Study Abroad

Being an international student I have already had this opportunity to study abroad. I have had great experiences here in the United States. If further I am given another opportunity to study abroad, I would prefer going to Germany. During my high school I had German as a foreign language. Also we were taught a lot about Germany and it's culture. I has this benefit of knowing German. I have had one of the best opportunities to study in a country like America, so I would rather prefer studying in Germany for may be a a semester or so, just to gain some experience. Germany fascinating country. It's economic status as one of the three biggest world economies, along with the United States and China, make studying in Germany even more beneficial. I can think of doing my masters there.  Experience with the German language, culture, customs, and work ethic will be beneficial. 

ENGR 103 week 12 blog

Too much of computer

On Friday, after class, as per my usual routine I went to the Hicks underground library to finish my MA 165 Webassign Homework. I specifically go to Hicks to study because of the double screened computers available in the digital media section located in the lower levels of Hicks. There I can do my homework and not tire my eyes as much thanks to the big screens.

However, last Friday was different. That day would have been the third day in row during which I only got less than 6 hours of sleep. Why did this happen? Well, despite keeping my procrastination at an acceptable level, during each day of the week something school-related conveniently came up and kept me up late.

Anyway back to Friday afternoon. I finished my homework, and got out of the Hicks library and impatiently looked forward to a weekend of well-earned rest. However, as I walked from Hicks towards my dorm, I noticed that anyone who passed by me looked at me in a strange way. I ignored the looks.

At my dorm, as I went to the bathroom to get a shower, I looked at myself in the mirror and realised the reason for those strange looks. The person who was looking back at me had a red bloodshot eyes and dark purple bags creeping right below them. The combination of sleep deprivation and computer usage had tired my eyes out to the breaking point. I hope I won’t be needing higher powered glasses. That would really suck.

Technology in Latin America

The readings were about bringing technology to rural Latin America. These rural areas have a high population of people under poverty. Limited resources do influence energy policy and implementation of technology with not only Latin America but everywhere in the world. The great thing about energy in rural areas is that the source of energy is usually renewable, usually solar or geothermal energy. In Japan it is not only in rural areas, but solar energy is highly used when rural areas need energy. Solar panels are built on rooftops to give families power in rural and urban Japan. This is an example of changing government policies to let more people have access to power in rural areas. Of course there are limitations for every country, but every place needs energy to be competitive in today's world.

Bringing technology to remote areas of Latin America

The reading talk about the approach of policy in bringing technology to remote areas of Latin America, which tend to be rather poor communities. It is true that the limited resources influence energy policy and implementation of technology in countries in Latin America with large populations under poverty. It is not only the case for Latin America. It implies for every country. Lets take an example. In India, there has been a shortage of fuel and the major energy resources. This has made the government change it's policies and apply the new ones to some extent. Solar energy and many other renewable energy are the ways the government is transforming to now. But ya, every country has some limitations or may be restrictions to implement its policies. It may be that the country lacks funding. There can be many such reasons to the implementations.

The reading were really interesting and knowledgeable.

Energy Implementation in Latin America

To sum up, the reading assignment talks describes how the Brazilians government had managed to obtain an overall electrification rate of about 98.7 percent.

Now how can limited resources affect energy policies in countries? First of all, it is important to note that limited resource definitely has an impact on energy policies. For example in India, the cost of fuel and the need for more sustainable energy solutions has lead the Indian government to focus on hydro electrical solutions.

Now how do limited resources really influence policies? Well for starters, every country in the world needs energy not only to survive but to be competitive in today’s globalized economy. This leads governments to search for cheap and efficient ways for generating power. This is especially true in developing countries where governments usually lack funding. For example due to hiking fuel prices, and due to the fact that a substantial amount of its electricity came from Diesel generator, the Cambodian resorted to establish a grid linking the neighbouring Vietnamese power grid with its own.

So basically, limited resources lead government to find better solutions.

OEPP round table

I came to Krannert an hour earlier than assigned time. I sat in the lobby and prepared to my ENGR131 Exam. At 5:30 pm I went to the room where roundtable would be held. There were Jayne and some Asian students. I sat next to Jayne, and introduced myself. Jayne said that those students were TAs and as I remember, by the round tables “they get experience and learn skills to become better TA”. First, they (one of them) asked me where I was from. I answered I am from Kazakhstan. I was not surprised when they did not know where it is, so I just pointed to a map and continued”it’s near Russia and China” as we, Kazakhs, always say. Then, they asked me second, third… Wait, wait! I did not expect that I would be attacked by a bunch of questions. It made me, shy guy, little nervous. I called Dharna, who was also supposed to come, but she could not… because of rain. =) However, after a while confidence came to me. I even liked being in the spotlight. I talked about FIFA 12, foods that Kazakhs eat, language barriers and so on. It all ended at 6:20. Then I, pleased with myself, went home and had a nice sleep.