The President is a BEARS FAN!

I love the USA and I could never leave it for good. I think it is the greatest place on Earth. But living here I really have seen America from a different perspective. So much of what we (the USA) does effects the rest of the world on a day-to-day basis. And they seem so much more interested in American politics than we are. Every student I talk to wants to talk about the American election. And every single student I come across is a huge supporter of Barack Obama. I think we have an obligation to consider the image of our nation. If the entire free world in favor of Barack Obama then that must be a good thing he is president. My Mom and Dad are most likely crying as they read this, but I guess Dad always call me a damn liberal school teacher. I actually view myself right in the middle. As most of my friends in Tacoma would consider me conservative. Above all else, I was excited in this election.

I was 13 and just getting interested in politics when Clinton won the first time. He was a guy that could pee on your leg and convince you it was raining. I couldn't vote but I would've voted for him if I could have. I would have voted for him again but I didn't think he was a good guy... just a good president. When G-Dub came on the scene everything in the country was peachy-keen. He was a simple guy that I thought would just cruise through a term or two and not screw up too much. In case I didn't learn my lesson the first time, I went ahead in voted for him again (oops). Come on though, Kerry? Really???

In this election, I think for the first time in a long time we were in a win-win situation. John McCain is a great man. If I teach any of these Aussie students anything about American politics it is that John McCain is NOT George Bush. He is a great man that has spent his life in service of the American country... He just wasn't the right party for this election. I wish he would have won 8 years ago.

Being in a foreign country during the election is exactly the reason why I love this trip. Visiting places like Rome, Paris, and London I've always gotten the tourist perspective. You don't really get an idea of how the average person truly lives their daily life. I spend most days as a sub just asking kids questions about the subtle things. Like what their perspective of America is. Most of them think: Celebrities, McDonalds, and Guns. But dig a little deeper and you find they think of Americans as kind of dumb. When I hear an Aussie accent I think Crocodile Dundee. I can't help it,that is just my first thought. Now the adults are different. It seems the older the person the more positive attitude they have about the US. I think this is very indicative of the state of affairs. And even if Obama sucks as a president, our image took a huge upturn yesterday. And I'm a little more proud to be American in this country than I was last week.

I found a great site about international perspective... check it out:

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/presidential-election-08-global-poll/article102098.html