How are you a glocal?

By Kelsey

It has been a good week, but the last few days have been tough. I needed a pick-me-up and a reminder of why it is I do what I do. That pick-me-up came in an email from Dr. Cristian Lienick from Texas State University. Texas State is using WHERE AM I WEARING? as a common reader this fall. Here’s what he wrote:

Am I glocal? Yes, no – wait, maybe. I don’t know. I think so, partially. I am well-traveled within the continental United States, yet have only been to another country (Mexico) once, and that was on my honeymoon, which probably doesn’t count. I do not speak another language other than English, even after taking French in high school and Spanish in college. If it were up to me, before reading your book, I would easily say that I am a true LOCAL.

Yet after reading Where am I Wearing, it is now much more apparent to me that for one to be glocal, he/she does not have to be well-traveled to foreign countries, speak several languages, and purposely attempt to infuse a daily lifestyle with international and multicultural characteristics. While these activities may further enhance one’s ability to be global, the true essence of glocalism is the simple understanding and true awareness of the intersection between globalism and localism. To be glocal, one can just step outside.

I am glocal because I am now much more aware of how privileged we are to be citizens of the United States and how the things we take for granted are highly coveted, often future goals or even dreams of citizens in other countries. For example - I recently paid to go on a fishing/camping vacation this summer to escape the city lights, television, and other daily distractions only to quickly yearn for a hot shower, air conditioning, and a queen size bed upon my return. If I need something, I go buy it. If something needs to be repaired, I google a service company. If I’m hungry, I only have to search just past my arm’s reach to find something to eat.

Am I glocal? Let’s leave it at this – my 2012 Texas State University Common Experience t-shirt was handed to me out of a large cardboard box during my check-in at a recent US 1100 faculty meeting here on campus. “Cool, free t-shirt!” I thought in the back of my mind. But then something happened – I checked the tag: “made in Honduras.”

I hope that Genesis and Betsabe back in Honduras are ok and are lucky enough to find jobs with credible working conditions, and that Amilcar continues to support his family, regardless of what the note from Jolanis said. I’m taken back for a minute. Free for me, not for them.

Hopefully, we will all endure such a glocal, Common Experience as I did, simply by being handed a t-shirt at a faculty meeting.

Thanks for your time,

Cristian Lieneck, PhD, FACMPE, FACHE, FAHM
Assistant Professor of Health Administration and US 1100 faculty
Texas State University