There has never been any doubt that the world is becoming smaller and that globalization is here to stay. But yesterday I was reminded of how that hits home.
Driving home from work I pass the Alameda County Fairgrounds. I live in the town of Pleasanton, a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The fairgrounds — which host the summer event to much fanfare and is a throwback to the era of slow summer days and 4-H shows — sits right in the middle of town. There are events here throughout the year, from camping shows to Hawaiian music festivals.
Yesterday evening, driving past the entrance to the fairgrounds parking lot, I saw something I never expected to see in our small town: a large sign in Farsi with a smaller English translation saying, “Iraqi Elections.” Turns out that our small suburban town is the place to go if you are an Iraqi citizen and want to cast your absentee ballot. Even more interesting to me, Pleasanton is one of only eight polling places in the entire country. Who would’ve thunk?
I lifted the photos below from various online news sources, and I thought you’d find it interesting to see what’s happening in my little town.
