Things I'm Getting Used To (but maybe shouldn't)

I have been in the US for 6 months already, and some of the initial culture shock that I had is beginning to wear off. Its a good thing, but I also feel how things which used to seem so extraordinary are becoming everyday. So I thought I'd list some of them here, as a reminder to myself as much as to anyone reading this. Here are some of them - there are a lot more.

• pharmacy chains, lots of them, open 24 hours
• disposable cups, plates and trays - use once and throw away, even in expensive cafes
• coffee to go - everyone walks around slurping from these paper mugs before tossing them
  
• or water to go - those that aren't drinking coffee are sipping water from bottles
• ... and/or chewing gum (cliche but true)
• ... and/or talking on a cell phone
  
• chain me up: there is a Starbucks on every second block in Manhattan (see above)
  
• baggy clothes and jeans worn half way down your hips
• armed policemen (also in baggy clothes, but less stylish)
  
• prudishness
  
• being id'd at every bar I go into
• ... to drink bad beer at high prices
• media advertising (i.e. adverts for tv and film - everywhere - including ...)
  
• yellow taxi cabs (media advertising on the roof)
• craziest mix of people in your average subway car (including me)
• the US flag everywhere: the average subway car, churches and gyms are just the start
• spanish as a second language, by the banks, by the metro, even by the army to recruit (yo soy el army!)
• bagels, especially as sold from little silver caravans on the side of the road for a dollar with some cream cheese
  

I'm becoming Americanized, I think, or at the very least gradually New Yorkified ... but there's a way to go yet.