The same but different

In two and a half weeks here we've had opportunity to reflect on some of the differences between US and British life. Some of them are large, e.g. Americans live on a continent rather than a small island and think nothing of driving for several hours to get from A to B. Since we've been here we have spent a lot of time either driving or being driven, to the extent that we might be losing the use of our legs. It certainly makes me realise how much I walk normally....
Others are just quirky, like public toilets which flush as soon as you stand up and before you're quite ready, or large bill-boards by the road-side with pictures of grinning lawyers advertising their services. One of the strangest things we've seen has been several British red phone boxes (minus window-glass, doors or any actual telephones) in Suttons Bay, north Michigan.

I've got used to saying tomaytoes, chips (instead of crisps), asking where the restroom is and telling the time American-style (no-one could understand me when I said '5 past 5' because you have to say '5 after 5'). We provided great joy to a waitress in a restaurant last night just by opening our mouths and saying things with an English accent. She kept saying 'I love your accent, it's just like the movies!!' I said 'we feel the same - your whole country is just like the movies!' She seemed to take it well.

Most cars have automatic gears which is fine, and I've now managed to stop getting in the driver's side when I'm supposed to be a passenger, or reaching into the glove compartment to put the hand-brake on. There are many more toll roads than in UK and cars have a special compartment in the middle to put your change in for when you come to a turnpike (sounds a bit Dick Turpin but that's what they call them).

Coffee-drinkers are well-served here and we've also enjoyed iced tea and coffee. Getting a decent cuppa is a different matter, but has been helped by our strategy of bringing a big box of tea-bags as a present for each of our hosts in the places we've stayed. We've also learned to improvise, e.g. heating water in a microwave and adding coffee creamer in place of milk.

Insects are that much bigger, and one of the characteristic sounds of places we have stayed has been the sound of crickets chirruping in the background. They make enough noise to drown out the sound of J's ipod which is an achievement. We spotted one on a lamp post and it was big and black, not like the little green fellas you get in Britain.

Customer service is a highly-developed art, apart from the odd occasion where they dispense with it entirely, for example checking into our Michigan motel when the whole transaction was carried out in silence. Our abiding memory of the US will be of a warm, generous and hospitable people.