一位印度小哥的美國「奇遇記」
Sometimes you don"t realize what makes your country unique until you hear it from an outsider.
有時候，你是從外地人口中，才第一次發現你生活的周遭原來如此「奇葩」.
Aniruddh Chaturvedi, a senior software designer at LinkedIn, came to the US from India in 2011 and was immediately surprised by certain aspects of American culture. He now lives in California.
七年前，Chatuevedi從印度來到美國. 初來乍到的他就被一些美國獨特的文化氣質驚呆了！目前他在矽谷任LinkedIn公司高級軟體設計師.
1. Supermarkets in America have a strange way ofpricingtheir goods.
美國超市標的價格讓我很「方」.
For example, at a typical store:
-1can of coke: $1.00
-12 cans of coke: $3.00
-1 H?agen-Dazs ice cream bar: $3.00
-12 H?agen-Dazs ice cream bar: $7.00
The way that stores price their productsmakesno apparant economicsense, and is notlinearat all.
看, 讓你們從小不背乘法口訣！
make sense 講得通；
linear adj. 線性的，成比例的；
Somehow, in America, soda is "cheaper than bottled water."
另外，在美國，可樂雪碧比瓶裝水便宜.
2. American flags are displayed everywhere.
美國國旗哪兒哪兒都是.
"I was surprised to see that US flag is displayed in schools, on rooftops of houses, etc. Also, something that struck out to me was how it was completely normal to wear the US flag or a US flag-like pattern as a bikini."
學校操場和屋頂上隨處可見美國國旗，而且居然連比基尼上都能印國旗. 不得體！
3. In America, everyone is highly private about their accomplishment and failures.
美國人對自己曾經的成就和失敗經歷很私密.
Someone"s performance in any field is their performance alone.
過去的故事只講給過去聽.
This is different compared to India where peopleflaunttheir riches and share accomplishments with everybody else.
在印度凡是有點錢, 恨不得全村人都知道.
4. American students love tocollaborateand support one another, but students seems to know where todraw the line.
美國學生都喜歡團隊協作，但同時他們很清楚學術誠實的底線.
flaunt vt. 炫耀；
collaborate vt. 協作, 周杰倫和方文山同學的創作方式. 為什麼要協作? 請感受《青花瓷》和《不愛我就拉倒》的區別.
academic integrity 學術誠實;
在美國, 作弊比吸毒, 後果更嚴重！！
"Before I came to the United States, I heard stories about how students at Johns Hopkins were so competitive with each other that used to tear important pages from books in the library just so other students didn"t have access to it."
來美國前, 我聽說學生之間競爭很激烈, 他們會撕下圖書館書中重要章節的頁面, 這樣其他人就看不到這部分內容.
In reality, students arehighly collaborative, froming study groups, and studing/doing assignment till everyone in the group "got it".
事實上, 學生之間形成了高度協作的各學習小組, 學習內容節奏保持一致.
5. Overweight people have it harder in society, too.
美國社會對肥胖人群不太友好.
Fat people are not respected much in society.Being fat often has the same connotations as being irresponsible towards your body.
美國社會理解肥胖是對自己不負責任表現.
Reason why I know this is as I went down from being 210 lbs. to 148-150 lbs, the Starbucks baristas were much nicer to me and made me drinks with more care and love.
舉個栗子, 當我從210磅減到150磅時, 我明顯感覺星巴克咖啡師在給我做咖啡時,眼神中多了些友善和愛.
6. In American restraurants, theserving sizesare huge.
在美國餐館, 食物份量是驚人的！
I amby no meansa small eater, but it usually takes me at least 1.5 meals to finish theentree.」
我的胃口絕不算小, 但每次上的主食都可以管我1頓半.
by no means 絕非，絕不；
entree 主菜；starter 頭盤，湯或沙拉 soup/salad, deseert 甜點.
7. American place an emphasis on nature and the outdoors.
美國人鍾愛戶外運動, 傾向走近自然.
This is more ofa California thing, but I notice families going on biking trips, boat trips, hiking, camping, barbecuing, etc.Americanstake pride inthe natural beauty of their surroudings and tend tomake the most ofit.
尤其在美國加州, 家庭戶外活動十分豐富多樣, 家庭教育「散養」為主.
8. Single-parent households aren"t unusual in the US.
在美國，單親家庭並不是什麼稀奇事.
"Split families, not having married parents, etc., is not seen differently than the contrary."
離異家庭或未婚父母和正常家庭沒兩樣.
9. Americans support the LGBT community in great numbers.
絕大多數美國人接納各類性取向社群.
It"s fairly normal to be part of the LGBT community; it"s not considered a mortal sin if you like someone in your own gender or if you aren"t comfortable being male/femal/etc. Proof of this is the LGBT Pride Day held in every city.
同志/雙性戀和變性人群在美國社會得到普遍認可. 每年彩虹遊行各城市都有.
10.Americans seem to live in an "almostclasslesssociety."
美國似乎是一個「階級模糊」的社會.
class = hierarchy n. 階級, 社會階層;
I"ve noticed that most Americans roughly have the same standard of living. Everybodyhas access toample food, everybody shops at the same supermarkets, malls, stores, etc.
我發現大多數美國人保持同樣的生活標準: 在相同的超市採購, 就那幾家的商場購物，差不多的餐廳吃飯.
I"ve seen plumbers, construction workers and janitors driving their own sedans, which was quite difficult for me for me todigestat first since I came from a country where theylived hand to mouth.
剛開始我還有點納悶兒, 看到水管工建築工人清潔工都開著私家車上班. 在印度，這些人群都很難做到養家糊口.
live hand to mouth = make ends meet 勉強度日;
11.Many major US cities are "riddled withhomelesspeople."
許多美國大城市都能看到無家可歸的人.
riddle n. 謎題 be riddled with... 布滿；
homeless = displaced adj. 無家可歸的；
It"s unfortunate, and the worst part is that the homeless here will come up to you and misbehave. I know of numerous cases where my friends have been heckled, assaulted, etc.
最糟糕地是, 有時候路邊流浪漢會接近你進行騷擾, 這類事常發生, 我的有些朋友還有被攻擊過.
San Francisco, New York, LA, and other cities in the US are really glitzy and glamours from the outside - cities with a lot of money, amazing infrastructure, the best minds and industry. While this all holds true, nobody talks about the homeless people.
在紐約洛杉磯舊金山這些大都市, 外觀看來樓宇聳立, 衣著時尚的精英人士行色匆匆, 各行業欣欣向榮, 但沒人談論這些需要社會救助的人群.
12. In much of the US, "most people think of it as a very big deal to leave the country."
對美國人來說, 出趟國可是件大事兒！
"I don"t know why they think that, especially given that it"s usually cheaper to fly to the EU or South America than it is to fly to a city in a neighboring state!"
真不知道他們咋想的, 因為去趟歐洲或南美比飛隔壁州的城市航班還要便宜些.
當然, 不同的人對同一個城市都有不一樣的生活感受, let alone 一個國家.
前段時間讀到一首有關紐約城的詩：
It is not the plunder, but "accessibility to experience".
我並非刻意讓你感覺驚慌, 只是想給你別樣的生活體驗.
#NewYorkCity#
