As American as Television

I honestly don't know if I could have done this in the era before the internet. Even though I'm nearly halfway around the world, my friends and family are just a computer screen away. My daily routine now includes reading the New York Times, checking Facebook, and watching The Daily Show. I sometimes feel like I'm cheating, like being in Russia should be more isolating.
That is not to say, however, that being here is just like being in a new city in America. Not only is there are real language barrier, there are cultural differences that surround me and make me aware that I am foreign. Some of these are minor, like the way grocery stores are laid out, while others are major, like the attitude of the people towards cheating and bribery. Things are nothing like the stereotypical images of soviet Russia, but it is clear the people here tend to think differently than people in America. We had a chapter on criminals and the justice system in my class for upper-intermediate adults, and they all took it for granted that it is better to err on the side of locking up innocent people than to let guilty people go free. When I tried to explain that the American justice system is built around the opposite idea, that the rights of the innocent are protected, they looked at me with doubt and confusion.
I suppose it is normal that going someplace foreign makes me appreciate being American more. What surprises me is the role that television plays in this. My roommate, Megan, brought The West Wing with her on DVD. I never saw this show when it was actually on the air, so I'm learning to appreciate it now. I know it is highly fictional and overly idealistic show, but it really does a lot to make me proud of America and to love our government, especially when compared to what I see on a regular basis here. Oddly enough, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which Comedy Central graciously makes available online to everyone, regardless of geographic location (the only network, as far as I can tell, to do this), also help me to feel more American while I'm here. The good humor they have, even when mocking and complaining, is strikingly different than the attitudes I see around me normally.