What the hell is Water?

I saw a man the other day walking down the sidewalk. He was heavily dressed and carried two large, stuffed bags while pushing a cart that looked like it was crammed with his belongings. His salt and pepper hair hung limply on his oily face. He looked tired, but still showed courtesy towards other people walking on the sidewalk with him. All these indications points to this man being homeless.

As the weather turns into a more summery climate, you will see an increase of homeless people walking the streets. I know homeless shelters are still open to all who need it, but most homeless people will wander the streets in search of a way out of their deep chasm of life’s hardships. They will stand on street corners asking for money from anyone with ears. Most of the time, (and I do this too), people will just look forward as they walk by to avoid the awkward eye contact and the cheap lie of “I’m sorry. I don’t have any cash on me.” I don’t always do this, and sometimes I even go out of my way to find a dollar for a person who sits on the streets desperately begging for some charity, but sometimes it is necessary to keep walking in order to get by in a large city. No one is a saint every day of his or her life.

May is the month where college and university graduates listen to commencement speeches about what they need to be aware of as they take their shinny new degrees into the “real world.” I like listening to these speeches because they provide self-motivation and memories that one may have forgotten during their own graduation from school. Nostalgia sometimes gets the best of me and I cry like a baby, missing the good ol’ days of less responsibility. Other times I find great inspiration…

There is this one speech titled “This is water” by David Foster Wallace given to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College. The whole speech is relatable and poetic. He draws you into the world of “reality” and gives you the option of changing your thought process.

Opened up a can of Culture Shock!

I returned home to the East Coast of the US knowing that I was going to be shocked by changes, the weather and things I had forgotten. Some of the changes I noticed were new buildings and my parents' new diet. The weather, even though its spring time, was a lot colder than I would like. The things I had forgotten, though, that was the most surprising and I eventually got me agitated. It was my culture shock.

When I got home I wasted no time in visiting friends and putting away all my things from my trip. I wanted to settle in immediately so I could hit the ground running on my job search. I also spent some time with my car because I had missed driving so much. I was hesitant to drive at first because I didn't know if driving would be like riding a bicycle, but it was almost magical how my mind remembered every little quark about my old 1997 Toyota Camry. It was if I never left home.

My friends and I made plans for the weekend I got back. My jet lag was not a factor. Some of my friends had already gotten tickets for the DC101 Chili Cook-off and other friends had plans for Cinco de Mayo. My weekend was going to be packed! Saturday was the cook-off and it was a semi-cold day, but perfect for the rock concert. We all took the metro to get to RFK stadium and I went on and on about the Singapore train system. I think I might have looked a little arrogant at that point. I forgot the train schedule and how to get anywhere so I relied on my friends to point me in the right direction. It took us about an hour to get there because the Red line (the most popular one) was, again, under construction. We got to the stadium and got in line for the entrance, in line for the drink tickets, in line for the food and, finally, in line for the beer. (The lines for the porta-johns weren't so bad). We rocked out to Silversun Pickups and Soundgarden and took a lot of pictures for Facebook. When it was time to go home the temperature was chilly. (It was the only kind of I got that day because the cook-off ironically didn't have chili.) Leaving the stadium was difficult. We came from the parking lot in the back and had to walk all the way around the stadium to get to the Metro station. When the crowd got to a staircase that was the only way out of the parking lot I saw everyone slowing down and I blew up. I was definitely arrogant as I listed/said really loudly all the stereotypes of "bad" Americans. My friends were shocked at my outburst but when I explained to them it was my culture shock they understood and got me a hot dog after we left the stadium. I was still fuming by the time we got to the train station, but the hot dog satisfied me enough that I didn't have the urge to shout out more derogatory terms about Americans. 

I love my American heritage and I will always choose to be an American over any other citizenship, but sometimes culture shock can really make you distain everything around you. Even though you were fine with the same situation in the past, your new experiences in another country can make you erupt with frustration. No one had the same experience as you did so they aren't going to curse at the slow moving people going up the stairs and wonder why there isn't another way out of the parking lot. They are not going to loudly suggest that the stadium should have escalators built, which could create more jobs. No one is going to admit out loud that a lot of people at the stadium are non-athletic, obese people... Its a good thing I have friends who understand that.