Avocados and berries
When I went to the groceries store, I was amazed by huge variety of groceries available to buy. It was a big challenge to find an avocado in Ashgabat, where I am from. Before arriving, I have never eaten an asparagus, or arugula. My hosts were extremely surprised by this fact and could not first understand why I got so excited at the store :)
American system of education
In Turkmenistan, each student is given a schedule which cannot be changed. The student goes to the school at 8 a.m. and generally their classes finish around 2-3 pm. They cannot choose which electives they want to study, or the professor they want to be taught by. When I was introduced the American system, I was ultimately happy of the way it is. And another awesome thing is no-uniforms!
Plagiarism
I admire how American people respect the ownership of a book, or paper, or music/movie/video. In Turkmenistan most essays submitted are simply copied from the internet. Most of the teachers do not pay much attention whether the piece submitted is original or not. In contrary, a student may fail the class, or even get expelled from the school in case they plagiarized. Amazing!
Human rights
Turkmenistan is a country where human rights are often violated. I start feeling anger when someone starts saying that freedom of speech is something ordinary. Not to mention women’s rights. Yes, it is so for the U.S. I wish people who do not appreciate this precious gift been to Turkmenistan. They will probably start valuing the rights they have.
Teen driving
Driving licenses are only issued at the age of 18. American teens are lucky to be driving to their schools!