Yankees just dandy with me now
I’M addicted to travel. I remember having a world map when I was a teenager and planning out where I really wanted to go. Places included Egypt with its ancient wonders and cobblestoned streets in Europe. London was in a high spot on top of the bucket list.
The place that featured right down the bottom was the US of A.
Sure, I love American TV, but the idea of visiting seemed boring. The romance and history that Europe possessed in my imagination just wasn’t in the States. Of course, the gun thing has always been a big turn off. I’ve never understood the obsession with guns and that they’d allow something so dangerous to enter the hands of the mentally unstable or minors. I also considered Americans to be somewhat obnoxious. I realise now that I was prejudiced.
Part of my Master of Journalism course meant that I could opt to go to New York for study and, what it came down to, was that it was travel and an excellent opportunity. I did not expect that I would ever return to the States after that visit. I started off in San Francisco. What struck me was how friendly everyone was and, unlike other countries that I have visited, there was no language barrier. True, there were some bizarre and confronting people and we watch so much American television over here that I found it hard to grasp the fact that this was reality. Yet, San Francisco was amazing. I loved the cable cars and the vintage street cars, the sea lions that hang out at Pier 39. I loved the blues club that sold scones with honey butter and the Emperor Norton who took me around the historic sites of the City by the Bay. New York was a different story. It was interesting and amazing, but the crowds and the rudeness were a little overwhelming for my taste. I then went on to New Orleans where there was jazz in every cafe and club and on just about every corner. People stopped traffic by dancing in the streets. Strangers stopped me in the street to talk and tell me they liked something I was wearing. It was just amazing and the food was amazing and I want to go back.
The ringtone on my phone is David Bowie’s I’m Afraid of
Americans and, sure, I’m afraid of gun violence and I’m afraid of the man in charge over there, but I’m not going to let it stop me from going back. Being afraid of something doesn’t necessarily stop you from being addicted to it.