美国印象

2009年4月15日下午5点左右，我顺利抵达美国盐湖城。当我看到四周全是外国人时，不知心里是激动还是不知所措。美国机场跟中国有所不同。我能看到很多推车放在一旁，但没有人使用。尝试后，才发现使用推车是要收费的。正当我踌躇着是否用那个小型推车时，Caitie发现了我，我这才舒了一口气。
我接到行李出门后，才发现外面非常冷，虽然Caitie and Cristie都穿的不多，但是我们上了车就没问题了。在车上，她们和我打招呼的方式，是问我旅途怎么样啊，她们有多开心我能来犹他啊，而不会问我，你在飞机上吃的怎么样啊，冷不冷啊。。。美国人很少握手，取而代之的是拥抱，这一点让我觉得非常友好与贴心。
一路上，我发现有很多山，但又不同于中国的山。中国的山，高且陡；犹他的山，宽且大，连成一片，给人以十分壮丽的景象。美国的道路也非常直，岔路很少，路标也不多，弄清东南西北，就很容易认路了。其实美国的公路像中国的高速，没有人，车多且快。道路旁边是一些低矮的平房，一般是各种商店，它们的广告大概都在中国高速公路路牌的位置。当你进入美国任何一家小商店时，基本上销售员都会说：“Hello! How are you?"
听起来像是你的好朋友一样，但其实这就是他们打招呼的基本方式，就像我们说“欢迎光临”一样。
在这里，你别想看到很多高楼大厦，因为基本上都是2到3层高，我见过唯一的高楼是跟教会有关的。当我们的车开进住宅小区，我发现每个家庭都有自己的停车库，每一个家庭都有自己的花园（基本有前院和后院），每个家庭的房子都3层左右。一层是客厅、厨房；二层是卧室、洗手间；地下一层是卧室或储藏室、洗衣房，等等。这里的房子都非常大，但有些有4、5个孩子的家庭，还想要更大的房子。
现在再来说说屋里的新鲜东西。Dishes Washer(洗碗碟的机器），这个机器可以给妈妈省下大量的时间，很多孩子或者客人吃完饭了，就可以把碗碟刀叉放进水池，简单冲洗一下，然后可以把要洗的所有东西（包括锅），按大小顺序放入机器，然后把一个小方块的洗涤灵放入机器，合上就可清洗了。而且这个机器一点也不占地方，就在水池下面，不会露出来，看起来像洗衣机，非常神奇！还有一个非常好的机器，就是洗衣机和甩干机，这个机器，就像两个洗衣机。什么样的衣服放进去都能洗，因为你可以选择手洗或棉衣洗或者其他。你可以放洗衣液和清香液到洗衣机里。等洗完后，把衣服全都放入甩干机，并放入一张香纸，选择甩干的程度，然后就完成了。所以美国洗过的衣服出来都是干的、热的，不需要放到阳台晾干，那样会影响美观。
美国人的普通家庭有一个特色，那就是他们的冰箱总是塞满了东西，储藏室也放满了各种食品，他们总是一次开车出去购物很多，买材料回家里做菜，这样会非常省钱。在美国，一般早晨都固定吃cereal，因为营养、健康又方便。中午和晚上吃的都比较丰富。而且每顿饭都有一杯喝的东西，像橘子汁之类。如果你在美国人的家庭用餐，你最好不要张开嘴咀嚼，因为让他们看见你嘴里的食物是非常不礼貌的。我想，在中国不容易做到那样，因为中国人喜欢吃热食，趁热吃，如果很烫，不容易做到不张嘴。。。
犹他大部分时间天气都非常好，万里晴空、风和日丽的，但是春天就已经很像中国的初夏，据说夏天会更热。相信在这边待上一阵子，我会了解更多，希望在这里的每一天都是快乐的！
Translation：
Impressions of America
April 15, 2009, at about 5 PM, I touched down, for the first time, in America (in Salt Lake City.) As I looked around and realized there were no Chinese anywhere to be found, I don’t know if what I felt was excitement or just bewilderment. There are some differences between airports in America and airports in China. I saw so many unused carts, and only when I tried to take one did I realize that you have to pay to use them! Just as I was debating whether or not to pay for that little cart, Caitie saw me, and I finally was able to breeth a sigh of relief.
After we got our luggage and walked out of the airport I realized that it was freezing outside, but Caitie and Cristie appeared as if they were dressed for summertime! However, after I got in the car I didn’t feel cold anymore. After I got in the car they began our conversation by asking me how my trip went, and telling me how excited they were that I made it to Utah. They didn’t ask me how the airplane food was, or whether I was cold or not…(typical Chinese way of starting a conversation). Americans rarely shake hands, it seems they always hug me, which makes me feel very loved.
While on the road I noticed there were many mountains, but they weren’t like the mountains in China. Chinese mountains are so tall and steep, but these “Utah” mountains were wide and long, and appeared linked together, it is such a beautiful site to see. American roads are both straight and wide, and forks in the road are few and far between. Road signs are rare, but as long as you can tell North from South, it is very easy to figure out where you are. It seems like normal American roads are like highways in China; no pedestrians, and the cars drive very fast. On the side of the road there are many one and two-story buildings, usually stores. The billboards along the road are basically done the same way they are done in China. When you go into a store, pretty much what everyone says is “Hello! How are you?” When they say that it sounds like we are old friends, but actually that is just how you say hello here, just like in China how they would say “welcome”.
Don’t expect to find any tall sky-scrapers here, pretty much every building is either 2 or three stories. The only tall building I’ve seen was the Church Office Building. When we drove through residential areas I realized that pretty much every home has its own garage, each family has their own yard (usually both a front and a back yard),and each home is about three stories tall. On one floor you’ll find the living room and kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms are on the second floor, the basement usually has bedrooms or storage rooms, or laundry rooms, etc. Here the homes are huge, but some of these families have four or five kids, and want an even bigger house.
I’d like to talk about a cool little gadget they use here. The dish washer. This thing can really save a lot of time for mothers. When children or guests finish eating everyone can simply organize all their pots, pans, and silverware into the dishwasher, add some soap, close the door, and voilà! This machine doesn’t even take up space, it fits nicely under the counter next to the sink, and it looks like a washing machine. Amazing! Another wonderful contraption is the clothes dryer, which looks like a second washing machine. You can wash any clothes in American washing machines, because they have different settings, including hand-wash. After the clothes are washed, just put all the wet clothes directly into the dryer, put a nice-smelling dryer sheet in, and turn it on. Thus when clothes are washed in America, they come out dry and hot, you don’t even need to hang them up outside!
Most American families have a few things in common, their fridges are always stuffed with food, and they even fill entire storage rooms with excess foods. Generally they save a lot of money by buying bulk, and then making all their meals at home. Generally everyone here eats cereal for breakfast, because it is both nutritious and convenient. Lunch and dinner have a ton of variety. Also each meal is accompanied by a drink, like orange juice. If you eat in an America home, be careful not to chew with your mouth open, because it is really impolite. I think this is really difficult for Chinese, because we love to eat hot foods, while they are hot… if the food is really hot, it’s not easy to close your mouth while eating…
The weather in Utah has been incredible, clear skies, warm, and accompanied by a pleasant breeze. Springtime here feels like the beginning of Fall in China, I worry that it is only going to get hotter. I’m sure I’ll know more about America after I have been here for a little while longer, I hope each day here will be a happy one!