Coming to America
by Denise Odaro '09
by Denise Odaro '09
Issue date: 1/21/08 Section: Features
It was only four months into the New Year and I had already amassed a gazillion air miles from five flights into America from the UK, visiting the few US B-schools known in Europe. By that time, I was already certain that the Johnson School was where I belonged. That's despite the bucketloads of snow I witnessed during my four-day visit to Ithaca in April. I thought it was picture perfect!
It was never a tough decision whether to study in Europe or in America as I didn't want to go to school in a city I knew my way around sleepwalking. Moreover, I wanted to expand the geographical reach of my address book. Thus, I didn't hesitate to accept the offer from The Johnson School when it arrived. Fast forward a few days and I was certain that life in the America would produce the "American Dream" widely spoken of, though I never had a definition of what this dream actually entailed. I must have been a child when I first heard those words spoken by some random dude during the first few scenes of the movie "Pretty Woman." In any case, the six-hour wait to be seen at the US embassy didn't faze me; I was ready to hit the US like a storm.
It didn't take very long for the difference in cultures to become apparent. The huge food portion sizes offered to me at IHOP (The International House of Pancakes) initially made me very happy indeed, until my waistline began to suffer for it…. Oooh and the advertisements! I had never seen restaurants advertise (with the exception of good ol' McDonald's and Burger King of course); I tell no lie when I say that the ads got to me and made me visit every restaurant chain I saw on TV. Each time, I was hoping for the same spiritual experience exhibited by the patrons in the advertisement.
The exchange rate was a bad influence on me, and I hit Macys and Century 21 with a vengeance. I am loving America! I love the idea of free breakfast and wireless internet at every hotel and the prices at GAP and Starbucks, where everything is exactly half the price in England. Shopping has become even more of a pastime, though I still find it very odd to be greeted with a huge smile and high pitched "Good Morning, welcome to blah blah blah." Back home in Britain, that could be interpreted as "We have an inkling you are a shoplifter and we've got our eyes on you."
It was never a tough decision whether to study in Europe or in America as I didn't want to go to school in a city I knew my way around sleepwalking. Moreover, I wanted to expand the geographical reach of my address book. Thus, I didn't hesitate to accept the offer from The Johnson School when it arrived. Fast forward a few days and I was certain that life in the America would produce the "American Dream" widely spoken of, though I never had a definition of what this dream actually entailed. I must have been a child when I first heard those words spoken by some random dude during the first few scenes of the movie "Pretty Woman." In any case, the six-hour wait to be seen at the US embassy didn't faze me; I was ready to hit the US like a storm.
It didn't take very long for the difference in cultures to become apparent. The huge food portion sizes offered to me at IHOP (The International House of Pancakes) initially made me very happy indeed, until my waistline began to suffer for it…. Oooh and the advertisements! I had never seen restaurants advertise (with the exception of good ol' McDonald's and Burger King of course); I tell no lie when I say that the ads got to me and made me visit every restaurant chain I saw on TV. Each time, I was hoping for the same spiritual experience exhibited by the patrons in the advertisement.
The exchange rate was a bad influence on me, and I hit Macys and Century 21 with a vengeance. I am loving America! I love the idea of free breakfast and wireless internet at every hotel and the prices at GAP and Starbucks, where everything is exactly half the price in England. Shopping has become even more of a pastime, though I still find it very odd to be greeted with a huge smile and high pitched "Good Morning, welcome to blah blah blah." Back home in Britain, that could be interpreted as "We have an inkling you are a shoplifter and we've got our eyes on you."
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