Ice Cold Coke!

Nothing beats an ice cold Coke.  Nothing.  No matter where I am, no matter what my mood, drinking a Coke is like a taste of home.  Their commercials are just so true!

Because an ice cold Coke makes me feel better, I am only drinking them when I really need them.  Translation: they are my substitution for a good stiff drink.  Only one week in my location and I totally understand why so many Peace Corps volunteers come back with alcoholism.

Right now I am sitting in a Pizza Hut enjoying a freshly poured Coke and waiting for my delicious American lunch.  I have decided to make today my food day.  After Pizza Hut, I am going to Starbucks.  After Starbucks, I am going to this frozen yogurt place that has America in the title (so I'm bending the rules a little for that one).  Then, if my stomach doesn't explode, I'm going to A&W for a root beer float.  I don't think I'll make it through all of it, but it's nice to dream!  And then I will follow up with an American movie! OH HAPPY DAY!

With all this talk about American food, I feel a sudden compulsion to list all of the ways in which globalization has benefitted me over the past week.

1.  Without globalization (and Al Gore), internet in Indonesia with a tiny USB drive might not have happened.
2.  Without globalization, Coke would not be able to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (but I'm still not as warm and fuzzy as with a nice glass of cabernet)
3.  Without globalization, Pizza Hut would not be able to serve me an oddly delicious interpretation of pizza that substitutes soy sauce for tomato sauce(see picture below):

4. Without globalization, there would probably be no need for a Fulbright program.  And definitely no need for English teachers.
5.  Without globalization, I might not be able to buy vegetables imported into Indonesia (sidenote - I would love nothing more than to buy locally grown vegetables from Indonesian farmers, but human excrement is a very common fertilizer here and I just cannot risk Hepatitis right now!)
6.  Without globalization, I would not be able to shop at Carrefour, the WalMart of the rest of the world.

Okay, I am going to stop now.  This could go on forever because my entire existence lately seems to be all tied in to globalization in a very scary way.  But I don't know what I would do without globalization.  I love it - the good, the bad, and the ugly!