Erstellt am: 12. 5. 2014 - 11:54 Uhr
Today's Webtip: USA discovers ESC
There were a few things I had to adjust to when I moved to Europe. I guess it could fall under the heading of culture shock.
One was football. My old prejudices formed in a culture of jock worship and nerd hate had to be thrown out the window when dealing with football culture here. I never quite got around to becoming a true fan, but I did manage to become comfortable with the big events, and other than continuing to make football fans explain the offsides rules I am able to sink in to the massenwahn of things like the EM and WM with little to no trouble.
The other big adjustment was Eurovision.
It took a bit longer to wrap my head around the idea of dedicating band practice time to watching the song contest. Hanging out with a bunch of punks celebrating the kitsch of ESC was a bit more of a mindfuck. It took time, and it's still one of the integration hurdles I haven't completely mastered.
This was actually the very first contest I have ever followed without being forced into it by a bunch of friends. I actually watched it by myself. Alone except for a few thousand online contacts.
But I shared, and linked, and favorited and explained to loads of Americans who were suddenly surprised by the explosion of European online activity around the show.
This was one Eurovision they weren't able to avoid.
One of my favorite posts attempting to share the weirdness of the ESC was on BoingBoing. Leigh Alexander shared her experience of the evening she spent with friends in London. It's an entertaining read that cemented my resolve to make a more concerted effort for the next contest.
http://boingboing.net/2014/05/11/lets-do-international-shots