Kerri Chamberlain
Designer, 35
Arrived in Paris in 2002 from New York City

     I remember when I first arrived here, I listened to the BBC and I was shocked. I learned more about my country here than I ever did in the States.
     I was in the US right before we went into Iraq. When I came back here I was glad because the news in the US disgusted me. I felt like I was in the USSR with Pravda. Across the board, the same news with the same footage was played, and I remember thinking, “Oh, I’m not in the US anymore, I’m watching a government controlled Disney station.”
     It’s not like everybody here was against America going into Iraq. I came across people that were in favor of it, it wasn’t just the Americans. You’d think people here were unilaterally against it.
     Right after we invaded Iraq I went to Morocco, an Arab country, and they loved Americans. It touched me so much. They were chanting, “Allah is big, come to pray,” it’s the most beautiful, eerie, sound. They were praying to their god, which is like our god, but with a different name. They are the same as us – same families, same love for their kids, same desires. Yes, there are a few radicals, and they don’t like them as much as we don’t like them.