The Reflection

For the class project, I contributed to the Iraqi backgrounder and introduction sections. Overall, my contribution seemed to be painless and easily facilitated. My biggest struggle with the section, particularly the Iraqi backgrounder, was that I completed too much detailed research. For the backgrounder, I read a total of 4 chapters out of various novels because the history of the conflict intrigued me. However, once it came time to actually write my backgrounder section, most of the conflict history I researched was not applicable. I wish that I had had a better understanding of the purpose of the backgrounder before beginning research because I had believed that the history was the most important component, but in reality, I needed much more information that would describe the culture of Iraq to potential employers. Therefore, in some ways, reading the Congolese backgrounder confused the class assignment for me because it had such an emphasis on the conflict. I am glad I completed the research because it was fascinating concepts but much of it was not relevant during the compilation process. The compilation process between all groups proved to be more difficult than I had predicted because we were not given specific headings or topics to be addressed in the country backgrounder sections. As a result, the final compilation bothered me because the heading sections were not uniform and each group addressed a different part of their country’s culture. While it was good to have creative freedom, I thought it would have looked more professional if all the sections had addressed the same topics. In terms of my service experience, my patience was tested many times at the ACC. I worked at the Job Club, where I taught interview and application skills to the group of refugees. It was difficult because there were various skill levels of English, so I had to cater to all the levels while maintaining a consciousness to not treat them as children or less intelligent adults. The service was also emotionally draining because many of the refugees had previously held positions as business owners, nurses, or government directors in their home countries and then had to apply for housekeeping, fast food service, or dishwashing jobs, which was difficult to witness. Watching this process made me question whether or not coming to the United States was an improvement in life quality for these refugees. Thus, the service was very rewarding but also made me question many of my basic assumptions.