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"Amelica" the Beautiful
June 28, 2000
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to
have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
Philippians 4:12 NIV
It all started with a stick of gum.
I was on a train from Vienna, Austria, headed back from a weekend
trip to my friend's house in Miesenbach, Germany, where I was staying on vacation.
Now near the final leg of my adventure, I contentedly soaked in some of my last
glimpses of German cows grazing lazily in the picturesque European countryside.
The six-passenger compartment I was in was empty, save for a twentysomething
guy who'd quietly boarded at the last stop. Now, a few minutes out from the
station, he offered me a piece of gum.
When I said "thank you" in English, his face brightened and
he asked, "American?," with a heavy accent. When I answered "yes," he began
asking me cultural questions in the limited English he'd learned from watching
American movies.
I discovered his name was Fahri and that he was a 23-year-old
university student in Germany going to spend his school holiday with his sister
and her family. When our limited language, arm motions, and drawings failed
to communicate with each other, we simply exchanged quizzical looks and laughed.
I drew a picture of the United States (that looked more like
a cow on my first try!) to show where I'm from and wrote out my unusual name,
which he could never quite pronounce, though I didn't really mind since what
he did call me made me sound like a Russian czarina instead of an American suburbanite.
Fahri also stumbled over "America," pronouncing it "Amelica."
At one point he looked at my crude drawing of the U.S. and wistfully said, "Amelica.
Amelica. Amelica." Curious as to why this student from the other side of the
world would have such loving feelings toward my country, I innocently asked,
"You like America?" His explanation stays with me to this day.
Fahri loves America because our troops helped carve out peace
in the chaos of his homeland. Through our system of words, arm motions, and
drawings, I learned he'd lost his father and his home to the Serbians in the
war in Kosovo. Fahri himself had to flee his home with only the clothes on his
body and a bullet hole in his foot, a stark reminder of the religious and political
turmoil that plagues his corner of the world. He was kicked out of three adjoining
countries before being allowed into Germany as a student. As he spoke, Fahri
wasn't weaving a sob story or seeking sympathy, he was simply answering my questions
and relaying his day-to-day reality.
I looked up at the small backpack Fahri had stowed in the overhead
racks when he first boarded the train and realized that was all he had for a
week's stay with his sister — perhaps all he had in the world. I was suddenly
embarrassed by the bag twice the size of his I'd brought for my weekend jaunt.
I wanted to give him everything I had on me and somehow take back every petty
pitty party I'd ever thrown for myself about loneliness, hand-me-down furniture,
or "so why aren't you married yet?" badgering. It didn't erase anything I've
been through, just put it into a much larger, healthier perspective.
This July 4th, when I hear words like patriotism and freedom,
I'll be thinking of a displaced university student in Germany and thanking God
for the undeserved privilege of living in "Amelica."
Happy 4th of July!
Camerin Courtney
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