Large-scale America!

by Takeo Maebashi
(Tokyo)

When I went to Seattle, Washington in America for first time, what I was surprised most about was the size of everything. Not only people, but the size of food is larger than Japan!

In a shopping center, I wanted to buy coffee at Starbucks, so I ordered S size as I usually order in Japan, but a clerk said “We don’t have S size.” They started at “Tall” size, equal to M in Japan. Of course the size of objects are big, but also the size of an American’s mind is large, I felt.

When I bumped into someone while I walked down the street, I thought he would walk away without saying anything. Beyond my expectation, he quickly said “Sorry” with a smile. I don't think it would happen every time, but I experienced this in the U.S. many more times than in Japan.