Blog post #3 - Ale Andrade - Global citizenship

 To me, a “global citizen” refers to someone who intentionally and frequently interacts with the global community. These interactions could occur through more obvious ways, like taking international trips or talking to people from other countries. These interactions, however, can also occur in other ways like watching international films, shopping from international brands, or learning another language. Thus I believe that a global citizen can be someone that has never travelled outside their hometown or talked in person to people from other places. That aforementioned person, however, might seek out international films, make online friends from other countries, and try foreign cuisines. In my view, that person is still a global citizen, because it's the effort put towards intentional worldview expansion that makes them a global citizen.

    With that being said, I would consider myself a global citizen based on my own definition. I’m a global citizen because I do intentionally and frequently interact with the global community. I interact with the international community in many ways, both overt and covert. I engage with the wider world through extensive travelling. I’m lucky to be blessed with the ability to travel not only often, but also to a wide variety of places. Intention when travelling is important, and when I choose places to travel I am intentional. My family and I try to pick places that are different from one another, provide unique experiences and/or perspectives, and are often overlooked by most other travellers. The goal of a vast majority of my trips is to learn more about the culture and history of where I am going, to venture out and see as much as possible. I also actively make an effort to interact with the global community as much as possible. That effort is demonstrated by the fact that I have continued my Spanish studies past the required classes, and learned some Portuguese despite my family speaking English. I watch international films, listen to international music, eat foreign cuisines, and buy products from international brands. 

As not just a global citizen, but as an American abroad, I have a few different responsibilities. Firstly, I’m responsible for representing the US and American people as a whole. That sounds like a crazy statement, but when you are the minority your behavior carries more weight. When an American, for example, goes outside the States and tells people they are American, their behavior may be used to form those peoples idea of what all Americans are like. This means that I am responsible for behaving in a way that reflects a positive image of Americans. Another responsibility that I have as an American abroad is to take measures to respect the culture of the place in. That means acquiring necessary information regarding important social norms before showing up. If I were planning to travel to Saudi Arabia, I would make sure to pack modest clothing in accordance with Islamic ideas. 

    On this trip I can become a better global citizen by interacting with our destinations as much as possible. One can become a better global citizen with more information regarding the global community. Intentionally expanding my worldview over the course of this trip will make me a better global citizen.