The other day one of my friends told me that one of his dreams is to go to America. I think that is a very common dream, isn’t it? Many people want to see America.
I’m always intrigued what makes them want to see America, though? What is it about America do you want to see? What do you want to do in the US? What do you hope to take away with you when you leave?
Do you long to see the Grand Canyon?
Go shopping in New York City or Rodeo Drive?
Cheer at an American football or basketball game in person?
See the White House or Capitol up close?
My life is always full of questions, why should this be any different, right?
The people I talk to don’t really want to see any sights. They just want to see America. Again though, I wonder where they got an idea of America as an entity?
From television and movies?
From a book?
From watching the news or reading a magazine?
Maybe even from a music video!
Overall, my friends tell me they want to just see what America is like. Eat at McDonald’s, go to Starbuck’s or the movies. “Hang out” like Americans do. In a way I think that’s a fun idea.I think it must be very easy to get an idea of America like a movie set.
But I have to say…America is very, very different to your hometown in some ways. Overall, it is just the same. Big cities are big cities. American people are just like the people in your town, in your country. They go to work, they think about their lives, they have fun with their friends. There isn’t really anything magical or special about America that you do not already have. It’s just a change of scenery, a different language and a few cultural differences.
Underneath our skin colour, language, religion and habits, we are all just people, right? So I guess the happiest thing for people to visit America find is that Americans are people too.
And that’s a very happy, good thing!
toastyinhell 
Many people I know seem to think of America to be a very cool place, as seen on TV shows like “Sex & the City, Friends, America’s Next Top Model, etc. 😀
I do wonder how much influence television has on why people want to visit a place. I think I am not that way but I am going to pay attention 😀 I believe I am more influenced by history or if a heroic figure lived somewhere, or maybe beautiful scenery. But maybe if I pay attention I will find a film or TV show may make me want to visit someplace 😉
In Japan, a lot of people are crazy over the show Friends and want to go to the US because of it 😀 I like coffee and coffee shops too so I don’t blame them. When I lived in Greece, I was repeatedly told by Greek people that “everyone in US has a swimming pool”. I felt so terrible to tell them that I lived in the US and my husband’s family are American and none of us had a swimming pool. Many of them still didn’t believe me 😀
I am always attracted to scenery, too! I dream of visiting Japan during the autumn to see reddening momiji leaves and walk under the yellowing ginkgo trees. How romantic it would be to sit in the garden and roast some sweet potato by throwing then into the burning dead leaves? 😀
I love reading manga comics like Kobo Chan and Kariage Kun; and read about the daily lives of Japanese folks.
I have always been interested into the daily lives because I believe the beauty of life lies in the small things like a box of bento for lunch, cooked and arranged beautifully.
My friend said that I was a hopeless romantic guy. I think many people are. They just have different interpretation of “romantic”. maybe for them, it’s a pool in beautiful houses in Beverly Hills or a walk in the central park with a cup of Starbucks coffee.
The beauty of life in the small things…
Yes… I believe that is the best way to be. Every day then, something wonderful happens when you look at life that way.
Isn’t it easy to get so busy with things that seem big but actually aren’t?
Hari, I believe that is what makes you such a grand chef ~ you have a spirit that lets you see the beauty in food and the different combinations that will make a masterpiece! Without your romantic view, how could you make such delicious foods?
I know there are chefs who are skillfully precise and perfect in their ingredients…scientists in the kitchen. And those meals are good. But the most amazing meals I have eaten are those prepared by one who values the individual ingredients for what they are and selects each one to make a special combination. This spice…just the right amount…the vegetables cut perfectly…don’t let the heat go too low, nor too high… The meal is attended with such care that I believe only a person who cherishes the unique-ness of each tiny and large ingredient can make it unforgettable!
I think it also allows you to write in a beautiful, lyrical way.
Ah, you make me blush! 😀
I have to remind myself to be not over-romantic or over-poetic most of the time. It is easy for me to sink into the beauty of details and all the small things that most people would have missed; so I have to constantly remind myself that there are many other things to do.
I do agree with you that some of the best of foods in the world is not made with mere preciseness and techniques. The heart has to be involved. I love seeing people who cook without using measuring spoons. The way they move around the kitchen, throw in the spices and stir the food look like a dance! 😀