Living in the US

The family I stayed with as an au pair lived in Petaluma in Sonoma county, California. It was a great adventure to arrive at the SF airport, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and head north through Marin county to Petaluma, where I would be staying for a year.

One of the first things that surprised me when I arrived in the US was that everything was so much larger than at home. Everything from the roads and cars to the size of the apples and tomatoes. I also encountered a number of new temptations, like donuts, muffins, bagles with cream cheese, taco bell, yoghurt ice crem, reeses chocolate and much more. Not a very healthy diet after a while :-)

Another thing that I found intriguing was how easily people tended to start a conversation with strangers. It started on my flight from London to the US. The man sitting next to me started chatting with me, and at the end of the journey he handed over his business card and said that if we ever were to visit St Louise we should give him and his wife a call. I encountered further proof of American hospitality throughout my stay. With their outgoing ways I would not be too surprised if Americans would consider Norwegians a bit shy or even, under some circumstances, a bit rude. A Norwegian might not necessarily greet you if you meet in your apartment building (even if you are neighbors for quite some time) and on public transport we avoid eye contact as much as we can. In most cases this is our way of trying not to intrude on people, even when it might be misplaced politeness.

I experienced a lot during my stay in the US; from Napa Valley and Yosemite to the different parts of San Francisco (which continues to be one of my favourite cities). I also bought a Greyhound bus-pass and travelled together with a friend across the states. We visited LA, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, New Orleans, Washington DC and New York. It was an incredibly eventful journey that I will never forget!