ひとつ星の州・The Lone Star State

Before coming to Japan in 2006 for the first time, I have never been out of Europe. Since then, I have been traveling quite a lot between Germany and Japan and visited some parts of Asia, whenever possible. However, until this year, I have never been to the United States, a fact that many people I met in Japan could not understand. For me however, the United States do not strike me as a desirable place to visit, if one wants experience a completely different culture. For this, countries in Europe are far too americanised, in my opinion.

In January 2013, I got the opportunity to go on a business trip to Texas for about two weeks. Most people would say that Texas is probably not the best choice for a first US visit. As I cannot compare the state with any other destination yet, I don't know if that's true, but it was definitely an interesting experience.

It was also the first time for me to fly an intercontinental flight with business class. Tickets for business class (flexible date and time) are about 10 times as expensive as a regular economy ticket (fixed date and time), which I doubt many people would pay for private vacation. For a business trip, I have to admit, it is way more comfortable than the narrow economy class and the food and service is way better. Other than that there is not much difference. 

The best thing was the movie selection. As this was a Lufthansa flight, they did not only have German and American movies, but a lot of foreign movies as well, including recent Japanese titles. One of the movies I watched during the flight was Tenchi Meisatsu, a Japanese epic about how the different calenders in Japan that were used until the Meiji era were unified into one consistent model. The movie is worth a watch, here is the trailer:

Houston

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The Lone Star State

Visiting the US was indeed an interesting experience. Although, I can't imagine living there. everything seemed to be so spread-out. Apparently, Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. However, it seemed to me like pure countryside for the most part (except for downtown area, of course).

Houston from above

I had some stereotypes about conservative people in America and some of them actually proved to be true. Our hotel was located right next to a highway and one time I wanted to cross the highway and go to a restaurant on the other side, but I couldn't. It seems to be not a good place for pedestrians. Instead, I had to get into the car and drive on the freeway, cross the highway, and get off the freeway on the other side. The whole distance was approximately 200-300meter. No wonder that Texas is the state with the highest obesity rate in the US. When I was there, there was lots of fuzz about the national budget and the gun control issue, for there was a major shooting a few weeks earlier. As I know that these topics are important to Americans, I never saw any news about a country other than America. I am sure there are, but I haven't really seen any during the 2 weeks I was there. 

Houston Downtown as seen from the highway

I also went to a local ice-hockey game, no the NHL though. The game was pretty empty and the reason for that was a nation-wide American Football event that was held on the same day.

Houston Aeros. On a Mission.

What I found really interesting is that most signs were written in English and Spanish due to the large number of Spanish speakers in Texas. Since I recently completed two courses of Spanish at the local community college I could recognise some words that I have previously learned.

Retorno de libros

Houston has a very limited public transportation system. Besides numerous buses, which nobody really seem to use since everybody has a car, there is a Tram available that connects Houston Downtown, Midtown, and the southern districts such as the Museum District.

Houston Metro Red Line

Another thing that is noteworthy in Downtown are the underground tunnels that span 11km below the skyscrapers. They are fully airconditioned and this is probably the reason why they are so famous among the people especially in the summer. Instead of leaving the office to get lunch, workers can just get into the tunnel system from their office and 

Houston skyscrapers. 

There are many oil and gas companies that have an office in one of the many high buildings in Houston.

Houston Downtown as seen from Midtown.

One of the most interesting things in Houston was the Museum of Fine Arts. As it was raining on the weekend where I explored the city, I was forced to look for something to do inside: the Houston Museum of Fine Arts seemed to be a good choice. While the regular exhibition was not too exciting, the special exhibition titled "War Photography" was really interesting.

War photography exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

In front of the Houston baseball stadium with the Houston skyline in the background. 

The Texan flag. The colours symbolise loyalty (blue), purity (white), and bravery (red). According to Wikipedia, the lone star is actually a symbolism for the solidarity of the Texans for the independence from Mexico. Also, the flag's proper display is vertical, as pictured in the photograph above.

Another thing that struck me was the public image about american soldiers. During our stay, we went to an NBA game (Houston Rockets vs LA Clippers, Houston lost ;). I really liked the atmosphere of the game. They often interrupted the game for dance acts, quizzes or kiss cams. One of these interruptions was announced as "hero recognition". This was when about 10 veteran soldiers came to the playing field and were introduced by the announcers including their role in previous and current conflicts such as the Iraq or Afghanistan war. Then, EVERYBODY stood up and they received standing ovation for their service. The noise was much louder than for any of the NBA players. Maybe it is because I am not as patriotic as as an American would be when it comes to my home country, but it stroke me as something weird to claim recognition for "freedom fighters" during a public sports event. This also could never happen in Germany.

At last, I want to share the following receipt of a really nice Irish pub in Houston. We went there twice in January 2013. Although, on the second time they kicked us out at around 2am and promised us to call a taxi, which never arrived. On this night, we were forced to walk home, which is not that far, but pretty dangerous, considering that the streets were built without having pedestrians in mind. The good thing about the pub, though, was the price tag of its beer. Although not a very good one, I kept drinking "Ziegenbock", a local brew with a German name and an unbeatable price tag: $1,75 (tax included).