God bless the USA

Today was my first official day at King's College. As I am taking several classes on the War Studies department, it was not a surprise to me when I found out that my first lecture was called : Cold War and its consequences. When I saw the title in the powerpoint, I cringed a little and thought to myself: this is going to be one of those really boring lectures.....but god knows I was wrong.

I think I highly underestimate the consequences of going to University in the US, because I was not prepared for what happened today and my reaction to it all. Basically, in within 3 minutes into the: "what was the Cold War" question, students were openly calling America the one and only cause of the war, saying that americans bought the bullshit that it was a war for democracy when it was actually all about capitalism and not losing economic markets etc...More surprising than these statements (which are not really surprising at all, it is just that the students said it as if they were so superior to american politics that it gave me the chills) was that I was really angry at such ignorance.

Here's what I have to say about all of this anti-american sentiment that seems to be everywhere: I understand how you feel. I do not by any means agree with a lot of political decisions made by american politicians, they are extreme and uneducated decisions. And I also agree that the consequences of those decisions were/are very dangerous. Now, I will not agree with students who perceive americans as "specially dumb people". Here's a little secret for you: every single country has a very BIG percentage of ignorant and uneducated citizens. I am not even talking about the part of the population that doesn't have access to information, I am referring to the elites of all countries. The ones that have plenty of access to all sources of information, but chose ignorance instead of knowledge. These people exist everywhere, not just in America. The problem is that America is a so called "superpower", which means that the decisions made by the people in America have bigger consequences than the decisions made by the people in Latvia. As a consequence, the ignorant people in the US are more dangerous than the ignorant people in Brazil. As you can see, this has NOTHING to do with Americans being more stupid, it has to do with them having more power.

Actually, a good deal of citizens in America will agree with your views against american politics, or haven't you noticed who is sitting in the White House at the present moment?! If their people are so dumb, why did they elect a president capable of drastically decreasing the anti-american sentiment around the world?
Hating the big guy who makes the big calls is the easy part, how about starting to realize how many countries support their decisions? Don't be surprised to find your country on the list.

This is very simple logic. The voice of authority has little room for mistake because everyone else is sitting on their desks, watching and being directly affected by their actions. But that doesn't make the voice of authority any more or less prone to making mistakes.

So please, feel free to criticize the decisions made by the American government (I do it all the time!), or by any government for that matter. However, DO NOT assume an air of superiority when you do this, because your country is not by any means exempt of ignorant citizens. Actually, if you are not able to understand that there are ignorant people everywhere, chances are that you are one of them.


[This post is either the result of heavy american brainwashing, so subtle that during my years in america I didn't realize that I was becoming a member of the american lovers society. OR it is a result of living in a culture for long enough to realize that even the so called "bad guys" are the victims sometimes.]

Pub talk

On wednesday I went to the pub with and old friend and newly met ones. While we were having the awkward breaking-the-ice conversation, the inevitable question came up: so, what are your plans after college? Inevitable, 3 out of the 4 kids in the table said: I will probably open a company (the fourth one who didn't say that was me). Even though I am used to their answer, as 90% of students in my university answer the same thing, I can't help it but feel a little sad.
Before I continue, I will say that it would be extremely hypocritical of my part to talk bullshit about the business industry, after all, thanks to my mother's job I was able to afford going to a school in america and travel to London. I am the proud daughter of a business woman, and I am not by any means afraid to yell this to whomever wants to hear it.
Now, here is my problem with everybody wanting to open a company: our society seems to associate success with business. Since were are kids we are wired to make this association and we all (including myself) buy this bullshit without thinking twice. The result is a bunch of young adults who are brilliant in other fields trying deny their true passions because they think that they would never achieve success - and therefore be happy- by being a sociologist.
Just to make my point, I will use an example: my best friend is absolutely brilliant. She is funny, sassy, extremely politically aware and very determined. She loves international affairs and journalism. I can see her being a fantastic journalist, an amazing human rights advocate and much, much, more. When she talks about poverty, her eyes lit up and you just know that if she could work with any Non - Profit she would be happy for the rest of her life. And yet, if you ask her what internship she is looking for next semester, she will say that she is looking for an internship in a bank. She is good in economics, and she knows that that's the right step to take in order to get into the business industry. Why the business industry? because that's where all opportunities and happiness is. Or so we are told.
And there you have it. Another person giving up on a dream without even realizing what her dream was.
Now I am beginning to understand the cheesy quotes: "never give up on your dreams" or "you are never too old to achieve greatness" and all that crap. After that conversation on the pub with my friends, I began wondering how many of us give up on our dreams just like that, by choosing to look for an internship at bank of america instead of at Amnesty International. How many of us slowly give up on an anthropology major to add "pre law" to our diplomas. And just like that, with small decisions, we give up on what we once wanted so passionately to follow the so called "path to success". No wonder middle age crisis is a real thing. My only question is why it takes us to be 50 years old to realize that most of us give up on our dreams without giving it a real shot.
I wish with all my heart that my friend gives up on her economics internship and pursue a career that will truly make her happy. A career that will bring a whole new meaning to the word success.

 On wednesday, when they asked what my plans were after college, I said I wanted to continue with Peace Studies and maybe save the world one day. It gives me a little peace of mind to know that I haven't given up on my dreams.....at least not yet.

(as for my best friend, fear not, she hasn't given up on her dreams either, she just needs a friend to constantly remind her that her dreams are who she is, and giving up on them would be to kill our chances to be happy.)

Where are you from? Stupid, STUPID question!

Hi I am Carolina, a junior at GW University and I decided to start a blog while I am studying abroad in London. But before I start, I would like to explain why the title of this blog is: Girl without a nation. It turns out that I was born in Brazil, but my mother's family is German and my dad's family is Italian. I went to a German school in Brazil and when I was 17 I decided that I wanted to go to college in America. I've been in the US for almost 3 years, and after that I can almost consider myself a native (or at least I understand most of their jokes, which is remarkable if you ask me). Last year, I decided that I wanted more, I wanted to go to London. Consequence: I am now enrolled at King's college until the end of the year.
Once, landing in O'Hare for the 10th time, I had a little epiphany: everywhere I land, no matter the country or the city, something tells me that that's my home. And it is. From that day forward, I realized that I can't call myself brazilian, german, italian. I am part of the nation that I am visiting. I immerse myself in their culture and their values as much as I can. And when I finally leave that place, everything I learned becomes a part of me. So where am I from? well, that depends on how I am feelings that day =)


XOXO
Nean Bean