American Epilogue

I'm writing this on a plane somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico, I should have been writing it yesterday at Duck but I was obsessed with leveling with Jamie in the scrabble challenge that had run over from Saturday. Scrabble is how we passed the time away while watching Hurricane Hanna go by. It amazing how hard it is to play scrabble with another person with the same spelling ability as me - using only two and three letter words make it hard to find a place to go........anyway.

Today was my last day in the United States for a while (I'll hopefully get back in early 2009) and I have to say I'll miss it. In reflection I think the biggest impression it made on me was that it was a land of such huge contrasts. My journey started in Hawaii (back in June) where everyone was so laid back, in comparison to the religious zeal of Utah (and the evil beer laws) and small town east coast where there were about ten different baptist churches in a town of 7,000. I then traveled up and down the west coast where I saw natural wonders that ranged from snow covered mountains, to lush green forests to finally harsh rocky deserts. The cities I spent the most time in on the west coast, San Francisco and Seattle, were very cosmopolitan once again in contrast to small town in Utah and also Edenton on the east coast where people at the school were blown away that an overseas visitor would spend time in there town.

Two things that did strike me as being common throughout America was and an abundance of big stuff (massive cars, even bigger mobile homes, 800g bags of corn chips, the epic proportioned big gulp at 7/11 and Wal Mart) the friendliness of the people. From my past travels I have found that a lot of countries (and people) dislike and resent America largely for the cultural Juggernaut that projects itself globally (TV, coke and McDonalds) and also for their sometimes misguided foreign interventions, however I'm sure that if these people could visit America and encounter the friendliness and helpfulness of the American people that I did a lot of these attitudes would change.

I'm kind of sad leaving the US not only because I've had a great time there but also as I'll miss Jamie who I met by complete accident in a hostel in Hilo on my first day in the country, who I eventually traveled across the country to see in North Carolina and got stuck on a edge of a hurricane with. I off to Latin America now which will no doubt hold many more adventures for me and I will see Jamie in November in Costa Rica which is something to look forward to. Finally if any of the Aussie males out there are coming to visit the US head south and find yourself a 'southern girl', they talk kinda funny but it will be well worth it (unless your really lucky and find one in Hawaii!).