Sunday, October 18, 2009

Day 53: Cosmopolitan

When I was 20-years-old, I dreamt of being a diplomat. Working for the UN was my dream back then. I took courses from Professor Sadako Ogata, who later became the head of the UNHCR. But then, I thought about it long and hard in the abstract, and figured that I wanted children, and concluded it would be rather difficult to have a husband (because back then, I didn't think I could have children without a husband) who would accompany me on my 3-year stints. So, I gave up before I even tried.


Over the years, I have become friends with some diplomats and marvel at their ability to move from country to country every few years. As a child, I had a similar experience, and find that this has helped me become a flexible person. Some say it's good to have roots, and I have friends who were born, raised and live in one city all their lives. I cannot imagine this myself, but think it may be very nice, too. I find that being cosmopolitan has nothing to do with how many cities one has lived in, or how many languages one speaks. It's all about how accepting one is, and how interested, how curious one is about different people and cultures. Over the years, we have had nannies help us with the kids. Counting the nationalities of the nannies from Asia, Europe, and Africa, my children have been blessed with multitudes of cultures. I am hopeful that these children will be the norm of the future generation.

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