De La Rosa 1 Isabella De La Rosa Mr.

Sprott Global Nomads Final Essay May 31, 2013 The Importance of Dialogue Dialogue is crucial to understanding and peace building, be it from understanding a friend to understanding another person from another state, country, or continent. Dialogue is one of the most important forms of communication we possess, through it was exchange ideas and opinions and build bridges. I, personally, have felt the impact of how dialogue provides understanding through three experiences, the first being a host experience I had my junior year of high school, the second taking a seminar class about the Middle East, and third doing the Youth Talk Global Nomads program this year. Last year, I hosted a Central American student through the Central American Youth Ambassadors program (CAYA). I had never done a foreign exchange program before so I was anxious. I was not really thinking I was going to get a lot out of the experience except meeting someone new. The CAYA programs goal is to increase mutual understanding among peoples of the Americas and is funded by Georgetown University. Through this opportunity I met Monica, my Costa Rican exchange student. We were first put through a couple of activities that taught us about local and global economic ideas and how they can affect people. We were then let out into the real world and I brought Monica home. I wanted to give Monica a great American experience and I took her to the movies, bowling, the zoo, and eating out. During all of these activities while she was learning about my culture, I was learning about hers. I had never known much about Costa Rica. I knew it was in Central America and that was about it. But through Monica and the dialogue I had with her, while she was experiencing my culture, I was learning about hers. I got to know more about what teens in Costa Rica do for fun and what kind of traditions they uphold. I found that learning from Monica face-to-face was an important part in understanding one another. Dialogue has also brought a new understanding to my perspective on the Middle East through a class focused on the Middle East specifically. This past year I was fortunate enough to take a seminar class called Introduction to the Middle East. The first question my teacher, Ms. Allen, asked the small group of us was, Whats the Middle East?. It sounds like a pretty easy question, doesnt it? I mean if you know your relative geography you should be able to answer the question wrong. There was a long silence before anyone attempted to answer the question. We then began to research, and found that not even three countries (in the Middle East) can agree on which countries are constituted as being in the Middle East. It was a truly incredible class, we met with Middle Easterners and learned through their experiences and how they Through this semester-long class we looked at an array of subjects, ranging from women in the Middle East, to the role of religion, to conflict in the Middle East. This class enlightened me on the current situation of the Middle East while also learning to break down stereotypes.

De La Rosa 2 One of the most satisfying experiences I have had with truly global dialogue, however, has been through the Youth Talk - Global Nomads program. I was able to apply the knowledge I gained from my past experiences, especially my Middle Eastern class, and apply it while talking to people from that region of the world. Although I learned a great deal about the Middle East through my seminar class, I experienced more firsthand learning through Global Nomads. By actually speaking to people my age about issues facing both our societies I was able to understand the issues to a greater extent and truly create a cross-cultural connection. It was an influential experience being able to talk to our Jordanian friends about current topics and issues. We did activities were we looked at the past and tried to see what went right and what worked for leaders of change such as Martin Luther King Jr. and how his nonviolent acts influenced a tidal wave of change throughout the United States. One of the most gratifying experiences with this program has been through our final projects. Both our International School of the Americas group and the Princess Rahma School focused on violence and injustice. Through dialogue we were able to see what forms violence portrays itself through both our societies and decided to shed awareness on the topic. Our Princess Rahma friends decided to create awareness through performing skits, we here at ISA decided to paint a mural that spread awareness of the cycle of violence and ways to stop it by having numbers to call on the mural. Through all of these amazing experiences I have been able to build a stronger cross-cultural perspective and become a better global citizen. One of the largest things I will take away from these events is how not to stereotype people, regions, and cultures. I have now seen how stereotypes affect our views on an international level and have found how damaging the effects can be on our relations with other nations. I have found that stereotypes build walls while dialogue with other cultures and truly getting to know them can break those walls down. Dialogue helps lead to stronger peacemaking because as long as two people are connecting through some form of communication they have the ability to find a solution or at least create a resolution to their problems. I would like to finish off this essay with a quote from the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, "Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential than ever in a world where peoples are becoming more and more closely interconnected."