Thursday, November 8, 2007

November 5th Class Discussion

Monday during class, we discussed alot about the differences between Latin America and the US. During the discussion bribery was a big topic talked about. One of the quotes said was "Bribery is buisness" showing the dedication and dependence that people in Latin America show towards bribery. I have only been out of the country once, and that was to England, so therefore it is hard to me imagine such bribery being shown in an everyday setting. I find it amusing that in America, there are set prices for the most part, no bargaining goes on while shopping. While in Latin America, we talked about bargaining with the owner of a good that one desires for the price to go down. It seems that they would rather lower their price of a good and sell it than risk not selling it at all for the price they originally required. Bribery does not always consist of money in Latin America either, which almost usually comes to mind (at least to me). Bribes can be paid in many different sorts and favors, which shows that Latin America deals with alot of trust in contrast to Americans, which in my own opinion trust few (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Another thing that we spoke about was Yellowstone Park and other 'National Parks' and whether they really were 'natural'. The class discussed how it really isn't natural considering many things are done in order for visitors to visit such as pathways and maintaing forest fires ect. I dont feel this is wrong to an extent. However I feel that is most of the wildlife and forests were maintainted by humans it would be wrong. I feel strongly that the amount should be limited.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Classroom Discussion

Today in class we talked alot about Nicaragua. I found it interesting to learn more about the way things are 'developed' there along with the way things are handled. It somewhat surprised me to see on google earth how undeveloped most areas in Nicaragua were, however it's not that I dislike that. I think that some of the world should be kept the way it is found instead of being developed with commercial things, houses, and so on much like the United States of America is. I remember Julio asking us how we think that Nicaragua should deal with different areas combining together as one and relating to that I think that all the different areas though spreadout should be handled as one whether they are getting along or not. Nicaragua is as a whole a country and I feel it should be treated this way. I find it interesting when talking about the wage that workers are paid in Nicaragua and how it differs significantly from the United States, I feel that often many times things like that are overlooked. For example, the talapia (spelling) farms that are run by people who are not native to Nicaragua due to money issues and people native to Nicaragua not having the amount of money it takes to run the buisness. Going along with the money idea in Nicaragua, one side is more heavily populated than the other due to the government not having enough money. This is a new idea for alot of us I feel because the United States is much more wealthy and alot of the issues dealt with there are not things that we need to deal with here. This discussioin made me think of a alot of comparisons between where we live and there.