In da United States
We have a scholarship in Kazakhstan called Bolashak. Under this program they send studies all over the world, including the USA, where I was lucky to enroll on this scholarship. The scholarship pays for our studies and all the costs associated with it - food and accommodation. Bolashak from the Kazakh language is translated as the future, because by teaching specialists in other countries and adopting their experience, Kazakhstan hopes that this will pay off in the future and will help us raise and develop our country.
I decided to post a letter here that I sent to my friends and relatives about a month after my first visit to the USA. Now, re-reading this letter, I don’t see anything surprising for myself, because everything is already used to and accustomed to everything, as if it should be, but when I first arrived, everything was new and amazing.
')
"Hello! )) Well, here I am in America. The state of Texas, the city of Austin. Here are some of my impressions) I think maybe someone will be interested))
the Internet
Fast, very affordable everywhere and for free. We have a computer lab in a hostel with 6 PC computers. Computers really brake, but the Internet is fast. In 10 minutes of a quick walk from the hostel there is a student Internet cafe with several hundreds of computers ... you come in, sit at the computer, enter your student login and password and use. Approximately half of computers PC, the other half - Macs. It is a bit unusual to work for apples, but basically everything is the same. And they look cool. In the hostel in each room there are sockets with Internet and WiFi. Almost all cafes have WiFi. In one cafe in which we entered there are even 3 computers with the Internet, to which visitors can freely approach and use as much as they like. In general, with this case there is a complete freebie))
Abundance of material values
There is a lot of everything and it is not so much valued as ours. Almost every American student in the hostel to whom we came to have a huge TV, X-box video console, computer, laptop, etc. in full. Girls drive the car no less guys. Probably 97% of Americans have their own car. Even the young 18 year old fools drive in very cool cars by our standards.
Cars
Lot! Various! Beautiful and almost all new. Many small double cars, there are huge minivans. Many people ride bicycles, and attach them with a lock to the fence when they leave to avoid stealing (sometimes they even steal here). Frequent motorbikes, Harley Davison and Yamaha are also common. The biggest problem with the car here is parking ... Some people, for example, park near the bus stop and go further by bus to work or study, because there is nowhere to go to park.
Buses
It looks like our mans. But ... more sophisticated. Each driver has an onboard built-in computer where the route is shown and probably some other info. Each bus has a device for reading cards (they are bought in advance for one day or a month). Students are given cards in which you can travel around the city for free. You go on the bus, spend the card, it picks ... ready) Buses are adapted for wheelchair users. The bus hisses, descends a little lower, a bridge extends from the front door, on which a person in a wheelchair can enter. In front of the bus is a special stand where you can put the bike. When you want to get off at the next stop, you pull a special rope, stretched above the windows on both sides of the bus. Stops are announced automatically ... In two languages: English and Spanish (for Mexicans, who live here quite a lot).
City
Cities are very different ... Especially here, in Texas ... Huge distances! High-rise buildings are really not so much ... and there seems to be no skyscrapers in this city ... well, probably 40 floors maximum)) Most of the buildings are single-storey, but long and wide. For example, to get to the cinema - by car it took about half an hour to drive, including along the highway. But when they arrived - a huge cinema, with ten halls and ten films at the same time!
Streets
When we first arrived, it seemed that they had fallen into an American film)) Gas stations, shops, eateries, fast foods ... Cool ... And in the hostel it seemed that they had fallen into the American youth comedy. They are very clean on the streets ... Probably, that’s why it’s not customary to take off shoes at home ... I have no idea where they are going to take dirt ... It is very difficult to find it here ... Everywhere is either lawns or clean asphalt. Therefore, Americans can often be seen sitting on the ground, on the floor in a building ... At first it was shocking. What struck me was the abundance of squirrels on the streets and the complete absence of stray cats and dogs. I had never seen a protein before, and was greatly surprised when I saw them frolicking right on the street. There are absolutely no flies, mosquitoes and midges on the streets. But I'm not complaining about it)) There are no sparrows and tits and raven. Of the birds, there are only pigeons and some unknown birds to me, black and similar to little crows ... They are also yelling nasty.
Money
With cash, they rarely pay, because it is much easier to use a credit card. They are taken almost everywhere!
The americans
Curious to polite people. Smile - can mean only politeness or nothing at all (many people smile all the time, especially at work). If you ask on the street - how to get somewhere - they will easily stand with you for ten minutes, explaining in detail, draw a route, call a cellular friend to ask, call the bus company to find out how to get there. If all the same they don’t know how to get there, and what kind of place they are, they will apologize greatly to you for it, sometimes even several times.)) There’s very little rudeness ... whatever you want, until you violate the rights of another person ... Many people foolishly dress ... On the street, homeless people sometimes walk in women's dresses ... Americans are directly ... Many have a clumsy gait ... especially guys, but they don't care. Even Americans are quite emotional ... especially at parties ... Especially girls. They will begin to clamor, shout, hug ... The Americans have no aggression at all ... They don’t need to defend themselves, because the law fully protects them.
Shopping
In all the stores, you come in and take everything you need from the shelves, then carry it to the cashier and pay. In theory, stealing something is very easy ... although of course there are many cameras and sellers watching ... I have not tried it)) and I am not going to. Very few Chinese goods ... If there is, it is not particularly cheaper than American. Therefore, for example, stationery is quite expensive ... An automatic simple pencil, for example, can cost up to $ 5 ... I recently bought a notebook for $ 5 (it was necessary to study). Prices on labels are indicated without tax ... At the checkout add about 8% to the amount of purchases .
Cell Phones
There are several competing telephone companies: T-mobile, Sprint, Cingular. Basically, the deal is: You sign a contract for 2 years, pledging to use the services of this company and pay regularly, you take a cool car in the store for free, pay about $ 40 a month, they give you many minutes for calls, nights and weekends - for free.
Food
People go to cafes to eat, not like ours - to walk, chat, meet. Fast foods and all kinds of eateries - at every turn ... The cult of food of some kind) These types of fast foods are quite common, where a person takes and cuts a bun at you and puts meat, cheese, and everything else you want. Puts straight hands (with gloves) ... The spectacle is not very) We, the students eat in the dining room. Come in, spend, special card, it picks. Then you take the tray, the spoons, the napkins, and you take and apply and pour yourself whatever you want and as much as you want. The range is huge! Fast foods, cereals, salads, meats, sausages, fish, pizza, natural and carbonated juices, sweets, cakes, various types of ice cream, fruits.
Girls
There are a lot of nice American women ..))! They look different than the Russians, mimicry is well developed, so at first it seems that they all look the same)) I sort of distinguish between them now)) Kazakhs who come with me almost don’t like American women, they like Korean women from China ... I have the opposite ))
Okay)) while I think that's enough. If there are any questions, write) Bye ”
I decided to post a letter here that I sent to my friends and relatives about a month after my first visit to the USA. Now, re-reading this letter, I don’t see anything surprising for myself, because everything is already used to and accustomed to everything, as if it should be, but when I first arrived, everything was new and amazing.
')
"Hello! )) Well, here I am in America. The state of Texas, the city of Austin. Here are some of my impressions) I think maybe someone will be interested))
the Internet
Fast, very affordable everywhere and for free. We have a computer lab in a hostel with 6 PC computers. Computers really brake, but the Internet is fast. In 10 minutes of a quick walk from the hostel there is a student Internet cafe with several hundreds of computers ... you come in, sit at the computer, enter your student login and password and use. Approximately half of computers PC, the other half - Macs. It is a bit unusual to work for apples, but basically everything is the same. And they look cool. In the hostel in each room there are sockets with Internet and WiFi. Almost all cafes have WiFi. In one cafe in which we entered there are even 3 computers with the Internet, to which visitors can freely approach and use as much as they like. In general, with this case there is a complete freebie))
Abundance of material values
There is a lot of everything and it is not so much valued as ours. Almost every American student in the hostel to whom we came to have a huge TV, X-box video console, computer, laptop, etc. in full. Girls drive the car no less guys. Probably 97% of Americans have their own car. Even the young 18 year old fools drive in very cool cars by our standards.
Cars
Lot! Various! Beautiful and almost all new. Many small double cars, there are huge minivans. Many people ride bicycles, and attach them with a lock to the fence when they leave to avoid stealing (sometimes they even steal here). Frequent motorbikes, Harley Davison and Yamaha are also common. The biggest problem with the car here is parking ... Some people, for example, park near the bus stop and go further by bus to work or study, because there is nowhere to go to park.
Buses
It looks like our mans. But ... more sophisticated. Each driver has an onboard built-in computer where the route is shown and probably some other info. Each bus has a device for reading cards (they are bought in advance for one day or a month). Students are given cards in which you can travel around the city for free. You go on the bus, spend the card, it picks ... ready) Buses are adapted for wheelchair users. The bus hisses, descends a little lower, a bridge extends from the front door, on which a person in a wheelchair can enter. In front of the bus is a special stand where you can put the bike. When you want to get off at the next stop, you pull a special rope, stretched above the windows on both sides of the bus. Stops are announced automatically ... In two languages: English and Spanish (for Mexicans, who live here quite a lot).
City
Cities are very different ... Especially here, in Texas ... Huge distances! High-rise buildings are really not so much ... and there seems to be no skyscrapers in this city ... well, probably 40 floors maximum)) Most of the buildings are single-storey, but long and wide. For example, to get to the cinema - by car it took about half an hour to drive, including along the highway. But when they arrived - a huge cinema, with ten halls and ten films at the same time!
Streets
When we first arrived, it seemed that they had fallen into an American film)) Gas stations, shops, eateries, fast foods ... Cool ... And in the hostel it seemed that they had fallen into the American youth comedy. They are very clean on the streets ... Probably, that’s why it’s not customary to take off shoes at home ... I have no idea where they are going to take dirt ... It is very difficult to find it here ... Everywhere is either lawns or clean asphalt. Therefore, Americans can often be seen sitting on the ground, on the floor in a building ... At first it was shocking. What struck me was the abundance of squirrels on the streets and the complete absence of stray cats and dogs. I had never seen a protein before, and was greatly surprised when I saw them frolicking right on the street. There are absolutely no flies, mosquitoes and midges on the streets. But I'm not complaining about it)) There are no sparrows and tits and raven. Of the birds, there are only pigeons and some unknown birds to me, black and similar to little crows ... They are also yelling nasty.
Money
With cash, they rarely pay, because it is much easier to use a credit card. They are taken almost everywhere!
The americans
Curious to polite people. Smile - can mean only politeness or nothing at all (many people smile all the time, especially at work). If you ask on the street - how to get somewhere - they will easily stand with you for ten minutes, explaining in detail, draw a route, call a cellular friend to ask, call the bus company to find out how to get there. If all the same they don’t know how to get there, and what kind of place they are, they will apologize greatly to you for it, sometimes even several times.)) There’s very little rudeness ... whatever you want, until you violate the rights of another person ... Many people foolishly dress ... On the street, homeless people sometimes walk in women's dresses ... Americans are directly ... Many have a clumsy gait ... especially guys, but they don't care. Even Americans are quite emotional ... especially at parties ... Especially girls. They will begin to clamor, shout, hug ... The Americans have no aggression at all ... They don’t need to defend themselves, because the law fully protects them.
Shopping
In all the stores, you come in and take everything you need from the shelves, then carry it to the cashier and pay. In theory, stealing something is very easy ... although of course there are many cameras and sellers watching ... I have not tried it)) and I am not going to. Very few Chinese goods ... If there is, it is not particularly cheaper than American. Therefore, for example, stationery is quite expensive ... An automatic simple pencil, for example, can cost up to $ 5 ... I recently bought a notebook for $ 5 (it was necessary to study). Prices on labels are indicated without tax ... At the checkout add about 8% to the amount of purchases .
Cell Phones
There are several competing telephone companies: T-mobile, Sprint, Cingular. Basically, the deal is: You sign a contract for 2 years, pledging to use the services of this company and pay regularly, you take a cool car in the store for free, pay about $ 40 a month, they give you many minutes for calls, nights and weekends - for free.
Food
People go to cafes to eat, not like ours - to walk, chat, meet. Fast foods and all kinds of eateries - at every turn ... The cult of food of some kind) These types of fast foods are quite common, where a person takes and cuts a bun at you and puts meat, cheese, and everything else you want. Puts straight hands (with gloves) ... The spectacle is not very) We, the students eat in the dining room. Come in, spend, special card, it picks. Then you take the tray, the spoons, the napkins, and you take and apply and pour yourself whatever you want and as much as you want. The range is huge! Fast foods, cereals, salads, meats, sausages, fish, pizza, natural and carbonated juices, sweets, cakes, various types of ice cream, fruits.
Girls
There are a lot of nice American women ..))! They look different than the Russians, mimicry is well developed, so at first it seems that they all look the same)) I sort of distinguish between them now)) Kazakhs who come with me almost don’t like American women, they like Korean women from China ... I have the opposite ))
Okay)) while I think that's enough. If there are any questions, write) Bye ”
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/63622/
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