I wasn’t sure if my New York holiday experience would be any different from anyone else’s (I feel like the only one among my peers who hasn’t done it) but I’ve realised it is: I’m staying with my aunt in suburban New Jersey. This means I am getting the All-American experience of staying in a timber house with an American flag in the front yard, shopfronts displaying serif fonts, firewood in the garage and deer in the yard. It’s beautiful country. On a walk today I was struck by how patriotic the place is. There are American flags in many yards (although my cousin did point out that people probably haven’t taken down their July 4th decorations) and every mailbox reads not only "Mail" but "U.S. Mail".
Guess which part of American life I did today? I went to the Mall! :D I don’t have many thoughts to say, actually, (maybe because it was a very short trip) except that it was fun seeing a shopping centre full of shops I’m not familiar with. The other thing of note is that I saw a stereotypical American sight: an overweight woman sitting in the mall greedily eating an enormous ice-cream. Reserving judgement, however, until I’ve seen more of America.
And my cousin! I knew the minute I got a Facebook message saying I will see y'alls soon when y'all come over that my suspicions of him having become every bit the All-American college boy were absolutely true. He’s got the accent (it’s still blowing my mind every time he opens his mouth), the love of fried chicken and grape soda, and raves about college basketball on Facebook. How did 5 years of college in America transform the endearingly dorky Hong Kong boy so completely? (Kevin, if you’re reading this, we still love you!) It’s amazing to see!
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Have you a had a similar or very different experience? I'd love to know!