Most men and women here in US have decent home renovation skills. I have lots of colleagues who work with me who have completely built their basement or remodeled a room in their house by themselves. One of the main reasons for it is because the labor cost here in the US is very high. Another reason is that there is a lot of help available through the home improvement stores if you are really interested. They offer a lot of free classes to teach you how to do it. So people in middle/lower class generally tend to do things by themselves just to save some money.
Apart from housing stuff, even big furniture, toys etc. are usually sold unassembled here in US. So you have to assemble it all by yourself. This is one thing I found it particularly tough when I initially came. The only instrument I have used in India is a screw driver. I really haven’t assembled anything before. When I initially came, I bought some furniture and it came with assembling instructions. I found it really tough to assemble it. Even after assembling it I wasn’t completely satisfied. I go through this all the time even now because of all the toys I buy for my son.
But that’s the way of life here. Of course you can pay big bucks and get it assembled. But if you are like me, beginning your life here in US directly coming from India, you’ll definitely go through this. In fact this is one of the topics every Indian who comes to US afresh whines about.
1 comment:
I remember assembling my first wooden futon. It took me about 2 hours for a simple assembly. I did not even have the right tools for it. I somehow completed the assembly using just my hands. I think having the right tools make a lot of difference. I find it interesting to know how to put things together. I can understand the safety concern of a parent. I will not be comfortable assembling a crib for a baby or a swing by myself.
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