Being a super-tourist in America!

When I was younger I had a fascination with America, that I think was based on the fact that most of the television shows I watched, and the movies, as well as most of the novels I read, were set there. When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I had a back injury that meant I had to spend a month or so in bed, during which one of the things that I did to occupy my idle brain was reading a book on the United States. I was bored, so I studied the U.S. like my life depended on it. I memorised all 50 states in alphabetical order, and to this day I can still recite them aloud. As I grew older I became disenchanted with the politics of America, and as a linguist, the idea of going somewhere where I couldn’t learn another language did not appeal, so I never imagined that I would ever go.

When I was planning my trip, I actually tried my hardest to work out an itinerary that avoided the U.S., and American Airlines. This wasn’t out of any desire to boycott the place, exactly, but rather because I really wanted to go to Cuba. And thanks to the U.S. embargo against Cuba, you cannot have an itinerary that goes to both the U.S. and Cuba, nor can you use any American Airlines flight in your entire trip if you want to go to Cuba. I tried all kinds of permutations to try and get into Cuba on my ticket, but in the end had to give up. So I figured that if I couldn’t go to Cuba, I may as well make the most of it and see some of America while I was there. So I visited Miami, New York and Washington D.C. And to my surprise I loved (almost) everything about it. I wondered the other day if I am simply a travel slut… There is not a single place I have been so far that I haven’t loved, and I seem remarkably easy to please in a new destination!

I think part of the reason why I liked it so much was because of being able to remember and relive my teenage fascination for all things American, and partly because after months in South America, it was exhilarating to be somewhere new. I felt the same excitement that I had my first week in South America, the feeling of discovery, of adventure, when little things are thrilling and gratifying. Miami was a lovely surprise in many ways and a nice transition place from South America. I didn’t expect it to be so… Hispanic. In many ways it felt more like where I had just come from than what I had imaged the U.S. to be.

My first conversation in America was with a lovely lady on the bus from the airport. I had a coughing fit and she offered me a bottle of water. But the interesting thing is that this happened entirely in Spanish. She came from Guatemala 20 years ago, and brought up her family in Miami, but still doesn’t speak a word of English. We had a wonderful conversation during which she told me about her life in Guatemala as a young girl, and her hardships in the U.S. Then later that afternoon, I went to the laundromat, which was incredibly exciting for me. Strange how little things are exciting in a new place. But there are no do-it-yourself laundromats in South America. There are lots of laundry services were people wash your clothes for you, but it just isn’t the same! So it was the first time in months I’d used a washing machine, and I was excited. From the moment I walked in the door, I didn’t hear a word of English spoken. There I met another guy from Guatemala. He was using the machine next to mine, and one of the first things that he said to me was ‘Hi, I’m from Guatemala and I’m an illegal.’ What a way to begin a conversation, I thought! It is my personal belief that no person is ever ‘illegal’ and I told him so, but he didn’t seem to get what I was saying. Anyway, I asked him a little about his experiences as an illegal immigrant. He has been in the U.S. for 7 years this time, but it is his 3^rd time. He was caught and deported twice before, and each time he managed to find his way across the border in a different place in order to find work and send money back to his family. He told me about crossing the border in the desert in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. He is studying English, and working as a kitchen hand in a Japanese restaurant in South Beach. A strong catholic, he believed that God’s hand had helped him get across the border safely. He had such a sense of joy in being alive, and was so grateful that he was able to help his family, and the pleasure that he took in being a dutiful son was incredibly humbling and inspirational.

Despite my severely limited budget, I was determined to take advantaged of the winter sales, and thanks to some inputs of cash for my birthday I went a little bit crazy in the shopping malls in and around Miami. Actually a lot of my purchases were necessary. My most important buy was a new pair of shoes. My sneakers that I brought with me from Australia had been drenched in the rainy season in South America, and had developed such a putrid stench that I could smell them even with my shoes and socks ON! And when I took them off the smell could kill babies and small animals. I tried everything to get rid of the smell, without any success, so finally decided that the only thing I could do was throw them away and buy a new pair! I also did some clothes shopping to replace items that I had literally worn out, and of course, books!!!

I love America’s bookshops! I couldn’t help myself. The books are so cheap here that I went a little crazy! I went in to Borders to buy a Central America Lonely Planet and walked out with five novels and a new Spanish dictionary! Now I have to carry them all around with me, which I didn’t think about in the shop! In New York I also discovered Barnes and Noble, which I much prefer to Borders. The shop in Union Square was my haven on cold evenings. I would sit on the fourth floor, and I would get through a novel in a couple of hours while sipping a cappuccino! Just like a library, only it comes with a coffee shop! But so much better than the local library, actually, because they have all the newest releases, and you don’t have to put a hold and wait for someone else to return the book to read it. I loved it! I know it’s not the intended purpose of such stores, but travellers on a budget need to take advantage of anything free that they can!

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I made it a personal mission to try every type of chocolate bar that I’d never seen before, and discovered some seriously evil products in the process. My favourite was a terribly decadent sweet called ‘Reese’s Peanut Cup’, which was a little like chocolate-covered peanut paste, in a cute little cup. On one of my first days I went on a search for White Castle, just like Harold and Kumar did on the very stupid stoner movie ‘Harold and Kumar go to White Castle’. The White Castle burgers were tiny bite-size mouthfuls that I ate four of, but I regretted it as they were dreadfully plastic, and definitely not worth the search! Although I loved my time there, I’m glad that I left America when I did, as I was eating everything in sight, and after only two weeks there I could hardly fit into the jeans that I bought for myself the day I arrived. Actually, that was something that surprised me. There is a lot of talk about the problems with obesity, and that America is supposedly the most obese country in the world, but I hardly saw any fat people! I couldn't help but wonder where they all are! Certainly not in Miami, New York or Washington D.C., that's for sure. If I had stayed much longer, though, I might have been in danger of joining them! More than two weeks would definitely have been dangerous!

But I needed every minute of those two weeks to see everything that I wanted to see. When I travel I generally tend to avoid the tourist traps, but for some reason I turned into the tourist from hell in the states, wanting to see everything in the guide book and more. I would start early in the morning, and make a list of things to see and do, and then would keep going well into the evening. For me, I think the charm of the sites was that they were all places that I was very familiar with from television, in movies, or had read about in books. Much more than the non-English speaking world, America has relevance and familiarity for Australians. Although it was my first visit, most things that I saw were not new to me. I had a frame of reference, and it helped to put things in context. Admittedly, mostly that comprised of me saying something like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s where Miranda stuffed her face with cupcakes on Sex And The City!’ when I stumbled across the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, or ‘This is exactly where Hiro was standing when he teleported to New York in Heroes!’ when I walked through Times Square. In Madison Square Gardens I remembered a scene in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days when Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson went to a Celine Dion concert, and walking along 5^th Avenue I was excited to find myself standing in front of Trump Tower, and couldn't help but think of The Apprentice. It gave me such a sense of accomplishment, being able to see in person places such as United Nations headquarters, Grand Central Station, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Staten Island Ferry, and of course, the musical 'Rent'. I recognised so much of what I saw from references in television and the media, but somehow each of the places was even more impressive in person, like television couldn’t quite capture the life and atmosphere of the place.

Washington D.C. was grand, just like a capital city should be. The best thing was that just about everything was free! I wished that I had a few more days to spend there and explore the world of free stuff more, but my waistline is glad that I had to leave! Again, I found myself overjoyed to see the White House and the Capitol, but if I’m honest, most of my excitement came from remembering scenes from the West Wing! I kept imaging that I saw the cast when I passed a man or woman in a business suit! I never realised just how much television I watch until my visit to the states! I loved the monuments to Lincoln, Washington, and the other bloke. The scale of these monuments were so amazing, and the way that they honoured the former leaders of their country actually reminded me very much of the type of grand gestures in China for Sun Yatsen and Chairman Mao. But the best thing about Washington was a total surprise for me. I impulsively visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum, which was amazing. So captivatingly put together, you get an ‘identity card’ when you walk in that contained the true story of a person who lived during the holocaust. As you walk through the different sections of the museum, which go through different phases of Hitler’s aggression in Europe, and you can follow what happened to your person in that period by reading the booklet. At the end you find out whether your person lived or died. The exhibits were touching, compelling, emotional, and beautifully compiled. I read each plaque thoroughly, and spent most of an afternoon there. At the end of the museum I was glad to discover that the person in my Identity Card, a Hungarian lady called Agnes, survived, and actually came to Australia after the war!

I'm probably gushing a little too much. I'm not trying to say that everything in America was rosy. I found Americans to be quite aggressive in their style of interaction and at times this made me uncomfortable. New Yorkers, in particular, always seemed busy, and a little impatient with the rest of the world, because they aren’t going at their frantic pace. I was yelled at by a businesswoman for walking on the wrong side of the street. I didn’t know there WAS a wrong side of the street to walk on! But apparently in New York walk traffic needs to follow the ‘stick to the right’ rule that cars do. I found Americans to be loud, demanding, and impatient. But maybe that was just New York. Maybe it was because I could understand everything that was happening around me, but I also found that there were many strange people in America too. The strangest I encountered on a bus in Miami while on the way to the airport with my ever expanding backpack on combination of public buses. The gentleman got on, muttering under his breath, and shaking his head. I kept glancing over at him, and one of the times he happened to be watching me right back. He got up out of his seat, looked me straight in the eye and laughed out loud, gleeful. ‘I’m psychic, and your plane is going to crash and you’re going to die. Have a nice day!’ I immediately looked away, trying not to show just how freaked out I was. I had a moment when I wondered if it was possible, I mean, I was going to be going to New York, after all… But thankfully, the plane was fine, and he was just a freak.

But despite the strangeness, the impatience, the loudness and their somewhat overbearing natures, I found Americans to be welcoming, friendly, and helpful. Especially when they found out I was from Australia, then they were much kinder! Overall, I had an absolute ball in America, and I felt really at home there. I surprised myself and those closest to me as well, I think, by just how much I liked my time there. There was so many beautiful things to see and experience, and I was disappointed that I didn't have time to see Boston, Chicago, and especially Niagara Falls, especially that I was so close to them all. And I think the west coast of the U.S. is probably completely different again. Not to mention the South, and the Mid-West. When I left I felt a very real and profound regret that I couldn’t stay longer to see it all. But such is the lot of global wanderers such as myself! So many places to go, so little time... (and money!)