Hometown Globalization

     I have lived in my hometown of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania for the better part of my life, coming out to almost 20 years.  Throughout those years, I have gotten the chance to see my relatively small town slowly develop into a prime example of globalization, primarily in regards to the type of food options I have available. I have seen local family owned businesses either bought out or ran out of business by larger companies. Talericos, a beloved local sandwich company, was forced into a cold war when a Subway was put in across the street. This trend has continued as I saw Taco Bell's, McDonalds, Panera Breads, and Chipotles being developed and causing support for local shops to dry up. On the flip side, what was once a predominately white town has seen a recent boom in people of other ethnicities moving and bringing  parts of their culture with them. While there are more commercialized stores, there are also more Chinese and Indian food spots than ever before. This has greatly diversified what was originally a town of too many pizza shops and Irish pubs into a town more reminiscent of a small city, with all the different cultural representations that comes with it.