Discussion with the cultural attaché from the U.S. Embassy

On the 2nd of December we had the ‚Kompetenztag‘ at our school. Fortunately, we had the honor to meet Michelle Logsdon who is the cultural attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and a member of the senior Foreign Service.

The main topic of our discussion was multiculturalism. Ms Logsdon gave us some interesting facts about immigration in the U.S.: 25 percent of the 330 million inhabitants in the U.S. are either foreign born or have parents who are foreign born. 40 percent of the inhabitants in the U.S. have German roots. One of the biggest problems in the U.S. are the 11 million undocumented people also known as ‚Aliens’ that come to the U.S. every year. The history of the U.S. is accompanied by constant changes in demography, immigration and fights for tolerance and rights. In this respect we also mentioned the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S.. Furthermore we talked about the political system, the upcoming presidental elections and the candidates. Additionally, we talked about participation against ISIS, TTIP and its possible benefits to the countries, and other current news.

The talk was really interesting and showed us Ms Logsdon’s perspective on certain issues. It was really kind of her to answer our questions with such patience. The conversation was casual and comprehensible. She gave us a good overview about topics which are relevant to the Abitur.

I. Schäfer and Th. Tempel, LK-Englisch