Life in US; Expectation V/S Reality

Mariyam Kidwai
May 1, 2019
2 min read

Updated: May 12, 2021

We've all grown up knowing somebody's or imagining our own AMERICAN DREAM. Right? I finally got lucky enough to experience this first hand and trust me, the dream is far from reality.

1. Not so photo-genic

Those picturesque scenes you see in the magazines? Not so picturesque at all. I mean sure yeah it's pretty and all but it's just SO CROWDED!! You literally have to wait in long queues before you can get your insta-worthy shot, sometimes even for hours!! I'm not kidding.

2. AHH! Those luxuries

Remember those movies where there's a sparkling clean house amidst the woods and a personal chauffeur is waiting for you in your own luxury car? LOOOL! You have to be quite rich to afford all that, until then stay "Aatma Nirbhar" (self-reliant) my friend. Not even a tiny piece of paper will move until YOU YOURSELF PICK IT UP AND THROW IT. How's that for your American Dream?

3. TIP TIP TIP

You probably know this one already but did you know it's not just the servers in a restaurant whom you've to tip? From your building's security guard, to the person who clicks your pictures at an amusement park to the people who basically have even lifted THEIR finger for YOU, you've got to tip my man.. and oh wait, just one dollar won't cut it.

4. Hand-made stuff is actually VALUED

Unlike most of the South Asian countries where labor is cheap, anything involving human effort is expensive!!! So those frequent spa visits you make to your local parlor-wali aunty? Forget them! A basic manicure can cost from anywhere between 50$ to 100$, yep. The eyebrows, you ask? Atleast twenty...dollars. Not being stingy but it does hurt when our Indian minds convert it into rupees. I miss you parlor-wali aunty.

5. GROCERY SHOPPING

You think you're just going out to buy milk? Na-uh. Impulse purchase is a theory I learnt during college and experienced it here. Okay, not really but yes..you can never really return with just those list's items. There's just too many items to choose from. Gotta try 'em all!