The snow sparkled as it fell Christmas eve. Quiet & beautiful. As we walked back into town there was no cars just quiet snow decorating.

A few days before it looked like we wouldn’t get a white Christmas just a wet & muddy one. Then the snow showed up dancing in the air turning everything white. 

We ate herring, cured salmon & cured lamb. A beautiful winter feast. The kind that stays with you for days. What a great ending to 2016. Now in with the new, peaking around the corner waiting to come out. 

I’ve been thinking about what I wrote yesterday & wanted to add some good things about globalization. The AIDS epidemic in Africa has slowed due to big pharma used their medication for good.

Medications are easier to obtain globally if you need them. We have doctors without borders that travel the globe using their medical training where it’s most needed. 

The flip side thanks to air travel is that our world has shrunk considerably since the 80’s & even earlier. We now have WiFi on planes & in our homes. The landline has become a relic giving us Skype. 

More companies are doing 1% for the environment; thanks to it being started by one of my favorite global companies Patagonia. In my beloved Seattle I could get my favorite Scandinavian & German treats in less than a day. 

There are pluses to globalization as much as there’s the bad. Next time you shop, think before you buy because the $$$ you spend may not stay in your community but cross oceans.

Maybe you enjoy McDonald’s when you travel or maybe a cup of Starbucks; or a banana? On second thought maybe a PepsiCo/Coca Cola. 

They where the first things to be globalised. You can find them everywhere, is that a good thing like watching Star Wars, or Love Actually because it’s Christmas. 

I can remember in the 80’s when McD opened up in Russia or China. How it made the news. The global branding is ruining cultures, it’s not just American products but any company with muscle like the Trump brand. 

I remember when I learned of the banana wars in the 90’s between 2 global companies that wanted the world market so they sweetened their product by genetically modifying it to please European & American markets. They learned which market wanted them green & which wanted them yellow. 

A few years ago when I was in Germany every train station but one had a Starbucks & people stretched out the door. I wasn’t impressed rather dismayed & now they ‘re in Italy. Sad. As espresso is the heart & soul of that culture. 

Next time you shop do you shop global or local to your country?