.It is nice to see the togetherness of families. Father's are often at the park playing with little babies and toddlers. It is not always the responsibility of the mother to look after all the needs of the children.

Most of the children join 'after school classes' to develop either their hobbies or games or skills.In fact most grown ups too pursue some hobby or other, and have a life of their own. People are generally followers of one game or another. Baseball, rugby, basketball are very popular games. Americans have excelled in sports and, in almost every Olympics, USA wins the maximum number of medals. Most people are fans of some league or the other.

The food portions in restaurants are gargantuan. "Please box it" is a sentence used almost always after a dine out. Another interesting thing I noticed was the way orders are taken by the person taking orders. Each person is expected to state what they want to eat as well as drink. It is not a generalised order given by one person, as is usual in India.

The system of electricity connections too is different from the system followed in the rest of the world. Whereas the world has 220 volts for its electric appliances, in America it is 110. It is surely in the interest of the consumer to have equipment with lesser voltage, as it is safer.

Almost everywhere in the world, when a light switch is turned upwards it means the switch is off,and when it is turned down,the switch is on. In USA it is the reverse. The reason for this is, that it is possible for the switch to fall down accidentally, whereas switching on would always be deliberate. Again in the interest of the general public.

Mail delivery is always in a mail box which is located usually on the road. The postman does not have to trudge up and down the drive of every house to drop the mail. Mail can be dropped easily on the same straight route. Besides this, mail is delivered from the Postman's van. This is the only vehicle which has the driver's seat on the right side, so that the postman does not have to step out of the vehicle, but can simply stretch out and drop the letters. Every letter box also has a flag which is upturned when mail is dropped, so that the receiver of mail does not have to walk up to check the mail in vain They can see the signal and collect the mail. This kind of system shows that almost everything is planned, keeping the convenience of the people in mind.

Washington the capital of the country, has about 19 museums and the entry to the museums is free.Obviously what belongs to the nation, must be available to it's citizens free of cost.

There is no nobility, no hierarchical social structure, therefore everyone is equal.

These are a few random things that came to my mind, which shows how the system gives so much importance to human beings, and watches the interest of the people.

I thought the people were very humane,and friendly.The place is very clean and neat. Lawns are beautifully maintained. Flags are displayed very extensively, and patriotism is very evident. Seasonal festivals are very colourful. St. Patrick's day in March makes the whole place go green.  Fall has the glowing colours of red, orange, rust, yellow in abundance,with a whole lot of orange pumpkins on display. At Halloween time all the children dress up in amazing weird costumes and go around with lanterns for "Trick or Treat". Houses are decorated with lanterns made out of hollowed out or nicely cut out pumpkins.  Christmas has a lot of red and white.On 4th of July all that one can see in abundance is blue, red and white. 

USA is a beautiful country where people belonging to different cultures, regions, and languages have all come together to present a homogeneous picture of humanity who love their new homeland, perhaps as intensely as the one that they left behind.
It is the place where dreams come true. A wonderland where opportunities are galore. A brand new world waiting with open arms welcoming people!!