Welcome to the United States of Big Brother

So it finally came and passed, my holiday to the USA started with little to no fuss. The only thing that struck me on the long flight over was that getting the extra room for exit row seats are a dud. I paid an extra $150 for the right for people to use my extra leg room as a walkway and the kids to use my legs as an obstacle course. Really... really annoying.

Anyway I should get to the core of my day. I left on the 1^st of March and arrived the 1^st of march due to the mechanics of time zones. Some would think that this is a brilliant thing as I didn’t lose a day, but its a blessing in disguise. Having survived a 15 hour plane trip, I now had to face a whole day of LA with little to no sleep after arriving at LA in 8am.

So my first observation? The hideously large amount of security cameras everywhere. Every single doorway, every second pillar hid a security camera! It's scary in a way. Makes you a bit paranoid about who's watching you yawn and stretch. Maybe its an outgrowth of the whole Sept 11 thing... but it just seems paranoia to the max to me. It's hard to comprehend I guess. I didn’t dare take a photo though. Just in case they arrested me for something.

And now... my first observation and thoughts about the US. For this I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. The average American seems a lot kinder then what I was led to believe. Everywhere we went today we were met with really nice and polite people when we talked to them. I have to wonder if this is to do with the whole Australian accent thing. But it shouldn’t be that effective right? For example at the airport we were waiting for our pick-up bus and every bus driver we asked was really nice! We even got into a taxi and the driver didn’t stooge us and told us to go wait for a bus! It's just way too perplexing... I guess we just have to put it down to good luck. Talking about bus drivers... one of the ladies we asked I swear was Opera! And the lady that drove our bus was for sure Woopie Goldberg!!! I'm not kidding these people looked so much like them! Even sounded like them.

Which leads me to the topic of stereotypes. I know that tv and movies have set us to view a particular segment of people in a certain way. But having arrived at LA and living for all effects in the ghetto, the way the people here dress is so... telling. I cant believe how well those tv shows depicted what the latinos dressed like, or for that matter the African Americans! Its uncanny how well popular culture depicts them. For that matter there’s a lot of things like eating habit and such that is really stereotypical. Today we had a look around at fast food restaurants. The size of the cup lid for the large cup of soft drink is HUGE! It's like 3 inch diameter. Then there was the latino gang member ordering his triple whopper. He wanted a triple whopper without onions, without tomatoes, without lettuce.. or also skip the pickles... I mean wtf?! Thats just a ridiculous diet!!! I felt kinda sick after he said that. Of course it could have been the jet lag

Going back to the people though... I reckon I was fleeced today at the fashion district – Alley when I bought a suit. I swear the price they quoted and what I actually paid was 20 bucks different. Not to mention they neglected to give me a receipt, the pants zip is dodgy and I did not get to try the vest OR the shirt. I mean really... is it that hard to just try some stuff out first?! Apparently yes I guess.

On the other hand, the trip into downtown LA turned out surprisingly well. We met this highschool choir going to a competition tomorrow. The boys and girls were from a school in New Mexico but they could SING! They filled the whole carriage with song the whole way in and I was very impressed. That and it turned the ride surprisingly pleasant. It was almost a shame and sad when we had to part ways. No I’ll say it. I was sad. Was such a lovely ride in. Although meeting one of the parents and talking to them for the train ride was... funny. He was one of those Americans that "knew" everything. So apparently me and my cousin... we're aborigines. ROFL it must be the colour of our skin that gave us away lol. that and our hair. Maybe the rainbow serpent brought us here and he saw it in the sky!!! lol Was so funny when i corrected him and I said "No... We're chinese..." My head was just thinking... you know those squinty eyed asian people that youre afraid of taking over the world? LOL

anyway I’m going to end this now. I’ve been rambling on too much and I’m suffering from severe jet lag. Tomorrows another big day...