Smiles <3

Today was such a great day. International breakfast featuring the food of Germany, Spain, and Japan started off the day. After breakfast I was off to tutor English at the international center for about an hour. I’m always really critical of myself as a tutor. I hope the students are getting something out of it, but sometimes it’s a bit of a challenge to make the session more meaningful than going through the list of information. I think it is easier when there are more students in the group, unlike the past two weeks when it has been one on one. With more people there are more questions to answer and more opportunity to generate conversation.
After english tutoring I headed back to my room and wasted time doing a few odds and ends before heading over to tie-dying. I started out just doing my tech-fest shirt from welcome week, but had so much fun that I decided to tie-dye another white shirt as well. There weren’t a ton of people there from FIN, but with a good number of gv people we had a fun time. John came a little later and I helped in tie-dye his shirt. I think I have found my new calling in life – tie-dying shirts. lol!
After tie-dying I ended up helping clean up and then came back to my room for a bit and talked to Ivana. Ivana, J-wow, Chelsea, Angelica, and I ended up going down to 4th street to eat. We had a hard time deciding where to go, but ended up at Amol India. Chelsea and I especially wanted to try Burmese, but Angelica was pretty clear that she didn’t want to go there. Chelsea and I will just have to have a date there some other time.
After Indian food we made our way back to Foster and ended up sitting in Ivana and I’s room for a while just chatting. Ivana and Min left and J-wow, Elle, Chelsea, and I ended up watching «Bend it Like Bekham» in J-wow’s room. Fun times! And of course, chocolate was involved))))
I feel like I have real friends here and I love it. Not just acquaintances and floor-mates, but real friends with inside jokes and shared gossip. Friends who I can watch movies, laugh, talk, and just hang out with. Makes me happy!

CLS

App is complete! Actually, it has been since about wednesday! Yay!

CLS

I neeed to finish my app! I’m so close to being done! I just need the inspiration/motivation to finish writing my essays. I love Russian language and culture, I want to work for the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer more than anything. Now I only need to express this passion with intelligent, cohesive sentences and show myself in the best light possible in order to be selected for this awesome program. I had such a great experience with NSLI-Y and I would love to make it happen again!

Illiteracy in Developed Nations

Despite the fact that illiteracy issues are most thought of in relation to poorer developing nations, illiteracy is a critical issue in a number of nations categorized as developed. It is hard to imagine eliminating global illiteracy when even the nations with the highest levels of literacy show significant challenges in total literacy. According to a report done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OCED), one in four adults in 20 surveyed developed countries failed to reach “minimum levels of literacy for coping with everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society”. In this survey, Sweden and other Nordic countries were found to have the highest levels of literacy while Poland, Chile, Portugal, and Slovenia scored the lowest. In addition, there are significant gaps between those individuals with the highest and lowest scoring literacy levels.
The cause of such problems of illiteracy is not related to only one single cause. In Hong Kong, it was determined that teachers were relying too much on textbooks to teach reading, with few practical applications to promote comprehension. In addition, most parents relied entirely on the school system to teach their children to read and spend little to no time with their children on this skill at home. Another factor that affects low literacy levels in many developed nations is the relatively recent emergence of high literacy standards in comparison to the age of the population. Older generations of adults may have been educated in a time period of lower education standards. Furthermore, the OCED suggests four factors that contribute to a decline in literacy skills after one completes formal education. These factors include the type of work one takes, the use of literacy skills in the workplace, participation in formal adult education and training, and the use of literacy skills at home. From the information presented it becomes apparent that the initiation of changes in the education system and a commitment to maintaining literacy skills past the formal education setting are at the root of tackling the issues concerning illiteracy in developed nations.
While the individuals with below average literacy levels in developed nations are themselves at a disadvantage, the society as a whole also suffers as a result of the widespread illiteracy. In all nations surveyed literacy levels were found to have a positive correlation with standards of living and income levels. Those individuals who showed the highest levels of literacy were more prone to holding white-collar jobs and being active in the workplace and less likely to struggle with unemployment. While education is generally considered the most important factor in obtaining a successful career, literacy was found to be among the most important specific areas of education vital to success. On a national level, the OECD study found the most literate individuals to be the healthiest, have the highest life expectancy, and positively contribute to the community through activism and volunteerism. Due to widespread literary skills, a nation’s individuals are more likely to positively contribute to the betterment of the nation as a whole.
All nations have a literacy problem, regardless of economic and political standing and need to take action to combat this critical situation. Developed nations are in no way immune to this basic issue of citizens effectively communicating with one another. The causes of lacking literacy vary, but could realistically be addressed and solutions could be found. At the root of literacy improvement is the individual’s desire to obtain highly functional literacy with the assistance of national programs and initiatives. The overall well-being of the nation is driven by educated, literate individuals. As the governments of economically and politically work to improve the literacy of their citizens, these nations can more effectively lead the world in the quest to universally eliminate illiteracy.

Language Policy

The Laz language, spoken among the people in northeast Turkey, is one of many dying languages worldwide. Many speakers of the Laz language have worked to promote the language and its teaching in Turkey in hopes of preventing its extinction. The Turkic government, however, does not promote the vitality of this language and offers no funding for the perseveration of Laz, additionally refusing to air public broadcasting in the Laz language. In my opinion, by refusing to recognize Laz as a minority language, the Turkish government can move towards a more unified national identity. Even if the Turkish government’s lack of recognition does not cause Laz to rapidly face extinction, all official print, broadcasting, and communication will continue to be in the national Turkish language, freeing the government from the obligation to include a nationally recognized minority language in such proceedings.

Before the birth of the modern American nation, many indigenous Indian tribes inhabited parts of the North American continent of which the U.S. is comprised. Many of these native tribes’ languages, including Comanche, are considered “severely endangered”. In the United States, American Indian tribes are given land by the federal government on which they may establish Indian Reservations. Many of the tribes then choose to teach the native tribal language in these settings. I believe that the federal government should continue to allow the teaching of Indian languages, as they comprise the cultural roots of the land on which the United States is built. The policies of the ECRML would encourage the protection and promotion of Native American languages simply for the sake of preserving historical languages. It is doubtful that the government would enact language policies for nationwide revival of Indian languages, as there is little context for practical usage. It is more practical for the government to continue to enable and encourage the tribes to teach their native languages to their people.

Oh, Kosovo…

When the land of Kosovo was given to the Kingdom of Serbia in 1917, it was immediately clear that the union of such ethnically diverse people was going to lead to internal conflict. The Albanian population of Kosovo was opposed to its union with the Slavic people and questioned why they were not permitted to join the independent Albanian nation. . The Serbs value the land of Kosovo because of its importance to them as their ancestral homeland and the region in which many Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries are located. In the 1980s the Serbs claimed that the Albanians in Kosovo were persecuting them and grew to resent the Albanian population. At the same time, Slovenes and Croats became irritated that money from tourism in their regions was being used to support the poorer Kosovo region. The Albanian people were oppressed by the Serbs beginning in the 1990s when the Albanian language was outlawed the ethnically Albanian citizens of Kosovo were denied basic human rights. The United States and most members of the European Union see this continued oppression of a legitimate justification of the Kosovo War as well as the eventual Kosovo declaration of independence in 2008.
The current situation in Kosovo has gained international attention and has necessitated the presence of peacekeeping forces. International military intervention is ongoing in Kosovo in an attempt to maintain a nonviolent coexistence between the Albanian majority and the Serbian minority at the ground level. Throughout 1998 to 1999 Yugoslavian forces and the Kosovo Albanian rebels were in conflict until NATO forces attacked Yugoslavia in 1999 with the main goal of eliminating the Serbian present and bringing peace to the region. In addition to ground level peacekeeping efforts, the majority of the international community seeks to promote international recognition of Kosovo independence.

Yay!

Ran 2.25 miles and then walked another 0.25. Not bad! And my pelvis only hurt a little bit Good night!

Half as interesting as your life

Listening to John Kiriakou speak today, I realized just how interesting and exciting some people’s lives are. Just this one story that he told us tonight was insanely interesting! I can’t imagine the adventures he and others like have him have had in their lifetimes. I wonder if my life will have such adventures. Obviously, I hope not to have to experience violence and combat to the extent to which Mr. Kiriakou had to. If I do pursue a career in foreign service as I currently intend, I’m sure I will have my plethora of exciting adventures. I’m sure that if my life is even half as interesting as Mr. Kiriakou’s I will see and do so very very much.

Orange Juice in my eye

The week is off to a fairly neutral start. Monday was fairly normal. H211 really isn’t the nightmare everyone tried to convince me that it would be. I actually really enjoy that class. I enjoyed the readings for Monday a lot. Bible study was nice last night. Hip hop class was kinda bleh though. I don’t think the song was very good, but oh well. Tonight will be kickboxing!
I’ve been kind of ill recently. Nothing serious, just a typical cold. Coughing, sore throat, congestion. Today I ate two oranges and drank a vitamin water with lots of vitamin C. So hopefully loading up on the vitamin C will do me some good. I’ve been trying to get enough sleep as well, but obviously this past weekend was the exact opposite of enough sleep. This lovely change to cold weather probably isn’t helping things either. Oh well, it’s not so terrible.
I’ve been doing a fairly good job recently of keeping in touch with my friends scattered all over the world. I need to respond to Ayrat and should write to Ksusha again, but I’ve talked to several people within the past few days. It’s hard sometimes to stay in touch, but it’s always great to catch up with people.

:D (titles really aren’t my thing)

Because in a year, a month, or even a week I won’t remember how tired I was or how I had to give up almost my entire weekend. Instead I’ll remember the smiles, laughter, and late night adventures; ice cubes, trivia, and mosaics; ice cream, fountains, and leaf blowers; curly hair, single ladies, popcorn, and «baby, baby, baby»; rainboots, cookies, pens, and storyboards; A weekend to remember!

«Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.»