Things Learned During Travel

May 14, 2008 - 5:51 PM by Stephanie

Our friend, blogger Liza of somethingsomething, recently spent a month on holiday in the United States visiting family, traveling, doing the Disney thing. You know. Vacation type stuff.

In her most recent post, aptly titled Things I learned in the Old Country, she describes one of the ironies of living in Israel for a dozen+ years: When traveling back to North America, she gets to be a tourist despite the fact that it’s the country she grew up in.

Happens to us all. Live abroad long enough and when you travel back you start noticing. . .

- When told that there is no need to add sugar to your newly-received latte because it is pre-sweetened, be afraid. Be very afraid.

- The “Petite” department in South Florida clothing stores is often geared more towards older women who have shrunk than younger women who have always been short.

- Square footage of one’s personal space in America is greater than the square footage of my bathroom. Square footage of one’s personal space in Israel is smaller than the square footage of my toilet (and often just as soiled – did I say that out loud?). This means that in America, people will say excuse me for entering the same aisle as you in the supermarket, even if they are nowhere near you (by Israeli standards, anyway).

- Starbucks is to coffee what McDonald’s is to food. Would you like fries with that?

- Only in New York City can you save money by staying with friends while simultaneously forking over a sum of money equal to or greater than the cost of a hotel room (outside of NYC, of course!) to put your car in the closest parking garage.

- Where else but Super Target could you purchase a digital video camera, children’s clothing, patio furniture (not that I did, but I could have), groceries, a Starbucks latte (from the in-store Starbucks branch), shoes and luggage? I briefly considered picking up some sushi, but then asked myself if I really wanted to buy sushi in a place that also sells feminine hygiene products. The answer was no, of course. I did, however, take a chocolate chip cookie…

- What if I don’t want to “have a nice day”?

There’s more so head over to Liza’s for the full listing…Welcome Back honey. Hope you get over the culture shock soon!

Tags: • Category: Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Travel 

Comments

3 Comments on Things Learned During Travel

  1. David-Joe on Thu, May 15th 2008 1:43 AM

    2. Exactly where in America does this all happen? I have never noticed it and I have lived in NYC ofr 12 years now.

  2. Liza R on Thu, May 15th 2008 10:51 AM

    3. I experienced the presweetened latte issue at the restaurant on-site at Luray Caverns in Virginia, a diner in Pennsylvania, a convenience store in Florida, and those are the three that I can remember off the top of my head.

    The “Petite” department issue seems to be a South Florida thing.

    The personal space issue happened pretty much in any store or supermarket that I entered, no matter what state I was in.

    As for Starbucks being like a fast-food coffee place, I drink their coffee in the US, because it’s often the only place where I can get a latte that isn’t presweeteened crap. That being said, the atmosphere there always feels kind of fast-food-like, and their coffee isn’t even close to the quality of coffee that you can get in Israel. Starbucks failed here, when all the local chains are flourishing, and that, to me, speaks volumes.

    We paid approximately $60 to park a mini-van in a parking garage on E 63rd between Park and Lexington. They had a per hour rate up to three hours, and anything over three hours was considered 24 hours. The standard rate was about $40 + tax.

    The Super Target was in Florida, but it’s the same in any Target or Super Target that I’ve visited, usually either in Florida or in Upstate New York.

  3. Rita R on Mon, May 19th 2008 6:35 PM

    4. There could be a lot of nice things to say about visiting the US if you don’t focus on shopping or new york city. What were you doing in Target anyway? I know a lot of Israelis enjoy the inexpensive shopping to be had in the US and this is a sociological phenomenon but hopefully the US is not only about the money and shopping. or is it. hmmm. Agreed on Starbuck which is terrible but next to any Starbucks you should find Tully’s, Pete’s, or Seattle’s Best, or Coffee Bean or independent venues which have amazing coffee.

Leave a Comment





© 2010 ISRAELITY | Site by illuminea | Sitemap