Hi everybody! Well, we are here for one month now and I actually start to feel always more at ease. However, there are still certain issues -I have called them “the american ways”- that I still have to understand and tried to solve somehow:

HOW YOU DOIN’? It happens everyday, every time, everywhere. Whether you are in campus or in the supermarket, there will be always someone asking you “Hi, how you do?”. DO HAVE I TO ANSWER?? The first time I heard it I was in Stop&Shop. I was alone in the cereals aisle, staring at them since there are thousands of options here. At the certain moment a guy working there came towards me. He was almost running but he managed to ask me “How you doin’?”. Without even wondering if it was “a tricky” question I started talking… “ I’m fine thank you, I’m just trying to take a decisions because you offer so many different cereals! Which one do you suggest me?”…Maybe I was too focus on pronunciation, grammar and meaning of what I was saying and I didn’t realize that the guy disappeared even before I had finished to speak. People in the corridor may have thought that I was crazy since I was speaking alone. I came back home, and thought about what I should have done in a similar situation.

• Option A: don’t answer and make a smile;
• Option B: answer with “fine thank you” and than smile;
• Option C: answer saying how I actually feel but really quickly and effectively;
• Option D: don’t reply and keep walking.

The opportunity to test one of my theories, came the next day in the campus with a mate of mine. But this time, thinking about the previous experience, I haven’t answered at all and just replied with a smile.Option A. I still don’t know if it has been something clever, because he has never asked me “how you doin’ ?” again. I hope I will solve soon the mystery because I don’t want to look rude or crazy!

AIR CONDITIONING. You, Americans, are crazy about it. Aren’t you afraid to get a cold? Whether it is really hot or cold outside, the air conditioning is always on here! The enemy number one to me is the bus. I call it “the freezer” because the condition machinery is almost bigger than the entire shuttle itself! Actually this may be seen as an advantage since I prefer walking instead of freezing! However, the question remains: HOW HAVE I TO DRESS UP? I have planned a strategy called “the onion”. My tactic consists in dressing with layers of different t-shirt and sweater in order to be ready at any climate.

BIG PORTIONS: This is actually a benefit when you are starving after classes. But if you are trying to stay in a diet that can be definitely the end of every purpose! DO HAVE I TO EAT EVERYTHING? My strategy? When I don’t want to eat that much I order “the small” of everything!

I’m sure that one day I will face these issues in the american way!