THE GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

By assisting as a volunteer with World Relief Fox Valley, I have learned a lot about cultural acceptance, stereotypes, and many other aspects of what it is like to try to understand others and the experiences they have had throughout their lifetimes. Refugees from other countries often experience terrible conditions in their home countries which require them to travel to other locations, like the United States, in order to keep their lives and the lives of their family members safe and secure. By being invited into the homes of some of World Relief’s clients after transporting them to appointments, I have been able to hear some of their stories of being in refugee camps and going through the process of coming to the United States. They express how much they miss their gardens, public transportation, extended family members, and sense of ethnic community. So much emotion is woven into their stories and I wish this emotion could be heard and felt by more people in the community. Before working with World Relief, I had very little experience working with such a vulnerable population. I did not know how many refugees were being placed right in my community and I did not know much about their characteristics, however, I did know the types of negative ideas many people in my community had about them. This is part of the reason why I decided to work with World Relief specifically; to attempt to understand this portion of the population and help make their presence in my community known and accepted. They have so much kindness and are willing to offer you so much; their apartment walls are often undecorated and they often have very little furniture, yet if they trust you and give you their respect, they will offer you the most comfortable chair in their living room and give you their most decorated teacup to drink out of.

The courses that I have taken for credit towards the designation have also contributed to a better understanding of my global experience. Although World Relief’s clients do not typically come from Germany, my German culture courses have helped me to avoid ethnocentric ideas and be more open to understanding cultural differences when interacting with refugees and those from diverse countries. Actions or beliefs from another culture are not wrong, they are simply different and should be explored. The course that I believe has helped me with understanding my global experience the most would be the Geography of Europe course (one of my assignments from the course is linked below). Much like the United States, countries in Europe are also experiencing an increase in refugee arrival. There was a portion of the Geography of Europe course that discussed this topic and how the countries are reacting to the presence of the new cultures. Some countries seem to be having a more difficult time accepting the cultural differences and I was able to compare and contrast their difficulties with those that the United States is having. Speaking generally, each European country tends to have a more deeply-rooted and historical cultural identity that unites the citizens together whereas the United States is more of a mix of numerous cultures. This might be why refugees are more visible in European countries than they are in the United States; they can easily blend in here. However, this does not mean that they are more accepted in the United States than they are in Europe. Unfortunately, there tends to be a stigma attached to them in both regions.