The first week-My impressions

Hi all,
It is the end of my First week in United States and I feel it is high time that I record my impressions. This is going to be pretty long so bear with me.

The culture shock:
There has been so much hype about the culture shock that everyone from India receives when they reach United States. After one week, the only shock that I received was that there wasn't any! I guess I have been getting used to the American way of life by watching movies, sit coms and books. I probably had undergone a long process of acclimatization. A few others tell me that the culture shock might not happen in so short a time. Maybe I have to really wait a few weeks for it to hit me. Honestly, I don't know.

Home sickness:
This is another thing that hasn't hit me yet. I have been away from home for quite long before. In fact, coming to think of it, I have been away from home for nearly seven years-four years during under graduation and another three years when I was working. So staying away from home is not such a big deal. However, there are two things that are different from my previous situations. One-I will need to be away for more than a year which I have never been in the past. We have a break in December this year, I haven't decided if I will go home this December. There are already plans being made for a cross country trip. Sounds like fun.
Two-in the first two situations I had been away, food was never a problem. I need to see how long I will get along this time. (Not that I have a choice about it). I think I am okay with the continental food here, so food is not really a big problem. Other than that, starting with coffee and scrambled eggs, I am starting to cook! I guess I will manage

So, what is this America all about, really?
I live in a place called Wellesley. People tell me that is the richest locales in Massachusetts. A few friends were telling me that the insurance rates were really low here. (Insurance rates-This is really a big deal, I don’t know if I can really talk about it here. Let’s save it for some other time). The reason that I am giving you all this information is because I am not sure if the impressions that I am getting here applies to the whole of America. Then again, I got to start some where and here I am.
So besides all the usual stuff about swanky clean roads, disciplined traffic and stuff, you know what struck me the most?-super stores! I had been day before yesterday to a super store called Staples and the only thing they deal with is office supplies! In India, I am used to buy my office supplies in a book store or some department store. There is never any separate mall for office supplies. The impression that most people here have is that buying from a mall is cheaper. We spend a good 10$ in gas to get to the mall - I don't think that we saved that much in stationary. Kind of crazy, I think.
Another thing that is fascinating for me is the obsession with vending machines. Soft drinks, snacks, newspapers, washing machines- you name it, there is a vending machine for it. Yesterday, I saw a vending machine for renting a DVD! I swear I am not lying. Here is how it works. First, in the touch screen, we make a movie selection. Second, we select whether we want to purchase it or rent it. Renting is 0.99$ per day. We get to swipe our credit card and the DVD comes out. We have to return the movie the next day within the stipulated time or additional rent is deducted (the machine has the credit card information, remember). Interesting-though kinda scary.
I was thinking why we don't have so many vending machines in India-I came up with three explanations. One-the currency denominations are pretty low in India so may be it is not worth having a vending machine. Secondly since these vending machines have high levels of sophistication, they would cost a ton. That kind of thing doesn't have many takers in India. Three-the percentage of educated populace is much lower in India, so there is possibility for misuse of equipment.
One other thing that strikes me is how people work here. For the past week, I have been observing the utility people work around the college. They do stuff like cleaning up garbage, repair pavements and stuff like that. During the entire chain of garbage disposal, people never physically touch any of the garbage. Same with laying pavements. There is absolutely no manual work involved. Every thing is being done by machines! Every single chunk of the work is being done by some equipment. I will post some pictures tomorrow that will help you understand better.
Talking about impressions I should also talk a little bit about the rules and regulations here. You will need to give me a quick answer for this one – how long did you prepare documents for getting the drivers license? You are okay if the answer is less than an hour. I have spent two full business days just to get the documents in order. Here is a list of requirements to get the Massachusetts driving license:
1. One document which will serve as signature proof.
2. One document which will serve as Photo proof (No, the same document will not do for both).
3. One document for address proof. (You need a document that is separate from the above.
4. Social security number or a letter of denial to give you a social security number. (The craziest clause I have seen)
When you have all of this, you need to give a written test (online). This consists of 25 questions. You need to thoroughly go through a 239 page driving manual to answer this. Finally you need to take a driving test. You can’t do this immediately. You need to book a date at least three weeks in advance.