3D, Touch and Youtube Sensations

I'm still in the United States and it is beginning to catch up with me. The initial flirtation with various cheeses and abundant coffee is growing like a baby bump and I've managed the majority of my bucket list for this visit. The rosy glasses of my first few days in the U.S. have worn off, but I am still surprised at how little culture shock I am actually experiencing.

At first I was waking at 6 a.m. every day like I do in Burkina. My dad's dinosaur phone that I am borrowing confused me just about as much as all the touch screen phones everyone else has. Everything seems to be in 3D and I am starting to catch up on the youtube sensations I couldn't have loaded in Burkina without waiting most of the day.

Have I ever mentioned how strange it is that ice falls from the sky in northern countries? I love to use that fact to discourage people from asking me to bring them to the United States (or to France since people generally forget where I am from). Nothing terrifies a Burkinabe more than the idea of sub-zero temperatures except maybe the ocean. I saw and touched snow on Mount Rainier last week after a terrifying gondola ride to an adjacent peak.

We made a pilgrimage out to the ocean as well and visited the grandparents. It was great to see my family together next to a body of water that does not rely on rainfall or retaining walls to exist.

The readily available technology and the relative fanciness of most things have certainly been astounding. There are screens everywhere just waiting to distract me from the conversation that I am having. People have 5 different devices that generally do the same functions (especially if they are apple products). I am embarrassed to pull out my pleather-protected dinosaur of a phone that my dad was generous enough to loan to me while everyone is reading their e-books and typing on their touch screens. Now people don't even have to lift their finger to type because they can just drag it over the touch screen keyboard and the program figures out what they meant to type. Are we really that lazy? Yet it is sort of amazing that it is possible.

I spent time in Seattle this weekend and was struck by the improvements in public transportation. I am envious of the kids that live in my small home town who have daily access to affordable public transportation to the city. My childhood would have been much more cultured and interesting had I been afforded the same options. It certainly is much more than any Burkinabe teen has at their disposal as well.

I spent some time watching Harry Potter in 3D at the I-max in Seattle this weekend. It was amazing, but I can't help but feel the disonance between my life in Burkina and my visit here. My friend said it well: "It is sometimes hard to believe the two worlds exist on one globe." It really is.


On another note, it turns out that I will be going to Senegal in September on my way back to the Faso for the Peace Corps "Boot Camp" for addressing malaria. I am more than excited!