A New Wardrobe at What Cost?

I have completely updated my wardrobe recently. After hitting my thirties with a professional career on the horizon, I felt it was time to get a grown-up’s wardrobe. It wasn’t until this semester that I really paid any attention to the country my clothes were manufactured in. I’m currently enrolled in another geography course on campus, Eurasia to be specific, and class assignments have included videos of children working eleven hour shifts, seven days a week in textile manufacturers throughout East Asia. As a mother of four, my heart ached and guilt settled in to the pit of my stomach. I have not yet examined my labels, but I would imagine much of my wardrobe is manufactured in East and South Asia, specifically China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. Upon reviewing the labels, the vast majority of my clothing comes from China, followed by Vietnam and the Philippines with a few items coming from Cambodia, India, and London. I have learned that through globalization it is increasingly difficult to purchase items manufactured in the United States or any other developed nation-state for that matter, as most retailers carry merchandise manufactured in countries where the cost of labor is significantly lower. Even though I anticipated these results, it is quite haunting to consider the conditions in which my clothing was made.

 

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Globalization and American Perception

Driving through the French countryside fresh off an overnight flight, I gazed out the window from my friend’s teeny tiny European car. I noticed immediately how everything seemed smaller than what I was used to at home: the roads, the tractors tilling in the fields, the grocery store a few kilometers from my friend’s apartment, the walled community where my friend and her husband had lived. As we hulled my luggage up the three fights of stairs to her apartment, Caryl asked what my first impressions of France were. “Everything seems so much smaller,” I replied. She laughed and then warned, “Do not say that to anyone here. They absolutely hate it when Americans say that.” I was puzzled a bit at first, after all, it was just an honest observation, but I pondered her warning both during my visit and since. Most Europeans have not travelled abroad and experience American culture through television shows, movies, and media. American daytime soap operas are actually quite popular in other countries. We often joke about how these particular shows depict beautiful people who sit around all day in fancy clothing (and seemingly never go to work), devise evil schemes and sleep around. We know this isn’t really how the vast majority of Americans live but do those from the outside know this? Popular movies do not help the American image, either, often featuring enormous houses, luxury cars, and designer wardrobes that most of us could never afford. International media outlets discuss American petroleum use as the highest in the world and the leading contributor to greenhouse emissions, often failing to take in to account that the U.S. ranks amongst the largest populations, economies, and industrial centers in the world. Globalization has often inadvertently presented and enforced the perception of American culture as being one of indulgence, and while there is some truth to that view, it is often exaggerated.

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Ethnicity, All Are Welcome

Ethnicity has very little impact in my life. I believe that’s one of the admirable traits about living in the United States, we are a melting pot of ethnicities from all over the globe. I enjoy meeting people from other parts of the world or those who identify with their country of origin. I also enjoy experiencing their cultures with them; however,  I neither seek out or eliminate contact with anyone based on their ethnicity. I do not feel a particular kinship with those of Dutch heritage simply because my Grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from The Netherlands. It’s not that I’m not curious about my origins or proud of them; I just do not identify myself as Dutch-American, seeing myself simply as Holly.

As exciting as it was to discover this giant wooden shoe in the heart of The Netherlands, it was equally as exciting to experience the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

As exciting as it was to discover this giant wooden shoe in the heart of The Netherlands, it was equally as exciting to experience the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

 

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Lutheran Meets Catholic

I was just barely sixteen years old when I first met my husband’s family. We had just begun dating, and they were a very traditional, old-fashioned Catholic family that had dreamt of their youngest son attending seminary. My now father-in-law looked me over a few times, turned to his son and asked, “What religion is she?” My husband replied that I was Lutheran, and my father-in-law waved his hand in the air and said, “Get rid of her, it’ll never work.” I was, of course, offended but also puzzled, after all, the differences between my Protestant beliefs and his Catholic beliefs were minimal, and to me the most important trait in my future spouse was that he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior; the path that led him there was far less important to me. I was perhaps a bit naïve as over the years we had our share of arguments from where we would marry to where we would attend weekly services. Today we attend the same Lutheran church we married and where our four children were baptized. My husband never officially converted from Catholicism and probably never will. Our core beliefs are the same, and we are satisfied with that. My in-laws learned to accept our decisions and respect my religious preferences, though my grandmother-in-law refused to attend the baptisms of our children. These days my religion has only positive impacts on my life. The friends we cherish most are the ones we have met through our childrens’ preschool program located at our church. We enjoy spending time with those who’s values reflect our own, and prefer to surround our children with people who have a relationship with our Lord, no matter what path they choose to praise Him.

Holy Baptism for our youngest child, Reese, in October 2013.

Holy Baptism for our youngest child, Reese, in October 2013.

Me with my youngest son, Hudson, and his Pre-K class at Christian Day Nursery School where we have been blessed with lifelong friends.

Me with my youngest son, Hudson, and his Pre-K class at Christian Day Nursery School where we have been blessed with lifelong friends.

 

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Disney World – My Favorite Place in the World

I first visited Disney World as a 25 year old mother of two, not as a starry eyed tot, but found it easily as magical as they did. I love Main Street U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom and it’s ability to sweep me away to 1950s Americana. It’s beautiful shops, employees dressed in barbershop stripes handing out balloons to happy children, the majestic castle towering in the distance. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and a true testament to what one man was able to do with what was once unusable swampland (nature-culture). Disney EPCOT’s World Showcase is one of my absolute favorite places on Earth. Where else in the world can you travel from Italy to Mexico to China in mere steps? Architects were flown in to design replicas of buildings found in their homelands, chefs hired to run restaurants with menus emphasizing cuisine of their native countries, and foreign college students hired for summers to work as Cast Members as representatives of their respected countries. 60 million visitors from all over the world are drawn to Orlando every year to vacation (mobility). Disney’s parks have spread to other continents as well with the additions of Euro Disneyland in Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. I actually had the opportunity to visit Euro Disneyland while visiting a friend in France, and it was amazing to see how Americanized this portion of Paris was! As a tourist a bit homesick for the U.S., I felt like I had been plucked from the middle of France and returned home (region, globalization). That first visit to Disney World had such a profound impact on our lives that whenever we vacation somewhere else, we always return to Orlando the proceeding vacation. We cannot wait to take our youngest child there in a couple of years and share the magic of Disney World with her, too.

Visiting Magic Kingdom with my family in June 2011

Visiting Magic Kingdom with my family in June 2011

Outside of Disneyland Paris with friends in April 2012

Outside of Disneyland Paris with friends in April 2012

 

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Week 1 – Introduction

Hello, my name is Holly Bauer. I am a junior AYA Integrated Social Studies major commuting to BG from Norwalk. My high school sweetheart, John, and I will be celebrating our twelfth wedding anniversary in July and are the proud parents of four children. Our sons Brennigan (10), Maddox (7), and Hudson (5) keep us busy with soccer and football while our 20 month old daughter, Reese, adds a little extra glitter and shine to our lives. In addition to my studies, I run a small home bakery where I specialize in cheesecakes. I love to cook, bake, watch sports, travel, and spend any little free time I have with my amazing family.

In a recent course I read an article about American globalization and the effects of introducing McDonald’s restaurants in Hong Kong. I found this reading to be particularly fascinating as it touched upon the initial concerns of many who feared Americanization of the people of Hong Kong. However, this was not the case, and McDonald’s was able to successfully adapt to the culture of Hong Kong by customizing their menus to appeal to the local clientele. The article also pointed out the advantageous presence of their strict bathroom cleanliness policy that forced neighboring establishments to adopt similar protocols. Many of us in the Unites States might find it humorous that a McDonald’s bathroom could be held as the example of how one should maintain it’s facilities.

I look forward to broadening my education in cultural geography further in this course.

Maddox, Reese, Brennigan, Hudson

Maddox, Reese, Brennigan, Hudson

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