Perhaps the appropriate title for the blog post, considering that I had gone invisible again, without prior notice. I didn’t inform you all, for a variety of reasons, some of them are silly…
Okay… guess where I was…. in the United States; but more imporant, guess when…. when America was voting in the historic change!
I was damn lucky, that’s what I consider. I don’t know whom to thank, other than the Almighty. It was primarily an official trip to San Francisco to cover a technology conference for the newspaper I work for. That was from November 2 to 4; on the 5th I went to Washington to holiday with my cousin who is in Fairfax, Virginia. That was up to 12th. I was back on Nov 14th. There was so much backlog to be cleared. And, now hopefully I will regularly be on the blog. And I will try my best to warn you before I go invisible.
Any way, for all that you all missed, be assured of some overdose of my American Impressions for a while on this blog. Of course there will be photos too. It’s impossible write all, or put up photos all at one go. So, it will come in instalments.
O, when America was voting I was in San Francisco. Taking time off from the conference, I went to see people lining up to cast the historic vote. When McCain made the concession speech I was at a dinner, but we were all looking at the TV, and there was only one subject of discussion.
I don’t have to add my reasons to whatever everyone on the globe has already said. But, what finally went in favour of Barack Obama, I think was his youthful charm. He was very communicative, he radiated a picture of confidence and he managed a good Democratic campaign. All the body language of McCain-Palin Republican campaign sent out wrong signals.
America is amazing. Period. Everything is so huge and mechanised. At times I thought it was a bit overbuilt, much more than it can sustain itself. Well, we Indians tend to compare the US with India, but it has been through what India is going through. Remember America won Independence in 1776. It has seen it all, it has come a long way. The optimist in me says India too will catch up. But, I still can’t resist wondering: how soon.
What impressed me the most were the courteous nature of people, the discipline on the roads, the Americans’ obsession with perfection; and of course the pride in being an American. At shops we are greeted with ‘How are you’, and ‘May I help you’. There are a lot of ‘thank yous’ and ‘pleases’. Even if one
cynically dismisses them as a formality, the feel-good impact of such gestures can’t be overlooked.
I was also impressed by the amount of investment America has made in intellectual wealth. One example of that is the Smithsonian Institutions in the heart of Washington. It’s the world’s largest museum complex and research organization composed of 19 museums, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo. Guess what, entry to them is free of cost! There is so much to see that even after three full days, from 10 am to 5 pm, I hadn’t finished seeing them all to my heart’s content.
And, here is what I liked the best: the Newseum, a unique 7-floor museum of everything about journalism: from the earliest of print to the latest of digital media. I just didn’t feel like coming out of it.
Even though cars zip at 80 mph, at junctions they slow down and stop a good distance behind the vehicle in front. No one seems to be in a hurry. Unimaginable on Indian roads. And of course, no horn, no pollution, though we take pride in saying the US is the world’s biggest pollutant.
And the pride of being an American is unmatched. One example, if a kid misbehaves, you know how he is rebuked by the parent: “No American does like this…” or “This is not the way an American behaves…”
Even though the US is going through bad days… and we are told the worst is yet to come… I have a feeling the US will surely bounce back… since they don’t have a real competitor… it might take a couple or two years more. Europe, China and India are all there… but my impression is that they aren’t so close to overtake the US so soon. And, it might give the US just enough time to reinvent itself to stay on top.
Glad to know you had a good trip.
Waiting for more from u on the US.
yes, there are many good things about the US. Been there, seen that. Try going to New York-you wont miss the Indian Horn honking spirit.-hehehe
Manpreet, I am told New York is bad, though what is bad in the US is not as bad as in India. I could have gone to New York this time too, but decided against it, since I wanted to see Washington and adjoining places. I diidn’t want to see half of this and half of that. And, moreover, I don’t have the craving for the usual and traditional glitzy ‘touristy’ stuff.