Kottbusser Tor

A few days after I arrived here in Berlin, on Tuesday, May 24, I visited Kottbusser Tor for the first time. If the rest of Berlin is loud and crowded, Kottbusser Tor is deafening and bursting. The place is overflowing with life. People hurry past to and from the U-Bahn station, a grocery store, restaurants, cafes, other small shops, and apartments seem to be piled on top of each other, people are shouting, intersections are full of traffic.

I went to Kottbusser Tor on that Tuesday to meet one of the students from the Freie University of Berlin who will be working with me as a translator as needed. I had only Skyped and emailed her before, but once I got here we decided to meet up, and she suggested Kottbusser Tor. We would meet in front of the Kaiser's (a grocery store), where some apparently homeless people sat, where people came up from and went down to the U, and where I stood awkwardly waiting for about 15 minutes. As she was running late, she ended up texting me to go to Cafe Kotti, which was just a bit down Adalbertstrasse and up some stairs.I found it pretty easily, which surprised me, and I sat in a cloud of cigarette smoke and ordered a chai tea.

Since that Tuesday, Kottbusser Tor has become a favorite area of mine to stop and wander around. The stop is on my way to my apartment most times (it depends of which U-Bahn I'm taking), and if I have extra time, I actually enjoy getting off there and wandering around. I thought the part of Schoneberg where I live was diverse, but Kottbusser Tor is even more so. Japanese, Singaporean, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Indian, and even Mexican restaurants line Oranienstrasse, a street close by the U-Bahn stop. An array of smaller cafes, clothing stores, electronic stores, random knickknack stores, book stores, etc. are crammed together. People crowd the sidewalks and cars pack the streets. People sit on the curbs, against buildings, or in the middle of the sidewalks begging, eating, or just taking a break. According to the Wikipedia page, the area is known for drug-related crime and is also affectionately referred to as "Kotti."

And there at Kottbusser Tor, this busy, bustling, brimming corner of the world, is Betahaus. Betahaus is probably the coolest working environment I've ever seen. I went there for the first time on May 27, when I met up with a guy who I had randomly met on the U-Bahn the previous Sunday afternoon. I told him a bit about what I was doing here, and just like that, he decided I had to meet a friend of his who runs an organization called Singa Deutschland (more about them in an upcoming post). We went there and talked to her briefly, and I'm getting at least one interview and also meeting some more fantastic people as a result! The second time I went to Betahaus was to meet someone who works with MigrantHire, which is a fantastic organization that is striving to help newcomers coming to Berlin as refugees and migrants find jobs. I had the opportunity to interview someone involved in this work, which was just inspiring.

Clearly, I'm a little behind on posting about how things are going, but more about my trip to come soon!

Willkommen in Berlin

Berlin. A conglomerate of cultures.

My first impression was that it was a place of contradictions where opposites of every kinds might be found. Now, I believe it would more accurately be described as a conglomerate because while "contradiction" implies that there are two opposing factors, "conglomerate" is more descriptive of the mix of several things, held together by something indescribable.

I've been in Berlin for just over a week now, and I have just under six more weeks to spend here in this interesting city. I have a studio/economy apartment in Schoneberg in a neighborhood apparently known for its variety of gay bars and cafes and Turkish food. In a few block radius of my apartment, you could find several gay bars, cafes, and clothing stores, Turkish restaurants, Indian restaurants, and several massage studios and antique stores. Also in the area are several cafes, a burger place, pizza, Vietnamese food, Korean BBQ, Thai food, a hookah bar, a book store, and a couple grocery stores. Eclectic.

Berlin seems to be home to people with every shade of skin, every background, from every culture. This crowded, dirty, noisy city seems to be packed with people from all walks of life.

Graffiti in Schoneberg

Let's Talk... My Views on the Syrian Refugee Issue

I've been thinking about picking up with blogging again since I started in the MA program in the Global and Area Studies department at the University of Wyoming in August, but since I'm in grad school now, I'm busier than ever. This blog has not exactly been at the top of my priority list, and carving out time in my schedule to blog has been nearly impossible. However, with everything going on in the world right now and the vast array of responses I've seen, I thought I would weigh in on things. What I had to say was going to be much longer than a facebook post or a tweet's worth, so I thought now was the perfect time to start this up again.

First, let me clarify my positionality. I believe there is no such thing as an objective stance on an issue, so let me be the first to admit my personal biases. I've worked with refugees and international students, I've made long-lasting friendships with Muslims, and I'm currently deep in research for my MA thesis that pertains to the Syrian refugee crisis. That being said, I think these things illuminate my view rather than cloud my judgement. So yes, I'm going there... I'm going to delve right into the midst of the controversy and explain my own thoughts about whether or not the United States should accept refugees.

Wednesday, soon after I arrived at my office, I got a call from a colleague of mine. It was strange timing, but this particular colleague has been connecting me with many people for my research, so I thought perhaps it pertained to that. When I answered, he immediately said, "Did you see what Mead did?!" I hadn't, but he proceeded to tell me that Wyoming's governor, Matt Mead, had joined several other state governors in refusing Syrian refugees. After the attacks on Paris on Friday, November 13, security concerns about refugees have spread throughout a large number of European nations and U.S. states. Beginning on Sunday, U.S. governors started declaring their refusal of refugees. As of Wednesday, 31 states' governors had issued statements refusing refugees. Here's a nice graphic from PBS to give you an idea of which states these are.

Now, states do not actually have the power to make these kinds of decisions. Without getting too deeply into that, I'll just say that the Refugee Act of 1980, which was an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, signed into effect by President Jimmy Carter, places the power to admit (or deny) additional refugees in the hands of the President and the Attorney General.

Anyway, my colleague, knowing that I am conducting research on a certain aspect of the Syrian crisis, wanted to see if I would be interested in somehow letting Governor Mead know that the entirety of the Wyoming population is not against refugees. While some governors may have been more informed, it seemed to us like Mead rushed to this decision to go along with what other republican governors are doing (all but one state governor who are against accepting refugees are republican). Just to clarify, Wyoming doesn't even have a refugee resettlement program. Thus, this should not necessarily be a big concern for the state. However, Mead also claimed that there are no refugees in the state right now, and I highly doubt that.

My colleague and I decided we would talk more once he got to my office (and I'll save the outcome of that talk for another post). In the mean time, I read several news articles from various sources (I like to read an array of sources to see the biases in things and get a better picture of the whole story). I also browsed my facebook news feed to see what kinds of things my friends were saying about the matter. The more I read, the more disheartened with humanity I became. The sheer hate that people were expressing was staggering, and let me tell you, throughout the day Wednesday, I refrained from commenting on all but three things because I knew I wouldn't be able to help myself from calling people out on their ignorance. I wanted to gather my thoughts before posting anything or commenting. But, in case you were wondering, here are the three things I felt warranted me opening my mouth...

I believe this was the first thing I commented on. I'd seen it being reposted by a number of my "friends," and I got tired of shaking my head and scrolling on each time. I would copy and paste my comment, but the person whose post I commented on deleted it instead of replying. I said something like, "I understand people are scared, but the ignorance of this post is mind-blowing. 10 in 10,000 is nowhere close to the number of refugees that could pose a threat to the US. This is a terrible thing to spread."

This lovely image to the right is the second thing I commented on. As a Pentecostal from Colorado, I have the Colorado Pentecostals page "liked" on facebook. I saw this post because a friend of mine shared it. It actually drove me to tears. I took a screenshot so I could repost it here. Here's what I said in response:

"I understand that people are coming from a place of fear; however, it deeply saddens me to see Colorado Pentecostals comment on this in such a way. When I saw this post in my news feed earlier, I was brought to tears and ashamed that I am affiliated with this page. As someone who is educated on these issues and is currently doing research and an MA thesis on issues pertaining to refugees, I can only assume that whoever is responsible for this page did not take the time to fully understand. Please stop spreading this hatred. It is not the Christian thing to do."

I also added this link to my comment https://meredithbrunson.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/to-american-christians-who-reject-refugees/
(Kudos to the author. I think what you said is wonderful!)

Throughout the day I began to notice a trend in my news feed that I thought was interesting. Generally, my friends who I know because they're former professors, friends who I know because we had a class together once, my fellow McNair scholars, and fellow grad students were all posting things about how ridiculous it is to equate Islam with terrorism or to equate terrorism with refugees, about how states don't have the power to refuse refugees or about general humanitarian issues for refugees. On the other hand, generally all my Christian (Pentecostal and other denominations alike) friends were posting about how refugees are dangerous, how Muslims are terrorists, and how the U.S. ought to keep "them" out. What can I even say? This breaks my heart.

I said I commented on three posts. The third was the post of a Christian young lady who shared the link above, "To American Christians who reject refugees" and said, "This applies to more than the American Christian refusing refugees... Everyone read it and reexamine yourself." Yes, she got backlash for saying that. However, other than my husband, she was the ONLY Christian facebook friend I have who brought this to light, so I commented telling her she was amazing for posting it.


Finally, here's what I have to say to you all:

To my Muslim friends,
I am so deeply sorry that you have to constantly defend your religion. I am sorry that people see you wearing a hijab or hear you speaking in Arabic and automatically shy away from you in fear. I am so sorry for many of my fellow Americans' and my fellow Christians' feelings toward you. Let me apologize for my nation's media, for our gossip, and for our actions that spread hatred and equate you and your religion to terrorism. It is not right, and it is not fair.

To my refugee friends,
You have changed my life and opened my mind. You are wonderful, amazing, strong people who I have never seen act in violence or aggression. I am sorry people in this country think that accepting you will somehow hurt them. I am sorry that people would rather judge you and discriminate against you than learn about you, your experiences, and your culture. It's such a shame. My life has been enriched by you, and I am a better person for knowing you.

To Wyomingites,
Wyoming is supposed to be the "equality state," yet I've never in my life experienced such racial discrimination as I have here. If Wyoming truly was about equality, you would not be so quick to turn away refugees. Wyoming is nearly 93% White, and diversity is almost nonexistent and is rarely welcomed here. Inclusion of underrepresented groups is an issue on the UW campus, and it is an issue in this state, which I am learning more and more each day. I know you may be convinced that refugees are too much of a threat, and I know you may think that Governor Mead did the right thing, but I would encourage you to think about the kind of environment you are creating in your "equality state" by being so hate-filled. I hope that you can open your arms and your hearts to diversity. I hope that you can open your mind to education about the issues you are concerned about.

To my fellow Christians,
As I expressed before, spreading hatred is not the Christian thing to do. Matthew 25, specifically verses 34-45, is the attitude we ought to be taking on.
The Old Testament contains several verses about welcoming the foreigner, or stranger, showing them kindness, and even providing for their needs. The New Testament contains the greatest commandment, to love God with your all of your heart, soul, and mind, and the second greatest, to love your neighbor as yourself. And who is your neighbor? Read the story of the good Samaritan.
Think about this... Jesus Christ was turned away and rejected by people from the time he was unborn in his mother's womb as Mary and Joseph searched for a place to stay until the time He died. In fact, He's still rejected by people today. We preach the love of Christ and yet we turn our backs in hatred and in rejection of people who are deeply in need. How dare we?
As Christians, we should be shining examples of mercy, love, and compassion. I could insert a list of verses to prove this, but I think you all know them... you just have to remember them now.

To my fellow patriotic Americans,
I had an English professor who would say that proving you're really American meant sticking it to the next immigrant group. History proves this is true. It seems the most recent immigrant group is always the most avid haters of the next. With the current issue of Syrian refugees though, it seems like everyone is getting in on the hatred.
I understand that you may be afraid of the security threats that bringing in refugees may pose. That is a very real fear, and I do not take it lightly. However, I do not think our great nation should be characterized by fear. I also do not think our great nation should be characterized by hatred or Islamophobia. If you are one of the people afraid or concerned about our nation's security, I encourage you to educate yourself further about the refugee resettlement process to this country. Maybe start with this video:
How Do Refugees Enter The U.S.?
Without saying anything about either Huffington Post or Obama (seen towards the end of the video), I can tell you that the process shown here is accurate. I know this from my time working with refugees in Colorado. Trust me, the U.S. is not sending planes to pick up huge groups of people from the middle of nowhere and dropping them off at the airport nearest you. It is extremely difficult for a refugee to gain entrance into our country. They have to be referred to us from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), considered high risk enough (therefore this is usually mostly women and children), and then they have to get through a series of background checks, interviews, and health screenings. Syrian refugees cannot just walk right in.
In this time, I think we ought to remember our history.
It's time we remember what being an American really means.
You know what the inscription on the Statue of Liberty says?

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Our founding fathers were refugees in a way. This country has been built on the backs of refugees. In fact, in a sense, we are all refugees and immigrants. Maybe you yourselves are not, but unless you are full blooded Native American, look a few generations back and you'll fine refugees and/or immigrants. We are all tied to them. We are them. And I think that's part of what makes this country so great.



If you made it to the end of this long, long post, thanks so much for reading. I realize these ideas are contentious, and I would love to have a dialogue with you about anything and everything I've talked about. Feel free to comment; however, I ask that we try to keep comments a dialogue and not an attack. It would be great if we could approach each other with respect and understanding about where we're coming from and why we think the way we do.

Shaken Foundation

I feel like I should preface this post with a cautionary note... I know some of my readers are closely tied to some of the things I'll be discussing, so I just want to say, I'm sharing my thoughts, and if they offend you, feel free to take it up with me. However, I will not apologize for the personal thoughts I share here.



Last year at this time, I was in turmoil about my true spiritual/religious beliefs. The ground upon which I thought myself to be firmly planted was suddenly shaken, and everything - yes, everything - was uncertain. To help you understand just how much my world was shaken, I'll give some background.

I was raised "in church." Let me be more specific. I was raised in a United Pentecostal Church (UPC). We had church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. As I got older, I also participated in prayer meetings on Mondays, Bible studies on Tuesdays, youth service on Fridays, and Bible quizzing on Saturdays. Yeah, that's a lot of church. No, I never minded it.

If you don't know about the UPC, let me try to briefly share some... This gets difficult, because I think you see it very differently from the inside out than from the outside in, and I feel like I can see it both ways, at least to some extent. So, let me try to do both... From the outside in, I'm sure it looks pretty strange. They (especially the women) look different because of some physical standards they observe. They act differently in church service and are very open, even "crazy" with their worship. Further, they may tend to seem very exclusive, arrogant even. Now, from the inside out, we are adamant and unwavering in our beliefs. We believe exactly what the Bible says, and we include the whole thing, not just bits and pieces. We want everyone to experience the wonderful truth we know.

That whole thing about including the whole thing, not just bits and pieces... I'm not so sure... Somewhere, it seems like we've forgotten that first and greatest commandment and the second one, which is pretty important too...

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

But, I never saw that before. I was raised this way, and I didn't see anything else until I was 18 years old and moved away to go to college. Now, in the UPC there is this stigma about going to college and leaving "the church." I didn't do that. I got my pastor's permission, and I moved about 70 miles north to go to the University of Northern Colorado. And when I went, I went to another UPC church out there. So what changed? Nothing at first. But (and this actually goes along with the stigma), the more I learned, the more open minded I became, the more a grew... the less I felt the strong conviction that had tied me to "the church" all along. These were my convictions too, not things which were forced upon me. A lot of the "young people" are in church because their parents make them go. I never had that. My parents were raised in the same church I was raised in, but they never went when I was growing up.

I personally was deeply convinced of everything I believed and was convicted that we had the one true way of salvation. I based my life on this set of beliefs. My entire world view was determined by them. Well, a lot changed for me... You have to see that when this foundation was shaken, it changed everything. I didn't understand anything, and my life was definitely characterized by an atmosphere of dazed, lost confusion.




I'm going to leave it at that for now... I feel like this subject will take several posts, and I know right now with this first one, it doesn't necessarily seem to relate to the topic of the blog. But I'll continue these thoughts with the next post...

Quick Update!

Just some quick news:

• I got accepted into Sigma Tau Delta (International English Honor Society)
• I also got accepted into the McNair Scholars Program
• I'm definitely not going to the Philippines( or I would be there right now)
• I'm also not going to Lithuania
• I've been facilitating for Soliya for 6 weeks

I'm really wanting to post about some different "global"/"international"/"intercultural" issues that I've been learning about and researching lately, so I think the focus of this blog might kind of shift in that direction.

Change of Plans

Well, the last three months have brought with them many things...

Here, writing in this blog, I do not intend to put on the facade I have been trying to maintain in almost every other area of my life. Disclaimer: This post might be over-sharing... But to put it simply, without going into unnecessary detail, last year around this time, I went through an incredibly traumatic experience. Unfortunately, this trauma was basically extended, and it continued into December. What to say about this? Frankly, it has changed my life.

Over the last three months, I hit a low of unprecedented proportions in my life. I wasn't even functioning at one point. I wasn't going to my classes, I didn't want to go to work but I did (gotta pay rent somehow, right?), I distanced myself from friends and family, and I started backing out of my activities in the honors program and with the GRC. The trauma I had experienced was taking over my life.

So I made the decision to try to get some help. I reached out to a professor I've had a few times who is also my academic adviser for my English major when I missed his class for about three weeks straight towards the end of last semester. And he recommended that I get in touch with the Dean of Students. I didn't. I thought I could deal with it. I didn't want anyone else to know.

But over the break between semesters, things just got worse. I can't describe with words the way I felt, but it was agonizing. I would've given anything to just disappear forever. But one day, I was driving (I forget where), and I just desperately wanted, needed someone to help. So I went to the Dean of Students office. Why there? Because it was the first place that popped into my head because of my professor's advice. Long story short, they helped. They connected me with the counseling center, and now I'm working through what's happened.

Now that I'm not feeling like the living dead anymore, I feel like I can write about other things that are going on. A lot of things have changed since my last post...

First off, I am still pursuing writing my honors thesis in some sort of ESL curriculum for the Global Refugee Center. However, it seems I probably won't be going to Lithuania with ILP next semester. Nor will I be going to the Philippines. Yeah, to be blunt, that kind of sucks. I was really looking forward to it, but some other things have happened, and it just doesn't look possible financially right now. On the bright side, staying here next semester gives me more time to get the last of my classes in next academic year. Also, I've recently applied for admission into both Sigma Tao Delta (the English honor society) and the McNair Scholars Program, and it'll be good to stay and be active in those programs. Last but not least, I start facilitating with Soliya on Tuesday!! I am very excited for this opportunity.

Ultimately, lots of things have changed... Well, you just gotta roll with the frosting! (inside joke)

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

Why, Hello Again!

Well, I haven't written anything since October. This past semester ate me alive. With 20 credit hours, 2 jobs, my AmeriCorps work at the Global Refugee Center, my Soliya training, and all of the church things I'm involved in... where has the time gone?!

Nevertheless, here's a little summary of life in my world lately...

My work at the Global Refugee Center is going amazingly well! I cannot even describe to you how much of my heart each of my little people have. They are wonderful, special little darlings, and I adore every one of them!

To the right is a picture of a few of our kiddos (Reyubeni aka Batman, Julie, Valeria, Rosemary, Sae Meh, and Lex) and some of my wonderful volunteers (Marcus, Krista, Brittany, and Martin).







In November, I got the opportunity to represent the Global Refugee Center at the Engaged Scholars' Symposium at UNC. I was so excited and nervous about it! I ended up getting to have two tables side by side, one for the GRC and one featuring my project there, the Little Learners! It was such an honor to get to represent the GRC in the poster board presentation part of the symposium.

If that wasn't enough, I also got to help Tsigereda, the case manager at the GRC, represent the GRC at the round table discussions.

Also, I will be doing my honors' thesis as an applied project at the GRC. This is going to be a ton of work, but I am so excited for it! After attending a training session for the International Language Program, I had the idea that a method similar to the one they use might really help our beginner ESL students at the GRC. I'll post more about this topic later!

In other news, I just completed my Soliya Advanced Facilitator Training. It was truly an amazing experience. This is definitely a program I believe in and fully support, and it is so great to get to be a part of it! I could be facilitating in the spring! We shall see!

Last piece of news: a youth pastor of a church in the Philippines that is associated with my church contacted me recently to see if I would come to help with their youth camp! I am beyond excited for this, and I'm desperately hoping I'll be able to go! If so, I'd be there for a week in April. Hope and pray with me that it'll happen!

Until next time...

~~~I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring~~~