Top 5 things I miss about USA

5. The plethora of FM radio stations

Ok, I’ll have to admit one thing. I was really annoyed by dozens of radio stations playing crappy music all the time. No. Let me rephrase it. I hated the radio stations playing ads most of the time, crappy music rest of the time and good music once in a while. But they kept me updated with the music scene and I was hardly bored while driving. I never thought I would miss such an annoyance back home. But I do. How am I keeping up with it? Well, I was glad to see more than one FM radio station in karachi. Most of them are crappy and annoying as usual but a couple of them are not too bad. I see great potential in FM 91 (whatever it is called). They play decent music whenever I listen to it. I think there should be a dozen more radio stations in Karachi. One of them should play only english music. I am pretty sure it will be liked by the youth of karachi.

4. Self service gas stations

Whenever I stop by a gas station to fil up my tank, I get the urge to step out and do it myself, and then go inside the shop and get a drink or something. I took it for granted in america. I miss it here. Now i realize how useful self service fuel stations were. While filling up the gas tank of my car, I used to check the engine fluids and make sure the tires were properly inflated. Here I never get out my the car at the full service petrol pumps and end up spending extra time at home taking care of the car. My friends and family would never understand this. It would hurt their ego if they pumped the gas themself. Sometimes ignorance is a bliss.

3. Independent life style

This one is a little personal but I don’t mind sharing it. When I was in the US I used to live life on my own terms. I followed my own schedule and never cared about day or night. I never had a sleep cycle in last 4 years and I ate just enough to survive. I never had to ask for permission to do anything neither did I need anyone’s approval. I was my own boss in true sense.

I knew I was sacrifising that independent life style by moving back to Karachi and living with my family. But I was calm cuz I had enjoyed my four years of independence and was ready for the next step. However, after almost a month of living in Karachi, I kind of miss my life in Dallas. Not that I want to go back, but still, enough to make me feel a little down once in a while. I miss US when I have to ask for permission to visit my best friend. I miss it when I need the car to go somewhere and I have to ask my dad if he wants the car for something, since I am sharing the car with my father and his tasks are obviously more important than mine. I miss it when I have to sleep before midnight and wake up at 8 am every day without fail otherwise I would be deprived of the healthy breakfast cooked by my mother in addition to the laziness award.

That’s life, I guess. And it’s amazing how it makes a U-turn. And sometimes you have to play along in order to survive. I still love my life. There is an ineffable feeling of satisfaction in it. No matter how much I miss my life in US, I don’t want to go back. I want to live with my family, letting them be a part of everything I do, and being there for them every day, all the time.

2. The driving experience

I learned driving in Karachi. And i learnt it real quick. I had no problems coping up with the reckless drivers of the city. Pretty soon I found myself driving like a pro. I enjoyed driving.

Then I moved to the united states and learnt driving all over again. But this time I learned to follow the rules. I learned to stop at the red light and not to exceed the speed limit too much. I learned parallel parking and three-point turn. I learned all that and still failed to clear my first road test for a driver’s license. My image of a good driver broke into a million pieces. But I kept my head up and continued driving on the highways of USA. Soon I evolved into a much better driver, more vigilent, courteous, and careful.

I moved back to Karachi and driving here was a nightmare. First time I took the car into Shahrah-e-Faisal and I felt like I was in the middle of a stampede. Everyone was in such a rush. And the continuous honking was driving me crazy. For the first time I realized that karachi was full of wild drivers. And I was also a part of it not too long ago. I was confused. I was unable to drive with the discipline I learned abroad. And I did not want to be a part of the chaotic ocean of vehicles. But as they say, do in rome as romans do. So I decided to give up some of the driving ettiquets in order to survive, while trying to hold on to as much as I could.

Now I drive with one hand on the horn, and never miss a chance to use it. I also follow the rule of sticking your car into any gap that you see, otherwise somebody will take your place and the rest will follow. However, I make it a point to stop at red lights and not to drive like I own the road. But I will miss the smooth driving experience in Dallas.

1. High speed internet connection

I don’t think I can truly express how much I loved the broadband internet over there. And I was sure I would miss it in karachi. Now I am using the old dial-up connection and every time I load a website I feel like taking a coffee break. And watching live videos and audio streams is totally out of the picture. Not to mention BitTorrent.

Sure high speed internet is available in Karachi, but it does not match the speed of Comcast. Also, in Karachi, a single connection is shared by so many users that you end up getting almost dial up speeds. I don’t really want an always on connection, but I want fast speed whenever I am online. A 128 KB/s cable connection is still very expensive for home users, and so is DSL connection of same speed. I haven’t looked at sattelite connection yet but I expect it to be around the same price. I will keep looking for a better internet connection but I am sure I will never get 10 MB/s lines I enjoyed in the dorms of UB.