On Obama

Once in a while, something so astonishing happens in the world of politics that everyone knows about it and wants to talk about it. This time it was the US election, and the man of the hour was Obama.

It was an election that the world watched: Kenya has declared Thursday a national holiday, people were dancing in the streets in Indonesia. In Kazakhstan, we watched also.

Although I am on the opposite side of the world, I saw Obama’s speech in Grant Park the same way that millions of Americans did: live on CNN. My training class woke up at 5 in the morning to drive to Almaty to see the results. Over 40 Peace Corps volunteers crammed in a room and watched TV. Some cried, others cheered, all of us felt proud of our country.

However, what I thought was even more amazing was where I found myself that night: Sitting around a table doing a vodka toast to Obama with people I never met. Even more astonishing was where they were from: Bolivia, Peru, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, America, Ukraine, and a couple others. They too, were excited, some cautiously so, but still excited. We all had differing beliefs and opinions, but we were still able to come together and talk for hours about Obama and what his rise to the presidency means for America and the world. This is the reason why I like Obama: He is such an inspirational person to not only Americans, but to people all over the world.