German

I want to study abroad in Germany, but I decided that this year so I have no experience in learning the language or preparation for it. There is no time in my coursework that I can take it, but I could do summer courses, I would like to learn the language regardless of studying abroad. I was wondering if anyone knew how to speak German or has taken classes that could give me some insight on how difficult it is or whether or not it is incredibly time consuming. I also have a full-time summer job, so I would have to take evening classes also. Another option that I was thinking was taking two semesters of German during my sophomore year here at Purdue, because if I remember correctly there is an elective spot open in each semester. After doing that I would take even more classes while studying abroad my junior year.

Winter Break and Dead Week

Dead week is finally here. This semester has flown by a lot faster than I would have liked, but it is time to get studying for my final exams. I am lucky in that I only have 2 finals, so I do not have much studying to do and I am pretty happy about that. I just can't blow off my two finals I have now. They are very important to my final grade and I am on the edge of a grade in both of these classes. Although winter break is coming and I am very excited to get home for longer break than thanksgiving. I do not get to sleep in though unfortunately, I took a job for winter break where I will be working from 8am-5pm every day full-time, I am not excited in the least, but it pays good money so I'm satisfied. I hope you all enjoy your break, Happy Holidays!!

What I will do having been in this Learning Community

Well, having been in the 'Global Engineering Cultures & Practices learning community has made me feel like I want to go out and have a 'new' international experience. Because of all of the experience I have had in Europe, I believe that I came here thinking that I was fully versed in everything international.....NOT TRUE! I have learned much more about some of the countries that I have never been to, and one thing in particular that I want to do is find some kind of internship or semester study abroad in China. It would be a completely foreign experience, which I think is a big part of an education - experiencing and learning things that you haven't before. So, we'll probably look into planning it into my junior year, and go from there! I think that many students have the desire for this type of experience, but I'm sure there are many distractions and other opportunities that keep them from going, so I hope to stay true to my initiative!

Experience from Engr103

I fully plan on exploring every opportunity for me to study abroad in any of my countries of interest. Coming to Purdue, I had not even thought of it yet and did not imagine myself doing something like that; by both engineering 103 and interacting with students and faculty I became very fond of the idea. Professor Dare opened a new world of opportunities for me by having me meet with Mary Schweitzer. The meeting was very valuable to me and really was the confirmation I needed to want to make studying abroad a reality. International experiences are so valuable in both academics and growing as a person, engineering 103 not only got me hooked on the idea, it brought me within reach of it. With this class under my belt I am also more prepared to become an engineer or work internationally. I learned all about how different cultures have very different views on even engineering topics. For instance, the average German engineer is much more focused on producing a sustainable and quality product, while the American engineer focuses more on how quickly and cheaply the product can be produced.

Cross-Cultural Encounters

Coming to Purdue exposed me to a lot of diverse situations that I had never encountered before. Everyone from the city I lived in before had grown up in the area and is very similar. 6 months ago I thought that my school compared to others in the area was very diverse. I now see how wrong I was because every person at Purdue has a very different story and you would never be able to guess where someone is from or what they did unless you got to know them very well. In my engineering group I met someone that I thought was an international student from Thailand because of the way he spoke and how he talked about being born there, turns out he lived in Indiana before coming to Purdue. Another student I got to know told me she was from China and about three weeks later I learned that her and her family had been living in Tennessee. My understanding of what people consider home and assumptions about where people are from have changed completely, I now see that in order to truly find out where someone is from and know their story, I need to get to know them well in order to full grasp the situation and be able to understand him or her.

Cross-cultural situations

This semester, I have observed and developed respect for the international student population. Many of the students here at Purdue are from the United States, and many are even from the state of indiana. When I think about the transition and adaptation that a given student needs to undergo to 'fit in' and feel at home at school, I think of all of the friends that I have that have left their families, country, culture and even native language to come study here at this prestigious university.

I know how hard it can be for a student even from the Midwest to adjust to college life, and see examples of people around me struggling every day, and when I think of those who are so much further from home and thier families, my respect deepens for those who are so much further from home.

In addition to this, having to perform academically in a language other than one's native language to the level that is expected at Purdue must have been a seemingly insurmountable task at the beginning of the semester. My respect appreciation for these students has grown immensely.

Africa

I do not know much about the engineering situations that were implemented in Africa, but it seems as though they need to take a step back and consider everything, including how they will affect the people native to the land. You cannot just walk into a country, much less a continent, and start ripping it up for its natural resources. An effective and subtle way of utilizing Africa's resources needs to be done in cooperation with the African governments and people in order to arrive to the best solution. The vast majority of African land is very different from the American land,so new innovative solutions have to be created in order to have the same efficiency and prosperity in a different place. This could be why the monetary losses have been so great, the solutions in place in the west are simply not applicable to the African land. The engineering teams need to redo the entire engineering process in order to find the most viable and effective alternate to the current system.