Saturday, March 3, 2007

Only in the US!

I've been in the US for over 7 years now and there are some things here which I still cant get used to.

'Dont talk to strangers'
Whats with all these strangers asking me how I am- Do they really care? And when they ask that, what am I supposed to say? "Well my program didn't work in lab, I have to present my research tomorrow but, all I've been doing is sleeping in front of the computer, so not so great!" Truth is before I can even say 'I'm fine', they've already walked past me.

What's worse is when they actually want to carry on a long conversation. For example, when sitting next to someone on the bus or taking the elevator, I feel like saying ' I don't even know you, do I really have to listen to your stories about what your dog did today.. and worse, pretend to care?' Back home in India, when you see a stranger on the road, you usually just give him a cold stare implying 'what u looking at me for?' - Its not considered rude or anti-social, its normal!

Sue-crazy Americans
Only in America can you sue a fast food company because you spilled coffee on yourself- and actually win a million dollars! This is one of the many silly court cases that take place in the US. A lady sued a fast food joint for not having labels on their coffee lids saying that the hot coffee may actually be hot...and she won. This cautionary label is found on all lids now! You can sue anyone for anything in the US-and its very evident that companies, Doctors and even regular people live under the constant fear of being sued for their actions. Thats why you can find sleeping pills with the warning 'may cause drowsiness' and match boxes with the label 'the contents may catch fire'. Dumbed down America, anyone?

All that food!
Why are the serving sizes in the US so large?? Everything from a starbucks coffee cup (the smallest size is called TALL) to a plate of pasta is huge- A good example is popcorn at the movie theaters - picture a water bucket, filled to the rim with popcorn and drizzled with a good amount of butter- Thats what it looks like.

Now, I am a desert freak- absolutely luv them. But, I hardly ever get to eat deserts when I go out here- By the time I finish half of the main dish, I have no space for anything more! :( Me thinks the US restaurant ppl need to go take a look at Saravana Bhavan- Their sizes are so small that everyone orders two, three dishes... So, they end up making more money and the customer is also happy cuz they get to taste a variety of things. Kinda like having the cake and eatin it too... Oooh... CAKE!

3 comments:

Surya said...

Nice articles...funny, amusing

- srini

Mansi Trivedi said...

I second everything you just said!
Seriously, what's with the supersized America?

Unknown said...

when u try 2 put a lid to a conversation abruptly which ur'nt interested in people consider u too rude...gotta stick once for that...zo i never dare it these dayz even if itz wid a school kid!!!