Contrary to popular belief, the people in America are incredibly polite and affectionate

Karachi: Travelling alone is fun. Better to say, solo travelling is magical. Nothing compares to having a conversation with a total stranger on the other side of the world and hearing about their life experiences. And if one is able to listen with both ears, they might even open one’s eyes to a completely different way of thinking. Personally speaking, one can always experience what it feels like to be a Pakistani in America, as this scribe landed in Chicago and after a couple of days moved to Knoxville and Houston to complete the tour.

First things first: No one hates you in America.

Contrary to popular belief, Americans are actually friendly. Pakistanis are the ones that attempt to maintain their distance when traveling in the US, because either they are not too confident in speaking in English or don’t want to make locals feel uncomfortable for any reason.

Honestly speaking, one finds everyone in American amiable, and they make one feel at ease. Yes, they do ask a lot of questions because they seem to understand that most of what they’ve seen on TV (all those films negatively portraying Pakistanis) can’t be true. And that’s when you realize neither the American people nor the American government hates you.

Life is fast, and you are amazed every day. 

Just like Dubai and Turkey, their transportation and processes are no doubt excellent, and  it is quite easier to commute here every single day. Most people have a transit card, which they can tap on or insert into a machine to pay for bus fares electronically. It was fascinating to observe how Americans utilized technology everywhere and automated every process they could. The American way of life left me speechless.

We do speak a different language.

You might be thinking what’s new in that but here, I mean, we have different versions of English. You might not hear people asking ‘How are you’ or ‘How are you feeling’ – Instead, people say ‘What’s up’ or “What’s going on, man?”

If you greet someone, they will respond, “I am very well, or I am good. Thanks. How are you doing?”

Did you notice the word “Thank you”? Here in the US, thanks and thank you are frequently used. Saying ’thanks’ to someone is a common etiquette.

 Americans are very courteous.

Some people claim Americans are not very affectionate, but the fact is quite the opposite as Americans are incredibly polite and affectionate.

In fact, accepting and appreciating diversity is more important. One must always be aware of the cultural and racial disparities between Americans and other people, but for a traveler it is better  not to have expectations or make cultural comparisons, which  makes meeting new individuals much simpler.

Americans love to hold doors for others and they always smile and say hello on the streets, except for downtown, of course, when work stress takes over. However, in residential areas, everyone smiles and greets one another good morning.  And one cannot leave without appreciating  it!