Think you'll be immune to committing faux-pas in America? Ha, fat chance! Here are some things not to do in the USA (most of which I had already violated within the first 48 hours of being back). DO NOT:
- walk on the right hand side of the road (at least use the sidewalk)
- stare at any and all white people in the vicinity, wondering what they're doing in this country
- get the urge to call the waiter by hissing at him/her
- jay-walk on a busy street, not thinking twice about dodging cars
- play with other people's babies without permission
- ask strangers about their health or their families
- throw chicken bones onto the floor
- pick your nose in public
Moral of the story: be careful what you do here!!! There are too many rules :P
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My trip on the east coast has been great. Minus the craziest flight complications you could think of, that is! Spent my first night here in Washington DC with my friend Andrea (whom I went to college with), and had weird nachos and a delicious margarita. The next day, Peter and I headed to Philadelphia (on a chinatown bus, one of the best things about the east coast), where our good friends Mary and Oli live, to spend some time with them and partake in the awesomeness that is Mary's baking. We walked a LOT, saw the sights, ate great food, and spent lots of time with Mary (yay!). After three days in Philly I headed off on my own to Boston to visit a few Peace Corps friends (Jorge, Brooks and Helen) and check out a grad program at Boston University. After meeting with three professors, one PhD student, and one grad student, I have a pretty good feel for the program and people, as well as ideas about how I could tailor it to my own interests and goals.
I must say that I thought it would be strange to spend time with PCVs here in America, but it wasn't at all weird. Seeing them was sooo nice, especially since I hadn't seen Jorge in over a year! (Thanks for letting me stay chez toi, by the way.)
When it was time for me to leave Boston, I decided to not spend over nine hours traveling all the way back to DC in one day, so I crashed at a hostel in Brooklyn, New York for the night. NYC is, well, big. The subways are great, the Empire State Building is not. Chinatown rocks! Everything is pretty cheap, and you can bargain for things, which made me feel some nostalgia for Burkina. Got to catch up with Jenni (another PCV) which was really nice! Then, this morning I headed back to DC. Dinner with Andrea and her boyfriend, Danielle and her fiance, then we watched part of the Ducks game with some other alums at a random bar. It was such a nice night, and I got to pick Danielle's brain about the grad program she just finished at American. I'll visit Aisha (PCV friend) in Richmond tomorrow, dinner with PCVs in DC tomorrow night, and scope out American University on Monday.
Sorry for the play-by-play style entry this time; I don't normally do that, but I'm very tired and thought some of you might like at least some sort of update about me! Back in Oregon on Wednesday!!
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