Dave's America Blog -- Part 1

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By David Field
02:44 Jun 13, 2008

Stereotypes exist for a reason.

I touched down in Los Angeles just over a day ago, and could tell that everything is big by looking at the little things. In my case, it was the wheelchairs around LAX. They’ve got to be at least 15 centimeters wider than the ones you’re used to seeing.

The second (and related) sign was the food. Knowing full well that Asian food would have nothing on the beautiful stuff you get back home in Sydney, I opted for some slightly more regional cuisine. A burrito.

And it kicked my arse.

Outside LAX was a light, widespread cloud on the horizon. Walking outside revealed it was actually a layer of airborne filth. I was pestered by a guy collecting money for homeless children and gave him the last of my Aussie currency: a 20 cent coin, in exchange for directions to the closest place that sold cigarettes. He was expecting USD$20. An American Marlboro Light later, I was on my way to the connecting flight to Washington DC.

As is the case with every flight I’ve ever taken since September 11, I was again frisked and checked for explosives. Dark olive skin and a goatee are not a good mix for hassle-free air travel. I dread to think what Muslims go through at airports.

Hours later, I touched down in Washington DC, which feels like a mix of The Rocks in Sydney, the street layout and openness of Brisbane and the iconic government architecture of Canberra. Enlarge this mix to an American-sized scale and you’ve got a slightly plastic city that in parts maintains its old rustic charm by refitting Starbucks’ and Barnes and Noble bookstores into buildings that still have a veneer of original settlement. Around where I was staying, it was all red brick and stained wood as far as the eye can see, and amusingly the pubs proudly display their trophies for BBQ cooking tournaments above the doors.

I’m on a super-secret assignment that I can’t tell you about (that I’ve actually finished now, I’m editing what I wrote from a day or two ago from an eerily 60’s diner in San Francisco) but you’ll read about in the magazine sooner or later.

More ramblings and musings on observations about clashing cultures (and stuff will get more interesting than this jetlagged brain dump) as I get a chance to write, edit and upload from wherever I am in this crazy country.

-DAVE.

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