However, this does not mean that everyone is well off. Not all Americans can afford to go to college, and there is a substantial difference in distribution of income between classes. The Federal Reserve Board, in its Survey of Consumer Finances, collected data from 1983-2004 that suggests that the largest amount of wealth is collected with 1% of the population. While college education itself is a highly debated topic, there is no doubt that every American who wishes to enroll cannot do so. Over 70% of prospective students lack the funds to do so and depend on scholarships, which are currently on the decline due to the economic downturn. The average annual in-state college education in a public university costs $7,020 in 2009 according to the Washington Post, and this only includes the base tuition fee. College tuition rose three times as fast as median family income between 1982 and 2007, according to the Burlington Free Press, and the average debt owed by a college graduate was $23,200 in 2010.

Financial aid, working part-time, and applying for loans is a common element in most college students’ life. It is not something that only an international student would do; in fact, international students are normally more wealthy than the average college student considering that they have less opportunity to gain scholarships and pay more in fees and tuition. To automatically group the community on the basis of the ones you know (which are obviously the educated and hence, popular ones) is a misleading stereotype.

Copyright © Kaitlin Ochenrider (State Press)

One thing to be noted is that Americans are really, really serious about their sports. As long as I’ve been here, I’ve not met (or cannot recall) a single person who is not a fan of a single sport. They have their teams, based on where they are from or just how they started and never divert from that. I’ve seen fights about sports, competitiveness and confrontation on the levels of personal subjects about a team that they have nothing to do with.

A game is not just a place to watch the sport either. It’s a place to socialize, to meet with friends, to bring a date, or even to eat out. It’s intense and the atmosphere draws you in like a moth to the flame: before you know it, you’ve become one of them too. Having been here for a year, I’ve already been schooled in American football, ice hockey and baseball. Fortunately, I have played basketball before and football/soccer is the national sport of Singapore, where I was brought up. Knowledge of these sports, especially the first four, is absolutely necessary for sustainment of life in this country. It also prevents you from being clueless about common conversation topics.

Another key element is that there are no borders on gender in sporting events, unlike the male dominated audiences in most other countries. Women are as prevalent in the crowds as men, and in many cases, more enthusiastic. To assume that you know more about sports just because you are male is to make fatal error. As I mentioned before, to bring a date to a sporting event where his/her team is playing is a perfectly normal occurrence.

Sports are played with various degrees of enthusiasm and importance: from a low-level friendly game where every awkward kid can join in, to the professional leagues. Mixed gender competition is also encouraged and commonly organized.

However, the United States did begin as a British colony, making me wonder how exactly the language deviated in this manner. That is, of course, an investigation for another time. In this post, and possibly further on when I come across more words and phrases that are natural to me and unfamiliar to my friends here, I will be elucidating some of the Briticisms that I use commonly:

• Lift – This is one I used often, only to receive a most incredulous and baffled expression that left me feeling the same in response. When I say lift, I mean elevator, as in a platform or compartment housed in a shaft for raising and lowering people or things. (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)
• Post – This seems confusing both as a noun and a verb. In both cases, Americans would substitute mail, as in the official service or system that delivers letters and parcels (n) or send via the postal system (v). (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)
• Biscuit – The American usage of the term, if ever used seems to be synonymous to what I would normally call a scone. When I use the word biscuit, I receive the most outrageous looks causing me to laugh, although what I refer to is typically called a cookie as in a small, flat, crisp unleavened cake. (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)
• Wastepaper basket/Dustbin – The first time I said this, I ended up in an argument with my roommate and a friend. After all, it makes more sense than a trashcan as in a large container for household refuse! (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)

There are probably many others that I cannot recall of the top of my head; however, it will definitely be posted when it happens again.

Cheers! [as in expressing good wishes on parting] (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)

The abandoned Ramada Inn demolished, next to ASU's Taylor Place

City of Phoenix bought property to develop new ASU facilities

Rat population downtown increased as the hotel continued to be torn down