Food for Thought: The Global Marketplace - too soon or trailing behind?

Is the global marketplace too idealistic of a theory for our border-protection-natured human beings? Multinational companies have been in existence for years now, but are they being applauded for their free market, "bring-down-the-borders" values, or rather under attack in today's highly polarized political climate? Free market economics open the door to find the most efficient resources for producing products in demand in this world. Free market economics theorises that the right price of a given product will be dictated by supply and demand. Add in today's online economy, coupled with a highly mobile customer, and you'll find that the ideals of supply and demand spread from region-specifics to a borderless market. Our demand is strong enough to cross borders, in order to be satisfied within our means. This in turn is pushing a standardized costing across countries that is benefitting a stabilized market.
So why is it that when companies go overseas to invest in job-opportunity increasing, economy-boosting ventures - that are keeping our products' base cost at an acceptable low level - we boast of how we are helping other nations with our investments in their countries, but when foreign companies do the same in ours, we fight that "good will" notion and claim that we'd rather support local products, when in fact these companies' existence in our countries are providing jobs to our local people and economy? Is anything really made "local" anymore, excluding certain limited items (maybe the local bakery or farmer's market)? Do we even want it to be? How would that hit our bottom line, our pocketbook? If we believe in free market and free trade, why don't we want the best to win, and shift our thinking from a "me-too" mentality to a "you're good at this, but I'm good at that" sharing of responsibility? What do you think is the right approach in today's world?

What are your thoughts on globalization and multi-cultural economics?

Sun, Sand, and Wine with Mom

April 2011. Mom and I are on our way back from a five-day vacation in Destin, FL. She is seated on the other side of the aisle of the tiny plane, consumed in conversation with the passenger next to her. I lean my head against the window and drift into thought…

Earlier that year, I realized that I had several days of rollover vacation to use (or lose) by end of April.  And I needed a vacation! I needed sun. I needed sand. I needed blue skies. And silence. Stress had been escalating, and work had been spiking - and I was ready to leave it all behind and think of absolutely nothing for a while. At first I thought of how awesome it would be to take some time off and away with Charles. God knows he needed it too. But his work situation has been in flux and so he couldn’t commit. I waited, hoping things would clear up for him, all the while looking at my vacation spot options. Should I use my time to be inspired in an intellectually stimulating city like Chicago or New York with its beautiful and rich museums and theatres? Should I explore the corners of Boston or Seattle? After all, you only have so much vacation in a year, and a beach doesn’t exactly “elevate” your thinking. Or should I relax by blue waters? Maybe San Diego. Maybe Florida. Yes, Florida and white sands sounded just perfect to me!

The time kept ticking by, and Charlie’s work situation wasn’t getting any clearer. I thought of a couple of my girlfriends, but timing didn’t quite work out with any of them. I wondered if my mom would go. I always enjoy my time with my mom, and she hadn’t taken a vacation in a long time. But honestly: my heart was set on Charlie going.

As we approached the beginning of April, I had notified my work of my time off, and I had decided on Destin, Florida. I spoke with Charles and he was still up in the air. And so I discussed it with Mom, and she wanted to go. For a moment I thought of Miami, but that would have been too wild to experience with my ‘mother,’ so I settled back on Destin. So it was set. The more I thought of the trip in that light, the more excited I got about a girls trip with just her and myself. We decided on a hotel on the harbor bay, and rented a car so we can check out the beach on the open gulf, as well as nearby small beach towns. I had done my online research and had a loose plan mapped out for our five days of fun in the sun!

It had been a while since mom and I traveled together, and sitting on the plane on our way to Florida, it was coming back to me. Mom had always been a fun-loving person. And without the 'boys' weighing us down (Charles and dad – four people require much more planning), we were free to do as we please. But of course, this is after all my mother, and I was now old enough to feel like I was the caretaker that needed to watch over her, not vice versa. I wanted to make sure she had everything she needed, that she had fun, and got enough rest. So I wanted to take things slow: let her sleep in, not plan too many things in a given day… you know, take care of my ‘older’ mother.

We arrived early, so our room was not ready yet. We asked about a place where we could have a drink or some light food by the water while we waited, and were directed to Harbor Village two minutes from the hotel. Once we got there, still in our travel clothes and un-rested (1hr 45 minutes in the tiniest plane ever has to be tiring for my mother), we walked down to the pier and instantly fell in love with the vibe there.

We found a booth selling dolphin-viewing cruises and little shops that sold local treasures of the sea (some also made in China). As we walked around, Mom discovered a sign for another outfit that offered dolphin cruises. Only they were cheaper and they offered all-you-can-drink beer, wine and sodas. She was sold and sold me on it! Asking how long the ‘spring special’ lasted (maybe we can go tomorrow), Mom said: “Why wait, let’s go back to the hotel, drop off our bags, and go on the sunset cruise at 5pm!” Now that’s what I’m talking about! And here I was thinking I needed to make sure my mother got her rest! Mom drank tons of wine, fed the seagulls, filmed the dolphins and me, doctored the seasick lady sitting next to her, and laughed all along the way.

The next five days were no different: Mom kept up with me every step of the way, pointing out water parks and hole in the wall food places we should go discover. We burnt to a crisp on day one of our beach excursion, but that did not stop my energetic mother one bit. We got our beach gear, spent the day at the beach, came back to the hotel, showered, applied our Aloe Vera, went to dinner, window shopped…and by 9pm ran out of things to do because the town was shutting down! Except for bars (we’re not about heavy drinking; dolphin cruises excluded of course), this was no Agami or Alexandria by the Mediterranean. I expected mom to be tired, but she looked at me in amazement as if to say: how can these people miss out on all the fun that can be had at night??! Now what do we do?! I offered to have a quiet evening at the hotel, watching movies. She looked at me like I was an old hag. But since we were out of options, we went back to the hotel. Of course we never did find a good movie, so we fell asleep. The upside of this was that we were up by 7am and ready to go! Not that that made us want to go to bed any sooner. And forget that my mother would get tired. I had to force her to wrap it up for the night!

All through the trip’s daily activities, mom – the digital guru – managed to talk to my dad, who was in Cairo, via Yahoo Messenger App for iPhone on a daily basis, giving him step by step every experience we were going through. And every time we did something fun or ate a delicious meal, she never failed to note how much she would have loved to have my dad here to experience it with us.

On the last day, we packed up our bags, checked out, and headed for the pier for a while until it was time to head to the airport. Instead of stressing over timing like so many people do, she managed to explore every corner of the beach stores for rare gems to bring home. And we had one last delicious seafood meal, while mom posed for my iPhone home video. This had been the perfect vacation for both of us.

At the airport, we had to deal with some minor shenanigans, mainly because mom had overpacked; and at a small airport, they happen to notice those things. The airport security man was very nice (I love small towns!) and with some expert negotiation by mommy dearest, she convinced him that instead o throwing away her treasured travel size liquids, all she needed to do was to transfer her extras into my bag. And off we went. Sitting on the plane, she was on the other side of the aisle on our tiny plane. My side was a row of one-seaters; her side had two seats. In comes a mother with a 2-year old, a large baby bag, a baby blanket and a teddy bear. And she was going to sit next to my mom in this already tiny plane. Most people would huff and puff. Not my mom. Within moments, she had struck up a conversation with the young mom traveling alone. Minutes later, Mom and the little boy were exploring the SkyMall magazine before he got cranky because it was time for his nap. His mom had that ‘angst look’ on her face, because he was wiggling around, kicking the seat in front of her, and on the verge of crying. Soon, people would be staring and giving her looks because she was inconveniencing them. I was almost thinking I should trade seats with Mom so she could get some rest away from the child. But as I looked over, he was reaching out to Mom and she offered to take him on her lap to give his mom some room. He was happy for a minute, asleep the next! Looking over again, Mom was discussing pediatric medical issues with his mom (he has epilepsy we found out), then moving on to world politics and travel – all the while rocking her leg as she held a sleeping toddler in her lap.

My time with my mother was amazing. Better than I would have ever imagined. My mother is my hero. She has a zest for life like no other. She is spontaneous. She is adventurous. She is young at heart. She reminds me that life is a gift to be enjoyed, with “joy” being the most important part of that word. She didn’t only tell me that the sky is the limit to encourage me in life, she actually believes it. At a young adult age, she worked in very remote areas without running water or electricity, administering to the ill. From there, she accompanied her husband on a work-abroad trip, only to land a physician’s post with multiple mega-construction companies at a time when only men dominated this arena. She was the only Arab woman in an Arab country to work with Japanese, Philippine, and German companies who trusted their thousands of construction workers and hundreds of families into her care. When they called her in the middle of the night, she was instantly available to help and do what a doctor does best. At home, she taught me to be independent, but never failed to check my homework, pushing me more and more towards perfection. To my dad, she was the trusted partner in life, recounting many nights of deep discussions and life-plan making, all while looking stunningly gorgeous! When I didn’t fit in back in Cairo, she stood by me, pushing me out of my comfort zone. When I wanted to go to college in Germany as the natural progression of my “known” education, she pushed me to consider the US to study advertising, since that was the best place for that area of study. No matter that we had never been there or that we knew absolutely nobody there! When the opportunity presented itself for the family to permanently move to the US, she energized herself and my father who was retired by then, picked up their matured and settled life in Egypt, and moved across the globe to start a new life and a new career in medical research in the US. And when a baby's mother felt overwhelmed during their travels, she offered confident comfort and warm, engaging conversation. This was more than a trip. This was God’s way of inspiring me through His display of the works of His hands: my mother.

Can I Get Some Solidarity Please?!

I usually try to keep this positive, but I'm honestly a little disgusted by some of the comments and posts I've seen from my group of Egyptian friends. While some have been constructive and inspiring, and full of heart (and tears) for the people in Egypt, whether they are currently there or not, others are starting to throw around some negativity and division that can only ultimately divide and destroy at best. So, I am going to say this once for all I've read and heard, and for all I'm going to read and hear:

• Just because you are for or against Mubarak does not mean the other side is evil, wrong or reckless, or simply detached and ignorant. The "other" should be allowed to present his/her argument and may the majority win - that's what democracy and freedom of speech are about. And that's what this revolution is about.
• Just because you think this is enough and let's compromise, does not mean those that want to charge forward and uproot ALL that is corrupt NOW are reckless, ignorant, or do not care about the destruction that is happening.
• Just because you are afraid and traumatized by the events, does not mean you can abandon those that knew this was going to happen and are gritting their teeth and charging forward, with their injuries still bleeding, and then also turn around and attack their loyalty to country, people, and faith for doing so.
• Please do not use religion, Bible or Koran verses to justify your position on wether to move forward with the protests and the revolution or not.
• Just because a corrupt regime says it's going to make changes in the next 7 months, don't expect people to believe it and not be suspicious of what's really going to happen when compared with its 30-year track record. And when compared with what happened the very next day after its announcement.
• Just because there is not one opposition leader everyone can agree on right now, does not mean we should keep those who destroyed the country and its beautiful people over the last 30 years in power. That's what elections are for.
• Just because there is legitimate fear of the unknown, of what's to come, and possible exploitation of certain groups that may take Egypt under, does not mean people should accept a known corruption over an unknown one. Give them a choice to make their own destiny. With choice comes responsibility.
• Just because you are an Egyptian on the ground in Egypt, do not accuse those Egyptians who are abroad as being detached and can do "nothing better but talk" because they're not in the middle of it.
• You don't know what's in their hearts.
• You don't know the reasons that led up to each of these persons leaving Egypt.
• You don't know what these people are doing from abroad to help lift Egypt up high - things that cannot be done under oppression from within.

Love one another. Support one another. Keep guilt trips, negativity, and hate to a minimum, and hold sensitivity and respect up high. We are all over the world. We are from different economic backgrounds. We have different political views. We have different religions and faiths. We have different aspirations and dreams. But we are all Egyptians.

18 Dark Days

18 days into 2011, and already it's been an exhausting year...
The bombing at the Church if the Saints in Alexandria, Egypt on New Year's Eve really put a bad taste in my mouth the morning of New Year's Day. The random mass death of birds and fish all over didn't help the sense of despair this year brought. Shortly thereafter, it was followed by the train shooting. Then the shooting in Arizona left me perplexed, but the memorial speech left me in hopeful tears that through it all, we will come together to offset this spell of darkness with the light of our kind actions towards one another.
The revolt of the Tunisian people gave hope to other oppressed Arab nations that they too will be heard, if they speak up loud enough and in unison. But even that was misinterpreted, and so far 5 copycats in Egypt set themselves on fire, only bringing more sorrow and misery to their families and situation. That obviously didn't help.
Hoping to find a glimmer of light, I turn inward to more simpler matters, family, work and the day to day. Yet the darkness of the ugly 18 days has spread there too. Work is once again at a peak time of stress, issues arising were none were for months. Family is getting bad health news, a wedding canceled, a friend's parent has passed, and another friend is lying in the hospital with bleeding to the brain. And to top it all off, I get food poisoning! Enough is enough!

This may seem like a venting type of blog entry, and to some degree it is. Maybe it's my hungry, yet violent stomach that's doing the talking. Maybe it's the last series of gray weather days. But maybe the collective of the recent events will pull us all together to create a warm space for one another, love one another and be kind to one another just a tiny bit more than usual. Your friend, coworker, neighbor or driver in the car next to you probably needs it.

Make it a great day, and pray for one another. Let's hope I have a brighter 18 days to report on very soon.