Meanwhile, back at base...

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Sometimes I wonder if I should be keeping a closer check on the things that are going on at home, back in the states. I just got an email from Charlie today, and realized that I had stopped reading newspapers... at least ones that tended to carry any real information about the U.S. I started to ponder why that was and decided that it was about time to catch up on the old home fires, find out if they were still burning and all. So... that's when I wandered around the hotel until I found a whole stack of papers, probably about a week's worth. And I started reading - in spanish mind you. The most important news items that I managed to take away from the experience where 1. The fact that the U.S. has decided to basically eliminate the option of immigration into the U.S. (news that I got from Charlie in his email), and 2. The fact that the U.S. is now looking to build a scud missile base in Europe for the purpose at sending them flying into the Middle East at the first sign of aggression (more specifically any sign of aggression for Iran, where they're planning on training the missiles. Now, I don't want anyone that randomly wanders into my blog to get offended by my opinions of U.S. foreign policy, but I am terrified for the future position of the U.S. within the international sphere. The fact that it's already more illegal to be illegal (thanks again Charlie) is rather terrifying. I'm pulling for the bill legalizing residents of more than five years, and I hope that our country can begin to make more progress in directions like this.
Those are my thoughts after a lengthy deliberation of the news about the U.S. (a slightly more lengthy deliberation than normal since I have quite gotten my spanish speed-reading skills up to par with my english skills!) The interpretation of news about South America was interesting for me as well. After hearing so much history during all of the tours that our group has been taking on this trip, it was nice to take in some information about the current state of affairs. Politics in South America in general is extremely interesting for me, especially the consideration of the various view points that people take about the governments. Many of the governments of South American countries currently have a rather liberal bent to them (for those who don't know), but the amount of corruption that still gets discussed on the streets (we're not really talking about newspapers now) is absolutely astounding. The opinion that is held about the citizens here about U.S. actions is also extremely fuerte(strong). Throughout the entire country, the distaste for the military actions taken by the U.S. was a strong reminder that I will always stand out here to some extent just by association with my own country, no matter what my own opinion.
I guess that I will just have to watch the papers and see what happens from here on out. The disconnect that I feel from what is happening in the U.S. is something that I'm going to have to get over before I get back home after my travels, otherwise I'm going to feel like I'm walking into a minefield! If anyone has any other tidbits about what's happening back in the States, feel free to pass them on to me!

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Comments

[Katie]

you taught me something
This is sad I'm a poli Sci major who is so completely wrapped up in her own life to even know what is going on around her. I learned things about the U.S. from your blog. Funny!