What do you think when you look at the picture? Do you think your perception of people has changed? How?

Rachel Sturn (Donnerstag, 19 Mai 2022 17:30)

At first glance you think that this picture is a foreign language that you don't understand. But if you look at the words and letters a little more closely, you realise that it is actually an English sentence. I think the picture is meant to express that you shouldn't judge and label people by their very first impression. During my internship, I met people from a completely different culture. At the beginning, I felt like I was in another world. But since we were almost the only tourists in the country, we got to talk more closely with some of the locals. It turned out that these people are actually just like us. They have their problems, but also their joys in life. They like to play card games and sometimes have a bottle of beer in the evening. When you get in touch with new people, you realise that many prejudices you probably had at the beginning are not confirmed at all.

Gerhard E. (Sonntag, 28 November 2021 20:45)

When I first looked at the picture, I thought the text was written in a language i don´t understand. When looking closer I realized that it´s actually written in English and that I was deceived by the look of the text. Obviously the text is created in a way that leads you to this initial misinterpretation of the picture. It shows that you should be careful judging stuff when you haven´t really investigated it. Sometimes the first impression is misleading and you draw wrong conclusions, which can hurt people or even be dangerous. On the other side it is also worth mentioning that the human mind is set up in a way to take a few hints from a situation and draw conclusions from those few facts. This is necessary because the world is so complex that we are unable to analyze any situation fully and we have to take shortcuts to come to any conclusion.
Still, it is important to know that and be careful about drawing conclusions too quickly.

Manuel F. (Donnerstag, 25 November 2021 13:59)

At first glance I assumed it was a different language, but when I‘ve taken a second look I realized that it was a statement written in english. This example shows how easily people get deceive. That is why I think it is important to take a second look at the situation and the people involved in any life situation in which there is a risk of judging something early on.
While thinking about this statement i realized that me and all other people on earth should first have a second look and give everyone we meet a first chance no matter which language or skincolour they have.
Before judging hastily, it is often useful to get to know people better and to question their motives for their actions and their statements. Especially nowadays it is very valuable to consciously take the time to get an idea of ​​situations and people, as the general acceleration of everyday life often means that there is no time for it and one often judges too quickly.

David (Montag, 22 November 2021 12:25)

Don't judge a book by it's cover. That was my first thought, and I think that is a problem in our society today. Many people have an opinion of people because what they hear or see in the media. My perception of people hasn't changed. I feel that I am reflected enough to know what is right and wrong. What I don't like is how social media has evolved, and how easy it is to create a delusion of people, societies and things. Everytime I visit a social media platform I get really frustrated of people who thinks they know every thing and tries to create a hostile inviroment.

Ingfrid (Mittwoch, 28 November 2018 13:55)

I like this picture. In this time with a lot of xenophobics, it is important to have some small wakeup calls like this. Especially where I am from there is a lot of 'fears' of other cultures, I believe this often is the cause of too lite knowledge and people creating their own visions. This picture looks like Arabic writing but it's English. Therefore I think a lot of people would just ignore it or not even try to read it. This is causing a lot of trouble living in a world that is globalising, more and more people move to other countries and cultures mix up. I don't think my perception has changed a lot, I have always been a person who is friends with everyone and open minded. But this picture remained me how important it is to always give people a chance even though you maybe had a bad start the first time you met someone.

Stefanie (Dienstag, 28 November 2017 08:59)

When you travel with an open mind you get to look over the edge of the plate. Many impressions might surprise, enrich, inspire, shock, teach or thrill you. That is what makes travelling and working abroad so precious. It offers authentic and very different experiences which help you to judge less and find out about yourself more. It is up to everyone to let this happen - not just while being on the road.

Marina (Dienstag, 14 November 2017 14:48)

When I first looked at this picture, it came to my mind that it must be some arabic writing I don't understand. But when looking closer I saw it is a little trap. For me, it transports a very clear statement. Sometimes looking briefly at something is not enough and may lead to wrong conclusions. That's why it's worth it to look closer at things and dig a little deeper.

I think it's human to have prejudices, but it is important for me to reflect them and think about the reasons why one thinks in these ways and maybe while reflecting we realize that the prejudices don't have to be right. During my current stay in Finland I already met a lot of people from different countries and I think that this helps to see people as individuals and to overcome prejudices.

Maria (Mittwoch, 31 Mai 2017 22:29)

First I was pretty confused when I looked at this picture. After having a closer look I realised that it’s English and I had to smile. I completely agree with this quote but I think it’s pretty human to have prejudices. We all have pictures in our heads about certain citizens, jobs or religions. Some of them are true but most of them aren’t. The best way to overcome false prejudices is to meet the people and talk to them. Living abroad means meeting a lot of different people from all over the world. If you aren’t open minded you could miss a lot of opportunities to make good friends.

Stefanie (Freitag, 19 Mai 2017 16:42)

I think it took me 10 seconds to figure out what it is written on the picture. Personally i think it is quite normal to jugde and almost impossible for anyone not to when you see someone the first time. We know that we should not because we do not know anything about these people but i think it is within every person as we are prejudicing and making conluclusions with the things we got to know and see so far. When traveling jugding too early is never a good habit as you might not get any chance to make new friends before you even don't know them. It is hard not to judge and to be always open-minded but if you can, you can be proud of yourself and it is a big advantage for traveling.

Natalie (Montag, 01 Mai 2017 08:29)

I looked at this picture and in less than a second I thought about an Arabic text and that I won’t be able to read it. I was a bit impatient and also confused what to do with this picture. My second look showed me that the words just looked Arabic but are actually English. And that I am able to understand them: “Take a second look before you judge!”
It’s absolutely the same with people. Sometimes we just see people from other countries, other cultures or other religions and we judge immediately without knowing anything about them. We have certain prejudices in our minds. Some of us connect the Islam and Muslims only with terror and the IS, for example.
In my first days in Norway I got to know many people from other countries and cultures. I tried to be open-minded to get in contact with them and come along within this new society. And I experienced that some of my prejudices turned out to be true, others did not. There was no possibility for me to stay thinking this way because I wanted to be part of this new community of international students and I wanted to join all the interesting activities and discussions with them.
The most important thing is to talk to people first, ask them about their lives and their attitudes towards certain topics and reflect it afterwards. Judging too early can make unique experiences, new friendships and also a lot of fun just impossible.

Anna (Donnerstag, 13 April 2017 20:05)

My very first impression of the picture was confusion. I really couldn’t get the message of the text at the beginning. It took me quite long until I was able to figure out all the words.
To my mind, this statement describes most people’s way of thinking. We start looking at a person or an object, immediately create an opinion and then continue to go on with something else. During my stay abroad I realised that we often miss the best parts of life with this way of thinking.
When I arrived here in Sweden I met lots of people from different parts of the world. Unsurprisingly, I had some prejudices about citizens from different countries. Although some of them turned out to be true, the majority wasn’t. The only way to find out is getting in contact with the people and talking to them. I know from first-hand experience that this enables you to be part of several funny and/or interesting discussions. If you are “brave” enough and make the first steps towards others, your perception of people will change to the better. This is why we should always bear in mind that judging too early can limit our horizon.

Marina (Donnerstag, 13 April 2017)

First when I look at the picture I tried to read it from the right side to the left :D We have that Jemen girl in our class, which writes just like this and she started to explain me, that they read from the right side to the left side. So I thought maybe this is the trick behind it. After I recognized, that there are really english words I had to laugh. I think this is absolute true. We live in a world where everything is full of prejudice. I think it's a pity, but we only can change it, if we start to teach that to our children. I think this is a important task for us as teachers.
When I came to the Netherlands I had also prejudice, for example, there are a lot people smoking weed, but it isn't like every dutch person smokes weed. But actually that's not really a part of their culture. I am sure some of them really satisfy my prejudice, but also numerous don't. The Dutch people are open minded and very friendly and I really love their culture.
I think my perception to other people had changed, because I try to get to know them before I judge.

Christina (Donnerstag, 06 April 2017 14:36)

Sadly, nowadays most people will not attribute this script not with the Islamic religion but with the ongoing terror which is unfortunately sometimes connected with it. On taking a second look, one can see that it is an English sentence, which says: “Take a second look before you judge”. At first, when I looked at this picture, my thoughts were also of the presence of terror. I am afraid, like many people, I too judged too quickly. Many people also get the wrong impression of a person they have just met. Being judgmental seems to be a characteristic that is very deep in our society and in our minds. Bettering our attitudes towards others and being open to learning before judging and to try and see people as being equal would help us all. I too have had to learn how to be more open towards others and to learn not to prejudge a person at our first meeting. When I connect this with education then I can say that this is may be the most important goal and value as a teacher which you can give to your pupils.
When it comes to my perception of people I believe that I also have had some prejudices about people from other countries but these relate to things that I have heard before even meeting any natives. Most prejudices usually disappear when you get to know the people. Before I came to Finland we were sent an e-mail from our university saying that we will have a “kummi” who will help us during our first weeks at the university. They also sent us a document with his data and a picture. The name of my kummi is Bruno and in the picture I saw a man with lots of black hair and a long beard. My first impressions were to prejudge him because he looked like many of the Islamic people we read about in the news. The sad thing about it was that we really put him into a category of people where he did not belong and we even asked ourselves if we could trust him. Now that I have come to know Bruno I can say that he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He is a very helpful and kind person and very much more like a teddy bear than our terrible prejudgment of him. This was one of the most significant examples I experienced which helped to change my attitude towards people I do not know.

Fabienne (Dienstag, 04 April 2017 13:13)

In our time abroad we met and we will meet many people from different countries. We also see a lot of places. At first I had some prejudices about people of other countries, some of them turned out to be true and some of them are wrong.
I have learned that we should be more open for new people, places and adventures. Because it can happen, that your prejudices and thoughts can be a bar to oneself.