About me: Anna Ehlers

Hello everyone! My name is Anna Ehlers and I am an English major (with anthropology and global security studies minors) at UNL. I am 24 (I turn 25 during finals week, Yay lower insurance!) and originally from the small town of Cody Wyoming (also known as a scenic tourist trap, just outside of Yellowstone national park.)My parents still live there and my brother recently moved back to work for the sheriffs department. I have very little online learning experience and honestly really prefer the classroom environment however course scheduling pinned me down to the online version of this course. I have spent most of today (Monday) confused and trying to figure it all out. I believe at this point that I have a grip on the format, although it is a loose one.

            I am taking this course for my GSST minor out of a pretty decent list of options because I thing it is the most applicable to the real world. I believe the world is moving toward a far more global environment and that interaction with multiple cultural identities is becoming increasingly the norm. While it is possible to live with little intercultural interaction it is definitely not something I am interested in. That being said, I need to have an understanding of how to look at another group that differs from me and engage their perspective and be aware of the way my cultural biases taint my perceptions and interactions with various groups of people. I really learned a lesson in that while deployed to Afghanistan and working with local national men women and children and providing them medical care as well as a source to air grievances. I went into the experience rather biased as to what I expected the people to be like and had my mind blown by the kindness and friendships I built with some of the people I encountered. It really shifted my view of myself and made me question if I was guilty of wrongfully stereotyping, labeling, and being prejudiced against people based on limited knowledge. Hopefully I will gain insight to better my own interactions and be more prepared to deal with unfamiliar worlds.

            As far as interests and hobbies go I am pretty varied. I have taken an interest in politics especially international politics and human rights issues. I also get pretty excited about human history, development, evolution etc. (hence the anthropology minor.) I am above all a book worm and have a constant need to find something new to read or write about and really enjoy gathering a random and extensive library both in my home office and on my kindle. Crossfit is definitely my health salvation and I try and go to a workout 4-5 times a week, and have been eating and learning to cook based on the paleo diet that many Crossfitters follow for the past 8 months. I miss pasta and bread but I think I am surviving just fine without refined sugars and grains. I have a Boxer named Stella, who will be a year old in February and she is the worlds best dog (but kinda stinky; she casually farts all the time with NO SHAME) and live with my boyfriend who has a prissy but cute Whippet named Vanna. They are best friends and look like quite the mismatched pair when they are together. I, as alluded to above, am a member of the Nebraska army national guard, as a Medic and radiology tech and deployed to Afghansitan for the duration of 2011. In addition I have had the fortune of living in San Antonio, Texas and Washington D.C. both as military assignments and loved them both.

At a wedding

teaching a class on hygiene with the help of my interpreter in afghanistan