Reflections of Europe

 By Raymond Webster - Blog Entry III

            This was my first trip to Europe and the first time I’ve experienced anything like the program I’ve participated in. Brussels, Düsseldorf, and Berlin welcomed our group with open arms and shared how the European Union (EU) operates in the world. The EU is entirely unique and participates on a collective ideal amongst its members.  It is by far the most successful international organization to ever exist. Nations give up portions of their sovereignty to make the EU work; every country is given a voice and even the smallest countries can have the largest impact.

            I’ve been surrounded by a great deal of skepticism in the United States (US) over Europe; a lot of people hold misconceptions and underestimate the impact the EU has globally. The American media often undermines the EU and feels that it will not last. Clearly there is a disconnection between the US and the EU in some respect. Europeans balance numerous actors in their political system as well as thousands of years of history and culture.

            I hope this trip will continue to be a long lasting relationship between the EU, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and students from Old Dominion University. Europe is a significant global partner and this trip was able to provide this group with a glimpse of how the EU operates.

            It’s difficult to decide what my favorite part of the trip was. I have a deep appreciation for all those who made this trip possible and those who spoke with the group through our series of meetings. My favorite aspect of the trip would be architecture of the cities we visited. I noticed all the pictures I took mostly consisted of pictures of old buildings. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen and it’s something that I don’t have in the US. Those buildings stand as a constant reminder of the common history that all Europeans share. Europeans reflect their progress of democracy through their modern buildings while preserving the old ones as a reminder of the past.

            I would like to thank everyone who made this trip possible. I had an amazing experience and I’ve met new friends along the way. This trip has convinced me to further my education and become more involved with European relations. I look forward to making this trip again in the near future.

From Expectations to Hope

By Silvia Brigido - Blog Entry III 

This is our last day of meetings after a long two weeks of many great talks and wonderful learning experiences.  As the day wraps up, I cannot avoid feeling reflective and thinking back on all that we have done and seen.  Also, it dawned on me that I wrapped up this journey relieved that my prior expectations were not met.  Meaning, despite it indeed being a tiresome and busy two weeks, it was also an incredibly enjoyable one.  Not that I did not expect to not enjoy it, but I did expect it to be incredibly hard along with being received by stern and intimidating German officials, politicians and scholars.  I could not have been furthest from the truth in my pre-established judgement.  The German people, yes politicians included, are very welcoming, gracious and quite generous. I was especially inspired by Michael Brinkmeier, a former member of the Landtag, who got involved in politics through the motivation to make a difference and in the belief that we cannot just take a complacent stance, we have to get involved so to see progress, freedom and most importantly democracy in the world. 

Speaking of democracy, I had not realized how very driven the German State is towards spreading democracy throughout the world.  However, their agenda is promoted in a “soft” way, if you will.  The state is not aggressive about pushing their beliefs upon other nations, but instead do so through very thoughtful diplomatic approaches.  The main area they seem to try to reach the people is through education.  Not only informing themselves of the culture, system and need of the targeted country, but also providing the necessary steps needed for democracy to become accepted.  They are like an ever patient mother who knows that someday her child will learn right from wrong and if she forces her wishes upon that child rebellion is almost certain.  That brings me to another topic I have observed, which is Germany’s tiptoeing around the subject of national pride and “hard” power.  Due to their given history, Germans feel as though the minute they express nationalism or state pride that it will be taken the wrong way.  Thus, they simply avoid it, which is quite unfair to them in my view.  Germany is an awe-inspiring country with quite an impressive political and financial system and nothing short of national pride should be expected from them.  Nonetheless, as Thomas Habicht, a successful journalist said, when my colleague Thibaut Hugueny expressed his personal admiration for Germany, it is important to stay grounded and realistic.  That is, first live in Germany for a time to then make an assessment.  That was quite a refreshing response on his part due to his honesty and transparency - which only added to our admiration.

As I conclude this journey, I am happy to emerge more informed, more enlightened and quite proud to say I have had this experience.  Most of all, I am delighted to have been proven wrong about this great nation’s people, and deeply admire their push towards a democratic world.

Additionally, I must express my great gratitude to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a foundation that has spread the democratic word since 1964 in over 100 countries, who not only graciously but quite generously sponsored our group of students and made this amazing opportunity possible.

Last Day In Berlin

Ein Himmel über Berlin

By Jon Wright -
Blog Entry III
It is sad to say that our trip, at least the business portion, is drawing to an end. Before I delve into the details that encompassed the day I have to say this trip was by far the most culturally and intellectually "enlightening" trip that I have been on in a while. I definitely recommend, if it is financially feasible, to study abroad. Not only do you get the chance to stimulate yourself in an environment much different than your own, but you get to meet students that have similar interests and aspirations.

With that out of the way our day began by meeting with Dr. Kirsten Westphal who elaborated on Germany’s growing dependency on Russia's natural gas. Dr Westphal discussed the various global and security issues that Germany deals with, such as the large share of gross gas supply in Germany coming from Russia which further stresses the notion of maintaining a positive relationship with Russia ensuring them as a reliable main gas provider. After a lengthy discussion with Dr. Westphal, we were met by Dr. Muriel Asseburg and her associate. 

In my personal opinion this was the most interesting lecture of the trip as we received an inside look on German relations with the Middle East. I must admit I was taken back by the nature of the discussion because, unfortunately, I only have a minimal understanding of the current conflicts within Egypt, Yemen, Libya, etc. Our lecturers provided us with a very elaborate overview. 

Lastly our meeting with Dr. Maria Rotter was somewhat more relaxed than our previous meetings however a nice change of pace from a week flooded with more than informative lectures and meetings. With Dr. Rotter we discussed German and French relations along with Germany’s position on the European Agenda as a whole.

In retrospect I was a little afraid of the possibility of culture shock upon arrival but as the week went on it was a lot easier to integrate within the society than I thought. I am more than appreciative of the warm, receptive nature of all of our speakers and am sincerely thankful to Old Dominion University, Dr, Karp, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and any others that helped make this trip possible.

Berlin

Politics, the Transatlantic Relationship and Fathers' Rights

Rachel Casey - Blog Entry III 

                Today was our first full day in Berlin. Yesterday was a long busy day of travel so today, while filled with meetings, was a nice change of pace. It was nice to begin our day with a bus tour of Berlin. I would have liked to do a walking tour, but Berlin is far too large, plus it was nice to have a day off my feet.

We ended our tour of the city at the Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung where we had our first meeting, which was a lunch dialogue with Thomas Habicht. I enjoyed having a discussion with a journalist. Talking to politicians can be informative, but I feel like their answers can sometimes be a little broad. This is why the discussion with Habicht was refreshing. I believe journalists are after truths, instead of things which back up their own political agenda. We discussed the current political situation in Germany which included points on energy, NATO issues, issues between Berlin and Washington, the demographic problems of Germany and the problems encountered while reuniting Germany.

I enjoyed that he discussed the differences in personality between Obama and Merkel, and not just their policies. I most enjoyed his historical discussion on the reunification of Germany and the mental and political gaps that they have had to face. He pointed out that West Germany never thought of itself as something that needed to change, but only made a list of demands for those areas under former Soviet control to change. He said in the minds of many there was only a one way road for reconstruction and that that road was something that may have hindered the process.

Following this meeting we had a meeting with Parliament member Peter Beyer at the Bundestag. While waiting to enter the building we encountered a protesting man and decided to ask him about his cause. He said he was fighting for fathers’ rights in Germany and that he had two children he was only allowed to see once every two weeks. I did some research later that evening and as it turns out fathers’ rights are extremely limited in Germany. I learned that a child can only be German if the mother is German.

The meeting with Beyer was interesting and we discussed the trans-Atlantic relationship between Germany and the U.S. It seems to Beyer that there seem to be signals from Obama which point at a desire to strengthen U.S. and German ties. After the meeting we got to visit the Kuppel which gave us a panoramic view of the city of Berlin. We finished the day with dinner at Lindenbrau which was kindly paid for by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung foundation.

Berlin

A Deeper Understanding…

By Jon Wright - Blog Entry II

From an American standpoint it is very interesting to get an inside view of the German perspective regarding the current financial crisis that plagues the European Union. Prior to our visit to the Federal Finance Ministry I was very interested in hearing proposals to help shed light on the ambiguity that shrouds the recent the Euro Crisis. Our lecturer began by enlightening our group on the difficulty of governing a multitude of different cultures under a single monetary structure and how difficulties regarding this concept have resulted in the need for reform. 

Surprisingly enough, the solutions provided seemed to only temporarily sustain the problem. Because the United States has been unified under the dollar since the Coinage Act of 1792 I feel as though many Americans don’t really take the time to consider the complexities surrounding the Eurozone and the difficulties of maintaining economic security when member nations inappropriately mismanage funds (i.e. Greece, Spain, Ireland etc.).

The lack of leadership due to the stigma left behind after World War II in relation to Germany became very evident throughout the week but no more so than on this visit.

The next meeting by far was the best part of the day for me.  Our meeting with the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Commission really made me thankful for deciding to go on this trip. The fact that he took the time out of his busy schedule to discuss The German Foreign Policy Agenda with us really reflected the benefits of studying abroad. It was interesting to hear the direction he wanted Germany to take regarding its relationship with Russia, and China.

Our last two meetings with Dr. Henning Riecke a specialist in German foreign policy and Dr. Joachim Bertele, who specializes in German and Russian affairs, really reaffirmed the general consensus of Germany needing to take a more prominent role in the European Union affairs abroad.  Today really made me feel like taking a much more active role in our on political structure. To hear these experts speak about the problems of their own country and constantly trying to find ways to improve its condition was truly enlightening.