Choose another map, showing:

• North America
• Transatlantic
• The World

Other entries in Chicago

Homecoming

I arrived back into the land of SUVs (but still cheaper gas than anywhere else in the world), massive food portion sizes (my breakfast this morning was a skillet of a whole hashed potato, veggies, meat, cheese, and 4 eggs!), grossly oversaturated advertising (anyone notice that the new Superman is wearing Diet Pepsi themed tights?), obnoxious american thinking (hey look, that dog has a puffy tail!), and last but not least on this list of rude awakenings, tall, delicious ICE water (ok, that wasnt a rude awakening, more like the best damn thing i could come home to). being back in the states has been strange only because of the fact that i think i understand so much more about how our society works. of course, im probably wrong is almost every facet but still, i feel like i have experienced so much in so many different places with so many different cultures, when i return to my own, it seems like simple arithmetic. now, what i can do with this knowledge gained, im not sure but rest assured, i do feel superior to everyone i encounter.

when i got off the plane and began trekking into the city, i noticed many differences right off the bat about our society vs the ones i most recently visited. i just returned from Europe where i reacclimated to all things Western and visited many places akin to American cities. but when i was walking out of customs here in Chicago, i walked past a scene all too telling of our current state of security. a woman was holding a bouquet of flowers and standing with her daughter when a policeman approached her and asked her to step into a roped off area designated for people waiting for leaving passengers. the woman didnt want to do this and refused to budge. the policeman continued to urge her to move but she stood her ground getting more and more indignant. finally, he convinced her by calmly saying, "ma'am, if you dont move, ill have you arrested". she harumphed but acquiesced.

i had only been back in the USA for about 15 minutes and i had a strong reminder that we are a nation living in fear. moments later when i was riding the subway into the city, i read and listened to announcements from the Chicago Transit Authority warning passengers to "be on the lookout for strange or suspicious behavior and to report anything out of the ordinary immediately to authorities". now in many if not most of the countries i have been in, i havent been able to understand the language so i cant really know if similar announcements were made. however, in many of the countries i was able to communicate with locals and i never got an impression that the societies were fearful of outsiders or their government. but unfortunately after only a short time back in this country, and to be honest, correspondence from friends and family during my stint abroad contributed as well, i got the feeling that Americans are in serious mental trouble. somehow it has become "normal" to be suspicious and weary of every stranger you pass. i dont like it. so, ive decided to reverse this trend one person at a time. im going to make it my personal mission to be overtly nice and friendly to everyone in an attempt to reaffirm the everyday person's faith in humanity. much like our last encounter with the Indian man who, if we listened to advice and stereotypes, we would have been better off calling the police than fronting him cash, people need to have a little faith in their common man and trust that they will reciprocate the gesture. i hope that we as a society still have enough faith to do that.

anyway, its great to be back in the states. i miss traveling already but am ready to get started on what im interested in back home. I will soon be in Dallas resting and relaxing and reacclimating myself to this culture. After a few weeks, ill be out in Los Angeles having one last big visit with university friends then ill be moving to Austin to set up for an indeterminate amount of time.

Add to del.icio.us Add to reddit