A Country with Amiable People
My first and foremost impression towards America is the people here are so friendly and amiable.
The first American we met is the Yale Shuttle Bus driver, whose name was pronounced like “Nasheer”. The man said in our chatting that he came from Sudan and he has been here for more than twenty years. He waited for us at the exit of the Kennedy Airport for almost two hours as we failed to connect him with cell phones. But we can’t see any annoyance on his face. He was so kind and always smiling to us and chatted away with us while driving us to the Yale University. He never lost his patience answering our queer questions about him and the country. He even agreed to let me have a look at the Quran right beside the driving wheel. It was all Arabic and I felt it a pity that I could not recognize a single word.
The first night we there were staying at a local hotel near the coast as we could only register our residential college the next day. The waitresses and waiter were also very friendly to tell us where to find something to eat. What impressed me most was those American people did greet strangers earnestly and enthusiastically. When I was doing my Energy walking around a tree, a few people would say “hi” to me. A marine even stopped his steps and said to me: “You know, we Marines would stand yelling at the tree!”
“Why?” I was astonished.
“Because they are trained how to yell at their soldiers.”
“But I’m being friendly to it.”
“Yes, I can see that.” And then he waived to me and say: “Have a good day!”
