January 13th, 2005
"Made in
My last update told the details, this one tells the thoughts.
====================================================
Landing in the capitol,
What things struck me?
Blue US Postal Service boxes on random street corners. Skim milk, almost clear
in color. Wide streets. Guys wearing baseball hats. American flags. Orange and
black school buses. Rows of coin-op newspaper boxes. Cheap prices (compared to
Then, the people: I go for a run and people wave, smile, say 'good morning.' I
can ask anyone a question, in English, and receive a reply, in English. Random
conversations, whether I'm in a supermarket, waiting for a light on a street
corner, on a bus, or going up an elevator. I still can't get over the incredible
friendliness of strangers here!
So, when I landed in
Some other observations/opinions:
* I was under the impression that 2004's presidential election wasn't a big deal
here. I was wrong. Many people get a bit passionate when talking about it, and I
found that voter turnout was 60%, the highest since 1968.
* Americans, I believe, are the most news-hungry people on earth. Every day is
dominated by newspapers, TV news, internet news. We're seen as a bit ignorant,
and probably are--about the world outside
* So much space! I'd venture to guess that my city and its suburbs (1.5-2
million people) is probably similar in overall size to, say,
* We make fun of ourselves. Maybe not as much as the British, but there is
something to be said for a society that can laugh at itself so readily and in so
many forms (cartoons, late-night talk shows, on the radio, etc.). I don't know
what it is, though.
* People are content here. A few, perhaps, seem jealous of having the means and
desire to travel, but I've found that most people are happy just to hear about
my trip without wanting to try it out. They are aware that they've made choices
that separate their lives' paths from mine, but like me, are comfortable with
those choices. I think I used to see people doing the regular American-dream
thing as being stuck in a rut, but accept now that they (many, not all) do make
choices, just different than mine.
* Americans don't look each other in the eyes when doing the 'cheers' thing over
drinks. Now I know why I never did either, until I started travelling with
people from other countries.
* Modern suburbs make me want to cry. Acres and acres of homes that look exactly
alike but sold on the basis of how different they are than the neighbors'. On a
cul- de-sac, of course. Golf course nearby. Target (or any other national-chain
department store), Olive Garden (or any other national-chain restaurant),
Starbucks (or any other national-chain coffee shop), Cub Foods (or any other
national-chain supermarket), Bally's (or any other national-chain gym) all a
mere stone's throw away. Convenience? Certainly. Character? Riiiiigghht.
====================================================
As I've done for most countries, it's now
* Hostess/Little Debbie snacks...what American children are raised on. The three
that deserve special mention are the Twinkie (yellow sponge cake magically
filled with white airy creme), the Swiss Cake Roll (chocolate cake rolled around
white creme, then dipped in a chocolate coating), and the Oatmeal Creme Pie (two
soft oatmeal cookies glued together by the same white creme as the previous two
snacks). Sinful, all, but delicious.
* Peanut butter and jelly on white sandwich bread.
* Apple pie and pumpkin pie. Self-explanatory.
* Chips and salsa. The great American snack/appetizer.
* Hamburgers, served with fries and ketchup. Origins elsewhere, but what you get
here is American to the core.
* Pizza. Take-out, homemade, ready-made, frozen, restaurant. Of no relation to
the Italian variety.
* Cheese puffs. How do I describe these bastardizations of nature? They are
light, puffy, radioactive-orange-colored balls of unknown origin, dusted with
some chemical that makes them almost glow. They taste nice.
* Macaroni and cheese. Kraft. Takes 15 minutes. College staple.
* Doritos. Corn chips coated with flavouring, a dozen varieties. A necessary
accessory for watching American football.
* Microwave popcorn. Butter flavored.
...Since Americans are basically mutts, our food is mostly just bastardizations
of ethnic foods from regions around the world. In general, take some country's
traditional dish, and add more cheese and salt, and I think you have the
American version.
I have to add some Midwestern/Minnesota favorites as well:
* Casseroles: A casserole is any combination of pasta, tater tots (shredded and
formed potatoes ), vegetables, and canned soup...mixed together, and baked in a
rectangular glass dish until golden brown on top and bubbling underneath.
* Fruit salad: A fruit salad is any chilled combination of marshmallows, whipped
cream, and canned fruit (to make it 'healthy'). Occasionally with bits of
ground-up candy bars thrown in for good measure. Always served in a glass or
Tupperware bowl.
* Lefse: It seems whether or not you have Norwegian heritage, this thin potato
pancake (covered with butter and sugar and rolled up) is served around the
holidays.
* Bars: This one is tricky, but wonderfully diverse. You have the basics:
butter, flour, sugar (all forms), and eggs. Now add any form of packaged snack
or cereal (i.e. rice krispies, Special K, caramel, chocolate chunks, candy bars,
M&Ms, granola, oats, marshmallows). Chop it up, mix it in. If it's sweet you can
pull it off. Be zany. Bake it. Chill it. Cut it into squares. Serve it in a low
rectangular Tupperware container. It'll be a hit.
====================================================
At first I saw returning almost as giving in, a betrayal. But I've come to see
that whether or not I continue travelling, it was a necessary step for me.
There's more to say there but I can't be bothered now.
Slowly, normalcy resumes. At the moment, I'm driving my brother's car (formerly
mine), wearing clothes that I owned three years ago, sitting on a rocking chair,
listening to my old music. My hair is short again, so I'm no longer called
Jesus, Kurt Cobain, or a dirty hippie. I'm home, everyone knows I'm home. How do
things return to normal so soon?
It's cold here. I live on frozen tundra.
My lifestyle hasn't changed. I wander, and stay in the same place an average of
two nights, never anywhere for more than five. I'm homeless, phoneless, and
relatively aimless. I still carry around scraps of paper to jot things on when I
don't have a journal with me. I had anticipated being shocked by changes in
people I knew, but found only situations/circumstances had changed, not the
people themselves. A shock in itself, and I'm still not sure if it's more
disturbing or comforting.
Conversations with people have been nice. In general, people don't bother to
talk about my trip so much, which is fine by me. Little stories occasionally pop
up, but the focus seems to be on other things, as they would have been three
years ago, before I left.
====================================================
In conclusion, love it or hate it,
That's all I guess. If I decide to do something exciting with myself (which I do
hope/plan to do), I'll tune back in. I've never been a fan of predictability and
will do my best to avoid it.
"Sorry about the email, but I'm home and the novelty of me being home with my
family and friends has worn off. I only have my memories of a glorious trip
where I met some wonderful people to get me by. Don't think of visiting me yet
in the short term as I am unemployed and homeless, but I hope things will
improve soon. My photos have turned out alright and it seems most of the gifts I
sent home all made it. But what the bloody hell am I going to do with a turban
and mum thinks the sari was a nice thought but she will never wear it.
Inconsiderate bitch. A lot of thought went into that. Anyway if anyone gets
bored and wants to do a bit of communicating I am right here waiting for you."
(Brett Stone, a travelling friend of mine)
Away Awhile is hosted by Josh Trutwin.