Expectations in normal font. Reality in Italics.
- Jutting skyscrapers, then other little houses on the outskirts
Skyscrapers are easily spotted, protruding from the ground like an awkward gangly kid who feels out of place on the first day of high school. They come in surprisingly little quantities and the best skyscrapers and other city facilities seem to be located downtown. I always thought Uptown was for the fancy pants (inspired by Uptown Funk, of course), though my dad says it’s different depending on the city.
Los Angeles was quite an exception for skyscrapers. The average LA “skyscraper” wouldn’t exceed 5 stories due to unfortunate geographical circumstances; lying on the San Andreas fault. According to my mum’s friend who lives in LA, people have been braver in increasing the number of stories to keep up with the proliferating population.
Little houses sounds about right. I’m not too sure about outskirts but in the suburbs, houses are built quite close to each other, leaving a gap in between just for walking through. LA houses are of simple colors: beige, pantone, dark… beige (oh, said that one, didn’t I?). All in all, pleasant and not too hard on the eyes, just like Auckland.
San Francisco, on the other hand, is another story. I crown this place “Food for sight” or “The Architect’s Paradise.” On a street, you wouldn’t find two houses with the same colour scheme and same “flavor.” Every house I see is so refreshing , reeks of cosiness and the architecture is undeniably adorable without getting repetitive. The eaves are elaborate and flourished. If the witch’s candy house in Hansel and Gretel came to life, that’s what you’d expect it to look like. It’s no wonder that the most expensive houses in America are there.
2. A nerdy sense of humor
More like a sense of enmity, particularly at customs and the border between Canada and America. When we didn’t have our passports open at customs, this African American lady rolled her eyes and said, “everyone got theirs out except for you,” and someone behind me snickered, “well then.” How rude!
People in general are pretty nice but talkative without constraint, to the point where you cannot restrain yourself from pitying the waiter to whom your tip wasn’t enough or the steet performer (may it be a Monroe, Edward Scissorhands, Dracula, The Grinch) because they drag you in for a photo as they expect money for being in your photo (more on the American society later). Side note: some random African American guy tried selling me a Jay-Z album, believing he could trick me into thinking that he was Jay-Z under the presumption that all blacks look the same. Really c’mon, don’t do that!
3. Taller and more mature looking for people around my age
Seems so. Not all teens are tall though. Since America is quite multicultural, I was glad to find some Asian teens of similar stature and to discover that there were clothes my size, more so than in New Zealand. Also found out that US 16 year olds are in their second to last year of high school (they only have 4 years: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), which means people my age would graduate at least half a year earlier. If I ever go to America and take that gap year, the age gap would be a year or more. Pooh!
4. Hamburgers all day, all night
I’m not going to lie. There is food everywhere and that’s why Americans are notorious for obesity, which shows in LA especially. From what I remember, a wonton soup bowl is about 5 tabs of the internet explorer in diameter (goodbye math), a Subway chicken salad is at least 5 times the KFC salad portion, lobster congee cost only $10 US and is served in an even bigger bowl than the 5 tabbed diameter.
5. Cool palm trees in LA
Made me feel free but didn’t make LA as exotic as I envisioned. All the same, it complemented the natural vibe but typo got it all wrong when they put tie-dyed like colors with palm trees.
Might as well do Canada too
- Really similar to Auckland
Yeah, aren’t you the fortune teller, Isabella?
2. Stronger accents
True, this lady on the plane had a real tongue rolling way of speaking. Lots of people in Canada speak French as well, and the airports have French alongside.
3. Justin Bieber/Shawn Mendes doppelgangers? (wishful thinking)
Hehe, people had pale skin and that Mendes pink glow to their cheeks. Everyone seemed healthy and outgoing.
our world of meraki 