Culture Shock

This may make less sense than usual. I'm fighting the urge to sleep. I have been awake for 19 hours now and my body is rebelling.

I having my first trip to the US


I know that at the grand old age of 45 that seems a little insular or xenophobic. Not really. I loathe the whole rigmarole of flying and so it takes a lot to get me in plane.

Rome did it, easily. The Costa del Sol did it against my better judgement. Paris did it but it was more the personal reason than destination.

I landed here approximately 3 and a bit hours ago and it's nearly 8.30pm local time.

In an attempt to stay awake for another hour or so I've read and written emails. Tried to surf on Flickr but Flickr's a little poorly just now.

So I've crawled into bed and put the TV on. I rarely watch TV at home but I thought it might be just engaging enough to stop me dropping off.

What's with the cuture shock, then?

The accents? No...the little TV I watch tends to be US drama at the moment

Is it the NTSC coding rather than PAL? Well, yeah a little...but only a little bit

Is it the frequency with with adverts (or should that be commercials) are breaking up the film? It's annoying but not exactly shocking.

No - it's the combination of the advertisement of prescription medicines coupled by the incredible number of dire warnings.

Erectile dyfunction meds, contraceptive meds, rheumatoid arthritis meds, asthma meds, even aspirin for heart conditions. All have a few moments of pretty people saying how wonderful the drug is followed by at least as much airtime saying how bad it potentially is.

It really is the oddest thing.

I'm all for balance but I'm surprised anyone sees the point of this style of advertising when, presumably, doctors know both side of the tale and they do the prescribing.

I'm sure this business trip to Denver has more surprises up its sleeve but this one has been enough for my travel-addled brain.

I think I'm going to call it a night.