This will not end well. You will never make it. But you wanted that challenge. Ok, you did not know, what it would be like. But that doesn’t matter now. You have to survive this.
What this is all about: The giant Baloney Cheese Sandwich in front of you. Together with an Indian-American quartet of fellow students you are at one of the most unique food places in Pittsburgh. The furniture and equipment probably dates back from the golden days of the city. If it was not for the inevitable TV screens above the bar, you might think you are back in the 1930s. Dark wood planking, scarce illumination, a busy counter. Space was expensive back then, therefore everything is built in a very compact way: Directly behind the bar, without a separating wall, is the “kitchen”. This is where sandwiches and fries are freshly prepared. The man working there must be a master in multi-tasking with at least four jobs at the same time: Barkeeper, psychologist, cashier and cook.
But the Primanti restaurant close to school is not the original one. It is located in the Strip District, an old market and warehouse section close to downtown. The workers and truck drivers there did not have much time during their lunch break, so sandwiches came in handy. But if those were not big enough, the Primanti brothers invented a new design: Why not packing the sides, coleslaw and fries, onto the other stuff in the fresh Italian bread?
Luckily, you have decided to go for the separatist version, eating the sides in a regular manner. It remains a mystery, how anyone could eat such a food bomb with elegance. The regular sandwich itself is big enough for stuffing two skinny students like you.
Your other group members are also struggling with their huge portions. According to the wisdom of child-raising parents in Germany, the sun will not shine upon Pittsburgh tomorrow. Actually, it is too early for dinner. But after a long day of school you and your gang were too hungry and worn out to get onto the bus immediately. Just for surviving the arctic temperatures inside those buses you need some calories. You and your group are on your way back from the university communication center, where you ordered business cards for yourself. What would a future MBA be without this important tool in today’s business world? After all, your program does not only consist of classes and homework but also of networking. In contrast to your colleagues, you will have a job upon finishing the program. No hassle with applications, job interviews. But making come contacts and getting to know some people has never hurt anyone, hasn’t it?
In the meantime, things get more philosophical while you have your food and drink: Are the United States a culture nation in its own right? Could it be that what is hidden behind American family values is actually some kind of extended individualism? How much equality is there between men and women while they still get unequal pay for the same work? Interesting questions that your group members are pondering about. One of them is Biff, a Mandarin learning small-town and yet cosmopolitan guy from central Pennsylvania. And there are three Indians, male and female. They are polyglott as well, some of their brothers and sisters or even parents are scattered around the world, while holding on to India with their hearts.
You could sit here for hours, bringing in your own experience from Germany, Belgium, the US. Soaking up the internationality of your stay. But you got to go. Go home, pack your stuff. Because tomorrow, you will dive into another “culture”, if you want to believe some of their proponents: The South.
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