Mini-case 1.1

This passage clearly indicates that prior knowledge is needed when traveling to a new area. I don't even know why some people try to go somewhere without knowing a little of the native language or any knowledge about the area. It must of been very frustrating not knowing that the city and country and have the same exact name. I don't like how some people think that speaking slower would solve the problem of a language gap. It must of been very frustrating for the two and the farmer. I know that with prior knowledge and knowing some of the language would be such a big help for any person traveling to a new place.

Communication gap !!

The first mini case was so funny. It clearly reflected the communication gap between the farmer and the colleague. It wasn't the language that lead to the gap, but it was the lack of knowledge of the place. It is really interesting to know that there is the same word for the city and the country. The passage frustrated me too. Initially I thought that the colleague didn't know exactly where he had to go. I thought he was stupid. On a second thought I even thought that the farmer wasn't aware of Tunis and was just randomly pointing that place to be Tunis. Huh! This how difficult is it to live or roam in a country without any prior knowledge of that place.
Such a frustrating situation would have never come up if the colleague or Dr. Nolan would have studied a bit about that place before going on a venture even without a tour guide.

BDAY WEEKEND

This weekend was my birthday weekend. Quite frankly, I thought it was going to suck. I know birthdays can be really tough the first year you’re in college because you don’t really have a strong established group of friends and nobody really knows/cares it’s your birthday. I’ve really been missing being at home because I was really close to everyone in my high school. I was literally best friends with everyone in my grade. So far, of course I’ve made a ton of friends, and they’re all great. But because of the short time we’ve been together, we’re obviously not very very close. I’m sure time will help us to get closer. But anyways, back to my birthday. As much as I didn’t expect it, I HAD A GREAT DAY. After class, Daniel and I went to lunch and he got me a feather for my hair J. I went with my sorority “mom” to get ice cream and she gave me some awesome gifts. Then, my boyfriend gave me some awesome presents. When I came home after class, I had a lot of packages in the mail from my family and some friends, and my roommate had bought me a cake. Then, I went to dinner with 12 of my friends at Qdoba, and they all gave me gifts and cards, which I totally did not expect. Afterwards, some of us rented a movie. It was such a great day. It was the opposite of what I expected, and I realized that I have some really great friends. J

Our Teachers Can Prevent Us From Success

This article was really interesting. I really like how many different aspects of the problem it helped to define and explain. I can personally relate to this article because of how people judge me. Like the article said, if you’re tall, people often ask you if you play sports. I get asked that question all the time. Most commonly, I’m asked if I play volleyball or basketball. Another common way in which people see me is as a blonde sorority girl. Which, in fact, by coining “blonde sorority girl”, I’m alluding to another stereotype. It’s interesting to see how stereotypes and blindspots affect how we think and experience things. It is also interesting to note that these stereotypes can either allow or prevent people from succeeding. I’ve seen this everywhere, but especially in school. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I can tell that almost all my teachers have judged their students and given grades which have been affected by those judgments. I’ve also seen it in the workplace. This is something that all of us could definitely work on.

ENGR 103 week 10

In this article six terms are explained that impede success. They all seemed to me somehow related, even similar to each other. Every person has unique perception of the world. While some people see objects in one way, the others may see it absolutely differently. In my opinion, stereotype is a general perception of foreign people. Second, I think, that discrimination may be caused by another barrier, ethnocentrism. People who think their culture is superior (ethnocentrism), treat others unequally (discrimination).

The most interesting example that author gives, I think, research conducted in Berkeley. When students were asked what they think about disabled people, students answered they were smart. Others would answer otherwise.

The author mentions that most people perceive Muslims as terrorists. Recently I read the article about the incident that happened in Norway this summer. As you remember, a European originated man killed approximately ninety people. The press declared him as “Attacker”, “Gunman” and “Assailant”. However, nobody called him “terrorist”. Then author raised question if the term “terrorist” was reserved by Muslims.

social barriers that never mattered to me!

I found this article really interesting. I was so much intrigued that I even forgot that I have a chemistry exam exam on monday lol.
So to begin with, I must say the best part of the reading was the first page which talks about the experience of the author. I personally feel that your success is never influenced by the social barriers. It is your internal talents that make you achieve something. I am from India and have traveled abroad to US for my studies. Making this study abroad decision wasn't easy for me and my family. We were surrounded by many social norms, but we never let those norms come out as a barrier for us. I always knew and still know what my goal is.
Frankly, its been more than a month here now and I have never felt neglected.
I am impressed by the author's experience and his determination, as to how he sill went on even when he was facing discrimination at the hospital he worked and college he went to. 

Diversity Consciousness

Living overseas and on a military base has taught me many things so far in life. Personally, I have no problem with a person who is diverse, I actually have more friends who are multicultural. I believe that we are all one and all have a purpose in life. Racism was always roaming around where I lived, because some people were just not used to being around such a diverse community.

Over time, I learned that people actually became to love the diversity. Its funny because some people who stated that they hated living overseas and hated being around many Asians and African Americans cried when they had to move, or to this day still say that they miss being overseas.

I believe that racism will never go away because some people are too stubborn or they don't have the chance to experience a diverse culture. Once a person experiences it, you will easily notice that they love it and would do anything to go back.

I agree with all of what was written on the article.