Month: November 2018

Human Flow and Why It Matters, My Third Reflection

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I attended the IA Scholar movie night showing of “Human Flow” which took place at 8:30pm in the Smith side basement area of Smith-Steeb Hall this past Monday, November 12th. This event relates to the topic of International Affairs because the movie explored the refugee crisis in different areas of the world.  The movie showed the audience firsthand what refugees of different cultures lives are like in various locations around the world. The movie crew followed communities of refugees, lived with them, weathered storms and struggles with them, and sat with them and asked them to share. Refugees would share what was on their mind at the very moment and what they personally have gone through to “attempt” to seek asylum. Some would speak of what they were leaving behind –  their ancestors’ land, other family members, tyranny, pillage, rape, and war – in order to start a new life. The risk of death on the trek to what they believe to be a place of freedom and human dignity is a lesser risk than then their almost imminent death in their homeland. The underlying theme of everyone’s testimonies is their want to be seen as human beings and to be treated as such. Something they weren’t expecting in Europe was the amount of opposition they faced. It wasn’t something I was expecting either.

Being surrounded by domestic news about our own refugee crisis in our current administration and the injustices of that, I somehow thought it couldn’t get worse or just as bad as we have in America. I was wrong. In a lot of European countries, they have borders. They have wired fences for the sole reason of keeping refugees out. There was a fact displayed sometime during the documentary that really struck me. There were only 11 countries in the world with borders and walls when the Berlin Wall fell in 1991. Now that number has risen to 40 countries which baffles me. The xenophobic attitude seems to be spreading like a disease which makes no sense to me in America’s case because America is the great country it is because of immigrants. In the film, there was also a great, thought-provoking quote that President John F. Kennedy wrote in his book, A Nation of Immigrants that I loved. Kennedy wrote, “Another way of indicating the importance of immigration to America is to point out that every American who ever lived, with the exception of one group, was either an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants.” I’m so happy this film introduced me to this quote because it succinctly puts into words my exact feelings towards immigration.

This film also relates to the discussions about immigration along the US-Mexico border held in my Spanish classes. We talk about the attitude the current administration has about immigration and the affect it is having on Hispanic families and the perspective of American families of what to think of immigrants. We’ve talked about Trump’s order to separate kids from their families putting them into detention camps and what this implies about what America is becoming. Overall, this film opened my eyes and made me more aware of the current world I live in and how I can help to make my corner of the world a little better.

The Significance of Indigenous Languages in Latin America, My Second Reflection

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This past weekend I had a super-enriching experience volunteering for the 2nd Symposium on Indigenous Languages and Cultures of Latin America in conjunction with the 4th Symposium on Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America on Sunday, October 28th for the entirety of the program that day from the hours of 8am-2pm. I primarily worked in the Faculty Club and the Thompson Library but the symposium was also held in a variety of locations across campus during the other  three days it was held. This event relates to the topic of International Affairs because of its emphasis and focus on the indigenous languages and cultures of Latin America and the immersive atmosphere of speaking the Spanish language throughout the symposium.

So far, this event is most definitely my favorite event I’ve ever attended for International Affairs Scholars. This is because I gained so much from this experience. Professionally, I was able to take part and witness a more formal environment than what I am used to attending classes everyday. This environment allowed me to utilize certain soft skills that benefited me to practice and exercise. Personally, I met and engaged with many native Spanish speakers and understood more and spoke better than I expected. This checked off a bucket-list item and a personal goal for me that made me feel really proud of myself and affirmed my love for Hispanic culture and my decision to keep studying Spanish. This also benefited me personally because the people I met were also some of the most inclusive, kind and helpful people I’ve ever encountered. They seemed genuinely interested in my journey as an undergraduate student, my studies, and my interest and love for the Spanish culture. We shared our backgrounds and what led us to be at the symposium that day. We also talked about the differences between the universities in the United States and Central America, which was an interesting discussion, and some people were even impressed with my speaking abilities. I even met someone that came all the way from Ecuador to Ohio for the symposium. Overall, everyone was just so open, kind, and willing to connect.

Academically as someone minoring in Spanish, I gained and learned so much just from immersing myself in the environment of people speaking only Spanish and navigating my way through that. I payed attention to the cadence of how native speakers spoke and asked them questions about the Spanish language and about some of the several indigenous languages discussed at the symposium. Also because I am minoring in Spanish, this event lends itself to all that I’ve learned in my Spanish classes at The Ohio State University. Depending on the different Hispanic countries focused on during the class, we, the students, also learned about the indigenous languages specific to those countries. Learning vocabulary and practicing pronunciation all those times in class really solidified my knowledge and helped me feel confident when I spoke and not as uncomfortable as I thought I would before I volunteered. This experience will remain a highlight of my college career.