Culture Shock
Yesterday turned out to be one of those days that results in a sudden jolt of deja vu.
We drove to Toulouse to have lunch with friends Jean-Claude and Regine (delcious, btw!) Afterwards, we had promised to attend a local comic book convention. It wasn't a true convention, in the sense of having panel discussions, signings, etc., but rather a semi-annual book sale.
Most of the vendors were, clearly, selling French bandes dessinee, but there were two tables selling American comics. That was our destination, as we had said we would do a mini-signing for anyone interested.
So, after lunch, we drove to an industrial park where the convention was being held in a community center. We had never been there before, so were following another friend.
As we pulled into the industrial park, we had our first bit of culture shock. To all intents and purposes, we could have been in an industrial park in Canoga Park, California. Indeed, it looked EXACTLY like the one in Canoga Park. The same buildings, same business (Ricoh, etc.), same layout of the streets. If there hadn't been a round about (something that is rare in California) and if you didn't look at the traffic signs, which are different, you would have had absolutely no idea where you were. We felt as if we had suddenly beamed back across the ocean.
We found parking (another L.A. experience, as there wasn't enough) and walked up to the floor where our friends were located.
As we looked around, once again we could have been at ANY comic book event in America! Same t-shirts, same jeans, same obsessed fans, same conversations. Completely and utterly spooky! And, unlike at these things in years past, smoking in the building wasn't permitted, so we actually wound up spending a day without coming home blasted by tobacco smoke. Another American export?
It wasn't until we were back on the road heading for the Possum Kingdom that we felt as if we had not landed back in L.A. for the day: we didn't get caught in a traffic jam on the way home. And what a relief THAT was!!
Ciao for now.
Randy
We drove to Toulouse to have lunch with friends Jean-Claude and Regine (delcious, btw!) Afterwards, we had promised to attend a local comic book convention. It wasn't a true convention, in the sense of having panel discussions, signings, etc., but rather a semi-annual book sale.
Most of the vendors were, clearly, selling French bandes dessinee, but there were two tables selling American comics. That was our destination, as we had said we would do a mini-signing for anyone interested.
So, after lunch, we drove to an industrial park where the convention was being held in a community center. We had never been there before, so were following another friend.
As we pulled into the industrial park, we had our first bit of culture shock. To all intents and purposes, we could have been in an industrial park in Canoga Park, California. Indeed, it looked EXACTLY like the one in Canoga Park. The same buildings, same business (Ricoh, etc.), same layout of the streets. If there hadn't been a round about (something that is rare in California) and if you didn't look at the traffic signs, which are different, you would have had absolutely no idea where you were. We felt as if we had suddenly beamed back across the ocean.
We found parking (another L.A. experience, as there wasn't enough) and walked up to the floor where our friends were located.
As we looked around, once again we could have been at ANY comic book event in America! Same t-shirts, same jeans, same obsessed fans, same conversations. Completely and utterly spooky! And, unlike at these things in years past, smoking in the building wasn't permitted, so we actually wound up spending a day without coming home blasted by tobacco smoke. Another American export?
It wasn't until we were back on the road heading for the Possum Kingdom that we felt as if we had not landed back in L.A. for the day: we didn't get caught in a traffic jam on the way home. And what a relief THAT was!!
Ciao for now.
Randy
Labels: comic books
3 Comments:
The commercial sprawl on the edges of French towns strikes me as looking very American, or at least rather more American than what you'd see in Britain. Our sprawl tends to be a bit neater than the French kind.
By Gag Halfrunt, At 4:32 PM
The commercial sprawl on the edge of French towns looks very American, at least to me. The British version is a bit tidier, and the roads aren't cluttered with advertisements.
By Gag Halfrunt, At 10:04 PM
Greg. I think that stuff must look the same all the world over. It's a rather sad comment on our urban societies.
R
By Randy, At 9:04 AM
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