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 :)
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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!
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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.
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Teen driving
Driving licenses are only issued at the age of 18. American teens are lucky to be driving to their schools!
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