Globalization

Globalization is the process where the world becomes increasingly interconnected, whether this is by goods, technology, or even ideas, the continuous trade and exchange between countries lead to a greater connected world. This process is nothing new to people albeit at a far faster rate today than it was when people had to travel thousands of miles on foot where now one could get into an airplane and be across the globe in less than a day. Throughout history and even today you can see the evidence of how globalization had affected the world in very serious ways. While the Silk Road brought spices, gunpowder and ideas to Europe, it also was one of the causes for the Black Death to spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. This example can show some of the drawbacks of globalization along with the benefits. Globalization also tends to build upon itself. With Europe introduced to exotic goods from East Asia, they began to try and find different ways to get there which indirectly caused the "discovery" and exploration of the Americas. The ideas of the American Revolution went on to be the basis of revolutions throughout Europe after the French Revolution. These are some historical examples of globalization but today it is even more so. Something important can happen in another country and within minutes you can hear about it on the news and Internet. Even in my life I can see the effects of globalization. Where I used to use dial up to use the internet, I can now use my smart phone to instantly see world news and be linked to millions of people. I will be very excited to actually be able to see globalization at work in other countries during our trip.

Cultural Awareness in Today's World

In the modern world, having cultural awareness is essential if you are traveling abroad or even to different regions of one's native country. Cultural awareness is basically not using your own culture to automatically make conclusions about another, to be open to the new culture's way of thinking by actually experiencing it and not from what one's own preconceptions about it. We all have common thoughts about what Ireland's and Scotland's culture is. For Ireland, most people see Guinness drinking men at pubs and for Scotland, most people see kilt clad men running around in the highlands. 
 

How the Irish are usually perceived

In the trip I am hoping to see the real people of these countries. From studying history, I can get a slight idea of where some of their cultural values and norms come from but I will never truly know what these are until I experience first-hand. Like I have said before, I have always had a curiosity about these to cultures and the parts I have heard about I always liked. I am making it my goal to try and talk to as many locals as I can to get a better feel for the real people of the countries and not just what the media shows about them.