Globalization and Me

This is a very interesting question: how has/does globalization affect you??  Though we can’t see it, globalization affects everyone in almost everything they do.  When you walk down the aisles in WalMart, most of the products were made outside of the United States.  Big grocery stores like Food Lion and Giant have ‘international food’s sections.  While driving down the road you see foreign cars like Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen.  The list goes on.  But it does not stop with consumer products.  We cannot forget the media, among other things.  So, how does globalization affect me? I think a better question is how does it not?

Military Life and Culture Shock

My father was in the US Army when I was younger, so the majority of my childhood was spent overseas in Germany.  While in Germany, my family took advantage of our location and visited many other European countries.  This experience gave me an appreciation for different cultures and different languages, which led to my decision to major in International Studies.  What’s more is that, when I returned to the United States in 8^th grade, I was confused by American culture.  I had been so accustomed to small town bakeries, bike trails, and history on every corner that I was shocked when I realized that here small town bakeries are hard to come by, bike trails are almost nonexistent, and the only historic grounds are battlefields.  Now, this is an exaggeration, but you understand my point.  Perhaps the most confusing thing in the US is the role of alcohol.  In Germany, a beer was an excuse to chat with friends.   There were wine tastings almost every weekend; I can still remember how much fun the wine festivals were, not to mention Oktoberfest.  Yes, I have been to Oktoberfest.  And yes, I was a child.  But where an American dreams of going Oktoberfest to get drunk, we went to have a good time with family and friends.  This is not to say that people do not get drunk in Germany, it does happen; but it is completely different.  When I arrived to the US, I was surprised how many underage kids were talking about ‘getting wasted’, being excited about it, and talking about how awesome it was.  It is not just kids; some adults seem to have this same ‘let’s get wasted!’ attitude as if the party phase never left. Whatever this is, I will never understand it.