"Globalization" is a term that we've been hearing over and over again for the past couple of decades. People are now able to have and experience things that our grandparents, or even our parents in some countries didn't even dream about in their youth. Free circulation of people and goods, consumption of international media and popular cultures, or the ability to travel accross the world are only some of the consequences of globalization.
Today I'm going to focus on the last one: the freedom and ability to travel, not only as a tourist, but also for study or work purposes. Some people choose to do that for the sake of an interesting life experience, whereas others do so when forced by circumstances, such as a lack of professional opportunities in their countries of birth. Moreover, it is not even a case of East vs. West anymore, as the economy and quality of life in various countries of the world look increasingly like rollercoasters moving up and down, and the dynamics changing constantly. Plus, means of transportation are becoming increasingly varied and accessible, so that moving around is not even that big deal anymore, in terms of time and money (apart from some exceptions).
Me and my family have also been moving around a lot, and saw my friends and aquaintances from all over the world do the same, and still doing it. There are two sides of the coin: we can say that the world is full of opportunities, but we can also say that stability does not exist anymore. Will we ever find it? Will we ever "settle down" somewhere? Perhaps we will, but who knows where and when? Do we have a clear idea of where we want to be in a few years, geographically speaking? I don't, and I'm sure that many of you also don't. Maybe there are huge differences between what we would like and what is feasible or practical. Maybe we worry that we may or may not fit in with our adoptive society. Maybe we believe that if we leave and return after a certain period of time, we will not find things as we left them, and therefore we will have problems re-adjusting to our original environment.
But do we need to worry or simply go with the flow and embrace this new contemporary reality? What if the old spontaneous meeting for a coffee in town with friends will eventually turn into arrangements made in advance with that far-away friend who will only be in your city for a few days or weeks? What if our small group of friends will become a huge network of people spread all over the world, who circularly move around and separate and reunite accordingly? What if we start thinking from a micro-universe to a macro-universe? What if the world will become such a big mix of cultures, that we'd be able to fit in virtually anywhere? What if the world really becomes our country?
(photo: www.bigstock.com)
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