Hi all~!,
Back from a three week stay in the land of round doorknobs.
Some quick impressions my wife had:
Immigration/customs a breeze. Nice chatty folks.
Everything was nice, clean and orderly especially streets.
Likes the style of homes but prefers brick and mortar over wood/drywall. Homes a bit too close to each other.. 'the windows are like big TV's'
Loved shopping
Disturbed by the lack of crosswalks.
Noticed the high percentage of black folks but said they were in general more handsome/beautiful than the white folks.
Butts are bigger.. much bigger. Especially worrisome are the kids. 'The next generation will explode.'
'Junglefood' places everywhere.. Mac, BK, Subway,Wendy etc etc.. 'Does anyone cook?'
Saw and met Russians everywhere we went and on practically every flight we took. When asked how they like it in the US the answer was always 'so so..'
My impressions:
Roads have improved. Saw quite a few accidents and can't figure out how anyone driving so slowly on such large organized roads can run into someone else. One car crashes were rare. Maybe driving has become too boring, leading to inattention.
US cars are much nicer now, even thinking about buying one.. Found out today though that the Chrysler I was looking at is made in Canada.. hmm.. what's the deal here?
Also liked the vast selection of everythint imaginable available at stores but ther are lots of unnecessary things to buy. Who in the world needs a 19.95 lightbulb changer?? I bought one to pick fruit high up in our trees. Lots of wierdo's hang around the hunting and fishing sections with guns. Ammunition unsecured on open shelves ripe to be pocketed by kids or terrorists shoplifting.
Every 'foreigner' wearing non-western clothes and headgear I saw at airports had new blue US passports. Cabs in DC have been outsourced to Etheopia, restaraunts to India regardless of cusine served. Cab drivers were all great, one even spoke good Russian. Restaraunts sucked.
Compared to EU land everything was quite a bargain, but don't think I could afford to support my wife with this national 'hobby' and unique form of entertainment. We brought back over 100 KG and two extra suitcases..
Ordering food is a chore.. Wanted two fried eggs, toast, bacon and coffee. Ordered as such and received a barrage of questions like what kind of toast(white, rye, whole wheat, half wheat, with butter, margerine or some stuff called 'you won't believe it's not butter') coffee (decaf, regular, alaskan blend along with 36+ other countries), bacon(canadian, thick, thin, low fat) etc etc.. By the time our family finished ordering it was past lunchtime..
I still hate okra regardless of how it is prepared. Love the seafood. California wines have come a long way.
Want to meet a Russian gal? Put the keyboard away and go shopping, dining, to the airport, hotel or amusement parks.. practically anywhere outside your four walls. They are there but be aware: WYSIWYG after going to RU and bringing a 'traditional' bride home.
We really enjoyed the trip, experiences and people, but are both happy to be back home. We'll be back tho!
