For my observation experience, I attended the Thanksgiving Dinner for Refugees. During dinner, I learned some things about the inner workings of being a refugee. Simply put, I began to see the culmination of all their hard work. The main lesson that could be learned from this observational experience concerned the concepts of community and belonging. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay My first job task at the event was to help the people in attendance get their food. At first glance, I was disappointed with the work I was given at the event. I felt like I was just a “free job” that one of the many frantic middle-aged social workers could use to help them cook dinner. However, as time passed in line, I began to learn a lot more about the future effects of the experience. I found myself talking more and more as people moved through the line. At first, I just asked: “Hey, do you want some couscous?” But after a while it became clear that I should not work for the refugees, but with them. As I think about it, my question suddenly becomes: “How are you?” What happened was that I noticed the blockade between the refugee and me – a blockade that I was trying to get around. By asking the refugees how they were doing, I invited them to accept my gratitude to them. In other words, I was trying to open the conversation and show that I was not just an American coming to bring them something. The experience only became richer once dinner was served. I watched the people of the world sit together and eat. My heart was moved by the harmonious beauty of this little church. Many people expressed the wish that the whole world could come together and live in peace. To my surprise, this is what was happening right in front of me. There was no hatred or discrimination. In fact, I think everyone felt in harmony with the people in the room. This community, so large and complex, was doing things that the highest politicians in the world could never do. They weren't just talking to each other, but they were very engaged with each other. After eating my own plate of food, I lost sight of the person in charge of the event because they were probably busy with everyone there. the room. So I decided I needed to find something to do instead of sitting around. At the back of the room was the children's area, which I decided to head towards. Here I found myself overwhelmed with children who wanted to do nothing but play and laugh. Even in these children, I saw a community and respect for each other. They were young enough that the discrimination wasn't real for them. In my opinion, discrimination is an acquired social construct. In other words, we perceive discrimination to be practiced and therefore it becomes part of our identity. Let us, for example, consider the notions of white racism against blacks that our country has been fighting against for a long time. As a child, I remember learning about slavery and thinking that I never saw any difference between me and the black kids in my class. Of course, eventually I started to notice differences; I started to put a margin between people “like me” and “not like me”. From then on, discrimination manifested itself in me..