This morning, I went to get some documents certified at the commissioner of oaths and had a quick chuckle with the officer. He couldn’t quite wrap his brain around the fact that my husband’s name was basically five individual words. Yes, his full name has five words in there! To many of you, that may sound excessive, but for anyone with Portuguese relatives, that’s fairly common. And it was in that moment that I realised how globalised this world is.
Have you ever sat back in awe at how globalised our world is? I don’t mean just think how awesome it is to hop on a plane and start a new life. Have you ever thought of how incredible it is to have people of all shades and cultures right within our vicinity? Back in the day, our great grandparents probably had to travel to see foreigners, but we just have to open our doors. And for those who are still living in isolation, we just have to dial into video conferences.
Before I let my ramble get the best of me, I thought I would share some of the cool things I wish I could do in this globalised world.
Physically link up my international friends
With the world the way it is, I’ve been blessed to have met so many cool people around the world – both physically and virtually. The sucky part is that my ideal group of friends is practically scattered across the globe. There’s my ride or die Jennifer, currently in Australia. My twin, Olivia, currently in the UK. My jack of all trades Nek is here in South Africa. Ah and my sweetheart Kaycee, hiding somewhere in the Philippines. My ‘solutioner’, Arlete, who is staved away in Angola… The list goes on but I will leave it at this.
Of course, with air travel and all that, it is definitely possible. But as working adults, it is very difficult to coordinate such a trip. And the thing is that only I know they would all get along so well!
If you are in the same situation, wouldn’t you like to ship all of your friends to the same location?
Related: Why bloggers should have blogger friends
Get rid of visas… or at least have a globalised travel document
One thing that bugs me so much about the world as it is today is the need for visas. I presume they are required for the safety of each country, and to generate extra revenue. But wouldn’t it be nice not to worry about them each time you traveled? Of course, if you are reading this and have an American, Canadian or British passport, it probably doesn’t matter to you. But for us commoners, traveling means weeks of prep just to be able to occupy that ocean-facing room in Maui.
My hate for visas probably came about when I had decided to transfer from Tokyo to Ottawa (Canada) midway through my university degree. With a scholarship, housing and everything secured, what could have gone wrong? If you guessed the visa, you’re absolutely right. It didn’t matter that I was the kid of a diplomat, traveling for education. Even in such a situation, I had “questionable ties to my homeland” and had to forfeit thousands of dollars I had paid to the school.
Visas… such a seven-headed beast!
Related: 4 Reasons why I don’t miss living in Japan
Get our educational systems globalised
If you are reading this on your own device, and in your own home, you’re rich. Well, by my definition at least! Can you imagine just how many people cannot afford the luxuries you and I have? And it all boils down to some simple factors; luck, chance, opportunity and work.
We don’t pick our families, we do not determine what schools our parents can afford. We also do not choose what curriculum is offered in our country. And even then, we are all expected to put in the same amount of work to get good results. I see this as asking people in different parts of the world to bake a cake and judging them all on what is produced. The caveat here is that some of them might have cookbooks and mixers, others might not have eggs. Some might be given top-notch ovens and others might be expected to grow wheat first before they bake.
In my ideal world, we would all have access to the same education and materials to get through our courses. We wouldn’t need to fly our kids across the world to get university degrees. Rather it would be a preference based on cultural curiosity.
Maybe Finland is onto something…
Give tax-payers options for how taxes are used
I might get a bit of backlash for this one, but it is something that bugs me quite a bit. Recently in South Africa, there were insane riots that sparked from the ex-president being incarcerated. People marched out in his name to protest what they questionably believed to be a just cause. One that quickly turned into stealing from stores and burning down malls. And for what? If you ask them today what the purpose of all of that was for, most of them don’t even know!
Basically, the week-long commotion cost the country $3.4bn, 3,407 people were arrested and 337 were killed.
Okay, so you’re wondering where the taxes come in right? Well, in order for the government to clean up the act of those lunatics, guess who has to pay for it? Oh, and guess who is paying for the food that they are eating in prison?
I may sound a bit whiny, but according to our correctional services minister here in SA, each prisoner costs taxpayers about $750 a month. And only $32 is spent on food!
Wouldn’t it be nice if we were allowed to apportion our taxes? I don’t mind paying for the maintenance of the roads we all drive on. I would also be happy to pay double to increase the polices’ salaries so that they are incentivised to fight crime. I’m also happy to fund medical care for all.
But to be responsible for food and housing for those who left our families starving? Nah, count me out. I don’t work forty-hour weeks to give hooligans a bed.
being a globalized world certainly has its ups and downs. i wish things were more equal with people given equal opportunities. no one has control over where they are born, and it certainly makes things easier or more difficult depending on where that is.
Gosh that is definitely true… I would love to see the world in 100 years, just as a fly on the wall.
I loved that you gave tangible examples and made the info so digestible for all! You made very valid points about the education systems around the world and the nastiest beast of all, taxes! I’m happy for my taxes to help social causes and to close the gap between the haves and have-nots but when it helps line the pockets of those already driving Ferrari’s… Not so much! Education is so important and it still baffles me that some parts of the world still lack this privilege! Amazing post!
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!
It really hurts to see that so many people are disadvantaged from birth… in order for things to change, they would need a miracle and a lifetime of real dedication!
I totally agree with you on the need for education systems to be harmonized. It would simplify so many things.
Here in Canada, education is a provincial responsibility, so we basically have 10 different systems! Most are similar, except for Quebec but they always do their own thing. The challenge would be to get everyone to agree because, let’s face it, everyone thinks theirs is best. Maybe one day…
10 different educational systems!!! That’s absurd! I wonder how kids are expected to transition from a rainbow education system to standardized university… wow
This was a great post and I can’t help but agree with EVERY single one of the points. VISAS make life so much difficult! 😭 I was once denied a visa to Denmark due to some complications (and no fault of mine). Similarly, the education, tax, all that you mentioned were EXCELLENT points! To answer the question at the conclusion of the article, there are definitely downs to globalisation. Resources are so unevenly spread and it has only made the rich rcidher and poor poorer. If there is something I want in a globalised world, it is for racism and discrimination to be non-existent, which unfortunately isn’t the case yet. Again, wonderful post! 🤍
Love love love this post hun!!! I wish traveling internationally required 1 document like a universal passport. I wish Healthcare and education was globalized so that everyone has equal access to Healthcare and education regardless of their background.
interesting post! Your comment about having a globalized “visa” if you will would be pretty cool & save many people a headache when traveling abroad. Even as an American, if I were to travel to another country, I have to get the necessary visas to enter it. It’s not super difficult but a long process nonetheless.
And I also wish that we had more control over the things that the government paid for using taxes. I also wouldn’t mind the government using taxes to pay for a universal healthcare system. I mean in America at least we already have medicaid so why not expand it to cover everyone? We are paying for it anyway.
And those riots sound awful. I’m glad that you are ok .
I so get you on visas!!!!!!! So most of my international trips have been with family or for work and the visas though hectic were sorted out together so it didn’t seem like a huge pain. But I went to Spain solo in 2019 – and though I just had to submit a bunch of documents and the visa was done in a 2-3 days – getting those documents together was a pain. A bank statement, a statement from my employer, my rent agreement, my old passports, my salary statement, etc. etc. – it was CRAZY! I felt so stressed out just getting those documents together. So definitely YES to a globalized passport. There should be one agency that does a background check and issues you a passport and basis that you should be able to travel anywhere at any point of time.
Most of my sister’s family-in-law are in London. In 2019 they were planning to visit them and I insisted that I travel with them. Yoohh one of the things they wanted to finalize my visa was that my bank account should at least have R30 000, then I’ll qualify. St that time I was a student and I didn’t have such kind of money hahaha. I still dont😆😆. But I was really sad and they told me if only it was going to study they’d allow not as just a trip. I missed the opportunity and they left me behind. Was that even fair??
Oh wow that’s horrible! Next time, borrow the money from someone (or some people) then transfer it back after you’ve pulled your bank statement. 😅 You wouldn’t need that much if you were staying with family!
I will do so next time