I've lived in a 220 world for 12 years. 220V. Electricity. Japan, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and some others (largely North America, Central America, and islands) are the only other countries in the world I've visited that don't use 220. (Japan uses some strange variation of "sub" 110.)
I have every power cord for every country ever made. I have 8 travel adapters (most of which were bought on planes because I forget them all of the time.)
I have 7 (seven) Mac PowerBook power banks. Again, I tend to forget these things every third trip. Must remember the power banks.
I'm now in the process of converting my power life from a UK square plug to the American 3-pin — the two could not be more different. What really kills me? That in America you can buy extension cords with two-pin plugs and then you can buy cords with 3-pin plugs. And my laptop needs the 3-pin darling but most of the other stuff (like my fancy new hair dryer) need 2-pin.
Why?
Why isn't there just one format?
Europe has a 2-pin. UK has 3-pin. Just about everyone else has one version — but not America — we are a 110 2 and 3 pin kind of crowd.
Of course we are.
Having nearly conquered my UK plug to US plug and electronics conversion process, I'm also a bit vexed about switching from metric to imperial measurement.
Really, America? It's TIME.
I think in meters, grams, litres, centimeters, and all the rest. Only in America do we buy a litre of soda but purchase a gallon of milk. It's true in Kenya you could use either system — the same for Singapore (although on a lesser degree) but you're not a freak for embracing the metric system. It's preferred. In America, I'm a freak when I talk about a "half meter" or "200 grams" when ordering food or kilos.
I love the kilo. I weigh my luggage in kilos. I weigh myself in kilos (because the number is lower than when in pounds — don't judge.)
Can we please metric? Are there metric parties where people gather and tell jokes about the meter that met the kilometer? Asking for a friend.
And if you're wondering why litre is "re" and not "er" — well — that's another thing I have to solve.
Learning to America
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Tales of Repatriation
Cerita PendekRebecca Chandler is a serial American expat who is forced to move home to Los Angeles after things go wrong during the COVID pandemic. Rebecca returns to America immediately immersed in "reverse culture shock" and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the...
