When in Rome, do as the Romans do

During my long flight to London I tried to sort out my impressions of America. Some things seemed unusual to me, at least at first.

They say the United States is a "melting pot" of people from different countries. I found this was especially true of New York with its many ethnic neighborhoods. With so many immigrants or children of immigrants nobody minds your foreign accent. Of course, I tried my best to look and talk like an American. After a week I could understand almost everybody. But I could never understand the slang of American blacks. By the way, some blacks prefer to be called African Americans.

I was struck by the friendliness "of people in the street. Complete strangers smiled at me and even said "Hello" or "How are you?.." They also say "please" and "thank you" much more often than we do at home.

On the other hand, I was surprised by the distance people try to keep from each other in public. People waiting in lines (in a bank or at a bus stop) stand about two feet apart from one another. They feel they have a right to privacy and personal space.

Most Americans like to be informal in habits, speech and dress. Sometimes too informal, I thought at first. Like people putting their feet up on tables. Or people addressing each other by their first names in almost any situation, formal or informal.

Another big surprise was how few people smoked or drank. And all this in spite of the attractive magazine ads for cigarettes and TV commercials for wine and beer. Yes, health is definitely fashionable in America now. I had always wanted to give up smoking. I finally managed to do it there. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

One last thing

I had heard many stories about crime in New York. I also read about muggings in the local papers. But I never had any trouble myself. Maybe it was because I followed Richard's advice. He told me to avoid certain areas of the city after dark. I was to avoid others altogether.

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