Mullings over Media

 18 September 2011

Click above to see a clearer copy...

Ever feel like you're being bombarded by media?  I have since I've gotten back.  I know that satellite is available in Tanzania… I just don’t have it.  And there is radio there, but I either can’t get it in my Japanese-made vehicle, or can’t understand what they’re saying.  So maybe that makes the difference.  But here in the States, it seems like I can gather information from 15 sources at once… all of which are good, many are great, but at some point, I never have a chance to slow down, think through, and comprehend (let alone decide what I think about each thing) because there’s always more information coming.  Between TVs, good enough internet for streaming videos (including the news), 100+ radio stations that are broadcasting the latest and greatest, flat screen TVs on every coffee shop, gas station, and supermarket wall, and relentless commercials that you end up watching mindlessly without realizing how they are affecting you… it’s a wonder we have any thoughts of our own at all.  And when I walked into Barnes and Noble yesterday to listen to online lectures for my classes, and sat frustrated that after 5 minutes my computer was still having trouble connecting to the internet, it hit me.  Last spring, my internet in East Africa was taking 10 minutes to load a single page.  TEN MINUTES.  Frustrating?  Yes.  Unexpected?  No. 

I’d like to argue that moving overseas forces you to expect the unexpected, and go with the flow.  And that is absolutely true.  At the same time, I’d have to say that moving to the States forces you to be even more flexible… because no matter how focused you are on the task at hand, you will constantly be interrupted by texts, messages, emails, calls on landlines and cell phones, news alerts on the TV and your phone, radio announcements, everything.  Not that any of these things are bad.  But it does make the concept of “slowing down” or “being still” that much more difficult. 

I recently saw a journal that I wrote one year ago, when the power was out, the sun was shining, and everything was still and quiet in my house on the teacher compound in Dar.  There was no music blasting from the bar across the street (thanks to no power), and the city was still.  I was sitting outside on the front steps, with a cool breeze coming off the ocean helping to tame the equatorial sun and humidity around me.  My neighbors rode by on their bikes, then moved to walking their dogs.  Yes, I had things to do… papers to grade, blogs to post, thank you cards to write, lessons to plan, and tomatoes to cut up for spaghetti sauce later that night (made, of course, on our wonderful gas-powered stove top!).  But at the same time, nothing was vying for my attention.  And for an hour or so, I was able to stop, look out over the Indian Ocean, reflect on my day, think, pray, remember the goodness of God, and just. be. still.

I'm sure those of you who live here full-time have found ways to deal with the onslaught of media.  And there's no way I'd say Tanzania is perfect.  Not by ANY means.  (I do like my internet to connect and power to work sometimes at least!)  While it may sound like I'm idealizing Tanzania above, I can tell you we needed that break all the more because of the challenges we were facing every day.  But at the same time, I think both sides have things to learn from the other.  And a bit of balance between the extremes never hurt anybody.