Perspective

After reading Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owens, I began to change my perspective on what war means and how "glorious and honorable" dying for one's country really is. Reading the descriptions of the gas drowning and choking the helpless soldiers was an image that just will not get out of my head. Owens wrote the poem as if he was a soldier exhausted from the war stumbling along when the gas-shells are dropped all around him. He has to watch one of his fellow teammates choke to death and then carry his body to the wagon to watch him die. What is glorious and honorable about that? 

Not only did the poem alter my perspective on war and what it truly means to be a soldier, but it made me think about my perspective on America, the south, and London during this time abroad.

I have been watching and noticing the differences between how Americans act and how the British act. I remember sitting down at a restaurant after about two weeks of being abroad and hearing this couple next to me complain about every little thing that was different from America. They complained about the food and the people and how the cars were too small to fit their luggage. They were so focused on how things were different from what they were use to that they failed to see the beauty in what was right in front of them. I was guilty of thinking this way when I first arrived as well. I felt like I could not adjust to this lifestyle and that everything should be like it is in America. But we aren't in America and the culture is going to be different. I think Americans truly believe that they are the best. Americans have the best food, the best culture, the best looking people, etc. Thinking that your country is the best and boasting that in another country is extremely disrespectful, yet Americans somehow think they can be excluded from this. That kind of attitude is what made me kind of embarrassed in the way Americans were acting. My dad when he came to visit, could not understand why he couldn't find a Monster energy drink at every convenient store. The entire time he was in London, he ate Subway because he refused to expand his mindset.

After weeks of being in not only London but Dublin as well, and experiencing a wide variety of cultures and different ways of living, I am more appreciative of the simple life I lead. Driving to work does not take me three hours in stop and go traffic. I do not have to crowd onto subway stations, being herded like cattle to get to a store. I have a large backyard and live in quite a spacious home. The cost of living here is ridiculous. I did not realize how cheap things were in America compared to European prices. There are no huge department stores, Wal-Marts, Kroger's, or malls. The value of the American dollar is almost cut in half compared to the British pound.

I hope that over the three weeks I have been abroad that I have been able to alter my perspectives on others' cultures and that I have become more flexible to new environments. I also hope that Americans, as a whole, can learn to adjust and be more accepting of other lifestyles. 

Me trying fish and chips (with vinegar) and embracing
the British culture
 

How the world sees America because that is how we are portrayed