Random notes from a trip to America

- For international travelers, going through immigration at JFK is very similar to what the first day of army boot camp must be like – one is alternately yelled at or ignored, then herded through an oppressive room only to be belittled by the border official until that precious passport stamp is begrudgingly granted. Welcome to America. But lucky for us, this year we passed through the immigration facilities at Newark International Airport, which to our surprise are MUCH more welcoming that those of JFK. A bright, airy space awaited us there as we made our way to the waiting area. Then, once in front of a U.S. border guard, we were smiled at and made to feel at ease. In fact, after the transaction was completed, the guard even gave me a warm “Welcome home.” Such simple things really, but they made such a difference. Whereas we normally complain about the JFK immigration experience for a good week after we pass through it, this time it was all good.

- At every turn here, we are tempted to buy things that we do not really need. Consumer electronics are my weakness, and only yesterday did I finally decide against buying a personal, handheld DVD player for just 129USD. I tried to justify my need for the device in a number of ways, but in the end just couldn’t do it. It would be cool to have, though.

- Americans are nothing if not an open people. Whereas in Germany, most people employed in the service sector maintain a professional distance between themselves and the customer, here in America, that distance is drastically reduced. Three recent experiences to illustrate my point:

1. At the drugstore the other night, the cashier told us that her purse had been stolen, that she was pregnant, and that she already had three kids.

2. At the liquor store, the clerk’s explanation of why he didn’t have the bottle of wine that we wanted spiraled into how the State of Pennsylvania is the single largest buyer of wine and spirits in the world. He then told us that Pennsylvania purchases over 1.5 billion dollars worth of liquor each year. He went on to speculate that a recent lawmaker’s raise that they had voted themselves had been skimmed off of this money in the form of the 6% sales tax that is slapped on all sales (except food) in the state. He would have continued, but there were four people in line behind us.

3. While assisting dad on a service call last Tuesday, I was introduced to a man who works in the boiler room of a hospital – the boiler room being where all the water is boiled for the heating systems, and where all the water issues are dealt with (very hot in those places). Anyway, within three minutes of our introduction the man told me that he once had a very big problem with alcohol, that this problem made him hit his wife from time to time, but that since he found his savior in Jesus, he had straightened out and now can only think of how wonderful his wife is and how he cannot wait for his work days to end so that he can go home and spend time with her and his new little baby. This is when he broke out the pictures.

- Though many European cars are impressive in their own way, most American cars – especially muscle cars – are simply much cooler. One may argue that Italian sports cars are the finest in the world, but those cars are unaffordable for the average person. Here in the States, one can purchase an old Mustang, Corvette, Thunderbird or GTO and be King of The Road for far less than a new car would cost.

- Hidden calories are everywhere here. At a coffee shop the other day, hoping for a low-calorie snack, I ordered a pretzel and was surprised after biting it to discover that it was filled with cream cheese. There goes my diet.