Reflection week 7

At first i thought it might be difficult to pick a topic for my blog this week since we only had one class; this of course was an absolutely ridiculous thought. There have definitely been some differing opinions on whether or not it was appropriate to post the aim chat from Tuesday's class, and whether or not the said chat was relevant. Whether or not it was relevant, Autumn was simply following instructions by posting. I can definitely see how the conversation could be hard to follow and never have been a big fan of chat rooms, but I do feel it was a constructive supplement to the class discussion. That being said everyone is most definitely entitled to their own opinions, and as long as they are prevented respectfully then they are received as such as well. However I would like to say that class blogs probably are not the place to vocalize whatever problems you may have with your floor mates. Whether or not you like to speak to them at all in general, I know that I personally like to address my problems in person. Since blogging seems to be the preferred method I would just like to say that if you have a problem with someone you could actually try speaking to them about it.
In other news, I really would like to suggest that everyone take advantage of all the amazing cultural events D.C. has to offer. There is always a wealth of cultures to explore and the experiences are amazing. Of course, you don't even need to leave the dorm to do this. Talk to people and learn about their home and culture, it is definitely worth it.

reflection week 7

I thought our trip to the EU Commission this week was very interesting not only for the content of the briefing but mostly for the structure of it. The speaker was very careful about the words he chose to use and how he spoke on certain issues and to certain people. As a typical politician he did not answer some of the questions but rather skirted around the issue and then admitted that he did not really answer the question. This was particularly true when it came to the question about why the integration of the EU economically was easier than militarily. To a certain extent the speaker could profess ignorance about the military aspects because he specializes in trade, but considering the EU is a political organization one would assume that he would have some knowledge of the political and military aspects of the organization. I think he may have avoided the question because he did not know or perhaps because he did not want to reveal the real reason that the EU was unable to organize militarily.
He did touch upon the issue some, however, and said that each nation wants to maintain its own military power and is reluctant to trust others when it comes to security. While I think this is in some ways valid in explaining why nations are less likely to agree on military matters than on economic matters, I cannot help thinking of NATO as a counter argument. While NATO is not a complete military integration it is a military agreement and I wonder why Europe could not have established a similar organization. I recognize that some of the EU nations are also in NATO but there could be a way for them to cooperate with other European nations. The speaker was even less reluctant to offer much information about the issue of expansion of the EU which reveals how politically charged that issue is.
Furthermore he was careful about choosing the right words when he was talking to Gunperi because he did not know whether she was from North or South Cyprus. Unfortunately politics always creates such a position in which to refrain from offending one group you almost have to offend another group unless you are extremely careful about what you say. Wouldn’t it be nice if he could discuss the issue without distinguishing between what he would say to a North Cypriot versus a South Cypriot. I certain do not claim to know everything about this issue but I think we should be able to communicate with each other similarly regardless of where we happen to be from though unfortunately this will be the case as long as there is conflict in the world.
Erica Peterson