Diesen Artikel gibt es ohne Ausschweife gegen Ende, bereits in DEUTSCH (siehe 'Globalisierung - My Way' vom 23.03.08). Ansonsten einfach mal Woerterbuch hernehmen und einmal wieder das Englisch auffrischen. Uebrigens wuerde ich das auch heute ueber 2 Jahre spaeter zu 100 % unterschreiben...

The other day (March 2008) the topic of our english course was globalization. Globalization - global, positive and from my point of view - we all move a bit closer together and everybody is in reach and this funny thing called Internet contributed a major part.

But hold the horses! My globalization began in elementary school. In my village 'Rittersgruen' (knight's green - thank you heffi) the neighboring village 'Poehla' seemed incredible far away. Wow - I thought, all my friends travel a long way by bus each day and my horizon covered maybe half the village. How could I've known? Riding the bike to Poehla? Take the bus? Alone? It's at least 500000 km away (in reality 5 km) that's for sure a daytrip. But globalization finds his way. And then somehow the day came, were I toke the bus (wait for it) - alone. I found out the world didn't end behind the 'Hammerberg' (world's end for some Rittersgruen citizens and in reality the hillside of Rittersgruen). From this moment on, the citizens of the neighboring village, the friends and their parents and all the more or less friendly busman where added to my own little world. Then you get to know the whole administrative district - an hour via bus! And then... you don't know anyone - I mean you know people that know people from the administrative district or let's say 'Schwarzenberg' or that aunt that is so nice to you every other birthday of your cousins. Then you take this giant leap and you take the bus to Schwarzenberg or (not for the faint-hearted) you ride the bike (a weekendtrip and in reality an hour). The own world grows. Then one decides to attend the gymnasium (the school - for my fellow foreign readers) in Schwarzenberg and this enormous world becomes familiar and out of the sudden - you are someone that knows someone from the administrative district.

With a lack of monetary sponsoring by your parents and the lack of a moped license this world you oblige to the things you just got to know. 'Leipzig', 'Dresden', 'Au In Der Hallertau', 'Belgern' und 'Arendsee'? Familiar but comparable to trips that Marco Polo would do and in reality known from various vacations. Then there is the day the ink on your drivers license runs dry and you are an adult (yes, in that order, that fast)! Your world grows again, then shrinks and you can handle whole Germany as your world (for me I add the Czech Republic, at least parts of it) and you see yourself driving to concerts in Berlin or wherever and it all seems familiar.

Everything is possible. Within hours you can reach 'Berlin', 'Zwickau', 'Leipzig', 'Dresden', whatever - you name it. You are allowed to know people from everywhere, anywhere and you can visit them. What a wonderful world. Then you get an internet connection (not your DSL or highspeed line you're sitting in front of) a I-am-slightly-faster-than-ISDN-wireless-connection and you can talk to the world. And what does the world in the meantime? That asshole? [sic!] It talks to you - slowly or not at all. And by world, I don't mean my world, I mean the brave new world, that is Web 2.0, facebook, StudiVZ, MySpace - you name it.

I mean there are a lot of my friends, people I know, schoolfellows, colleagues and people that are more or less worth to know them (sometimes even 'Zombies' - in reality people that you forgot about, with a reason and that rise from their graves to haunt your new life or ask you questions they could answer themselfs if they could read your profile page). And what happens after a long session of being online or not being online, being visible or invisible to them? Nothing. Or let's say - not very much. Web 2.0 you asshole, I rather visit my real life friends and stay in contact with them (even if I have to use you - sometimes) because those friends from the shiny web world don't listen to the music their profile pages say, they don't like everything and in real life they never quote those wise guys from their pages nor do they really know how those wise guys are. 'Web 2.0 is to socializing what masturbation is to sex…' (without saying that masturbation is a lot of fun, from time to time and time to time again)

Update 2010 (in addition to all the updates I hid in the translation)

And now - I find myself in China, I know people from all over the world. I am going to Canada in 2011 and I am a citizen of the world and there are only a few things that alienate me and I still use the tools that I sometimes despise, but since I know how to block or delete people or simply don't react, without caring too much for all the Zombies... It simply is fun and a thought from me about Globalization'.

Amen! Greeting to my friends, family and zombies...