My Top 10 of San Antonio

Three weeks are over. We experienced so many things, the time felt so much longer, but I'm sad to leave nonetheless. I am happy for all the precious things I could see, eat, experience and for all the people I met. Below, my top 10 of the whole program:

• Mabee

It's not the food that made it into my top 10. It's the talks and funny moments at the tables. Sitting with all the Fulbrighter's and often also with Americans was so pleasant. From time to time we sat there longer and longer, enjoying the atmosphere. Btw, the cookies are legendary!

• Austin

The trip to Austin was short, but still awesome! It's a beautiful city, which gave us a slightly different view on the USA. Loved the graffiti. 

• Coates Library

Back in Germany I never learned in the library, but rather in my room. Here at Trinity U, I loved to be at the library. The couches, the lights, the smell and the atmosphere in general is so beautiful! Doing work was nearly fun (but only nearly ;D). I'l really miss it!

• night downtown with Minh

San Antonio downtown is amazing! Especially at night, when the Riverwalk is brightly colored. That one day I walked with Minh all the way down from university. I was such a crazy and great experience. Just walking and exploring the way to downtown, the city and the people. 

• my birthday party

On September 15th it was my birthday and my group organized a surprise party! It was so amazing! To be honest, I never celebrated my birthday to such an extend. I'll never forget that special day! 

• visiting the masjid

Having the possibility to go to masjid and people who care was something I was really grateful for. I felt welcomed and cared. Thank you so much Dr. Noor. 

• Uber

This is by far the most convenient way to go from A to B, and also the most crazy one! Uber allows you to drive from everywhere to any place. We met so many different people, typical Americans, rednecks, housewives, people with puppies in the car etc. Awesome!

• Trinity offers

Trinity U offered us so many things we could attend, such as our classes, the special lectures, activities, sports, the pool, nachos and so much more! Love it!

• the FISTU group, Dr. Noor and new friends

At this point I want to thank the whole group for being so awesome! I learned so many things and gained new friends. We experienced a lot of things together, shared precious moments and exciting adventures. I am definitely sure, that I will stay in contact with them. I gained friends for life Thank you all! Also I am very glad to have also met new american friends for life (greetings to Hanna!), who taught me so many things. 

Moreover, I want to thank Dr. Noor, who is by far the best coordinator one can imagine. We had everything we needed and beyond. She made our time so amazing and this sure is not only my perception, but from the whole group. Thank you so so so much!

• motivation

Last but not least, what I appreciate the most, is that new motivation I gained. Seeing all those people and what they achieved in life, what they plan to achieve, and what makes them so incredible really encouraged me to do more! I realized that there is so much more to life, and that I can do it! Thank you for that! And thank you to Mrs. Horbert and Dr. Becker (from Fulbright) for giving me this opportunity!

On September the 19th I went to the Lennox Series Lecture by W. Kamau Bell at Trinity U. It was a comedy lecture concerning #blacklivesmatter and general issues when it comes to racism. For me, it was very interesting to see how Americans think about the whole problem of racism, and what their concerns are. (And also too have an insight on American humour! :D)

Listening to it through a 'comedy channel' is something quite untypical in German universities. Nonetheless, the questions by the audience at the end were objective and severe, which shows how important this issue is for all.

Presenting in front of the whole class is not easy, but not doing it in your mother tongue in the U.S. makes me so much more excited and also nervous! Together with Mariama, Johaina and Judith we had a presentation on the refugee crisis in Europe and in the German context. We talked about the history of refugees, the ways of flight, asylum laws and how refugees are perceived in Germany. Showing what Germans think, how the state interacts and our personal experiences made the presentation complete. It was very nice to have the possibility to share our experiences and how they are perceived by Americans. All questions at the end showed us, that our thoughts are precious and important. It went quite well. It was also the last class of understanding refugees, which is really sad. I'll really miss it! I'm really thankful that I could attend it.

Yesterday evening I decided to go with Nico (my room mate) to his a cappella meeting in the Parker Chapel choir room. Watching them sing in the group with so much passion was really sublime. It was something totally different to what I am normally interested in, but I think this made this experience so precious! Events like this motivate me, because they let me think that there is so much more to life. There are so many things out there that are still unfamiliar to me, yet undiscovered. It motivates me to get out of my comfort zone, and being open for new things. There is so much beauty in the world. If you blink, you'll miss it...

Writing an essay for my anthropology class (understanding refugees) about a pertinent issue related to private detention in the US made me think about the whole system in general. We all know that the United States has a high ratio of inmates and since the late 1990's the number increased steadily, on a scale, that in many states the capacities are full. The result is an increase of private detention facilities. 

Lurid headlines about private prisons who neglect their inmates, in order to save as much money as possible, is a matter we all know too well. This includes bad health care, mismanagement, human rights abuse, unhealthy food, case of deaths and much more. The list is long. These sure are problems we have to care about, but in the first place: it's not a question of efficiency, punishment or adequacy. It's not even about rights. It is a question of responsibility. Why does the state need to transfer the responsibility onto private companies in the first place? It seems like private prisons are not the best, but the most convenient solution. The state saves around 15% of cost when assigning private detention facilities, because those companies usually build and operate faster and with lower costs, since they do not employ civil servants. 

And that is exactly the main issue of prisons in general: it is all profit-oriented, and private prisons in a much more intense way. Only blaming private prisons is not justified because, as David Ricardo already outlined 1817 in his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, it's the demand that determines supply. The change depends on the state, and its duty is so be inmate-oriented. Prisons ought to be about resocialization and rehabilitation of human beings. The state, as a custodian of people, has the undoubted responsibility to offer the best it can, regardless of money, effort or time. And we, the people, are in charge of maintaining the states responsibility.

While much of criminology is about understanding why people commit crime, the lecture "Crime and Punishment in the USA" focused on society's responses to crime. We saw different approaches of reaction to crimes, empirical statistics and ideas of punishment, such as Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon (as seen on the left). The idea behind it is, that a single watchmen is capable of observing the whole inmates of an institution, without the inmates being able to tell wether or not they are being watched. In my opinion this type of institutional building designed by Bentham is one of the most interesting things we could hear in that lecture. Because, although it is physically impossible for the single watchman to observe all cells at once, the fact that the inmates cannot know when they are being watched means that all inmates must act as though they are watched at all times, effectively controlling their own behaviour constantly. 

Fun Fact: the name is a reference to Panoptes from Greek mythology. He was a giant with a hundred eyes and thus was known to be a very effective watchman. 

This lecture was a great introduction to the ways social scientists measure, think about, and theorize punishment. Seeing the differences between the American model of criminal punishment and that one of Germany makes the whole lecture even more valuable.

Being over 8000 kilometers away from your whole family and friends, while Eid is celebrated all over the world is probably not the best feeling. Of course, I receive the pictures and videos and get all the greetings from Germany, but it sure is not the same. On the other side, here in San Antonio, I found people who didn't hesitate to include me to their community! We had the opportunity to go to the Masjid and met with people with the same religion, but different cultures! And that is something that gives you a special feeling of being welcomed, no matter where you are from. The communities at both mosques (happily we could visit two) were so diverse and totally different to my culture and it made me realize that in the essence we are all the same human beings, no matter which language, color or belief. If you expend the effort, you'll always find similarities that makes people live together in harmony. By participating in this program I wanted to become able to draw lines between my culture and the American one, ... and i ended up drawing lines between mine and many various cultures by meeting culturally diverse people in the Fulbright group itself and out of it. And I think this helps me to understand myself much better.


After visiting the masjid we made a quick side-trip to the Pearl District, we chatted with each other and enjoyed the beautiful place. Pearl has a rich history dating back to 1883. The former brewery was transformed into "the crown jewel" in revitalization. Make sure to visit the Bakery Lorraine! Probably the best bakery in whole San Antonio.


Sitting in a bakery, eating an American chocolate cake with tea and awesome people around you is sometimes everything you need to savor life...




 ... you got me? :-)