So it's been awhile since I've blogged... I had two weeks of
fall vacation and was on the go for most of them. Now things are basically back to normal but of course we just had a pretty historic presidential election which the whole world has been caught up in, and I figured people might be interested in knowing what the German response has been like. I may even throw in a bonus of my *unique* perspective as a Christian American who has lived about a year and a half in Germany. (Don't know if it's really unique... but hey, this is my blog, and I do have some thoughts to share. :)
First week of vacation: I went with my roommate Anna on the
Team Berlin retreat. Team Berlin is a team of American missionaries - mostly from Presbyterian missions organizations like Mission to the World - who are planting churches in East Berlin. They asked me if I'd come and babysit the kids while the adults had sessions so that it could really be a retreat for all of the team members. They paid my way and gave me a gracious gift at the end, and I really enjoyed it. The kids were super sweet, so it really wasn't much work, and it's always a blessing not to have to cook meals for a week and to be out of the city and a little more in touch with nature... But definitely the coolest thing was getting to talk to other Amis who God has called to Berlin. Hearing their stories was super encouraging.
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Second week of vacation: Anna and I went to
Dresden. The weather was terrible, but the city is beautiful! We were also super blessed to get to stay in the apartment of a friend-of-a-friend, which made the trip much more relaxing. We mostly did a lot of walking, visiting lots of old churches and other important sights, and we had one "museum day," where we visited the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) and the Art Gallery (Gemäldegallerie alter Meister), which features Raphael's Sistine Madonna. (Most people know that painting because of the two cherubs at the bottom that are on lots of cards, journals, tote bags, etc...) We also went to a cool organ and brass concert at one of the churches. We had a great time. What makes Dresden so fascinating is that the architecture is incredibly beautiful, and much of it has been restored or preserved in spite of the devastating fire-bombing at the end of World War II.
Click here to see my Dresden pictures.And now, the hot topic of the week...
Obama. I anticipated that people like my dad would be curious about the German response and how the German media has covered the election, so I have done a fair amount of reading, checking out various newspapers to see how they are portraying it.
Before we get into this, let me say briefly
my own position, since no one is without bias: 1) I actually didn't vote. Before you call me a bad American, let me explain! My absentee ballot didn't get here until Monday. I'm not sure how they expected me to return it by the time the polls closed on Tuesday, but that's basically impossible. I didn't stress out too much about it though because I knew Tennessee would vote Republican and because 2) I would not have voted for Obama OR McCain. After considerable research I couldn't vote for either of them without conflict of conscience. I had hoped to find a 3rd-party candidate to vote for, since I personally believe we need to break out of the Republican-Democrat cycle of stagnancy (I'm tired of every issue being polarized), but unfortunately after researching them I couldn't vote for any of them either. I would've done a write-in, and never really decided who because I realized my ballot wouldn't get there in time anyway.
Now...
the German reaction? It was, as expected, overwhelmingly positive. German papers devoted a LOT of space to writing about it, reporting on all the celebrations and speeches - including translated transcripts of them - and of course much editorial analysis. The general vibe is that times are finally changing, America is finally coming around and ready for change, re-inventing itself.
Examples of headlines (all in German, I've translated): "Change has come to America" (of course), "America suddenly looks very different," "America - rising up out of the ruins," "The resurrection of the American dream," "Obama's historic victory," "America votes for change."
They also really highlight the fact that Obama has made history by being the first elected Black President.
There have been a few, however, who are saying that things aren't going to get better overnight, and that people might have placed expectations on Obama that are way too high.
Examples: "It won't all be great," "Transatlantic relations aren't going to get simpler," "Good morning, Mr. President: High expectations from Obama."
They also wrote positively and respectfully about McCain's concession.
Europe - or at least Germany, as far as I have perceived - pretty much wants us to be like them. They want us to join the fight against climate change, get out of Iraq, nationalize health care, and of course fix our economy (since they feel the effects of it too!). One headline I saw suggested that Obama should follow FDR's example (New Deal, etc.). Pretty much across the board, Germany is happy that Obama won and has high hopes. Apparently German Chancellor Angela Merkel woke up pretty early yesterday to congratulate Obama. She said she looks forward to continuing the conversations they started this summer (when Obama visited Berlin) and believes that it is essential for Germany and America to work together.
My thoughts? I have never been one to question whether Obama is basically a "good guy." I know that a lot of people who vote Republican are super skeptical of him as a person but I find their arguments to be generally unsupported. I do believe that Obama has great potential to lead our country in a new direction. The question is whether it is the right direction, and if we will get there the right way. Europe is very open and supportive of Obama. I hope that he will use this favor to improve foreign relations without compromising the integrity of what differentiates America from Europe. I do not want America to become like Europe.
Especially since having lived in Europe, my biggest fear about Obama is that he will - even with the best intentions - place too much responsibility in the hands of the government and take it out of the hands of the people. In Germany, everyone has health insurance, college is very affordable, and there are relatively few homeless people. You can get money from the government for just about anything you need. But unemployment is high, colleges are not competitive and there aren't enough spots for everyone, people are extremely dependent on the government, and the concept of volunteer work is basically outdated. I don't want America to go in this direction. When Americans see problems in their country, I want them to join together to do something about it, not run to the government and tell them to do something about it.* I want Americans to continue working hard to strive for the best, for themselves and for others, rather than learning to be content with mediocrity for the sake of artificial "fairness." I hope that Obama will not lead Americans to be more dependent on the government, but rather to be more active, more open-minded, and more generous.
That's my two cents... I'm off the soapbox now. If I read or hear any more interesting discussions I will write more!
Please feel free to comment or even disagree with me, but please keep it civil. :)
Other than that I don't have much to report. I have a potential opportunity to do a few more hours of teaching each week at an elementary school in Prenzlauer Berg (close to where I live, where there aren't many Turkish kids.) It would be very cool to experience a more typical German elementary school to see the differences. It was good to be back at E.-O.-Plauen this week though. I'm still crazy about my kids. I just wish I had more time with them!
Good night everyone...
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(* By the way, this concept applies for both sides! I want Americans - especially Christians - to help pregnant teens raise their children or find opportunities for adoption instead of waiting for the government to overturn Roe v. Wade, which is highly unlikely. The fact that so many Christians vote solely based on the issue of abortion is extremely appalling to me.)
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Last week at school we had a "project week," where the kids were with their homeroom teachers the first half of the day for a "project," instead of normal classes. This week it was all about "method training" for my 5th-graders - they did all kinds of exercises and activities to find out what type of learner they are, how to work in a group, how to give an oral presentation, etc. etc. On Friday, the parents were invited to come and here their kids give a presentation about what they had learned.
The kids were excited and nervous about their presentation. Almost all of them had a part (no one was forced to get up and talk), and they presented everything both in German and Turkish, since some of their parents don't speak much German. It was my first time to meet any of the parents, so I also introduced myself briefly - in German and in Turkish. The kids helped me figure out what to say and helped me practice, which was quite fun. Another teacher who is also Turkish helped me too during the break, and we spoke a little Turkish. (Hopefully this will continue in the future!) So I was a little excited and nervous too, like my kids.
Then the parents came. There were a few dads, but mostly it was moms. All with headscarves. I have to admit, it was a slightly intimidating moment when they all walked in the room. I had no idea what they thought of me and what kind of impression I would make on them. It is a strange feeling to find yourself in front of a group of people whose culture and beliefs are so different from yours, who would never dress like you're dressed, who probably assume the worst about you because of pop culture and the media...
Then the kids presented, and they did a great job. And inbetween one of my more difficult students occasionally looked over at his baby sister on his mother's lap and made silly faces with her, and I fell in love with them all. No matter how different we are - language, culture, dress, religion, everything - we all have something in common, we're all humans who laugh, cry, and love. I have loved these kids since my first day at E.-O.-Plauen, but in that moment, I fell in love with them more, and somewhere inside me a love for their families sparked too.
Afterward, as I was leaving the school, there was one place I had to go, even though I didn't know why. Around the corner from the school is this great little cafe owned by an incredibly friendly Turkish couple, and through my occasional visits I've gotten to know them a bit. I wasn't hungry and had already had too much coffee, but I had to go see them and share my joy for some reason. Taner, the husband, said, "You seem to really have fun doing what you do."
