I hope someone who knows something about going to the United States can help me. .

1 When we were at a friend's house in San Diego, we often went out. Because her house was in a suburban street with few pedestrians, any stranger we met on the road, whether white, black or Asian, would They gave us friendly smiles, nodded, and some even said "hi" as a greeting. At first we were not used to it and didn’t know how to respond. A few days later we did as the Romans do, nodding, smiling and saying hello to people we met on the street. I don’t know if the other person’s greeting to me was out of courtesy for visitors, but I understand that the smile I gave to American strangers on the streets in the United States in the next few days was spontaneous and sincere. And after every smile, I feel good for a long time.

2 Among the tourist attractions I have visited in the United States, except for artificial amusement facilities (SeaWorld San Diego and Disneyland Los Angeles), almost all tourist attractions are free. When we were in China, we had planned to visit the aircraft carrier in San Diego, thinking that the tickets would definitely be expensive. Only after I went did I know that visiting the aircraft carrier is completely free. American friends explained that it would be unbelievable to charge a fee because the aircraft carrier was built with taxpayers' money. There is a large Balboa Park in San Diego, which is a must-see for tourists and the first choice for citizens to relax. The park has towering ancient trees and exquisite pavilions and pavilions. However, this park does not even have a gate, so there is no way to collect tickets, but there is no shortage of various services such as interpretation. The California coast has long been famous for its scenery. Some places are lined with rocky cliffs and crashing waves; some are clear water and silver sand with beautiful wind and sunshine; and some are nature reserves where seabirds, seals and humans live in harmony. Create a peaceful and peaceful scene. But no one came to charge. Locations with good views have large parking lots, which are also free. In addition, I have been in California for so many days and traveled thousands of kilometers from north to south, but I have never seen a toll station. There are only service areas and gas stations along the highway.

3 The United States is a country of cars, but pedestrians have absolute priority here. Every intersection with traffic lights in the city has a button for pedestrians. As long as you press it, the green light for pedestrians will light up within 10 seconds. At this time, pedestrians can cross the road safely under the attention of drivers queuing up. At an intersection without traffic lights, as long as a pedestrian shows signs of crossing the road, drivers will definitely stop and signal the pedestrians to pass. I have been in the United States for half a month, and I have never seen any cars or pedestrians competing for the road. What makes me even more puzzled is that although the number of cars in California exceeds 100 million, neither Los Angeles, which has a population of tens of millions, nor San Diego, which has a population of one million, encounters serious traffic jams. What Americans call traffic jams can be called smooth traffic in urban Shanghai.

4 Unlike in China, it is difficult to see police in California. There are no traffic police even on the streets in the city center. Of course, you can still occasionally see police cars passing by silently with lights flashing but no sirens. The most common one is the 911 dedicated phone on the street. Pick up the phone and you can directly connect to the police center. 911 integrates all the functions of domestic 110, 119, and 120 telephones. American residential buildings are mainly rural bungalows, and there are few high-rise buildings like domestic apartment buildings (high-rise buildings in urban areas are all office buildings). But none of these small houses have anti-theft doors and windows, no security guards, and no cameras. Keeping your doors open at night and not picking up lost things on the road has been realized or partially realized at least in Santiago, but I don’t know how it is in other places.

5 I went to a community clinic with a friend in the United States. The strange thing is that the clinic does not require registration, payment in advance, or any identification. If you go directly to a pre-diagnosis office similar to a domestic hospital, a nurse will take you to the corresponding department. The doctor's attitude is even better than that of the flight attendant. After seeing a doctor and getting a prescription, I went to an outside pharmacy to buy the medicine myself. My friend also said that even if the surgery requires hospitalization, there is no need to pay up front. The hospital usually sends the bill to the patient's home after the patient is discharged. Therefore, there are many old people who do not pay for medical treatment (mainly illegal immigrants from Mexico), and the hospital has nothing to do. But if a hospital charges money before treating patients, it will immediately be exposed by the media as being inhumane, and it will be difficult to say whether the doctors involved can keep their medical licenses. For private hospitals, the government will allocate funds from the budget at the end of the year to pay these bad debts.

6 I went to the University of California, San Diego, and learned that in California, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens or foreign immigrants, including undocumented immigrants who smuggled themselves into the past, as long as the students meet the school's admission requirements, the school must take care of them. This is true for elementary, middle, and university students. Of course, there are differences in tuition fees. If you are a U.S. citizen, it is generally free. Children of immigrants or people without status need to pay tuition to go to school. However, the state government will provide education and medical insurance specifically for low-income families. Only if you can prove that you have low or no income and cannot afford high tuition or medical expenses, the government will work with the insurance company to cover your expenses. Customize an insurance plan, and you only need to pay about 10 US dollars per month, and the insurance company will help you pay for all your education or medical expenses (this insurance also covers dental plastic surgery, etc.). I don’t understand the American pension insurance system. , it’s not easy to talk nonsense. Moreover, U.S. laws and welfare policies vary from state to state.

7 In addition to listing the price of the product, the cashier slips in American supermarkets will also tell you how much tax you paid to the country to purchase the product. Daily necessities such as rice, bread and vegetables are tax-free for consumers and retailers no matter how much you buy, so there is only the price of the goods and no tax on the cash register.

8 Although we just arrived at Los Angeles Airport, we realized that the so-called city with the most serious air pollution in the United States actually has a much better environment than Shanghai. Los Angeles has green mountains and blue waters and fresh air. But after arriving in San Diego, I realized that the urban environment of American cities can be as good as the most beautiful countryside in the country. The per capita GDP of San Diego reaches more than 50,000 US dollars, but every river in the city is crystal clear. We stayed at a friend's house, and we didn't need to wipe the window sills for two weeks because no dust fell. The air was so clean that I felt that my eyesight had recovered a lot, because I could clearly see the distant scenery. The ecological environment surprised me even more. You can see wild animals such as squirrels and weasels everywhere in the city. I heard from friends that there are even wolves, so be careful when going out at night. The seaside is a world of birds, with countless unknown seabirds of all kinds. There are also wild seals that swim from the Pacific Ocean to bask in the sun on the beach. They lie lazily on the beach and sleep, paying no attention to people stopping to watch.

On a sunny day, the United States likes to hang a national flag, whether it is a private house or a building in the city. Every flag is brand new and the flagpole is spotless. Even during the current economic crisis, flag spending is still within the budget of the American people. A family spends about $60 a year on the flag. No one mobilizes and there is no media publicity, but every holiday or major event occurs, every unit and family that flies the national flag will replace it with a new one, or hold a flag-raising or flag-lowering ceremony in their own courtyard in a serious manner. They know that the reason why they dare to unscrupulously display various slogans against the ruling party in front of the government building without fear of retaliation is because they are convinced that every citizen under the Stars and Stripes and all the rights they enjoy are protected by the constitution.