The amazing thing about America

is how different it is from Singapore... being from an Asian culture, i didn't buy into the whole hitchhiking thing.. i saw some fellas standing by the side of the road from time to time with their thumb up but always thought the success rate was too low to bother, and i might as well just take the bus cos trying would be a waste of time.

how wrong i was

i didnt hitchhike the entire 4 months i was there

until the last day; the day of my flight; i had to meet my driver downtown at 9am because she couldn't get onto campus because as luck would have it, the TAs decided to organize a strike on the day i was leaving. I had foreseen it, and left my big luggage bags with my friend who lived downtown (else i would have been doomed) and started the long walk downtown, which my friend told me he took 40 minutes to walk. After 20 minutes of walking with my carryon bag, which wasn't light, i realized it wasn't going to take me 40 minutes, it was going to take me at least an hour, and i hadn't even reached the end of campus yet (my campus is hugggeeee). As i was reaching the end of campus, i saw a police barricade. Yes, i had chosen to walk to the end of campus that was barricaded; i needed to walk back all the way to my hall, and to the other end of campus. i looked around and realized i was doomed; i might miss my flight.

i stuck out my thumb.

the first car that came stopped and picked me up. Friendly guy.

THE FIRST CAR. THE FIRST CAR THAT SAW ME IMMEDIATELY PICKED ME UP!!! if i had known i would have been hitchhiking the entire 4 months!! why take a frigging bus!!!

HITCHHIKING IS AWESOME!!! its basically free taxi and you get to chat to a friendly dude/dude-dess. he was fetching his wife to work and we talked about why they barricaded one end (he told me about how a strike a few years ago got violent, and i told him how being a singaporean i never even experienced a strike before) and my studies, his work, usual stuff. In fact, he dropped me off at the doorstep of my friend's apartment although it was out of his way and all i needed actually was to get off campus so i could catch a bus. what a guy!!!

in short, I LOVE USA BABY!!! just another reason on the final day of exchange to remind me of how much i love this place!