Product of Globalization

I have always considered myself to be someone who is diverse. I was born in Columbia
Missouri, but at the age of three I went to Nepal to share something that was common
between my parents. They are both Nepali who share utmost love for the nation. But,
there was another reason besides their love for the country that my parents planned to
move back even though my mother was seven months pregnant with my younger brother. It was for me and him, to be close to the family and learn the importance of having grandparents, and cousins and uncles and aunts who would do anything if need be in order to make sure I was happy and comfortable.

I grew up being very close to my father’s side of the family. It might have been because both my grandparents on his side were still alive, where on the other hand my mom’s parents had passed away . I grew up with fifteen other cousins, some much older than me, while some just a few years. I am one of the youngest, which makes it easier for me to get my way around anything. We would all travel together to my grandparent’s farmhouse where my utmost love for animals was satisfied by the numerous and variety of animals present there. It was not just about being in the middle of nowhere, where electricity was a luxury and heaters were a dream in the middle of the winter. It was about those numerous nights when me and my cousins would sit around the bon fire listening to my grand mom’s stories from decades ago, or how my grandfather decides to write another book. Oh! the man could write and when he did so we were not allowed to talk in the room. But, who could stop sixteen unruly kids from doing anything naughty?It was a simple life, something way beyond Gucci and Prada, but it made everyone happy. And that is all that is needed for one to survive.

Years passed by and we all grew older. Some got married; some went abroad to study
and well my grand parents passed away. We are now all scattered in different continents in the world. But, what we shared then we still share now, the love for each other and our family and our heritage. Our parents have always been very liberal and therefore talking about anything under the sun- careers, study, politics, sex, current affairs, debates was always encouraged.

After I went to India at the age of thirteen to an all girls boarding school, I realized how different my family was from anyone else’s. Sex was a taboo, something a lot of kids my age in school thought was dirty and refused to believe that they were actually a product of this act that they thought was disgusting. Besides that, men were an iconic mystery. They might have had brothers but, never a male friend. They were shy to talk to any boy from another school, or even to exchange smiles. I on the other hand had grown up with seven cousins and a younger brother and went to a coeducational school where most of my friends were boys. I could talk to any guy from any school without any obstruction. I think that’s why a lot of the girls either called me promiscuous or sought out for help if in case they needed to talk to someone they liked. I still get along with men better. There’s simplicity to their lives, which I enjoy. No gossip no complication. I do not have penis envy, as Freud would put it, since I am very well a feminist and believe and support women’s right more than anyone. I just like the way men think- simple and practical. No wonder men seem to do so much better even in the world of fashion or cooking. But, this article is not about that. It’s about the various cultures I grew up in and how I consider myself a perfect example of globalization.

Living in India for eight years definitely brought out the unseen Indian in me. An all girls boarding school does bring out the “ Bitch” in you but, it’s just something the world would call you. When you look into the mirror you see an independent woman bubbling with energy and zeal to do something in life. After that I came back to where I belonged, the United States. I was never considered the prettiest granddaughter in the family since I am the darkest and very petite and don’t look like anyone in the family. But here, I was an epitome of beauty. It surprised me. I always wished I was fair and had straight hair. But then, my thoughts of me completely changed. I started embracing myself of the person I am maybe a little to much to the point of making me a little narcissistic. I realized how much money people were spending in tanning booths and salons just to have the color of my skin. (Score!) I already had that. Living in a completely different place made me realize how the grass is always greener on the other side. As of recently something that has caught my attention is the way people greet each other.

I grew up in a family where we would always give each other a peck on the lips or the
cheek. But in Nepal especially in Kathmandu, where the elite and the bourgeoisie seem to reside people have started greeting with the double or the triple kiss. I highly doubt most of the people who do this have been to France of Switzerland, but that culture seems to have overtaken the . I never understood it. Why not the American way of just a hug or maximum a quick peck on the cheek. Even worse I don’t understand the kissing in the air on the side of the cheek. I kissed my family because I love them and I know they not carrying any deadly disease. But, how would I know if the person kissing me on my cheek was suffering from something that was not yet discovered by scientists. But, to fit into the crowd I followed the mob and kissed on the right and then the left and smiled. Thank goodness for people like Conan O’ Brian and other Hollywood celebrities the Indian way of greeting people with hands clasped together and a little bending of the neck has become the new fashion in the world. And now with the H1 virus that seems to be the only positive thing it has brought with itself, since people in Paris are greeting with their hands clasped, a smile on their face and slight bowing of the head. And what better way to greet anyone than to say, “ my soul greets your soul”?

Oh don’t get me wrong. I am very American as well. I might not eat steak or chicken, but I do believe in democracy and freedom of speech and thought. I do believe in change and what comes with it. I do believe in community and how beneficial it is for the development of a nation. And most of all I do believe in education and especially women education for “ you teach a man to read he will read a paper, you teach a woman to read she will teach her children to read”. Most of all like the rest of the world, I do believe in wearing jeans and drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee early in the morning, listening to Fox news as soon as I wake up and believe in the power of Mc Donalds .