Some more thoughts on New York

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Prices in New York are unfathomable. I've picked up a hot dog from a street vendor for $2, a prepacked sandwich from a drugstore for $6 and paid $15 for a chicken dippers starter (though it was large). I've paid anything between $3 and $8 for a pint and between $5 and $11 for a cocktail. I even paid $25 for a double jack daniels on ice! And all of this within the same area. I can buy 2 bananas or 2 slices of marble cake for a dollar yet a comic book costs $5.99. An internet cable set me back $30! I have absolutely no sense of what a dollar is worth.

There are very few old people in New York. Even when I went away from Manhattan and into the 'burbs of Brooklyn I saw very few crumblies. I know the US has the lowest life expectancy in the developed world but it's almost like something out of Logan's Run, as if when the wrinklies hit 60 they all get sucked up and electrocuted by the big light bulb in the sky.

I do not understand baseball scoring. I thought I'd grasped it having mastered baseball on Wii Sports but now I realise that Wii just simplified it for lame brains like me.

When you watch telly the adverts come on without any kind of warning. They just cut to the next scene and its some fella trying to tell you your life is meaningless because you can't smile as whitely as him. It's quite disconcerting. Also there seem to be wierd rules around adverts and films. While a half hour show like the Simpsons will have ads at the beginning and end and two breaks in between, you can watch an entire two hour film with no ads whatsoever.

People on American telly keep saying that they live in the greatest country in the world. Everyone from newscasters to people they interview in the street. It's almost like the standard response to any question, no matter the subject. "Do you like cheeseburgers?" "Of course I do, I live in the greatest country in the world!" Fair enough if you're proud of your country but what I don't get is why they need to keep saying it. If the USA really was the greatest country in the world then that would be self-evident and they wouldn't have to keep telling everyone. Who are they trying to convince? I've never experienced this in any other country. It's odd.

McDonald's quarterpounders with cheese have two slices of cheese in the USA as opposed to one slice of cheese in the UK.

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Comments

[Sue Rooke]

By keep saying 'I live in the greatest country in the world!' just sounds like they keep trying to convince themselves. Probably a phrase that has been drummed into them since kindergarten though.

[Witty]

The value of Greenbacks...
Hiya Wooster! Excellent to read your blog. Looks like you're settling in just fine to way of things in NY - I totally agree - you can get anything for almost any amount of money in NY: You want big 'n' cheap?.......Here it is!! You want small and expensive - here it is (It'll still be big). I think a dollar's worth about 55p at the moment - but you might find the cost of things becomes a bit less bizarre once you start to move away from NY. Old people in the states: Worry not - they all live in Florida...and at the last conflab we had, I didn't think you were going Mickey's way, so you should miss out on the barrage of Crumper vehicles that snake their way round the attractions down there..... I forgot to mention to you last week in the Russian (or was it the week before now) that Yellowstone NP pretty much shuts down from the end of Sept and the roads start to close very soon after that as the weather at 7,000ft starts to get pretty drastic from that time of the year. Seasons arrive suddenly in the States, so you'll probably wake up one morning and find 3ft of orange leaves on your doorstep. They call it The Fall for a reason. Anyways - keep 'em coming...and have a big 'ole Pretzel for me (the one's you buy off the street sellers) and be sure to get a sachet of Mustard and squidge it on each mouthful you're about to take. Be sure to chug about 20 gallons of drink afterwards as they're totally salty (but tasty) Witty

[ian hodges]

green card
Mr Rooke, Seems like you are having a great time and I'm quite jealous! I was if you remember on unpaid leave this summer & spent 3 weeks in California and I found Americans very friendly but a bit strange!!! They probably think the same of you come to think of it. Seems like you quite like NY but you are not going to be going out of your way to find a Britney, Mary-Beth or Courtney to settle down with and get your green card. Actually talking of marriage, me and McFee have a great idea; remember your World Cup sweepstake, well we are using the same teams and offering tickets at £5 pound a go to see where you will bring a bride back from. This is the only time is a World Cup sweepstake that someone is happy to get South Korea! hehehe! Keep up the blog as I will indulge in the soap opera of your travels each day at tea break time, so get writing, as you know I have a lot of tea breaks. Unfortunately now without goodies of chockies, crisps, tins of herrings etc ets since you vacated SEN. I might even be forced in going to Tescos. Mr Hodges