What I've Learnt About America So Far.

---

One thing I thought for sure about coming to the States from Australia was that on the whole, culture wouldn't be that different. The two countries speak the same language, have the same sort of commerce, popular culture, attitude and are allies on the world stage.

For the majority of my 23 days here in the ol' US of A, that opinion has been correct. Much like Australians, Americans are lovely people. They are willing to sit down and have a yarn, will give directions and generally warm hospitable people. The only difference really is accents, which is something that is only beginning to become the norm for my sense of hearing.

It's the little things that separate our two nations. In a week, you enjoy it, knowing fully well you don't have to adapt. In five months, adjustments have to be made. This isn't a negative sentiment, it's just a fact of life.

This adjustment period began when we tried to leave Los Angeles.

Australians, please, don't take our domestic flight services for granted. They are wonderful. Flights rarely get delayed and are easy to navigate. US airline services on the other hand...

Our flight, leaving Los Angeles at 8:05am was... interesting to say the least. After reading reviews for the two air carriers we (Rachel and myself) were relying on to get the other side of the country, I was less than confident. My concerns were confirmed when we sat down on an American Airlines flight.

"Hi folks! (ok, before I bag the shit out of American Airlines, all American pilots are really enthusiatic/act like tour guides) We seem to be experiencing a little bit of.. um.. technical difficulty. Seems we have the wrong route installed into the computer so we are going to be sitting tight for a bit. But I'm confident we will be in the air in around half an hour or so. Thanks for your patience"

So, after awkwardly meeting the guy I was sitting next to (I asked him to repeat "how is it?" five times because he sorta mushed the words together) we waited half an hour.

After half an hour, the program wasn't working, so they attempted to move it to the right hand computer. Flight delay time = 1 hr.

After another half an hour, they attempted to move it back to the left hand computer. Flight delay time = 1.5hrs.

After another half an hour, they decided to install a whole new computer. Flight delay time = 2hrs.

Getting the program installed - flight delay time = 2.5hrs.

The look on the guy opposite me = priceless.

I knew we had missed our connecting flight from Washington DC to Raleigh, North Carolina, but it all melted away when I saw the lights of DC below me. What I would have done to have my camera. That's the thing about America - everything they do, they do well and they do oversize. An abundance of orange street lights and car headlights looked like veins, sparkling with life as they moved to the CBD. Stunning, absolutely stunning. And that's why I love flying.. well I thought I did.

In Washington DC airport we were told our luggage would be transferred from American Airlines onto a connecting US Airways flight from Washington to Raleigh - that's cool. It was just a matter of getting us to Raleigh. Now, if you look up any review of US Air, you will find some.. less than savoury things said about them. I cannot thank US Air enough for getting two lost, stressed out Australians, a connecting flight to Charlotte then onto Raleigh for free.

We made it to Raleigh at 1am but without luggage...

American Airlines told us that they weren't scanned properly at Los Angeles so they could still be there, or Chicago, or Dallas...

US Air was confident American Airlines had not transferred them at Washington DC. Despite this, we were just happy to be in the right state. We took the last taxi out of RDU and we made it to the University Inn in Chapel Hill.



So, what have I learnt about America so far? Our airlines are better. That, and I can laugh about it now.



Till next time, y'all.



(I realise just what happens when I don't update this regularly - all my thoughts get muddled up. So regular updates will happen, cause those first two blogs from LA are all over the place. Thanks for reading though, it helps in terms of my writing as a future journo)

---