The US of A

A colleague of mine warned me that I might get strip-searched - like what happened to a friend of hers a month back - when I pass through immigration in the US. Reasons? I'm male and my last name starts with a "bin".

***

I have always had ambivalent feelings about the US.

Like many Malaysians of my generation, I've had a fair dose of American "culture". From Disney cartoons (reruns of The Woody Woodpecker Show, anyone?) which I watched as a child right up to the latest Hollywood movies (yes, movies not films) that often leave me drooling or raving or disgusted but never indifferent; and add to that fast food joints that I go to when in need of quick and fuss-free food, US-based fiction writing that always makes good reading on a beach holiday and the news-making gyrations of US financial markets that I daily look at as part of my work. Yes, I am, as much as the next person, a product of a world that has been so much shaped by American popular culture, military prowess and economic might.

But having grown up in a country that is NOT the US, I have also been imbued with my fair share of anti-American sentiments, which usually centre around the military and political actions of the US government, the belief in a stereotype of ignorant, loud and abrasive Americans and their presumably "decadent" way of life. A couple of years spent on Continental Europe and in England - where prejudices against, and contempt for, the US seem to be a respectable form of cultural snobbery - further strengthened and refined (if that's the right word) these sentiments. Europe is a place where a lot of people I know take pride in not knowing some things about the US and where ignorance of American pop culture is seen as a mark of cultural sophistication.

America is a great country, no doubt. Its innovations, achievements, vibrancy, energy and sheer self-confidence are equally a source of inspiration and envy to us all. But at a personal level, I never thought much of it. In fact, the US is one of the last places I had always thought of visiting. I didn't even include it in the list.

Which is why, this three-week trip to the Home of the Brave and Land of the Free (or is it the other way around?), is in some ways a life-changing event. My ambivalence towards the US notwithstanding, I'm very excited. Who knows what discoveries and life-enhancing moments this trip will bring? And surely, strip searches can't be all that bad?

Depending on who's doing the strippping and the searching, of course.

Comments

[Natasha]

Hey you

Didn't have time to send you a text even, before you left. Have fun!

[lita]

so, *were* you strip searched or not?? ; )

[radnexus]

ooh, yes! we'd like to know... :P

also heard they made you fill a questionnaire before you left. ada soalan cepumas?

[KaiserSoze]

Heyya,

Didnt know that you'll be travelling. Anyway, have a good journey and do keep us updated.

BTW, though security is tighter than it was in the 90s, I was lucky enough not to be subjected to strip search when I was there last year despite having a "BIN".

Hmm..it is not all souless and cultureless in the States. Places like Philly, Boston and even DC (the Smithsonian for instance) ought to offer you some cultural respite to you (though it cant be in the same vein as the european cities-it is the New World after all).

Have fun and if you have time post some pix!

p/s: Bon Voyage Mon Ami!

[rara avis]

have a fun and safe trip pet.

didnt get stripped search the last time i was there (2003). however they *did make me take off my shoes and belt (which were essentially holding my much too big trousers) and asked me to raised my hands as i walked through the machine.

may i also add that the airport was very busy and FULL of people.

[I]

what movies? motion pictures laa...