I kid you not...

this is an actual conversation that i had with someone over american thanksgiving:

my sister's friend asks me: "is it hard to come back to north america and deal with culture shock?"
i have had some wine so i am more honest than usual (for the most part i just say yes and leave it at that- it's easier that way). i say "actually i'm used to the discrepancies between developing countries and north america- this was my 6th trip overseas. the hard part is coming home and realizing how few people really care about what is happening in darfur. when i was in darfur i was immersed in it, so it was all i cared about. the people i was in communication with were my family and friends who were all aware and who all cared because they knew me and read my stories. it gave me the impression that everyone cared that much. it was hard to come home and realize how wrong i was".
she looks at what i'm wearing and says "you got that sweatshirt at 'the Gap', didn't you? i have the same one".