Post by FFAxPostal on Apr 30, 2010 15:17:09 GMT -5
I’ve never really experienced culture shock: This feeling of being immersed in a culture to the point where it’s frightening and immobilizing. When I went to Korea, I never really was deeply involved in the culture. I was on an Army post, full of like-minded soldiers. Then in Iraq it was just, crappy, so not really any culture going on.
When I got back to the United States though there were some things that had changed. Little things that had gradually changed while I was gone, things that no on else seemed to notice. I had been out of the country for two years.
The first was foaming hand soap. Now I’m not sure all of you have experienced this revolution. But the first time I went to a public restroom and then pressed the little thing to get soap to wash my hands I was shocked. It came out as foam. I was kind of frustrated too, thinking “I don’t want shaving cream, I want soap.”
It took a couple seconds to sink in when I realized there were no other dispensers, and there was no reason for there to be a shaving cream dispenser in the middle of a Wendy’s restroom. I’m not too sure how many people pop their head into a fast food joint looking for a burger and a close shave.
I got over that pretty quick once I realized that foaming hand soap was awesome.
The second thing was Ugg boots. Now guys don’t wear ‘em. But here in the United States they became the pinnacle of fashion for young women in the winter. Fuzzy leather boots that looked really kinda odd to me. Like all the women were trying to pretend they were going vacationing in Siberia. I’m still not sure how I feel about them, other than the fact that they cost way too much money.
The final thing was Ipods. Well them and cell phones too. When I left for Korea I didn’t have a cell phone and never saw the need for one. Now, everyone has them. I see the practical use in them though.
Ipods were different. I came back to the University and went walking on the quad. It was like a new species had taken over. Everyone, everywhere had this little white lines leading into the speakers in their ears. It was like they wanted to be cut off from the real world, hemmed in where they could have Steve Jobs beam messages straight into their brains. It was like they had become the dominant species.
I have a demo of myself playing Diablo in 2006 on Lusch Puppy. Diablo was unbeatable in mid 2006, really the pinnacle of a TA player. He had mastered the art of adaptation. No one was faster at strategically and tactically adapting to situations presented in Total Annihilation.
I watched this demo, not too long ago, and realized that with the way Diablo played there was no way I should have lost that game. But I was a step behind, even though I was one of the few people playing that map. The way we both played that map would get us both slaughtered in any reasonable match today. I compared it to how I play Lusch Puppy today, and it’s not even close. I could see so many inefficiencies. In 4 years the game has changed. And the game was nearly 8 years old back then.
So while I was here playing the game watching it change, I really didn’t notice. There was no TA culture shock for me. Just like everyone else pulling on their Ugg boots, dropping their Ipod headphones in their ears, and washing their hands with foamy soap. The changes had been gradual, and unnoticeable to everyone else. But when I reemerged, and asked someone “What’s the deal with the headphones?” People would look at me like it had always been that way.
When I got back to the United States though there were some things that had changed. Little things that had gradually changed while I was gone, things that no on else seemed to notice. I had been out of the country for two years.
The first was foaming hand soap. Now I’m not sure all of you have experienced this revolution. But the first time I went to a public restroom and then pressed the little thing to get soap to wash my hands I was shocked. It came out as foam. I was kind of frustrated too, thinking “I don’t want shaving cream, I want soap.”
It took a couple seconds to sink in when I realized there were no other dispensers, and there was no reason for there to be a shaving cream dispenser in the middle of a Wendy’s restroom. I’m not too sure how many people pop their head into a fast food joint looking for a burger and a close shave.
I got over that pretty quick once I realized that foaming hand soap was awesome.
The second thing was Ugg boots. Now guys don’t wear ‘em. But here in the United States they became the pinnacle of fashion for young women in the winter. Fuzzy leather boots that looked really kinda odd to me. Like all the women were trying to pretend they were going vacationing in Siberia. I’m still not sure how I feel about them, other than the fact that they cost way too much money.
The final thing was Ipods. Well them and cell phones too. When I left for Korea I didn’t have a cell phone and never saw the need for one. Now, everyone has them. I see the practical use in them though.
Ipods were different. I came back to the University and went walking on the quad. It was like a new species had taken over. Everyone, everywhere had this little white lines leading into the speakers in their ears. It was like they wanted to be cut off from the real world, hemmed in where they could have Steve Jobs beam messages straight into their brains. It was like they had become the dominant species.
I have a demo of myself playing Diablo in 2006 on Lusch Puppy. Diablo was unbeatable in mid 2006, really the pinnacle of a TA player. He had mastered the art of adaptation. No one was faster at strategically and tactically adapting to situations presented in Total Annihilation.
I watched this demo, not too long ago, and realized that with the way Diablo played there was no way I should have lost that game. But I was a step behind, even though I was one of the few people playing that map. The way we both played that map would get us both slaughtered in any reasonable match today. I compared it to how I play Lusch Puppy today, and it’s not even close. I could see so many inefficiencies. In 4 years the game has changed. And the game was nearly 8 years old back then.
So while I was here playing the game watching it change, I really didn’t notice. There was no TA culture shock for me. Just like everyone else pulling on their Ugg boots, dropping their Ipod headphones in their ears, and washing their hands with foamy soap. The changes had been gradual, and unnoticeable to everyone else. But when I reemerged, and asked someone “What’s the deal with the headphones?” People would look at me like it had always been that way.