The U.S. is HUGE, but I guess that's okay.

I've come to a bit more how big the U.S. is comparison to the rest of the world. Not only in the political and economical sense, which I've already blogged about, but also in the literal landmass that is the U.S. It astounds me (and makes me quite jealous) at how easily people can travel around Europe. They can hop on a train and in an hour or two be in another country. Or they can take an EasyJet flight and in an hour or two be 3 or 4 countries away. I even know a guy who drove to Spain from Germany. They have all these different cultures, experiences and histories within arm's reach of them. I wouldn't say they don't appreciate the countries being so close, as most of them are very well-traveled, but I would say that they take for granted how easily accessible the other countries are. They don't grasp is how hard it is for us in the U.S. to travel around our own country.

When I have told people that it takes me 9 hours (or technically should if I stopped more and didn't speed a bit....heehee) to drive from Colorado to Nebraska, where my parents live, they are completely astounded. Inevitably, they ask why I don't fly and when I tell them a flight is usually $250-$300 they are even more astounded. In nine hours, there are many countries in Europe that you could drive across, some even twice. I think this usually helps them put into perspective why I haven't ever been to New York City, Orlando, Miami, or Los Angeles. (Although I did go to Los Angeles to get my Visa, I did nothing there so I don't really count that). It's just hard to get there. Usually the only ones who really understand what I am talking about is the Chinese students who not only understand having to travel hours within their own country, but also consider a "small" city to have a population of about 5 million!

However, in all my complaining, the fascination that they have with the size of the U.S. has made it more interesting to me. Lots of people I have met here think it is really cool that I live in a country that is so diverse. I like to ski and don't like hot weather so I live in Colorado. You like hot? Take Texas. Like living by the beach? Move to Florida. Always wanted to be a cowboy? Off to Montana you go. Do you like a "fast-faced" lifestyle with lots of culture? Maybe move to the East Coast. We can live in whatever climate, cultural, political or moral environment that we prefer and still have all the benefits of living in the United States. It really surprised me how many expatriates live in Spain here but now it makes sense. If they don't like something in their country, for example, the rainy weather in England, they can't just move to a different part of England. They have to come to Spain, learn a new language, get a Visa for work, and then get settled into life. In the end, the U.S. is HUGE and I guess that's okay, because I'll take the ability to move to Colorado from Nebraska any day over having to move to Canada!