Today we had the opportunity to visit the city of Jerusalem. Although we
would have liked to visit Bethlehem, we were not able to, as it lies in
Palestinian territory. Therefore, we went to a a hill overlooking the
town instead to take some pictures. This further emphasized the
significance of borders, whether cultural or official, in the region.
Next, we went to the Israel Museum of Jerusalem, where Mr. James Snyder, a
Mercersburg Alum, gave us a tour. Unfortunately, we were could not see all
of the Museum, because much of it is under construction. Then, we
rushed off to the Western Wall. There, our guide Dovev, brought us through
the Western Wall Tunnel, an underground passage running along the Western
Wall and underneath the Muslim quarter. We were also able to see the
Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, above ground. It was a truly
moving experience seeing the hundreds of people crowding around what is
left of the Temple, offering up their prayers. The sheer variety of
people, from Orthodox Jews with fur hats to tourists with paper yarmulkes,
was amazing. After lunch, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchure. It
was interesting to see the different styles represented by the different
sects of Christianity that occupy the Church: the Roman Catholics, the
Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and the Coptic Christians. We
finished the day shopping in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters.
Unfortunately, I found that by bartering skills left much to be desired...
Looking out at our view from Mount Zion (our hotel), i am in utter amazement that i am here. To get here we took 2 planes; one from D.C. to London and the next one from London to Israel. Ever since we left the airport we have been very busy. Mr. Snyder was very kind in inviting us to dinner on friday and having us meet other students in our 10th and 11th grade we came from a variety of cultures. At the moment i am a little jet-lagged, but we have been to busy to be tired. We were able to visit the american consulate and the head of PEACE NOW, exposing us to a a broad spectrum of views. The city is a lot different than what i expected. I believe that the media is representing Israel. What i have concluded from talking to the locals is that bombings are the norm, and that they have adapted. The things that surprises me the most is the divide between the Israelis and the Palestinian people. They are basically divided by one main street. Looking from side to side, you could see the difference in ethnicity between the people. Well, I'm off to bed and hopefully going to get rid of my jet-lag.
so we've been hear for about a day and a half and we've already met the
U.S. Consolat for the Palestinians, A man man who is fairly right wing,
Peace Now, A random Israeli man in the airport, and I met a Palestinian
teenage girl. its really interesting. for one thing, it seems pretty
evident that the Israelis and Palestinians both want peace and a Palestian
country. but the major problem is the Palestinian Authorities being
highjacked by Islamic Extremism,, or civil strife between Fattah and
Hamas. the psychological borders are also really fascinating, the city is
essentially divided into two sides, East and West Jerusalem. East is for
the Palestinians and west for the Jews. there is no law preventing them
from going to the other side and no real threat, but they al say it
"just awkward." Its all really amazing, and quite frankly hard
to fathom it being a real place. its so much different when your actually
there and meeting the people who actually experience what we always see on
the news. just incredible.
I try. I really do. On my desk here at Oswestry School you’ll find a copy of the most recent issues of The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, some up-to-date political commentaries, my AP U.S. Government textbooks from Mr. Kantaros’ class last year, the NEWS, a couple of seasons of West Wing—I think that you get the picture. This was my passion, is my passion: American government and politics. At Mercersburg that interest was more than satisfied. With periodicals and major newspapers in Lenfest Library, Messrs. Kantaros and Tompkins in the classroom, the Mercersburg News, Model United Nations, and other connected students I could be as actively involved in debates as any high school student.
This year I’m finding this task particularly difficult. As I’ve said in previous posts, there are the occasional defences that I offer for my home country. The Debate Team here is preparing to host a regional competition in the New Year, but there is no course in government—British or American—and most of the aforementioned publications were hand-delivered by my family when they visited for Thanksgiving last week. I found something similar in parts of the larger community at Mercersburg—something of an unawareness or lack of concern for events beyond campus—but there were always the activists, the Model UN “nerds,” the NEWS staffers, and AP U.S. Gov. to pull me through.
I can’t imagine what could be more important today—this coming from someone who counted down the days until his first absentee ballot just about a month ago. Seriously, though, for British and American citizens alike, decisions taken and events carried out across the globe now have more far-reaching consequences than ever. Many Brits are tightening their belts as a result of the American sub-prime mortgage “crisis.” The policies enacted by many American lenders can affect investors even here, on the Welsh border of Shropshire. Students, those set to step into this “real world” in just a few short years, have a great stake in what happens now; we’ll inherit everything: the successes, the mistakes.
I spoke about this last year on the stage of the Simon Theatre, dressed in a golden Taiwanese dress shirt and against the backdrop of photos from AP U.S. Government and Comparative Politics’ conference in Chang Hua.
I spoke about it from the hallowed graduation platform between South Cottage and Keil Hall as Salutatorian this past June. And I’m sure that the subject will come up at Columbia next year, where I plan to study Political Science. Until then, here I am… connected to my alma mater through the omnipresent worldwide web, another invaluable utensil to help quench my thirst for information. On it I can find study after study that says students are just as uninformed today as they were before the advent of such modern technology. I’m trying over here, just as I tried—and succeeded through participation in Mercersburg reaccreditation process—back in Pennsylvania. In the meantime I can look forward to a month back at home for Christmas, and the access to XM radio, cable news, and three channels of CSPAN that will come with it.
This past term has been great but still a lot of work. This year, I'm taking six classes and running cross country, so I've been very busy, thus I haven't been able to post much on the blog. The past week was exam week and with all the courses I am taking it was a challenge to get through, but now that I'm on break, I feel completely free. Despite the difficult exams, this year has been by far the best at Mercersburg. I'm even closer with my friends, I've gotten over the "freshman shyness," and I've found a groove in the work, sports, and social lives.
Now that I'm home, most of my plans are to sleep, cook, and run. Mostly, I just want to relax and rebuild for the next term. I will enjoy every day I'm out of school, but I'm excited to start the new term now that I've gotten the fall under my belt relatively smoothly.
The best part about being home is family. I live in Chapel Hill, NC with my mother and older brother, and I will visit my father, stepmother, two stepbrothers, and my half-brother in Wilmington, NC. My stepmother is Chilean, and my two stepbrothers, Joaquin and Benjamin, moved here from Chile last year. The are 6 and 10 years old and are the most genuine kids I know. Their English speaking has improved exponentially since they got here and they are starting to get better grades than their American classmates.
I'll keep you posted throughout the next few weeks or so. Happy Thanksgiving
From the very first moment I arrived at Mercersburg, I have been asked two questions over and over again. First, why I decided to come here. Second, if I am homesick. I do not want to sound cliché and present numerous reasons that motivated me. In the end, it always comes down to who you are and what your personal needs are. However, I want to bring up the issue of homesickness.
The definition given by the American Heritage Dictionary, “homesick” is an adjective meaning "acutely longing for one's family or home." I miss Polish food cooked with my mom; Polish news watched every night with my dad. I miss my younger sister, disturbing me every 5 minutes. I miss my crazy friends whom I have known since day care. However, I am not homesick. Sounds absurd? I do not think so.
When I decided to come to boarding school in the United States, the only thing I knew for sure was that I was leaving my old life behind; nothing was going to be the same anymore. Nevertheless, it has been a conscious decision, and by making it I have agreed to accept the consequences. I have been trading one kind of experience for another, and I believe I am better off this way. I could never experience so many great things, meet so many great people from around the world if I stayed in Poland. I could have received a great education in its pure sense, but there is more to education than challenging classwork. I have it here, and also much more.
Let's turn to the downside. I see my family only two times a year, for Christmas and in the summer. It is heart breaking to say good-bye at the airport, knowing that we are not going to see each other for another half a year. Surprisingly, however, the relations with my parents are much better now than they used to be. We appreciate each other's presence much more, knowing how precious it is. I am more mature, they are more tolerant. Our relationship is on a completely new level; we wouldn't have reached this point for a long time if I stayed at home.
I certainly cannot wait to go home for Christmas. I will spend 3 great weeks with my family, enjoying the time together. In the course of a year we miss each other, but as a result our time together is much more meaningful. Going to a boarding school, even on the other side of the globe, does not mean breaking the family bonds – in fact it strengthens them.
Over this past Half-Term Break from Oswestry School – where I’m spending my gap year after four at Mercersburg – I had the opportunity to travel to Spain and Portugal with fellow Mercersburg classmate and ESU scholar, Julia Thorne (’07). Accompanied by three other scholars, the two of us spent a week between Lisbon, Sevilla, and Granada, after which I went on to Málaga while Julia traveled to Madrid.
To save money and time we booked ourselves hostels in each of the cities that we were visiting. Looking back it was, to say the least, an eye-opening experience…
The first, and probably best, hostel we stayed in was Traveler’s House in Lisbon. Among our fellow guests were a group of Brits – in town to watch the Celtic match the next day – couples from the US, Argentina and Australia, a handful of young Europeans backpacking across the continent, and – most interestingly – a 60-year-old American man who claimed to be planning a great revolution in the States. 
A member of the Black Panther Party, the man, who we overheard at breakfast, espoused much of the typical anti-Bush rhetoric we hear at home. What was interesting, though, was his reception amongst the young Europeans: they saw him as a purveyor of the absolute truth, even when he did claim that most Americans resent their government to the point of desiring revolution but are prevented from doing so only by the fact that they are illiterate.
This one incident may not support a broader commentary on the perception of America abroad, but it has made me think about several of my experiences abroad and the perceptions of America that I’ve encountered. As the only American at Oswestry School, I’ve become somewhat of a de facto ambassador for our culture, our politics, and our education system. Every day brings something new. Just yesterday I contradicted a classmate who claimed that “Bush totally planned 9/11.” More productive conversations have been about the Iraq War, global warming, Iran, China, and other current events topics. Whatever the issue, though, I have been struck by the pervasive anti-Americanism. I found the same true as we traveled on the mainland.
It’s not usually directed at me, but rather bounced off me as an idea, a hypothesis: “Would you say your government only cares about oil?” or “Do most Americans think that they’re better than everyone else?” They’re not directly insulting, but they do provoke a response from this conservative. The ensuing debates are always fascinating and usually leave my classmates with a better view of the States. Yet this all makes me worry about America’s perception abroad.
Of even greater worry is the indifference towards this that many Americans have. One, that we met on the train from Sevilla to Granada, was pretending to be Canadian for his month of hostel-hopping. Most that we met were quick to deride Bush and the Republicans in front of any Europeans that they met. Several said that Americans do think that they’re better than everyone else and don’t care about the environment. Such representatives can’t be helping our image.
I’m not at all sure how a dislike for our president has translated into these stereotypes of our country and our populace or even if it is actually the other way around, but it certainly does make this year much more valuable and interesting for me. The same was true of my trip to Taiwan with two Mercersburg classmates and history teacher Phil Kantaros back in 2006. We represented our school and our country to similar delegations from six other English-speaking nations as well as the Taiwanese school that hosted us. This is exactly why trips and programs abroad are so valuable in secondary education and beyond. These are the best years to get started on experiencing other cultures and societies. Mercersburg recognizes this; it has around 10 members of the Classes of 2007 and 2008 studying abroad this year alone and numerous international trips planned.
Gotta run now; I have a debate team meeting just across campus. We’re preparing for our first competition, the subject: the Iraq War. Should be fun.
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