Final Reflection

It's taken a few days to get back into the swing of things and now that I've reiterated my experience to anyone with ears, I feel as though I may have some coherent thoughts:

It was wonderful to see a country embrace, and I know not everyone does, a population different from their own that also needs a lot of public assistance. The US has developed an almost comical reputation about its negative attitude towards immigrants and the "burden" they put on our welfare system. This is reflected in its immigration policies and some publicly and globally expressed attitudes, Trump being the most obvious spouter, that it is easy to forget that some places are not treating people the way we are. 

I was able to visit with a family I lived with for a year when I was just out of college. "Of course we pay lots of taxes to provide social support, and we don't mind that!" Was their response when I asked them about how they felt about the incoming migrants and how it was altering life in Germany. Meeting Ruth, and other staff from our NGO, made it even clearer that the US is wrong it its attitudes towards immigrants.The US is projecting an image of ourselves that exudes hate, and based on what I heard from other Germans, including Ruth and my former family, the US turning into a joke. Our credibility is crumbling in part because of how ridiculous it is to deny an entire needy population entry based on where they are from. I imagine that others on this program with me had a similar experience, and I believe it will be up to us, and others like us, to help change what is happening in the US. Let's be more like Germany! 

Also, the food and beer were amazing. 

Alice Laubach

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