Disclaimer: this is kind of controversial, so please do not be offended by political claims made by my partner.
An update on
Gregory: He passed a test that allows him to apply to university’s in the
United States! Great news on his part. It is basically the test he has been studying
for all semester, so passing this test means that he can now attend University
of Orlando—it is his dream school. Gregory was beyond excited, and I was so
happy for him! While most of our
conversations consist of learning about each other’s lives, I went into today
with a different mindset. I wanted to dive into topics that are below the
surface level. Today’s main topic of discussion was politics.
This
upcoming Sunday is election day in Venezuela. Gregory explained that there are
basically two parties in this election. If I got this correctly, the government
has been controlling the people for a while, and this election allows for a new
president to implement change into the Venezuelan country (sounds kind of like
Obama’s slogan). Anyways, he explained that there the government is currently
socialist, and he repeatedly mentioned that it does not work. In one of my
earlier blogs I explained that average citizens struggle to even obtain
groceries. One thing that surprised me, was he said the people of his country
have had enough of the government having too much power, and another term will
lead to riots. While recent polls in the country show that the president should
lose, Gregory harped on the fact that the majority of congress and the election
committee are on the socialist side. Hopefully, he said, this does not lead to
a corrupted election.
After
learning about the upcoming Venezuelan election, he asked me to explain how our
election worked, curious about the republican and democratic parties. He wanted
to learn about the core issues that each differ on and if both parties interact
and discuss the issues with each other. I explained the core issues and where
each party stood on them. He asked many questions in between answers, wanting
to learn as much as possible. His last question is what stood out the most to
me: do we discuss politics and core issues? I explained that people in my
friend group absolutely discuss the issues going on the country, but that a
majority of the people our age have no idea was is happening in the world. I
told him that a large percentage of students do not even vote in elections.
This took him by surprise. Gregory explained that because his people have not
had the opportunity to vote for a leader, each person that can makes it happen.
They see the power in a vote and exercise it to bring about change. Sadly, in
the United States, many millennials have no idea what is happening not only in
our country but also in the world. They read a headline here and there, more
than likely biased to one part or the other, and that is their daily news. It
takes a huge terrorist attack in Paris for people to open their eyes to the
horrific actions of ISIS, not realizing that deaths happen daily. I loved
having these discussions with Gregory because it put it into perspective how
used to having rights to vote, speak freely, and have an opportunity at success
American are.
US
elections are beginning to pick up speed, and Gregory noticed a similarity
between our election and his election (his words). He mentioned that their government
only help the poor because that is where the votes are. His example was
interesting: Gregory is trying to get need scholarship to attend the university
in Orlando, so he is flying home to interview with the government over winter
break. Sadly, he said, his chances at receiving scholarships are little to none
because he is not at the lowest poverty level. He stated that they only give
money to the majority who are poor in order to get votes (again, these are all
of his points, not mine—just to clarify).
Our
conversation was intellectually stimulating. It is amazing the conversations
one can have with students from other countries. I cannot imagine having the
conversation we did in another language. I was thoroughly impressed with
Gregory’s skill and ability to communicate. I loved his want to learn, genuinely
eager to understand what is happening in the world. At the end of our
conversation, I recommend that he sign up for this newsletter than I am subscribed
to. It is call TheSkimm. Basically,
it highlights all of the major events that happen in the world, sending you an
email that is easy to read and full of important information. If you are
reading this, I highly recommend that subscribe. It is easy, fun, and
informative.
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