Many people who come here do not realize just how vast this nation is – 3,0000 miles from east to west and over 1,500 miles north to south…and that does not include Alaska and Hawaii!
And even worse, the United States is not a nation of mass transit. The nation thrives on vehicles and driving. With few exceptions, mass transportation is not a viable form of transportation…and it’s getting worse by the day.
There are planes everywhere and Amtrak runs trains in several places but as a general rule, it isn’t a great way to get about the nation.
The United States is a single nation but its regions are vastly different and NO ONE knows everyone! I may call the state of New York my home, but I know very few of the millions of residents in the state.
I remember the final scenes from “Fiddler on the Roof” when the residents of Anatevka have to leave and some of them are discussing where they are going. Teveya is telling a neighbour he is going to America and the neighbour is also going to America and they assume that they will again be neighbours.
Even for residents, it is sometimes difficult to comprehend just how large this nation is; unless you have family scattered from one coast to another. In my immediate family (parents and siblings), we are scattered from California to Florida and New York to Texas.
Living in a tourist town, I see many different types of people and cultures – it’s one thing I really like about being here. I don’t know if everything I see can be considered mistakes; sometimes its just a difference in cultures. In Europe it is natural to eat dinner later in the evening but in America the bars stay open late but the restaurants all want to close around European dinner time.