A Friendly African Man

During the second week of my school vacation, I traveled across the country to live in Bonn with my host mother’s parents. When I travel, I have a habit of wandering. I don’t book many tours, or examine every building in order to find their historical importance. I simply walk in whatever direction looks the most interesting, go in old and new buildings alike, watch people as they go about their lives, and obviously photograph the entire journey. 
Within one of my first days in Bonn, a man walking past me stopped to ask about the location of a street he was looking for. Although I understood his German question, I obviously did not have the answer, and this, apparently, made him curious about me. He asked me where I was from, and my response lead to a very long conversation...
The man was a big supporter of the United States, despite its many flaws. He was a teacher from Uganda and had made many friends with American Peace Corps members stationed there. Through them, he became very convinced that almost all people from the United States are very kind and willing to take time out of their days to listen and interact with others, as I was doing with him. He was inspired by the US giving its citizens so many basic human rights, and was very grateful that many of his friends were able to immigrate their in an attempt to find a better life. We talked about current politics, the unique values that make up each part of our world, and which situation is most ideal. It’s not common that I like our government, but this man made me grateful for what my country stands for. There are many things that need to be changed, but many things that we’ve done right for a long time also.