I have “Never say never” by Justin Bieber on a loop in my head as I write this post. I have no idea why, especially as I only know the bit of the song where he sings “never say never” but for some reason that is in my head at this given moment. So bare with me whilst I shake that song out of my ear like the water that is always stuck there after a long dive. And now we may begin.
My first visit to the US of A
In Autumn I visited USA…the US… United States…United States of America. Well the country that is a size of a continent below Canada. That one. A place I had never been to before. A place I had never really planned to visit (at least in the coming decades). But there I was. Confused and exhausted after our ridiculously long flight, slowly dragging my life on the ESTA queue at the LAX airport. Somehow I had ended up visiting the country I never intended to visit. Which is why I wanted to list the 10 thoughts I had on my very first trip to the USA.
10 thoughts I had about my first time in USA
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USA is HUGE
So we visited my girlfriend’s family in Colorado. One state of the tens and tens of states in the USA. Over my years of travel I have gotten used to the fact that you are never able to see it all but when it came to the US it felt like we had only seen a corner. To be honest, not even a corner, rather than the thread that runs in the corner. It felt like we only saw a brief second of the full lenght movie.
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Each state is basically like a country of its own
I knew that the USA was bit different when it came to the concept of a country but it became more and more evident during our trip. It truly felt like each state was a country with a capital, unique cuisines and traditions.
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I really missed walking
This was my biggest culture shock. The ones who have followed me on Instagram know that I love walking. Walking between places and seeing cities by foot. But in Colorado and apparently a lot of US cities and states it is not really possible. We were lucky that we were able to walk around the neighbourhood but it was impossible for us to walk all the way to the nearest store or see anything outside little boxes on a hillside. This was something I really struggled with but had to get used to.
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Nature, I love nature.
Colorado and Colorado Springs showed us some amazing nature. I loved hiking in the Garden of the Gods and seeing the Seven Falls. The places we saw were lovely and the nature really did take me by surprise.
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Forests in Colorado remind me of Finland
Visiting the Seven Falls and hiking around the beautiful waterfalls was incredible. But as we climbed up 300 stairs it was almost like we had landed back to Finland, back to routes amongst pine trees.
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But the mountains are incredible
Mountains are incredible. They just are. One day I would like to return to Colorado to hike to the top of the hills in the Garden of the Gods and see more of the incredible nature in the USA.
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Why so many cars
Really. Why? I knew there would be cars. But the amount of them and the amount of lanes on a highway was insane.
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Pumpkin pie was amazing
We were on a mission to taste and experience certain things whilst in the US. Pumpkin pie wasn’t one of those. But we happened to see it on sale in Walmart and knew that it was somehow significant in the USA so we bought it. And it ended up being a great culinary adventure.
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Dunkin Donut didn’t live up to our expectations
We have a thing about donuts. My girlfriend introduced me to the exiting world of donuts in Japan and from there it has been a thing for us. So we were excited to try Dunkin Donuts. But it didn’t really live up to the probably too high expectations we had.
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How can Walmart be this big
We spent a lot of our travel budget in Walmart. Walmart robbed us good. We even brought toilet matts from the US as they were so soft and lovely. But the first time we stepped into a Walmart I couldn’t help but wonder how can it be that big. Like how. Honestly.
Do I want to return?
Yes, I do. Even though the USA is still not at the top of my “must-see-more-of-the-country” list I was astonished by the nature and the scenery in Colorado and would really like to see more of the country. Which is why maybe one day we will return.
Did you travel to the USA recently? Tell me your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
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