Culture Crisis

In the security of our cubes, we are surrounded by creature comforts. Free coffee, chairs with arm rests, communal kitchen (all the amenities). Yes, life in The Office is really living. And other than a handful of employees, The Office is pretty...vanilla.

I went bowling on Saturday, found myself experiencing some culture shock.

Dude (in picture) was fresh from head to toe. Not a scuff on the Nikes, hat tilted just to the right - colors coordinated perfectly. Yeah I def wore jeans and a zip up hoodie, make-up was hit or miss. Please note the picnic table rag that hangs delicately from Dude's back pocket. I zoomed in for the close-up...

And while it looks like this new trend calls attention to creativity and expression, it's completely off-base. While Dude probably threw down $15 for this hankey, he doesn't know that it's actually a scarf. A scarf that, when worn in South America (namely, Chile), is wrapped around one's neck. When I studied abroad in Santiago, the capital of Chile, there was a great debate over public and private schooling. The funding was completely skewed and kids who didn't go to private schools were at an unbelievable disadvantage for jobs, higher education, and quality of life. Students boycotted and held protests and vigils (private and public school students alike! bet you'd really appreciate your education if you had to fight for it.).

Imagine emerging from the metro and finding yourself in a mob...people screaming, running in all directions. Mayhem. You see an armored vehicle roll by. It blasts kids with high-powered water hoses from ten feet away. A SWAT van pulls up and guards (with guns) run out. Yeah. You see kids get grabbed by the arms, even tackled, and thrown in the van. Not to mention that your eyes and throat are now stinging...the armored cars have released tear-gas. You run because you might be next.

Students wear the scarves to protect themselves from the tear gas. It's not really a fashion statement. Then there are things like jelly beans...

The Butler's bag of Jelly Belly's is almost tapped out. Among the numerous treats that our pod keeps (100 calorie packs, Blow Pops, Splenda packets), Jelly Belly's have a unique story. Talk about a cultural mishap: The first eight flavors were produced in 1976. "Soon Jelly Belly became the favorite candy of Ronald Reagan, who eventually made the beans a staple in the Oval Office and on Air Force One after he was elected president. President Reagan's passion for jelly beans inspired Blueberry flavor, which was cooked up so he could serve red, white, and blue beans at his inaugural parties. Diplomats and world leaders clamored to have Jelly Belly beans. And guess what? Jelly Belly was also the first jelly bean in outer space. Free floating, weightless Jelly Belly beans were sent on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983 as a presidential surprise for the astronauts. Coincidentally, it was the same mission that boasted another bit of history -- the first American female astronaut, Sally Ride." - jellybelly.com (photo borrowed from http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/3480)

We'll have lots to consider the next time we wrap ourselves in a scarf before braving the world outside The Office or the next time we pop a few Jelly Bellys at snack time.