One thing I've learned from living over here is that most countries are pretty self absorbed. Some more than others, granted. And countries like wales, scotland, canada, and new zealand (for example) are usually a little less self absorbed because we can't be. The nations next to us always BLAH BLAH BLAH about their own stuff in a volume that we just can't tune out but the more sizable and forefront nation can very easily ignore the one next to it. Places like the US, England, China, India and Japan often just steam roll (or attempt to steam roll) over as many "other" countries as possible with the assurity of their own moral/political system being correct. They do it a lot to the people in their own country even.
Living in England and watching wales and scotland roooolllll their eyes and have to fight for a few centemeters of their own political space has made me appreciate canadian fortitude a lot more. And to not take the states en mass unilateral foreign policy so personal any more: they do it to everyone; and they aren't the only ones to do it, unfortunately...
But I do find their television content to be fucking annoying and usually insipid and I'm not looking forward with it being the only choice when I get back. That's why I'll get some proxy servers for BBCiplayer and a couple of other countries stuff
