What's a Long Distance Neighbour?

Our world is more globally connected than ever been before. There's something international about almost everything these days. From politics and fashion, to travel and business, it's led to a lot of talk about globalization and global community. These words are often thrown around, sometimes negatively or sometimes positively depending on the context and who you're talking to. So how are you supposed to find a sense of community in a world this big?

Talking about long distance neighbours is my way of trying to break down the idea of a giant globally interrelated world into a simpler relationship where I can clearly see my interconnection with other people all over the globe.

Traditionally, we think about our neighbourhood as the place where we live, and our neighbours as the people we live near. I think (or hope) that most people believe in giving back to their neighbourhood/community in some way or another since our lives are all tangled and jumbled up with the people who we share spaces with. The ultimate idea is that we have an obligation to help those whose lives are interconnected with ours.

However, in today's world, the person who grew your food, helped make your clothes, or put the battery in your cellphone frequently lives on the other side of the globe. Talk about interconnectedness! These people may not be physically your neighbours but they are just as crucial to the well being of your neighbourhood as those who live around you.

At the end of the day, we are all tangled together with people we don't really get a chance to meet and a lot of us miss out on a sense of connection because of this.

I count myself as one of the lucky people who gets a chance to live and work in this larger community. Starting in June, I will be off on a 6-month internship in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (which will be my second trip to this part of the world) and what sort of neighbour would I be if I didn't offer to share some of my experiences with the rest of you?

So, my goal with this blog will be to give you a chance to meet some of your long distance neighbours and hopefully our crazy global world will feel a bit more like the tight-knit community it should be.

Sincerely,

Your Long Distance Neighbour

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