Blog Post #1- Halel Adimnikem - Global Issues

         After what had felt like eons of travelling, I had finally landed at the Freiburg train station, and had to flag a taxi. In my American fashion, I walked up to a driver and said “Hello, can you take me to Motel One?” to which he responded, “Sorry my English not good, English not common in Germany.”  Both I and this Man spoke different languages, both he knew more about mine than I did his. That was my first moment of clarity.

We soon got into a conversation after my futile attempt to haggle the taxi prices. He asked me where I was from, because I kept saying “Dollars” instead of Euros, to which I responded “Canada”. He let out a laugh and said “Thank God not America”. I pushed back on his statement. Of course I was not American, at least not in that moment, but what was wrong with Americans? He responded saying 

“Americans are rough with guns and shooting, and their President bad man.”

Now, I’ve never been pro-guns, nor am I a fan of President Donald Trump, but hearing about these topics that have been in the centre of political debates in the US over the past couple of years, from a random German man caught me off guard. I asked him how he formed that opinion and he responded “everybody watches the news.” 

This embarrassed me a whole lot. Not just the fact that I get my news from social media, but the fact that before this trip, I had assumed I was relatively informed about global issues. However, I began to realize that most of the things I knew were heavily centered around the United States. Meanwhile, people in other countries seemed far more aware of American politics, and social issues than average Americans were of theirs.

The more conversations I had with locals in Freiburg, the more I noticed how much influence the US has abroad. Once people learned I was American, conversations immediately shifted towards American culture. Even while being thousands of miles away from home, I realized that the United States still plays a major role in shaping political conversations in other countries due to our strength economically. American politics, media, and culture constantly circulate through social media, and television, meaning that people abroad are exposed to American issues whether they want to be or not. 

Ironically, I had learned about Globalization multiple times in Dr Dorraj’s class, but that taxi ride was what made it real for me. Countries constantly observe each other through media and culture but the exchange is uneven. This experience made me realize how little attention the average American, (with the exception of those who actively study global issues or international politics) gives to other countries in return. Many people around the world pay attention to America because American influence is everywhere. If the people abroad make the effort to understand the United States, then I believe more Americans including myself should make as much effort to understand them to the same degree. 

By the end of the taxi ride, i understood that i had for the longest, mistaken being informed about the US for being informed.