Page 4 A quarterly publication of Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA, Inc. January-March 2017
In my motherland, the Philippines for instance, there’s an on-going rebellion by the communist rebels who want to supplant our form of government with communist ideology and the ISIS-inspired extremists who want to secede from the republic and some who have become bandits, kidnap people for ransom. Soldiers and civilians alike die almost everyday in the name of religious and ideological beliefs, not to mention some sectors of our society who are killed without the due process in the guise of eliminating the drug menace.America’s institutions are stable, our infrastructures are at par if not better with the rest of the world with ribbons of endless freeways and highways. The United States especially in California where the weather is mild and pleasant -- is a land of plenty. Everything can be grown here like tropical fruits and vegetables. We are abundant in everything. In Jordan for instance, 90 percent of their land is dessert. They don’t even have parks to hold picnics and where children can play. The people there survived because of tourism. Yet, with a little problem, we whine and whimper. These are nothing compared to the problems of other countries. Yes, we are pampered in America.Friends, because of my blessings in America, I am humbled and profoundly grateful.
My Abiding Faith… (From page 3)
Alyssa Lauren Veloria Soto: Miss Pangasinan-USA Reveals Her Inner Thoughts and Love For Learning - Shapes Her Outlook In Life
learning, I gained more family. My host Family welcomed me in with open arms and from the moment I stepped foot into their home, they treated me as if I were a member of their family. We ate all of our meals together, spent time with extended family, hiked, enjoyed games, and shared countless moments laughing together. This period of time truly set the tone for my time abroad, and showed me the warm hearted, caring and family oriented nature of southern Germany.
Following my stay in Fischingen, I moved 45 minutes away to Tübingen, where I had the honor and privilege to study at one of the top universities in Germany-Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen. While attending this university, I took many language studies in grammar, literature, phonetics, communications, culture and film classes. I loved my classes and found them very interesting but they were also very challenging because all of them were instructed completely in German. It was an extremely educating experience because it forced me to start thinking in German rather than English. This whole process of learning, thinking and analyzing things in another language was incredible. Through this new way of thinking, I began seeing things and living in a different way because I gained new meanings and interpretations of the environments around me.
My time spent in Germany was truly the adventure of a lifetime, and up until this point, it was the greatest year of my life, but there were many moments where I found myself feeling absolutely heart broken and homesick, longing to see my family and friends. When I found myself feeling like this, I took the time to volunteer at local schools teaching them about American culture and my life back at home. Being a part of this volunteer program, it afforded me the opportunity to serve as an ambassador for my country, and was very therapeutic to me because it allowed me to share what I loved about the States. It also allowed me to fully process the differences between the two cultures as I shared my own experiences in both Germany and the U.S. .
After returning back home, I was ready to finish my final year of higher learning and graduated in May of 2016 with two Bachelors Degrees in (1) Medical Anthropology and (2) German. My last year of pursuing my degree was interesting because, although I was focused and ready to finish, I now felt homesick again, but this time it was for Germany. Looking at the time of my life that I spent studying brings back so many happy memories and that is something I would like to continue. In 2018 I plan on returning back to Germany in order to pursue my Masters in Social-Cultural Anthropology at Frei Universität in Berlin. The time I spent in Germany helped me to develop more as an individual and as a young adult. I returned home feeling more connected with myself and had gained a deeper understanding of the world and different cultures.
One thing that I have always been passionate about, was my education. In my entire life, I have had a love for learning which was instilled in me by both my parents and grandparents. From a very young age, my parents were always reading to me and help- ing me learn how to read on my own while my grandparents helpe me learn to write and spell my name. Along with the standard of schooling and encouragement I received from my family, I was constantly participating in extracurricular activities after school, such as Spanish, Sign Language and Science Programs as well as Clarinet and Piano lessons. All of these things helped me Alyssa lived and studied in the city of gain a deeply rooted passion for learning and educating myself. Throughout my years at the University, I had an amazing time and loved every- thing that California State University San Marcos had to offer me. However; I found myself craving for an adventure. I had always wanted to study abroad and finally mustered up the courage to take the leap. So in 2014, I moved to Southern Germany where I would spend a little over a year studying German culture and language. I chose Germany because I wanted to experience something different and submerge myself in a culture that was unique and new, but still similar to that of our own here in The States. For the first two months of my stay, I lived with a host family in a small village called Fischingen, which was in the Black Forest. This family helped introduce me to German culture and got me acquainted to life in Germany while I was attending a pri-vate language school in a nearby village. These first two months not only prepared me for my entire stay but they were extremely special to me because aside from
