Serving Bread

I’m not too surprised how quickly I found the [tag]Starbucks[/tag] down the street. Yes, I do feel some level of contradiction and internal tension spending time and purchasing beverages at a Starbucks in [tag]Mexico City[/tag]. As I’m sipping my “alto cafe” and putting together a training schedule, I forgot that I was in Mexico City. The Starbucks soundtrack of the blenders making Frappuccinos and the ‘hip’ American pop songs in the background, reminded me of the Starbucks on Devonshire and Reseda. Of course, the language spoken around me was Spanish.

I am a product of my culture. And there might be something telling that I feel so comfortable at Starbucks. Perhaps, this is the power of globalism. Starbucks is issuing its unique cultural fingerprint on people. The 30-something male who enjoys Starbucks in Mexico City, may be shaped in similar ways to the 30-something male who enjoys Starbucks in the US. And as Starbucks markets its particular brand of culture, it doesn’t really matter what country or city I am in to be a consumer. [tag]Globalism[/tag] is not something that affects people “over there”, but I am affected by globalism as well.

I finished my cup of coffee and headed back out into the cross-cultural world of Mexico City, and wondered how soon I would return.