12 July
First day as normal tourists was on Sunday when we visited EPCOT, the futuristic Park of Disney World. Entrance fee is very sofisticated: the one-day pass costs 100$, 3-day 270. More-than-3-days pass costs almost the same as 3-days one, eg the 10-day pass costs 280$. If you come here, stay many days! The EPCOT park has dozens of buildings with various rides and shows, stores etc and thousands of visitors. Everything is huge.
Now that I adapt myself to the new environment I find more free time to write some thoughts I make during the trip. US is a complete new culture: it is not Europe, it is not Latin. It is something different, which is characterized by the following:
1) there is no history and social-state "burden" to the society. Societies like european ones have to endure the weight of the tradition which slows down everything: business, life, science etc. The Social State has to pay huge amounts of money for free education, health etc. Here no such thoughts: what you produce is yours, no care about the others, no need to care about state well-being, past tradition and the road of the neighbor. Posing it differently I would say:
"US is a very developed, developing country"First day as normal tourists was on Sunday when we visited EPCOT, the futuristic Park of Disney World. Entrance fee is very sofisticated: the one-day pass costs 100$, 3-day 270. More-than-3-days pass costs almost the same as 3-days one, eg the 10-day pass costs 280$. If you come here, stay many days! The EPCOT park has dozens of buildings with various rides and shows, stores etc and thousands of visitors. Everything is huge.
Now that I adapt myself to the new environment I find more free time to write some thoughts I make during the trip. US is a complete new culture: it is not Europe, it is not Latin. It is something different, which is characterized by the following:
1) there is no history and social-state "burden" to the society. Societies like european ones have to endure the weight of the tradition which slows down everything: business, life, science etc. The Social State has to pay huge amounts of money for free education, health etc. Here no such thoughts: what you produce is yours, no care about the others, no need to care about state well-being, past tradition and the road of the neighbor. Posing it differently I would say:
2) everything is huge and "clean": the advanced productive capability of the Americans combined with the abundance of natural resources has made it possible to produce low-cost "large things". Oil, gas, cars, homes, food, all are half the price as in Europe. Cars expecially are MUCH cheaper, a huge Chrysler would cost a lot in Europe, here is just a few thousand $s.
3) Nothing is without some cost. Here you can become a King and a Slave in the same life. You wake up poor and sleep a billionaire, you are rich and after a while you become a "bum". Ok, this is not an everyday happening and especially the last years its becoming rarer and rarer but the possibility is alive everywhere you look.
I have never lived/worked in the US so I cant exactly figure out and express these points but I hope you got the point and excuse the generalities. As a friend from the US had posed it and rendered me speechless till now is:
"But that IS America. If it would not be such, it would not be America!"
Vagelis just to let you know I'll be reading your adventures.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you'l have a wicked time!
Greetings from Aiginitio's dungeons.
Tom
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