The Bus Ride

People have told me that I should get a car and that public transportation is useless in the US. Nevertheless, I decided to go by bus and buy a car later, when I am settled.
I don't think that public transportation is bad in Denver. The buses drive very frequent. In fact, if I take a look on the schedule they drive more frequent than in Germany.
In Germany, the priority for the bus driver is to be on time. Here, the priority seem to be to drive the people. That's maybe why they also open the door if someone want's to get in after the bus already have left the bus stop. You never see that in Germany. And the people here say thanks to the driver before they get out of the bus. That's so strange - I will never do that.
Instead of pressing the stop button you have to pull the string here. The ride with the bus takes a lot of time. For the short distance from home to work I need more than half an hour in the bus, due to the hundreds of bus stops and thousands of stop signs. The buses here are old, but as long as I come home and to the office I'm OK with them.
It's time for me to get out. Let me just thank the bus driver - oh - damn peer pressure.

Once Upon a Time in Americestan

I am in the United States now, to be more specific in Denver/Colorado. After finishing my PhD it was time for a new job. I applied to a offering and everything went pretty fast after that. And so here I am. I never been in the US before and I was not even sure if they would let me in. I mean, how would they accept an Iranian who was born in an Arabic country and lived in Hamburg? But it was not a problem at all to get in. No long interrogations no cavity tests.
It's time for me to discover the American way of life. There are a lot of things I have already seen in TV and now in real, like giant orange and milk bottles, steaming drain covers, fast food restaurants at each corner, walkable closets, GE electrical devices everywhere. It is not easy to change the environment. I have to get used to all these new units for distance, weight, etc. and I have to pay with these strange green bills.
There was a lot of paper work to do and I still have to do more. The next big thing for me is to get the social security number, the number that I have to keep secret and that everyone is asking for.
That's it for now. I will write more about Denver and my job here soon. So, don't forget to take a look from time to time.