Well, actually, I'm one of the biggest people watching judgers of clothing the world has probably seen. In my head I make up stories about where the people come from, what they do for a living, why they bought that outfit, and where they are in route to. While in Hungary I learned that literally anything goes in Europe. AN-Y-THING. But that isn't always bad.
Upon arrival to Poland, I was walking through the exit of the customs area to where I was to meet my ride, and I saw an American? burst with joy as he met his family? waiting for him at the exit. The man had on dress pants, nice shoes, a collared button down shirt - looked very business class American. He was talking to his travel partner on his way out of the customs area... in flawless accent-less English. When he saw his family (three of whom were men wearing capri pants) his register switched immediately without a hitch to Polish. I thought to myself how impressive and awesome it was that he in some ways had a dual life he was living. I showed up to Poland wearing jeans, a t-shirt that announced that I was from Minnesota, flip flops and a crossfit sweatshirt. And when I met my ride, though equally joyful since I actually made it, and made it alive, I continued to speak in English.
I spend quite a bit of time thinking not only of this upcoming presidential election, but of the makeup and fabric of our country as a whole regarding immigration. I was lucky enough to teach many classes in Burnsville which not only were explicitly ESL - full of students from many different countries, but I also had multiple countries represented in mainstream classes. When I was interviewing for this job, it stuck out to some at ASW that I had taught at a Hungarian school, but they were all Hungarians. There was a concern that I had not taught in an international environment - for many reasons - not least of which was that I had no experience juggling the multitude of cultures they have in one building. After the conversation I began to reflect on that a bit and I thought to myself, "shit, I had that many cultures in one class in Burnsville" which allowed me to grow in ways I had never envisioned as a teacher.
At any rate, I have a great admiration and a large amount of envy for people who possess the ability to return "home" to their culture which they tend to be immensely proud of. As an American am I proud of what our country is? Definitely. Am I concerned at the way immigrants are treated? You bet. I don't know if I will ever be able to blend in here in Poland like the American in the airport did, but I am going to give it my all. How can we learn to better balance the beauty and contributions of others who move to our country? How can we as Americans reach out and better connect to those who have dual "homes" or cultures which infuse their lives?
I know that there are people reading this thinking about those who have gotten to America illegally, perhaps overstayed their visas or for whatever reason did not enter legally and I don't know how to solve that problem. I do know however, that I am incredibly impressed with the multitude of folks who move to another country, take on the culture and language, and contribute to society in a meaningful and productive way. I hope to be one of those people in Poland- who will return to my family out of the customs area in the airport with joy and switch from Polish to English upon arrival. Wish me luck in this endeavor!
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