American & Big

Ever since my arrival, I am continually astonished at the portion Americans have things in. Im not exaggerating, most things here are like extra large compared to New Zealand. From people -oh gosh >_< , to cars -guzzlers!, to meals with giant cups (almost 2L) like the 'mega jug' and takeaway meals that last me for two whole meals, to even animals - this cat was bigger than a small dog (I'll try to get photos next time I see it).

The roads here are generally straight, wide and numerous. The freeway system here is huge and can be a tad confusing when you have five lane freeways that are joining or splitting into another freeway, which is also surrounded by several exits. This all means you have to know the area, or you have GPS navigation!



The suburban roads are usually two lane, and like the freeway have lots of cars to fill it with. There is a slight trend for smaller cars, but then again that's like American small which is still large anyway. But yea the mind boggles as to why anyone would want a massive Humvee? I have lost count of the amount of them I have seen.

The shopping likewise is on par with the rest of things. You can find giant malls and giant shops. One place you can shop for your groceries is a place called Cost Co, where each store is a massive warehouse. They just put checkouts near the doors and you shop down the storage isles, hehe. It's comparable to Moore Wilsons but on a giant Pak'n'Save scale, with the addition that they cover everything, from all the different food items to clothes, car parts and plasma tvs. Now I can come to understand why they say these giant retailers are running small business out of America, they can be a lot cheaper!

The local mall near me is supposedly small, however it eclipses anything that I've seen in NZ, so I do have to wonder how long it will take me to understand this American concept of 'Big'..