Getting Educated

On Tuesday, Tracye and I presented the Getting Ed presentation. We only had a two hours to learn the presentation and then to present the material. Tracye and I put on our best pirate accents and just went for it. Doing this presentation allowed me to reflect a lot upon my educational journey. One of the last reflection points was what our personal gem was along our educational quest. My personal high point was the opportunity that I had to study abroad in Berlin, Germany. For 3 months, I lived in a home-stay in the middle of the city. During this time, I got to know Berlin's city transportation system, cafe culture, and many quirks of the German culture. I begin to fall in love with a place that was foreign to me, but held no preconceptions of what or who I was. Living in a city where I was isolated at first by language and lack of connections felt so free for some reason or another. Studying at the Stanford Center in Berlin allowed me to overcome my fears of approaching high caliber professors for assistance and guidance. With only 30 students there, I began to form relationships and found avenues to seek the kind of permanency I had always wanted. The relationships I formed weren't tainted at first by my professors know that I had previously been in foster care. I got to know them and they got to know me based on my own merits, and not on the actions of my parents or siblings. After my quarter of study, I had an internship in the city working with the children of jobless and homeless Berliners. To my surprise, many of the children were Turkish and African and spoke little to no German at all. Certain days were full or racial tension, while others went smoothly. When we went to the public swimming pool, racial slurs were openly slung. This surprised me. I had experienced being made fun of for being a foster youth, but I never had to experience ridicule based on race. It made me wonder what it would have felt like if I had been made fun of for a multitude of factors: foster care status, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity. It is funny how when I was in care, I was so immersed in my own struggles, that it was difficult to imagine the struggles of others, especially of those also in care. Needless to say, spending 6 months in Berlin made me into a global citizen. Spending time in a whole different culture helped me gain perspective, and I also had the chance to compare child welfare among countries. If I were to give anyone advice on going to a 4 year college, it would be to go abroad, and if not abroad, at least a few months in another state.