Some flies in the soup ;)

As we are now in a transitional phase of our trip and nothing much is happening right now, it's time to note that anything that's human is always by default imperfect. Here is our list of things we'd change in North America:

- That the car is king in America is a fact grounded on certain historical developments and vast distances. But it should not make pedestrians feel like trash or lower level beings, which unfortunately is the case most often. Even as we travel with a car, we like to walk (or run, as in Annu's case) around the new places we arrive at, but the sheer absence of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings in many places (and the ridiculously pedestrian-hating streetlights in many others) keep reminding us that getting by on your legs just ain't the local way. We can't help but feel that the culture has gone somewhat overboard in this particular matter.

- Find a way to include taxes in the prices, please. We have learned to mentally add taxes to price tags but it's never that accurate. And it's just more fair to the consumers if they know how much they actually have to pay at the checkout.

- It's not very safe when drivers change lanes at high speeds just like that, without signaling at all. Admitted, we are getting the same behavior in Europe too, but not in this scale (plus it tends to occur mostly with Audis). Also, when you're going to pass, pass. Too often the passer sorta just stays at the passees side and the traffic behind this pair piles up. Find that gas pedal, there is one!

- Too many commercials on television! Us boys in the family even gave up watching the MLB All-Star game because the broadcast time had more insurances, food and cars than sport. Urgh. Bautista rules, though, let's keep that very clear :)

That's the top list, really, so not much in the end... but this, of course, is the visitor's view. If we lived, worked and went to school here, we might come up with a few more, maybe. Before we would get used to everything and start to think that things are funny in other countries, that is.