It's A Small World After All

Once again, going through the final transition of major three credit courses has and passed, and the semester has begun to wind down. Having just completed an International business course, I am noticing a major shift in interest in my global awareness and interest in global issues since being overseas in London. Now, whether that adjustment would have came anyway due to my maturing as a person and a student is another argument, but being overseas in London has definitely exposed me to a whole new world of international ramifications. The news in London tends to be aimed at much more global stories than the news back in the United States has been. Obviously, this is more than likely due to the mere size differential of the two countries. The United States is larger in area and population, therefore naturally has a greater volume domestic news stories to fill a half hour block than Great Britain. That being said, being exposed to a multitude of stories with global implications while in the United Kingdom has truly shifted my paradigm of myself more than merely a citizen of the United States, but a citizen of the globe. This feeling, combined with the news of the recent Ireland bailout, Korean dissonance, and the global implications of the WikiLeaks scandal, have further aided that transition. This process to a global citizen has been accelerated and intensified by living in London, something that could not be duplicated back home in the States.

In a business market that is shifting daily towards more and more international commerce, a true global understanding has become as important as ever. Western New England College offers great courses and business projects to help students obtain this grasp of a global understanding. However, embedding oneself in another culture and witnessing the varying ways that the culture views the world, outside of the American viewpoint, cannot be compared to anything I have learned in a classroom. The majority of students that I have witnessed from Europe and the Middle East have no problem and are extremely educated in the discussion of international issues. The same cannot be true about students in America. Coming to London will continue to have a lasting impact on my view of the world both personally and professionally for the rest of my life.