Introduction
I decided to go to America about 3 months ago, and I will share the actual experience compared to expectations. This article contains many personal opinions please take this as one of opinion.
First impression
America was so vast and it took 12 hours from HND to DFW. Although it didn't feel so long, I was stuffed by jet lag the following day. It's not so easy to change your sleep schedule. Also, I suffered from toothache because I didn't brush my teeth for nearly 2 days. It's important to care for oral health not only physical health.
Trouble when Transit
The airplane was delayed for 1 hour, and took 30 minutes for immigration. I arrived just 3 minutes before boarding. The confusing point was I had to pass through baggage inspection over again. I didn't know that was the right way, but instead of doing an inspection at DWF, I didn't have to do anything at TPA.
Experience in Florida
Tampa looks like a very dense city on Google Maps, however, it's actually very sparse, especially in the North area. It was exactly the first time I experienced a true rural region that didn't have houses, mountains, or other signature structures. United States is said to be a country of freedom, but without any method of transportation, we could trapped in to single place, and quite important to have a car outside of the city. In terms of safety, it is not as easy as in Japan. The place I stayed was a safe area in Tampa, but even though there are some deadly animals and serious crimes.
Also, another strange point about the US is that money is spent very strangely. The outside looks very nice, but it doesn't mean to be maintained. Some water facility was broken, but the car looked very expensive.
This experience reminded me of the day in UiTM's lab when I could only stay at a specific place and focus on my own research. This gives benefits for specific field concentration, however, it doesn't allow me to do something unusual, or experience region-specific experience. Another surprising point was that American culture is quite different from that of Asian countries. In Asia, it's quite easy to blend in with others, but it doesn't work out here. The entirely different food, and climate can also cause problems. Malaysia and Singapore I visited before were notably pro-Japanese countries, but in America even though people accept Japanese people I felt like I was treated as one of many nationalities because it's so diverse. I grew up as an only child, and my host family member was around 10. This situation was quite new to me, and I couldn't relax so much. Overall, in my opinion, I prefer a denser and maintained city like Tokyo more.
Christmas party
I was invited to host the family's Christmas party, and that was really gorgeous. Christmas is the largest celebration in America, and so many people decorate their homes. It was my first time getting invited to such a big party and I was nervous, but everyone was friendly and even I got presents. Although that was a really good experience, I really didn't know what to do, so it might be better to know the cultural differences in advance.
Conclusion
I realized the importance of having control over my actions. I should be able to decide where to go, and what to do by myself. It's important to know the impact that the difference occurs and to carefully evaluate acceptable and unacceptable conditions. To ensure that, this experience was definitely worth trying, and I really had a great time with my friend. But I also feel that there was an unsolved gap between us I hope to resolve.
