100 Reasons I love America: #12 — #15 My salary, swings in the backyard, self-dependence and philanthropy.
#12: My $alary!
My husband tells me when people ask for his salary (pay), he tells them it is a million dollars. I, on the other hand, stammer a bit, start with a huh? as if I have not heard the question and it all ends with me writing down my pay on a post-it note and handing it to the inquisitive aunty who asked me the question. I exaggerate, of course but there have been times when I have ended up revealing my exact pay to desi folks that asked me what my pay was! So, thank you America for not wanting to know my pay. If you really want to know, all you have to do is ask me a couple of times!
#13 Swings!
I have lived in Chennai and Bangalore in India and have visited Delhi, lived in Rajasthan for a while and of course that makes me an expert on houses and backyards in India. Middle class folks in India live in apartments or houses that are part of a flat and these don’t come with a nice, private backyard. This is not true for the average middle class American. Living in Lexington, Atlanta and the bay area has given me sufficient data points to come to this conclusion :p Jokes apart, every house I have lived in in America has had a swing (installed by DH) and they have played an essential role in the memories I have of my kids growing up in America. I have gotten so used to seeing my kids running out to the backyard and swinging away. Thank you America for that.
#14 Self-dependence
The social system is India encourages dependence. This encouragement creates livelihood for workers in India, which is good. But, it also means the average individual is less skilled than the average individual in America when it comes to taking care of his needs be it cooking, cleaning, wood-working, fixing a broken faucet, building a golu padi, driving(!) or building your Ikea-style cupboard. The India I left (and I suspect the India that exists today) still encourages maids serving a glass of water to the house owner and guests in the house. I saw this the last time I visited India. Why should the maid ‘serve’ water to the guests that dropped by the house when the hosts are perfectly capable of doing it themselves or pointing the guests to the water bottles in the house? Perhaps, it is a sign of their “level” in society. Maids or not, America teaches you self-dependence, a habit worth embracing in our lives.
#15 Philanthropy
Americans are awesome when it comes to caring for and donating money and time to good causes. This need to think of people who are not as fortunate as us is something that is instilled in little kids from the time they take tentative little steps into preschools. America is generous with its money when it comes to supporting people in need. I appreciate the goodness and care it manages to plant into little minds and that’s my reason #15 to love America.
