It has been exactly 3 months that I moved to Maine. Three months only since I entered in the US to live there. In fact, I didn’t expect to be particularly surprised about the way people live here: I grew up in an island with lots of similarities to Mount Desert Island, I was exposed to different cultures as I moved in different countries, I speak English pretty fluently (and understand almost anybody with any English accent) and I interact often with friends and colleagues Americans and discussed often their customs and habits… so I was very curious about what would surprise me.
What I learned so far is described below. These “discoveries” are rather related to the winter season, the location (Maine) and the local community. I realized that the people are rather introvert, calm, open and patient and do not very much correspond to the traditional character that we may have in mind overseas (or maybe I had a biaised and false idea of the Americans, or maybe I become wiser – the older I get the less I tend to strictly categorize somebody). I am sure I will extend my observations in the future and discover other unexpected common behaviors, other strange routine habits that I was not used to experience before… and I am looking forward to that! For now, those little surprises are as follows, without particular order:
- People engage: “Hello, how are you today?” await a real response! People would repeat the question and look into your eyes if you do not answer. This is not the same than “Hello, how do you do?” in the UK. Here the conversation can continue with “Did you have a good day today?”, or “What extraordinary things have you done today?”
- Rhythm is slow, time goes slowly. People show an extreme patience in repeating with the same tone the question you didn’t get, they drive at 10 miles/h less than the authorized limit, but punctuality is the norm, although everybody says that everybody’s late (a mystery that I still need to uncover)…
- When people warn you it will get cold, trust them! People don’t tend to exagerate, should it be about the wheather, a fee rate or even if they are selling you something.
- They give you extra money if you bring your own bag (but you don’t need to pay if they give you one). BTW, the bag they will provide is most of the time a paper bag.
- Wearing layers of clothes is the solution to stay warm, and socks reaching the knees are much warmer than the lower ones.
- Four wheels cars are not fancy cars in Maine. Most importantly: remove the snow from your car when it is still soft, few hours later it will become ice!
- Even clams can be fried!!
- American beers are excellent!
- I don’t think Americans can live without carbohydrates. Sandwiches are common lunches – not picnic meals!
Happy Friday 13th!
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