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Let me tell you a secret. It is quite embarrassing in fact. So here we go: When I was a little girl, well actually up until I was 18, all I wanted to do in life was to go the States and live the American dream. Like every other teenager around the world, I was obsessed with Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and other shows too embarrassing to mention, and I naively believed that life in America would be exactly like the shows. Lucky for me, when I graduated from high school I was awarded the Queen Ingrid Scholarship which kick started my year of saving up for my trip to the States. I worked in my mum and dad's hot dog and ice cream shop full time. I probably made more hot dogs than all of you will eat combined in your life time and saved every penny so that I could go to college in California and marry Billy from Melrose Place. So when I was 18 this little girl embarked on her first big OE to the land of dreams and opportunities.
The swanky streets of Beverly Hills couldnt have been farther from life in Yuba City,
Me in front of my mansion
This is just one of the many mansions on the Newport coast 1h South of Boston. You wonder what people do who own those houses? Any of them backpackers??? California where I went to college. The city was voted worst place in America to live the year I was there. There was absolutely nothing to do except eat, shop and watch TV. However, for a little blond girl from small town Denmark that was not so bad at all. I was fascinated with the vast amounts of choice the States offered. Everything from fast food stores (which now cover the world) to movie theatres, TV channels, cars etc. Unfortunately there was no Billy and no Kelly where I lived either. Only very obese people wearing track suits! The best part about my stay was a 3 months road trip from California to Florida with my best friend from primary school. Two 18 year old blonde chicks travelling across America in an old wagon. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Despite the fact I had a great time road tripping across the States, my American dream got shattered back then. I realised that only about 1% of the population actually lives like the people on TV. Furthermore, I found it extremely frustrating that most people thought Denmark was either the capital of Sweden or a city in Georgia!
Despite all of this, I always remained a great admirer of American consumerism which ultimately led me back here today exactly 10 years after my first trip to the land of excess.
And how great it was to arrive back in the land of convenience and materialism especially after my three weeks in the Alaskan wilderness. I so appreciated the joys of big city life: the public transportation system, the 24h take away stores, the people bumping into you, the homeless on the streets, the overcrowded hostels and of course the malls. All the stuff you can buy which you never knew you needed. The hottest gadget at the moment is a personal GPS, kinda the size of a cell phone which everyone has got. I wonder where in my backpack to put it? Next to my Ipod, my digi camera or my cell phone?
Other trends include a new take away chain specialising in bagel sandwiches (so yummy) and boutique beers. Every suburb seems to have their own boutique brewery which I can only applaud as it means you obviously have to try all of them! The most interesting ads I saw on TV included an ad
for Botox and one for Viagra. The Viagra ad featured an older couple who arrive late to the theatre - when they finally sit down to watch the performance, it is all over. They both look at each other with a smirky smile - obviously they were late for a reason! (I will avoid making a comment….)
As we all know, Americans love their convenience - they have had drive thru take away shops, coffee shops, banks and post offices for decades, but the internet adds a whole new chapter to convenience. Where before you had to leave the comfort of your couch and actually drive some where to buy stuff, you can now buy ABSOLUTELY anything on the net and have it delivered to your door step in minutes. Whether it is Thai food, a new pair of Nike’s, a hot man (!) or the latest episode of Lost, its all there at your finger tips.
Although the prices of important things like food and drinks are soaring, you can still buy cars cheaper than anywhere in the Western world. You can get a brand new Ford Focus for only US$10k! Naturally everyone has got a brand
new car and as with everything else in the States: the bigger the better. SUV’s and (monster) trucks are everywhere which of course means the price of petrol is the hottest topic in the news (never mind the Arctic is melting). Although petrol prices have doubled over the last few years, it is still only around US$3 per gallon which is nothing compared to Europe. One litre of petrol cost around US$1.70 in Denmark, more than double the price in the US!
Another important aspect of the American culture is food. As I call myself a bit of a food connoisseur, in fact this trip is all about experiencing different food, I was delighted to be back in the country of plates bigger than tables and serving sizes bigger than the plates. How great is it to have a 300gram eye fillet steak served with curly fries and a pint of the local brew? Stuff fancy restaurants and their mini portions where you need a microscope to find the meat. Yep, everything sure is bigger in the States.
Anyway, this page was meant to be dedicated to my Boston experience. I had so been looking forward to staying
with friends after being on the road alone for 5 weeks. So it was so great to see my old neighbours from NZ, Will and Helen, again. They live in a beautiful old villa in the suburb of Brookline, Boston with their cute dog, Emma.
Boston is beautifully situated on the North East coast. Boston is a very historic city and has got a beautiful old city part with cobbles and old villas. It is of course also famous for Harvard University which I always wanted to attend; at least now I can say I have been there! Boston is also the second most expensive city in the States: I paid $4,50 (NZ$7) a small cup of coffee and $6 (NZ$10) for a 6” sub at Subway!
The first day, I did a guided tour of the old part of town (the Freedom Trail) which was so interesting. I learnt so much about Bostonian history and remember thinking, wow, this is great material for my blog. Unfortunately my brain is on holiday too, so I cant really remember any of it today! Fenway Park is a big park in the heart of Boston City and was particular beautiful in early spring time with all the trees and flowers in full blossom - see photos.
On the weekend, Will and Helen took me for a drive to Newport, 1h South of Boston. This little town by the sea was the home of the America’s Cup (many years ago when the Americans won it….) and it is also home of some of the biggest mansions in the States along the coast line. Some of them are worth more than US$20m, a bit more than my backpacker’s budget!
That night, I had a truly American experience. After watching a couple of brand new DVD’s that Will got off the Internet (for reference: purchased legally) on his big HDTV with surround sound, we got a bit hungry around midnight. Will jokingly said: What do you feel like? I answered nachos and will you know, half an hour later, we had nachos delivered to our door. You gotta love the Internet.
And finally a big THANKS to Will and Helen for making my stay truly memorable. It was great catching up on old times and I am pleased that although we got drunk the same crazy stuff that happened last time we got drunk in NZ didn’t happen again (I will leave that one up to your imagination, my dear reader!!!)
PS. As I have now arrived safely back in beautiful Denmark so my new cell phone is +45 61661 771 - my old number is no longer active.
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Jodie
non-member comment
Boston looks like fun!
HI Vikki! Got your messages and feel terrible that I missed your call! Gosh...guess I should turn my phone off of vibrate and onto ring.lol. It must be so wonderful to be home and I'm sure your parents are very excited to have you back! :) Do you have many fun things planned for while you are there? Anyway...just wanted to say hello! :) Jodie