We are seen as:

We are seen as:

We are seen as:

We Are:

We Are:

We Are:

We Are:

We Are:

We Are:

We Have:

We Have:

We Have:

Our Land is:

Our Land is:

Our Land is:

Our People are:

Our People are:

Our People are:

We believe in:

We have:

We believe in:

We believe in:

We believe in:

We have great

We have:

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I interviewed a group of refugee students of various ages, who came here with families. They seemed primarily disappointed that what they had envisioned was not true once they arrived. These were students from all around the world, China, Russia, Somalia, India, etc. I selected them because I thought it would be a unique point of view coming from children as opposed to adults. When we are given information about new places when we are younger, we tend to glorify it. ~K. Anderson
• All three of the individuals I interviewed came from a country that lacked free will and the ability to sustain life. They all had different reasons for wanting to come to America, but the outcome of those differences were the same.
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The two individuals I interviewed found the United States to be friendly, for the most part, and were impressed with how much opportunity there was for Americans, immigrants or not. Both people were impressed with with the variety of places to visit and how different America was in terms of landscape, regions, rural, and urban areas. One of my interviewees is a woman from Haiti who moved to the U.S. as a young girl. She works with a friend of mine. My other interviewee is a man from Great Britain who is in the U.S. on a student visa getting his graduate degree; he is a friend of a friend of a friend. ~ Hanna B.

• All three individuals I interviewed expressed conflicting emotions. Most still view America as a land of "Opportunity" but all were disappointed in the direction America has taken. The first person I interviewed was my friend from Karachi, Pakistan. He was actually my former boss but
I've stayed close with him and his family for the last 15 years. He was educated at the University of Karachi before going on to be the illustrator for VOGUE France for many years before moving to London where he met his wife from the Midwest. I chose him because he is highly educated, has a multicultural family and has been here almost
40 years. I wanted to know the difference of what his initial impressions were compared to post 9/11. The second person I interviewed was a friend from Greece. She grew up ion Greece before moving to NYC and now works on a reservation helping Native Americans in NM. She married a Latino and also has a multicultural family. I chose her because of her unique perspective of cultural experience. The 3rd person I chose is Chinese, someone I worked with and have known for about 10 years. He came from great poverty and built a wonderful life for himself here with his caucasian wife and mixed child. I choose these people for their diversity of ethnic background and that they all immigrated here in different decades (60's, 70's & 80's). I thought the perspectives would be interesting. Ironically enough, it was only
AFTER I analyzed them that I realized they ALL had chosen spouses outside of their ethnic backgrounds and all have mixed kids. ~ Athena

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http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,807597,00.hthml
Article title: Amerigo And The New World (323pp.)-German Arciniegas-Knoopf
Through the history of time man has always had the urge to expand their inhabitence throughout the world. The first person that prompted this voyage to what we know now as America, was sought to be
Christopher Columbus. "Columbus had been given the proud title of Admiral of The Ocean Sea, but his rewards could more accuratley be measured in abuse then in wealth or glory." However according to the source listed above, claims that Amerigo Vespucci discovered America a year prior. Although most historians doubt this theory based on lack of evidence it goes to show that niave is a perfect word to describe America.
http://www.uen.org/themepark/liberty/immigrants.shtml
America has been considerd the melting pot since it has come to be because, of the diverse cultural identities that unite us. " Immigrants came for many reasons. They came in hopes of owning land or getting a better job. Some came for adventure or to avoid military service in their former country. Many came to escape persecution. Mostly they came in the hope for a better life." "Even today, immigrants continue to come to America in large numbers. This mix of cultures and diverse ethnic ancestries is what helps the United States be an interesting and dynamic place to live.”
NY Times Article on Immigrants' Children
“The good news here is that second generation adults are making significant progress — both compared to their parents and compared to their peers,” said Jeanne Batalova, the institute scholar who did the analysis. “The not-so-good news is that the progress is not uniform.” Sociologists have written that many immigrant children are becoming "Americanized" in a negative way by joining gangs, becoming high school dropouts. However, researchers have also found second generation immigrant children to be more successful than their parents because of educational opportunities leading to better jobs. On the flip side, good jobs are requiring better and more education and there are immigrant children who may, for different reasons, further their education. Latin American children are more at risk than other ethnic groups according to the article. ~ Hanna B.
NY Post Article The Myth of the Melting Pot
"To be sure, assimilation today often follows the same pattern that it has for generations. The children of immigrants, especially those who were born in the United States or come here at a young age, tend to learn English quickly and adopt American habits. Often they end up serving as translators for their parents. Schools exert an important assimilating influence, as does America's consumer society."
Immigrant families are faced with challenges of of their children learning the American language and then succumbing to negative assimilation within the American culture. Children usually learn to speak
English earlier and better, so they often interpret for their parents. ~ Hanna B.

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• Risen, C. (2005, March, 13). Re-Branding America: Marketing gurus think they can help
'reposition' theUnited States and save American foreign policy. Boston Globe, Retrieved
Aug 5, 2009, from http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/03/13/re_branding_america?pg=full
In this article, Clay Risen dicusses the PR campaigns America has run to improve it's image. I hadn'trealized but they actually hired "Madison Ave. maven Charlotte Beers to blitz the Middle East with pro-American advertising and PR campaigns." This particular blitz was a total "disaster" for America althoughother countries have launched successful re-branding campaigns. One important analysis ascertained thatBeers failed "because she tried to change people's minds without changing the ''product.'' Findings showthat successful campaigns show countries "aligning their foreign and domestic policies with a wellresearchedset of national images." For example, "Talking about freedom and democracy won't get usvery far if those efforts are competing with Abu Ghraib and the
Patriot Act." I think Naomi Klein sums it upwell at the end of the article, ''America's problem is not with its brand-which could scarcely be stronger-butwith its product.'' ~ Athena
Maidment, P. (2005, Sept, 21). Is Brand America In Trouble? . Forbes Magazine, Retrieved
Aug 5, 2009, http://www.forbes.com/2005/09/21/us-branding-politicscx_pm_0921brandamerica.htmlfrom
The author, Paul Maidment is discussing the image of America through the world's eyes and morespecifically the lens of Britain and Europe. He comments how Britain used to view
Americans amicably"Yet even here it doesn't take long for one to pick up the strains of anti-
Americanism that are reverberatingever louder around the world--even in areas that are not on the front lines of the Washington-led war onterrorism." He reveals that while the antiamericanism isn't a new issue, the "tenor" of it "has now movedbeyond passive anti-
Americanism to a more active counter-Americanism." Another interesting concept hebrings up if the view the world saw of America with it's tragic handling the Katrina disaster. The image wasthat America while "a superpower abroad has been shown to have clay feet at home." ~ Athena