Ack! Culture Shock!

Nope, not from the Tanzanian side. We spent the afternoon at the annual Super Bowl party--including pre/post game and all the commercials. It was great--football I can always take or leave, but it's always fun to get together for a "fest". And, sadly, I still know about the shows that were advertised, who the celebrities are, and all the pop culture gossip.

Shortly before we left Minnesota, we met a family that had just returned from Arusha after 4 years here. She assured me that after 6 months, I would neither know nor care about all the trivial tackiness of American pop culture. Oh, she so misjudged my shallowness! For whatever it says about me, I do actually know how many times bald Britney checked in and out of rehab last week. I'm not proud of it, but there it is. It's the same way Mark never watched sports and could go weeks without reading the paper (I know because he'd start bothering me to cancel the subscription) but he would know the standings of any team, and which player was hot in any given week.

Anyway, not having seen commericals for over a year, what shocked me was the pace of the images. Things flashed up on the screen and were gone so quickly. Everything was edited to move at the speed of light. Did we really watch television like this only a year ago?! And the talking--the announcers during the game never stopped talking! I know that that's normal commentary, but it was so strange to hear so much noise. A couple long-timers mentioned that as well, that it was "American" to have so much crammed into what you see or hear, and that we are not comfortable with silence. I don't know if that's completely true, but it was sure a jolt to feel bombarded by something we didn't pay any attention to such a short time ago!