Alex in China

Under the recommendation of Aaron Blick, I’ve been trying to find a copy of the New York Times Bestseller book, “The World is Flat”, for the past few weeks. Unfortunately for me I can’t find an English copy anywhere, or even a Chinese version at that! Aaron has been going on about this book for awhile so I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

Well, I finally found a video of the MIT lecture that Thomas Friedman did about his book (on iTunes, if you were curious) and decided it was the next best thing. “The World is Flat” is basically Friedman’s view on how our world has become so globalized that it is, in a sense, “flat”. Location is no longer an issue when it comes to communication. We are a global village connected by the internet.

The lecture really got me thinking about my current situation. Here I am in China, supposedly “disconnected” from my life back in TX, learning how to adapt to a foreign environment. But am I really that isolated? Not as much as you would think. Everyday I’m able to connect myself with my closest friends and family via internet communication. I can write emails, messages, and send/receive pictures to find out what’s going on back in the states. That’s only the beginning though. On a weekly basis I get on skype and webcam with my parents, my extended family and friends who are scattered around the US. It’s almost like we’re in the same room. It’s easy, cheap and a good fix for any homesickness you might have. Heck, I’ve even skyped my classmate across the hall to see if he wanted to get breakfast.

So with all this direct communication to the states you might think I’m not getting my healthy dose of isolation out of this trip. Some might even argue that my experience would be enhanced if I were to take the leap and cut myself off from all stateside contact. But really, I’ve thought about it, and I can’t think of any benefits such a rash action would bring. In what kind of real-world situation would I ever experience such a drastic type of remoteness? I have a friend right now who is doing mission work for AIDS orphans in Zambia and even she is able to get online several times a week to chat with friends and family.

Even with this type of direct connection though, there is still a kind of separation you feel while abroad. Sure, you can talk to your friends back home whenever you want, but they aren’t there when you want them to be. And even though I can watch my parents waving at me on the computer screen, they weren’t there when I was sick to my stomach and just wanted a sandwich with soup. So in a sense, yes, we do still feel isolation and we do learn to deal with it and grow from the experience. The internet doesn’t get rid of isolation, it just makes it easier to deal with. <– As does traveling with eight other Americans, but even they weren’t able to get me that sandwich & soup!

So even though I wouldn’t completely agree with Friedman that the world is “flat” yet, I definitely think it’s getting there. Maybe “curved” would be a better word?

“The World is Curved”… I like it. -a