2nd stage of globalization - when humanity will progress as a whole... Have you ever seen a foreigner and immediately assumed (unconsciously) that he or she belongs to a certain nationality or specific culture? Leaving behind the ideas of being racist or prejudicial, it is a natural reaction of human beings to try to figure out basic information about someone before engaging him/her. For example, by scanning quickly their clothing style, observing if they are smiley or not, and some cases by their scent (you won’t think positively of someone that smells awful). The physical impression someone gives you is one thing, but (un)intentionally categorizing them according as Asian/African/Latin American/European/Arabic is another and it leads to one very basic reflex: (s)he is different and not like the people from the community I live with. Now, imagine a world where you can’t pinpoint with certainty the cultural o racial background of someone (for example a woman whose father is Chinese American and mother is African-Hungarian, but you didn’t know this). Could you assume that he is similar or different then? Since we can’t overwrite our human instinct to judge others by appearance as first impressions, I believe true globalization will arrive the day we can’t differentiate from each other, or in other words when we can’t determine any cultural stereotypes. It is true that we live in a more globalized world thanks to all the technological advances and it can’t be denied that we are more connected thanks to the internet. However, as we access more information from all around the globe, we also notice how different we can be and thus we formulate a very limited and sometimes biased idea of the other countries and cultures. What I want to say is that, humanity, in order to advance as a whole and start solving global issues together we need to erase the geographical and cultural frontiers among us. With a proper education it is easier to accept our differences and be tolerant, but emotionally it will still be a challenge until us humans, become a true border-less family with only one nation and culture in mind: planet earth.