America
After reading through some of my old posts during my time living in Germany, I felt like I portrayed a somewhat negative image of the United States. Additionally, I find when I'm traveling, I tend to concentrate on the things America doesn't have. I notice how easy it is to travel in Europe, the great public transport, the more green lifestyle, free higher education, etc. However, rather than writing another post about the things my home country doesn't possess, I wanted to take the time to concentrate on some of the aspects of American society for which I am most grateful.
1) Diversity- Few other countries in the world possess the diversity we have in the United States. I noticed this especially when trying to prepare Mexican food for one of my couchsurfing hosts. No tortillas or chiles de arbol? No manches! While in any large city (London, Paris, Berlin) there is going to be a plethora of people from all over the world, I'm not sure I've seen a single city that has the number of different restaurants from around the world, as high of percentage of people from different cultural backgrounds, or even in many ways, the celebration of diversity we possess in the United States. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the U.S. has the whole celebrating diversity thing completely figured out, but in general, I love the diversity of my fellow Americans!
2) American University Experience - Cost of tuition aside, the American university experience is second to none. As far as I'm aware, no other university system has collegiate sports teams, as many opportunities to get involved in things like student government and other organizations, or even just the school pride we possess in the United States. A lot of people I've met here lived at home during their time at the university, still mainly hang out with people from their hometown, and in general, there just doesn't seem to be as many opportunities to meet new people or try new things. I'm so grateful for my college experience and wouldn't trade it for anything. Go Big Red!!!
3) Religion - The culture of religion in the U.S. might be the aspect of American culture for which I'm most grateful. I love how in the United States, religion is an important part of the daily lives of many people, but it is not something that is forced upon us, and it is viewed positively, or at least indifferently, by the majority of people. As I meet cool people here, it saddens me to hear their views on religion and the church. They find it to be boring, to equate being close minded, and see none of the benefits a church family provides. The results of this play out in the culture of sex, the level of friendship people possess, and their entire world view. I have met many amazing people here, so I don't mean to say that you can't be a high quality, caring person, without Jesus....but I do firmly believe that He makes us better people.
A perfect example of this during my travels was meeting two different guys in two different countries. Both guys were really fun, good conversationalists, and people I think I would be able to become friends with. However, the first guy was a Christian and the other was not. While this didn't pay huge dividends in our initial conversations, when we got on the subject of women, and what our friends were like, it was a bull verse bear market. Friend 1 talked about women in a way that honored them and made me think, man, I would be proud to have this guy date my sister. Friend 2, again, while a funny and great dude, made me think, I wouldn't even let you in the same room as my sister! I feel like I could write pages on this subject, but overall, I'm so thankful for all my friends, but especially my brothers and sisters in Christ who challenge me daily to be a better person. Most importantly, I'm thankful for how God has changed my life and the opportunities he has given me.
While I could write many more things I love about my country, these are probably the top three I've witnessed during my time here. I loved France and am loving traveling, but I also love the U.S.A and the great people I know who make it a sweet place to live.
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