I finally made it to the USA!!! It was NOT how I thought it would be!
By James72
@James72 (26790)
Australia
July 31, 2008 1:03am CST
I travel a LOT for my job; and have been living and working outside of my home country for around three years now. I am currently in Egypt and before this was in India; and before that was based out of Manila. My work has taken me throughout Asia Pacific, the sub continent and the UK; yet I had never set foot in the United States.....
Well now I finally have! And I have to admit it was NOT what I expected! (In a good way!). I have just returned from Washington DC after a week of meetings and enjoyed my experience immensely. Virginia, Maryland and New York (airport only and I have to admit that JFK was not enjoyable at all). It is funny that we have an ideal in our head of what a place will be like yet our experiences are totally different to our expectations! I thought that there would be massive numbers of people; huge buildings; lot's of traffic and that it would be loud and hectic there! DC was nothing like this at all! It was quiet, green, organized and very calm there.
Who else has been pleasantly surprised by a travel experience that totally reflected the OPPOSITE of what they were expecting?
2 people like this
4 responses
@bjcyrix (6901)
• Philippines
31 Jul 08
Hi! Im glad to hear that. I havent really been out of my country and I would love to travel the world someday too. Its nice that you get to see most of the world with your work and been able to experience lots of different cultures in your lifetime.
I have traveled to distant parts in my country and I when I travel I just try to not expect anything because that way at least when something bad happens I wont be devastated or something. Goes both ways too. I mean if I experience something good since I didnt make any prejudgments then I would feel twice as great as I could possibly have. So with this I can say that the places that I have gone too are more than I could possibly expect.^_^
Hope I made sense somehow.LOL!
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
31 Jul 08
You do make sense yes! Keeping an open mind I guess will always reduce the chances of getting unexpected surprises! I too have seen a lot of my own country but nowhere near as much as what I would like. My long term goal will be to definitely take the time to experience all that my own country of Australia has to offer as well. I hope that you realize your traveling dreams soon and thanks for responding.
@darwinall (44)
• United States
1 Aug 08
I live in NYC, and we all hate being in JFK (well, who does like to be in an airport?) I wish you could come to NYC and see the tall building/hectic streets part of it, and also see the many little cities, small towns, and even villages that make up The Big Apple. (I'm not just talking a Chinatowm and Greenwich Village, either.) OK, the traffic can be a real downer.
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
2 Aug 08
I would definitely like to have more time to see the City and State of NY itself rather than just the airport! I certainly will not judge an entire state on its airport alone! It was just an unexpectedly bad experience is all..... I never, ever thought that a City such as NY would have such a disorganized and run down airport! I have been inside many and this was by far one of the worst! And as for traffic; after living in Mumbai and Cairo for the last two years I am certainly no stranger to heavy traffic! Thanks for responding.
@darwinall (44)
• United States
3 Aug 08
Well, sorry about the airport. The trouble is, it's not run by the city or the state or the US gov't. What could be called a premier gateway to the USA is an odd stepchild of politics. Oh, and I was trying to be poetically descriptive, and ended up being unclear. I was trying to say New York City itself is made up of tall buildings, hectic streets, and little cities, villages....outside of Manhattan the other 4 boroughs have all af the above. I couldn't begin to include New York State...there's too much of it. I envy you your travels. But yes...it would take so long to really see just my own state...how can travelers feel they've truly visited a country? by only stopping a few places in a week. It may be a frustration...but one I'd like to have.
@SViswan (12051)
• India
3 Aug 08
I have! When I visited Ghana, Africa...around 7 years back...I have been there twice since my first visit.
I had always thought of Africa as full of rain forests...and tribal people...and a poor country(well, I assumed all the countries in Africa were the same) with no shopping complexes.
But I had a wonderful experience at Ghana...and I will be visiting Sierra Leonne next year. I've heard it's very different from Ghana....but I prefer to make an opinion after I have my own experience...because I view things differently than most people I know.
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
3 Aug 08
I too am similar to you in that I firstly like to make my own decisions; and secondly I most definitely view things in life in a very different way to others..... As for my preconceived ideals of what the USA would be like; I guess it is because of years of TV and movies that led me to think this way. You are fortunate to travel to such unique places! Good luck with next years travels! Thanks for responding.
@Trace86 (5030)
• United States
1 Aug 08
I am so glad you finally made it to America. It is a fairly decent place. I haven't had the opportunity to travel very much in my life. I have been to Florida and California for vacations.
When we had to go to Utah to see my stepson at badboy camp a few years ago, I was pleasantly surprised by Mesquite NV. It was lush and green with hills. We stopped at a casino there and spent a few hours gambling and having a meal on the road. I would love to go back there again.
We had to drive from LasVegas NV up to this tiny town in Utah. It took six hours!
There were some amazing things to see on the way. I took lots of pictures of cool rocks and such. I have no idea what happened to all my pictures.
@Trace86 (5030)
• United States
2 Aug 08
Badboy camp is where you send out of control teens. It is in the middle of nowhere so they can't run away. They basically break them down and start over with discipline and respect and such. It didn't work so well for him because his grandfather told him he only had to stay for 80 days and paid him for cooperating. At least he stopped acting out so much. Now if he would just get a job!
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
1 Aug 08
"Badboy Camp"? This sounds interesting! I too would like to go driving all over the USA next time I go back. I am expecting to go back within the next month or so, so let's see! The West Coast is definitely one area I would like to spend some time in. Your journey sounds great and there is definitely no better way to see a country than by driving through it rather than flying! Thanks for responding.
