First Few Hours in Salt Lake City (2nd go)

My first day in the United States is something I will never forget. Looking back at it, it feels like something that happened a lifetime ago. To some it may be the case but to me it feels like it was yesterday. What I remember the most was the contrast between my old home and my new one; mind you the first city I visited in the United States was Salt Lake City and the very first thing I noticed was the disappearance of people…

I was born and raised in Caracas Venezuela I was used to the sun, the beaches and a busy a metropolitan type of life, in short I was used to seeing a big city life, after all Caracas has over 6 million people living and the contrast between the 2 million that are in the Salt Lake City Wasatch Front and Caracas was day and night.

My first hours in the States my sister who lived in Utah for almost ten years prior to my coming wanted me to try some “real” Mexican food (something I never had tried in my life, at least not cooked by real Mexicans) and while driving to the “La Puente” restaurant the very first thing I noticed was how empty the sidewalks were. It was strange it was like the people were hiding, the only other people I was seeing were in cars not in the streets! What a contrast!

It was the middle of the summer, the sun was up and it was just nice outside I had to ask my sister “were did all the people go?” my sister just smiled because she knew what I meant… she pointed at the cars but I just did not get it, at least not yet. I just kept looking at the big sidewalks… but not one person on them what a different place this “city” was.

Once at the restaurant I had my first jalapeño ever, just than and then I decided that Mexican food was too spicy and just not for me. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy it, but if I had my first pick Mexican food was not it.

It was after 7:30 PM and the sun was still up, I just could not believe my eyes. In Venezuela the sun goes down like a stop watch at 6 PM and even thou you may think you are prepared for changes when you move from one part of the world to another, you never are completely ready. You can try to be prepared for new things before they happen, but it is always more exiting and magical when you get to see these “new” things on your own, first hand.

Although I could go on and on about the differences, and it is true that I miss a great deal of things about my homeland I feel at home in Salt Lake City. Even though I’ve been here over ten years I can not get enough of the mountains around Salt Lake City especially during winter (Snowboarding is great!)

Marcus Sarzalejo.