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.