Shock Culture Reverse

It's now been 20 years since I lived in the United States. And over those 20 years, my visits have become fewer and farther between. In fact, this visit marks exactly three years since the last time I was on this side of the Atlantic. So reverse culture shock still hits. It's sometimes just as shocking, if not more so. Here are the top three things I wasn't expecting in the first 10 days of stepping off the plane in Boston.

Kenmore Boston

1. Commercials. I shouldn't have been surprised by this because...

1. I've still lived more than half of my life in the U.S.
2. there are commercials in Croatia
3. I'm still plugged into American culture by listening and watching baseball games and podcasts. 

But still. 

As soon as I started listening to my podcasts after arriving, I was greeted by a prelude of unexpected commercials. In Croatia, podcasts start with the voice of the host. There are no commercials automatically inserted because it’s a different market. I know this is old hat for anyone who lives here. But it was shocking to me when a normal 30-minute podcast—which already advertises its sponsors—gets expanded by another five minutes of commercials. I won’t even get into advertising on TV. (But yes, I was shocked by some of those commercials too.)

I know you can’t avoid it here. But when I think about how much time is spent on advertising, it does make me wonder: even in a very time-conscious culture, is money still more valuable than time? Maybe that’s too reductionistic. But it seems to me that American culture has gradually accepted advertising as a part of almost everything we do. We are consumers, and we seem increasingly content to allow consumerism to become a major priority.

Even the church bulletin I received the other day had two pages of advertisements. Which leads me to the second thing...

2. Bulletins and menus. Ok, this one I definitely didn't see coming. Now, of course we had bulletins in the 80's and 90's. How else would anyone know the order of worship, the hymn numbers or what the sermon is going to be about? But I've never, in my 20 years in Central Europe, ever seen a bulletin in any church.

So, now that we all walk around with devices that have all the information we could possibly want or need, I just figured churches have a simple QR code near the entrance and bulletins in the U.S. would be obsolete. 

Not the case at all. 

On both Saturday and Sunday, when I visited two different local churches I was greeted with bulletins that will threaten to make my suitcase overweight if I choose to take them back home with me. 

Then, after church, we were greeted by a number of reading materials on the restaurant table that compete with the size of the Sunday Newspaper I grew up delivering. What is going on? Why do I need to study a series of booklets and flyers to know what my options are? 

I get that Europe is far ahead of the U.S. in being concerned about using too much fuel and paper (among other things). But isn't it far easier for the customer to scan a QR code and see what their options are on their phone? As a former Friendly's waiter who scrubbed down menus at the end of the shift, all this plastic paper seems like a waste to everyone involved. 

3. Alcohol. So I'm at Fenway last Friday enjoying the Cubs playing the Red Sox in a double header. At some point in the 4th or 5th inning of Game 1, I went to get myself an Italian sausage and beer. Unfortunately, I learned you have to go to two different lines to get each. But that's not the point. After eating the sausage, I waited in line at least a half inning for a Sam Adams, got to the front of the line and ordered. The bartender starts pouring and asks for my I.D. 

I was literally shocked. 

    Without thinking, I said: "Are you serious? I'm more than twice the drinking age." 

    "Yeah, it's standard procedure here." 

    And remembering where I was, I said, "Oh, right...But I just came from Europe and don't have an American license anymore." 

    "Sorry, we need an ID."

    And without pausing he poured the Octoberfest down the drain. 

Me feeling 20 again at Fenway

That's not the end of the story. 

I get back to my seat and tell my brother about the exchange and my surprise. Once I got to the end, I added that I do have my passport on me, "but that probably doesn't count does it?" My brother indicated it probably would. And here I am feeling so out of place. I've never been carded for anything in my 20 years in Croatia. So I watched another 4 innings of baseball to recover.

Before Game 2, I decided to give my passport a try. Unfortunately we were in a different section and the options didn't include what I had previously ordered. Still, I successfully got a beer and peanuts (in the same line!) and headed to our seats. Within 5 seconds (!) of sitting down, the usher comes over to me and says:

    "Sorry bud, this is the Family Section. You're not allowed to have alcohol here." 

Of course. 

Who knew Massachusetts was so restrictive when it comes to alcohol? I guess everyone except for me. So my brother and I went up to Standing Room Only to watch PCA strike out while I was in my time-out for having a beer. 

(No, the beer wasn't necessarily that important. But when you go to an MLB game once every three years, you kinda want to get the full ballpark experience. At least that's what I had in mind.)

Anyone who's lived in MA, or in the States for that matter probably thinks the Fenway policy is completely normal. But let me explain my (adopted) culture to you with a recent anecdote. 

In August, I drove my 13 year-old son from Croatia up to the Czech Republic to play in a week-long international baseball tournament. And the Czech Republic lived up to its reputation. There's no Family Section. Or, should I say, the whole place is a family section and the dads are all walking around with plastic cups full of draft beers from 9 in the morning until 7 pm. And no, no one was drunk that I could tell. 

Croatia is much more similar to the Czech Republic than the U.S., just to make it clear. 

So the amount of hoops I had to jump through to get one beer at Fenway in a 7 hour window of time just seems a bit...well yeah, shocking. 

Don't get me wrong. I am absolutely against alcohol abuse. I am certainly not advocating for drunkenness or underage drinking at all. But for some reason, the method for clamping down on those things here in the States is very different than the European approach. And because Europe is so relaxed about these things, I was just taken off guard. 

But I have been on the other side of this particular topic. Having grown up in a family where alcohol was strictly forbidden, I didn't have my first drink until I was 23 years old. Guess where that happened? Right, my first trip to Croatia. 

Anyway, when I told a group of high school students in eastern Croatia that I hadn't had a drink before I was 23, we had to pause for them to pick their jaws up off the floor. That is unheard of. It's almost like an American saying they've never been to McDonalds. 

Anyway, thanks for listening. Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.