7th August, 2017
I can never forget this day in my whole life. It was a new begining, a transition between two time zones, a leap from one continent to another, a Leap from past to future, a leap from night to day. Dreaming America
7th August 2017 was a day in my life when my life began to take turns like a roller coaster ride.
I can never forget that faithful day when I took an Air India flight to the America. It felt as if I was Christopher Columbus re-discovering Americas. It was a bizarre journey and I was completely unprepared for this journey. Had I known more facts about America I would have mentally prepared myself beforehand and I would not have been so overwhelmed with the things that happened later after landing here in Portland a major city in the state of Oregon which lies on the west coast. I have always lived on the west coast and near the seas be it Bombay in India or Portland in the United States. Portland is more like Bombay in many ways with housing tech Giants like Intel and Nike in the vicinity. It is also surrounded by rivers and as you move farther away near the seaside close to the ocean, one can engulf itself into the enormous water body of the Pacific Ocean which would be not more than an hour drive from Portland.
National Anthem of the United states
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
You`can use Wikipedia as a reference. I have provided the link below for you to read more on it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner
CURRENCY OF THE UNITED STATES
Now I know you must be thinking that why did I put in what the currency of United States is and that everybody uses the term “DOLLAR”. It is also a worldwide accepted form of currency, but the fact is that hearing the currency and actually knowing the currency are completely 2 different parts. Of course, the world knows about the “DOLLAR”, but nobody knows about its break ups and what it’s called locally or what it is referred to
The Official currency of the United States is called a DOLLAR. The currency in notes are generally referred to as bills here rather than being called as notes.
The highest denomination is the $100 bill and the lowest available denomination in the bill is the $1 note.
Below $1 everything is for of coins. Again, the coins differ in size and color too.
All the coins are in silver except for 5 Cent coins which are in bronze color and that’s why probably they are known as nickels. I have mentioned below all the finer details so that you can check it for yourself and get an actual overview of the currency system in the United States.
Dollar comes in bills of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $2 & $1
1 Dollar ($) is divided into 50 Cents (2x50cents=1$)
25 cents or Quarter (4 quarters make 1 Dollar i.e. 4 x 0.25)
This is the same a 25 paise concept. 4 x 25 = 1 Rupee
Then there are 10 cent coins known as dimes
Then 5 cents also known as nickels
And finally, 1 cent coins known as penny
Weights and Measures commonly used in the United States.
So, In the United States, the most commonly used measurement system is the "Imperial system" and not the "Metric System" which is used by the rest of the world. You see, "Americans" want to be different in everything that they're doing. They
Solid weights
Weight used in local grocery stores are as follows: -
The common weight to weigh any vegetable is Pounds. This is very weird way of measuring because the whole world uses the metric system and United States still uses the imperial system.
1 Pound = 2.20462 Kilograms
Pound is often denoted by lb
1 pound is broken up into 16 ounces (oz)
1 lb = 16 Oz
1 Oz = 28.3495 grams
1gram = 0.035274 Oz
Liquid Weights
Usually petrol or commonly known as gas in the united states, milk and any liquid that needs to be weighed is measured in Gallons. While the pound is nearly half in quantity to the kilogram, the Gallon is 4times that of a liter measurement.
1 Gallon = 3.78541 litres
1 Gallon = 128 Oz
1 liter = 0.264172 gallons
1 liter = 33.814 Oz
1 Oz = 0.0078125 gallons
1 Oz = 0.0295735 liters
Temperature
The temperature in the United states is always measured in Fahrenheit (F) unlike the celcius which the rest of the world uses.
1 F = -17.2222 Celsius
1C = 33.8 Fahrenheit
usually 60F to 80 F is considered too hot in the united states while 30 to 50F is too cold. The temperatures in the united states vary place to place and have 4-5 different time zones. The best places to live in the united states where there would be warm and soothing climate would be the states of California, Arizona, Florida and parts of Texas, in short "The South". The Southern parts of "The United States" are usually lined with coasts and belong to Desert region. Even though being Desersts, the heat is not extreme unlike the asian and the middle eatsern deserts where the summer temperatures reach beyond 50 degree centigrade!
The west coast has moderate temperatures while the east coast has snowy chilly and harsh winters. Surviving the winters especially on the East coast is not that easy. While you cant find snow that much on west coast especially in the state of California, but it does snow on the west coast too. The states that usually experience mild to severe snow along with rain and storm are Washington and Oregon. A fun fact is that "the river Vancouver starts on the borders of the Oregon and Washington states, flows through the entire state of Washington and ends in Canadian state of Alberta and thus the city called "Vancouver". A drive from Seattle (U.S) to Vancouver (Canada) only take approximately 2 to 2.5 hours of road drive.
From portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington through a bus ride that takes 2hrs to 2.5hrs generally costs $15 for 1 way and you could get those busses using various apps or just going to the Union Station in downtown portland.
Washington state’s Capital is Seattle where the famous Microsoft has it’s one of the major offices.
Oregon state’s capital is Salem and a major popular city is Portland which houses tech giants like intel and sport brand that has its headquarters like Nike.
Distances
Usually the rest of the world uses Kilometers and meters. But here in the united states people generally use terms like miles, half a mile etc.
Like a Kilometer breaks up into a meter, the mile does not have a break up. We just call it like half a mile, a quarter mile and so on. The distance measures also is very similar to the currency break up system.
Transportation and Connectivity
In terms of connectivity I found the transport system more like that of my home. The city is well connected with its Trimet System of Locomotives like the Streetcar, Max Trains, WES Light rail and Buses which can take you to and fro. The best part of this transport system is that you can use 1 ticket on all of this and you do not have to buy a ticket each time you interchange to a different mode of transport.
Driving a vehicle in America
It is very funny though that American drivers drive on the left wheel while most of Britain, common wealth countries and most Asian countries have their wheels on the right side. The Dmv is like the RTO of India. To drive in America, one needs to take a driving test which occurs in two steps. First you have a written exam and then you have to give a drive test to prove that you are a responsible driver
I can never forget this day in my whole life. It was a new begining, a transition between two time zones, a leap from one continent to another, a Leap from past to future, a leap from night to day. Dreaming America
7th August 2017 was a day in my life when my life began to take turns like a roller coaster ride.
I can never forget that faithful day when I took an Air India flight to the America. It felt as if I was Christopher Columbus re-discovering Americas. It was a bizarre journey and I was completely unprepared for this journey. Had I known more facts about America I would have mentally prepared myself beforehand and I would not have been so overwhelmed with the things that happened later after landing here in Portland a major city in the state of Oregon which lies on the west coast. I have always lived on the west coast and near the seas be it Bombay in India or Portland in the United States. Portland is more like Bombay in many ways with housing tech Giants like Intel and Nike in the vicinity. It is also surrounded by rivers and as you move farther away near the seaside close to the ocean, one can engulf itself into the enormous water body of the Pacific Ocean which would be not more than an hour drive from Portland.
National Anthem of the United states
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
You`can use Wikipedia as a reference. I have provided the link below for you to read more on it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner
CURRENCY OF THE UNITED STATES
Now I know you must be thinking that why did I put in what the currency of United States is and that everybody uses the term “DOLLAR”. It is also a worldwide accepted form of currency, but the fact is that hearing the currency and actually knowing the currency are completely 2 different parts. Of course, the world knows about the “DOLLAR”, but nobody knows about its break ups and what it’s called locally or what it is referred to
The Official currency of the United States is called a DOLLAR. The currency in notes are generally referred to as bills here rather than being called as notes.
The highest denomination is the $100 bill and the lowest available denomination in the bill is the $1 note.
Below $1 everything is for of coins. Again, the coins differ in size and color too.
All the coins are in silver except for 5 Cent coins which are in bronze color and that’s why probably they are known as nickels. I have mentioned below all the finer details so that you can check it for yourself and get an actual overview of the currency system in the United States.
Dollar comes in bills of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $2 & $1
1 Dollar ($) is divided into 50 Cents (2x50cents=1$)
25 cents or Quarter (4 quarters make 1 Dollar i.e. 4 x 0.25)
This is the same a 25 paise concept. 4 x 25 = 1 Rupee
Then there are 10 cent coins known as dimes
Then 5 cents also known as nickels
And finally, 1 cent coins known as penny
Weights and Measures commonly used in the United States.
So, In the United States, the most commonly used measurement system is the "Imperial system" and not the "Metric System" which is used by the rest of the world. You see, "Americans" want to be different in everything that they're doing. They
Solid weights
Weight used in local grocery stores are as follows: -
The common weight to weigh any vegetable is Pounds. This is very weird way of measuring because the whole world uses the metric system and United States still uses the imperial system.
1 Pound = 2.20462 Kilograms
Pound is often denoted by lb
1 pound is broken up into 16 ounces (oz)
1 lb = 16 Oz
1 Oz = 28.3495 grams
1gram = 0.035274 Oz
Liquid Weights
Usually petrol or commonly known as gas in the united states, milk and any liquid that needs to be weighed is measured in Gallons. While the pound is nearly half in quantity to the kilogram, the Gallon is 4times that of a liter measurement.
1 Gallon = 3.78541 litres
1 Gallon = 128 Oz
1 liter = 0.264172 gallons
1 liter = 33.814 Oz
1 Oz = 0.0078125 gallons
1 Oz = 0.0295735 liters
Temperature
The temperature in the United states is always measured in Fahrenheit (F) unlike the celcius which the rest of the world uses.
1 F = -17.2222 Celsius
1C = 33.8 Fahrenheit
usually 60F to 80 F is considered too hot in the united states while 30 to 50F is too cold. The temperatures in the united states vary place to place and have 4-5 different time zones. The best places to live in the united states where there would be warm and soothing climate would be the states of California, Arizona, Florida and parts of Texas, in short "The South". The Southern parts of "The United States" are usually lined with coasts and belong to Desert region. Even though being Desersts, the heat is not extreme unlike the asian and the middle eatsern deserts where the summer temperatures reach beyond 50 degree centigrade!
The west coast has moderate temperatures while the east coast has snowy chilly and harsh winters. Surviving the winters especially on the East coast is not that easy. While you cant find snow that much on west coast especially in the state of California, but it does snow on the west coast too. The states that usually experience mild to severe snow along with rain and storm are Washington and Oregon. A fun fact is that "the river Vancouver starts on the borders of the Oregon and Washington states, flows through the entire state of Washington and ends in Canadian state of Alberta and thus the city called "Vancouver". A drive from Seattle (U.S) to Vancouver (Canada) only take approximately 2 to 2.5 hours of road drive.
From portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington through a bus ride that takes 2hrs to 2.5hrs generally costs $15 for 1 way and you could get those busses using various apps or just going to the Union Station in downtown portland.
Washington state’s Capital is Seattle where the famous Microsoft has it’s one of the major offices.
Oregon state’s capital is Salem and a major popular city is Portland which houses tech giants like intel and sport brand that has its headquarters like Nike.
Distances
Usually the rest of the world uses Kilometers and meters. But here in the united states people generally use terms like miles, half a mile etc.
Like a Kilometer breaks up into a meter, the mile does not have a break up. We just call it like half a mile, a quarter mile and so on. The distance measures also is very similar to the currency break up system.
Transportation and Connectivity
In terms of connectivity I found the transport system more like that of my home. The city is well connected with its Trimet System of Locomotives like the Streetcar, Max Trains, WES Light rail and Buses which can take you to and fro. The best part of this transport system is that you can use 1 ticket on all of this and you do not have to buy a ticket each time you interchange to a different mode of transport.
I found everything strange and unusual here. To acquire and to imbibe all this was like entering into an entire new world. Though an English-speaking nation, I thought it would be comparatively easier for me to adjust to the surrounding and to cope up with the things around. This put me into doubts that how wrong I was in the first place. I did not do my homework well before entering this land and therefore I faced the consequences.
It is very funny though that American drivers drive on the left wheel while most of Britain, common wealth countries and most Asian countries have their wheels on the right side. The Dmv is like the RTO of India. To drive in America, one needs to take a driving test which occurs in two steps. First you have a written exam and then you have to give a drive test to prove that you are a responsible driver
