The power of education: Importance of other languages

En la mayoría del mundo, es muy importante y común que la gente puede hablar más que un idioma. If you can read that (and you’re American), you’re with the other 10% of your paisanos who also speak Spanish.

As Americans we are incredibly fortunate that other countries are further ahead of us in terms of language education, and when we go to other countries, many are willing to meet us more than halfway by either knowing or making an effort to speak English. We are geographically isolated in comparison to Europe and Asia, where international travel is more common, and thus, knowing another language is much more of a necessity. But I don’t believe that makes it any less important for us to speak more than one language. IMHO, it’s ridiculous to reject the system of bilingual education.

Learning a new language makes you think more about the complexities of your native tongue, or at least it did for me. After spending five months learning and struggling with Spanish, the connections between languages became more apparent. Just a small example: It was easy for me to remember the word for beard, barba, because I connected it with the English word barber.

Some of you might think it’s too late to learn another language. And it’s true that the window of opportunity when it’s easiest to soak up all facets of another language ends roughly around the age of ten.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible – many community programs exist to teach adults, and if you’ve got a little bit of money and are looking to take a vacation, you can easily find resort-schools in Costa Rica, Mexico, and other Latin American countries where you can learn Spanish while you travel. Even New York’s Mayor Bloomberg made an effort, at 66 years old, to be able to speak with more of his constituents, and he was applauded by the executive director of the Modern Language association. And of course, there’s always Rosetta Stone.

UC-Berkeley’s Center for Research, Diversity & Excellence makes a great point that people get more value from their education when the lessons are meaningful for them, and that instructional conversation is a great way to learn. One way that might be easiest for you to learn a language is by finding a way to work it into your every day life. Seek out opportunities to work with English language learners (ELL) in your community – it’s a fantastic opportunity for both parties: As you grow to learn another language, they learn to speak the most common language in America from a native speaker.

Sidenote here: The United States has no official language, English is just the most widely spoken language. In China, the official language is Standard Mandarin, but nearly all Chinese people speak Mandarin in addition to the language native to their home province.

We are so fortunate to live in a country that still holds some appeal for foreigners. Once coined the, “land of opportunity,” America is now one of the most difficult countries to enter if you are from a poor or less-developed country. And despite that, people still make the effort. </political rant>

The value of being bi- or multilingual is priceless, and yet schools are cutting their foreign language programs, and well-known companies refuse to pay translators to offer their services to a larger audience. So if you, like me, have aspirations to work abroad one day, make foreign language learning a priority. As William Chase wrote in the New York Times, “There is no job for an American in a foreign country where a basic grasp of the language is not a distinct advantage.”

Is foreign language a part of your daily life? Do you think my left-leaning opinions on the necessity of learning another language are insane? If you have a bone to pick or just something to say, leave it in the comments and I’ll be happy to respond.

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Note: This is part two of a three-part series called The power of education.

The power of education: Online learning

A lot of people have been writing about education lately. Is the university system failing its students? Are students failing to take the opportunities abound on their campuses? Those are important questions to be asking, but this week I’m going to write about the simple power of education. Now, I can’t take credit for this topic, because my wonderful friend and roommate Julia, an education major, has made me aware of its power as she learns about it.

Enough about the school side of education though – today I’m talking about online education. It’s amazing what you can learn online these days – you can get a college degree, learn to make an omelette, make new friends and learn about yourself – all without ever leaving your home. That’s not actually true – because the best way to add value to what you’ve learned, IMHO, is to apply it to the big beautiful world outside. But that’s just me.

The nation’s thought leaders believe in the power of online education. A recent article in Psychology Today mentions two big names – Bill Gates and Jack Welch – as proponents of online education. Gates wrote in his annual letter on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Web site, “In the United States, advances in online learning and new ways to help teachers improve will make a great education more accessible than ever.” And Welch, the renowned former CEO of General Electric, is starting his own MBA program with courses offered almost exclusively online.

So with more opportunities than ever before to cash in on the benefits of online learning – for free! – why aren’t more people doing it? University of Phoenix says many people believe it’s too late, or there’s not enough time. But if there’s time to build your personal brand online, there’s time to learn about the world, too.

Think about how much you’ve learned since you joined an online community – be it a blogging community, or a Web site to keep track of your fitness goals. What’s the best or most memorable thing you’ve learned on the Internet?

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Note: This is part one of a three-part series called The power of education.

Relationship advice from a 20-year-old

At the ripe old age of 20, I’m going to dispense some relationship advice. Not because I’m an expert, but I am fortunate to be able to say, without hesitation, that I’ve been in a relationship for almost four years and I don’t think either of us has ever been happier than we are at this point.

He and I met when we were 16, which makes me feel old. And the fact that I said that makes me feel old probably makes some of you reading this feel even older! Neither of us were looking for relationships – quite the opposite actually – but it was spring, and we were both in need of dates for our junior proms. We asked each other and thought it’d be best to get to know each other before we spent two weekends in a row together, so we kept hanging out… and here we are today. We’ve spent two years at different colleges and last semester we were thousands of miles apart while I was in Peru and he traveled the world. I figure we’ve got to be doing something right to be so happy after having distance and time make our path a bit more difficult than some people’s. So here are some things I’ve learned.

Nix the games in the bud.

He showed a lot of maturity at 16 when he told me he just wasn’t, “into playing games.” Puzzled, I wondered how that could work – when I was upset, I was just supposed to tell him? Where’s the fun in that, I wondered? And no more hard to get, I’m just supposed to put myself out there completely? That sounded scary. But I came to realize it makes solving problems and trusting each other a whole lot easier when you’re completely open about how you feel.

Wait a day, then you say.

When we left for college, I was sort of forced to pick and choose my battles, especially once we started our semesters abroad. When you can’t have a face-to-face conversation, it’s a lot harder to argue because you can’t kiss and make up, and even when you do resolve things it doesn’t feel very final. When all you can count on for contact is (maybe) a daily e-mail, it makes you think twice about what things are worth being upset about. Earlier in our relationship, sometimes I would get angry and overreact, say something hurtful, and later realize what I’d been angry about hadn’t been worth the rift it had caused. Waiting out the anger or annoyance, and seeing how much of it passes when you distract yourself, clarifies the real source of your frustration, and it’s not always the person you want to take it out on.

Show them you care.

When you’re apart, it takes a little more effort to show somebody you care. You can’t give them a backrub or cook them breakfast. Sometimes the best you can do is tell them how happy they make you, how much you appreciate them, and that you love them so much. Even when I’m having a hectic day, hearing those words helps me slow down, take a breath and smile, because knowing I’m making someone happy, I’m appreciated, and I am loved are all affirmations that I’m not doing so bad and at least one other person (besides me) loves me for who I am.

Every day.

Which brings me to the fact that today is the day after Valentine’s Day. Why not post tips on the day of? Because as much as this is said, I’ll say it again: It’s important to try to make the other person feel special on other days of the year, not just the one when the whole world tells you to. This doesn’t mean that each day has to be sunshine and roses – though that would be nice. It means that doing something nice on any other day of the year will get you even further, since nobody expects to see roses sitting on their desk, nobody expects to get a special dinner cooked for them, just because. And that’s what makes those things so extra special.

Be honest.

This takes me back to Valentine’s Day ’07. To come across as the coolest girlfriend of all time, I told him I didn’t like Valentine’s Day, or flowers, or anything about it. In fact, I thought it was all pretty stupid. V-day rolls around, and guess who was upset because I was handed a grocery store rose (still in the grocery store bag) and a bar of chocolate. Yup, me. And guess who was confused as to why I was upset, since I’d made it a point to say I didn’t care about Valentine’s Day? Him. He was confused, because, in his words, “If you say you don’t care, I’m going to believe you don’t care.” He’s learned to read my subtle little “no-means-yes” signals better since then, but when you’re honest, there’s no confusion or misunderstandings and usually everyone is happier.

Be yourself.

These all sound so cliché, especially this one, but I can’t emphasize it enough. I seem to get sick more often than your average person. He has seen me at my best – admittedly, in high school, when I ran 3-5 miles daily and had tons of spare time and energy to put into my appearance – but also at my worst, with bloodshot eyes, tissues stuffed up my runny nose, and my retainer in. I know that he loves me because he still tells me I’m beautiful when I feel lower than low, and I love him for all of his own sorts of craziness too. We’ve weathered some tough stuff together, pushed each other to be better, and always always always been honest with each other about our strengths and weaknesses. If you’re not yourself with that person, they can’t get to know – and love – the real you, and then you can’t form a real connection. So be as purely you as you can be, starting from wherever you’re comfortable, and I think you’ll be on a good path to getting to know each other, truly.

What’s your recipe for a successful relationship? Would you even listen to someone ten-twenty-thirty years younger than you on relationship advice?

Vino tips on Valentine’s Day

Alan Rickman plays a expat British/wannabe French wine snob to perfection

Today, couples across the world – or at least those who invest in the lovey-dovey ideals of Valentine’s Day – will be spending the day doing romantic things. They will go out to a nice meal, buy one another special chocolates or cupcakes (local sidenote: downtown Madison finally has a cupcakery!), see the movie Valentine’s Day (if the guy is feeling especially appeasing), or maybe (maybe!) share a bottle of wine.

I don’t know, to me, a bottle of wine sounds awfully nice, and that’s what I’ll be doing tonight…with my roommate. My boyfriend is at Mardi Gras, her boyfriend is in Peru, so we’ll be celebrating by cooking and baking for each other while enjoying a bottle (or perhaps box, since we’re at that classy age in college) of vino tinto. During dinner and dessert we’re watching Bottle Shock, a fantastic movie about the Judgement of Paris, where California wine beat French wine in blind taste tests.

While I definitely cannot claim to be a wine expert (or wino, as they’ve been dubbed), I do have a preference for red over white, fruity over dry. So far my favorite wine has been Gato Negro, a Chilean wine I had while in Peru. If you’re interested in learning a little more about wine today, I’ve done a little research on blogs far more authoritative than mine so we can grow in our wine education together.

A good wine is not necessarily an expensive wine.

In an article in today’s Post, a food and wine expert remarked, “Most seasoned wine drinkers know it doesn’t take hundreds of dollars to choose a satisfying bottle of wine. Those who do are just showing off.”

If you can’t finish a bottle in one sitting, you don’t have to.

Ray Isle, wine editor of Food & Wine, said that freezing red wine in a plastic container and serving it days later will produce better tasting leftover wine than if you let it sit on the counter. Keeping wine at a cooler temperature in general will always preserve it better than at room temperature.

Being open to new kinds of wine doesn’t make you inexperienced, it means you’re not afraid to try new things.

Eric Asimov, chief wine critic of the New York Times, wrote in his most recent article that, “some of my most rewarding experiences have come from unknown wines. There is a great joy in discovery, as I’ve learned again, and again, and again.” So even if you’ve found a standard that you find yourself choosing over and over, don’t let fear of the unknown flavor stop you from trying something new. This can extend beyond wine situations.

There’s a wine for every meal – even mac & cheese.

Reds and whites are best paired with certain types of meals. As a college student without ready access to a great grocery store, I find myself making macaroni and cheese – either from the box, or improvising my own baked recipe – at least once a week. And although it’s probably not the best idea to pair have wine with dinner before a marathon study session, Spitoon’s recipe seems mouthwatering, and the wine that goes with it sounds like a perfect complement.

There are even wines best fit for certain situations.

Although I know nothing about this part of wine, Roberto Viernes, author of a column called Vino Sense, wrote a few weeks ago about which wines are best for specific situations. According to Viernes, the best wine to order on a date is riesling, because it pairs well with a variety of cuisines and is low in alcohol content so you can still have a meaningful conversation.

You can extend your social media obsession to wine.

Wine has infiltrated the American psyche in all forms – from the New York Times, to wino blog masses. These articles from Enoybytes talk about how to find other winos on Twitter. Some hashtags frequently used by winos on Twitter are #foodporn, #winewednesday and #winepr.

I hope you enjoyed this little Wine 101 session and learned something. If you have any recommendations for me, or just some favorites you’d like to share, I’d be happy to hear your opinions. Happy Valentine’s Day!

[photo credit to AllMoviePhoto.com]

Social media minimalization

Inspired by a couple of different sources, I am making a change. I’ve realized I spend far too much of my day caught up in the online world. While a lot of people have very valuable things to contribute, when I try to listen to every single one, it feels as if a hundred different voices are talking to me and I can’t even hear my own. Maybe that’s a sign of immaturity, or a faltering sense of self, or I just need to cut the extra stuff for a few days. I’ll go with the latter.

These are the changes I’ll be making for a week (maybe more) and why:

Give up Google Reader

As I get caught up in schoolwork and real life, I have begun to dread checking Google Reader. Which is crazy, because I used to wake up and look so forward to that part of my day. But as the number of unread items undoubtedly climbs, I don’t even want to check. And honestly, the people whose stuff I enjoy reading, I make it a point to check their real sites and keep up with their Twitter accounts to make sure I don’t miss out.

Spend 90 minutes a day (max) on all social networking sites

This includes Facebook, Twitter, Brazen Careerist, LinkedIn – everything. I’ve done something similar to this before, and it definitely makes me value my time on each network a whole lot more. And as midterms start (and won’t stop until finals begin), my schoolwork really deserves more attention than I’ve been giving it.

Spend 30 minutes a day (max) on e-mail

I’m only a junior in college, and most of the e-mails I receive are not crucial. The time I waste on Gmail, either organizing it or just reading through old e-mails, is getting a little ridiculous. Half an hour will definitely suffice for at least a week.

This all probably sounds ridiculous to the people who don’t rely on social media sites or Google Reader, but for me it’s a big step. When I say rely, I mean I use these sites as a way to avoid the things in my life that really need to be done. It’s not a good habit, and I’m not proud of it, so I’m making a change.

With the extra time I’ll be able to get more accomplished and take more time to reflect on what’s going on with me. For the past few weeks I’ve been alternately really excited about the future, and avoiding thinking about it. A good conversation I had yesterday made me realize it would be a good idea to take some time to figure out what I need to be happy, and what steps to take in the future to get there. This will definitely help with that.

What have you given up in the past? Were you successful, or did you notice a change in yourself afterwards? Want to join me in my week of minimalization? It will definitely be a challenge, but I think the outcome will be worth it.

The beauty of real conversation

I can’t emphasize the real part of the above subject. Much like everyone else, I feel like my days pass all too quickly – sometimes I’m relieved the day is over, other times I’d kill to relive it. But no matter what, it’s not often I can pinpoint a pivotal moment at the end of the day. They all start to blend together.

But something I truly enjoy, and don’t do enough of, is IRL conversation. I know I’ve preached about the beauty of disconnecting, and while I’m pretty good at putting the phone down or just leaving it behind altogether, too often even my interactions with the people I care about are rushed.

I’m talking about conversation where you don’t have an objective, you don’t feel rushed or pressured to act a certain way – just having a frank and honest discussion.. about anything, with another person. Letting the words go where they will, and discovering what motivates the other person.

Exchanges like that inspire me because I like figuring out where people are coming from and on what levels we connect. They revive me because too often I have to present a watered-down version of myself and it’s a relief when I can just be myself.

What elements make a conversation, “real,” for you?

Everybody’s free…to wear sunscreen

Watch this video and take from it what you will:

Although Baz Luhrmann popularized this speech/song, it was actually written by a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. I came across it when looking for a “meaningful” graduation song – my class chose the Friends’ theme instead.

This is not a content-rich nor original post. Expect better content as usual tomorrow. Night all.

Growing into greatness

The last couple of nights I have been realizing that a month is a long time. It’s funny because sometimes months go by in what seems like the blink of an eye, but when you’re getting used to a new routine, a month can feel never-ending.

That’s been the case for me when I think of the #28DayChallenge: The first few days, much like the first week of school, were a rush. Tons of fun and a daily adventure to search for post inspiration in daily life. But now, after a week, it’s getting tougher.

The same thing happens to me with running, one of my other favorite things to do – I love picking it up when I haven’t done it for a long time, but after a week sometimes it loses its appeal and I start to put other priorities ahead of it. But blogging, like running, is important to me, and, I believe, important to my future. Building rapport within the blogging community, learning to develop and refine my writing voice, and learning so much from others while I attempt to create original content are all things I need to do, and I’m not letting myself off the hook.

While mulling over some Web sites tonight, searching for inspiration, I came across the perfect article, called Growing Greatness. In it, Professor Christopher Peterson reviews the book The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. Like Peterson, I was skeptical of the book he was reviewing because it sounded an awful lot like an already-acclaimed novel, Outliers.

Anyway, the article is great, and you should read the whole thing when you get the chance, but this part really struck home:

“One can deliberately grow talent by having a group of like-minded people, an instigator or two, and an appropriate simulation.”

If these 28 days aren’t an appropriate simulation, if Scott Bishop isn’t our instigator, and if those of us who are partaking in this aren’t a like-minded group – well, that’d be a lie, because that’s exactly what this is.

And Peterson finishes with just the line I needed to hear, and the one I’ll leave you with, since it’s what I’ll be doing, to work my way to success: Practice, practice, practice.

Public relations and advocacy

Nine months away from my favorite student org made me forget all of the potential we as students have. The exec board is doing amazing things with our chapter, and even implemented a points system to encourage active membership! The board is full of veterans and newbies, and each one is enthusiastic and dedicated to bettering our chapter and helping our members. It really is a beautiful thing to see – students helping students.

I was very excited to find out that the theme of our annual conference this year is (drumroll please) BRANDING! Pretty sure branding tips come up on my Twitter feed every few seconds, so it will be awesome to get to discuss this topic du jour in person with other students and professionals. I’m going to be re-joining the planning committee, so if you know of anyone who has experience with the topic and will be in Wisconsin in April, let me know!

And the coolest part of our meeting, besides all of the exciting updates, was my friend Lindsay speaking to us on the topics of advocacy and PR. Lindsay has a wealth of experience in the political science and government relations fields; she is one of those people you know is going places because she’s had a life plan (and been following through with it!) way before that was the thing for Gen Y’ers to do.

Lindsay talked about how advocacy and public relations are related: You need to know your market, where they stand on your issue, and how to persuade them. She also offered some great tips on what to do once you’ve made an initial connection: Keep building that relationship by continuously making an effort – invite them to speak at events, keep making an effort to connect – anything to not let that hard-earned connection die out.

My favorite part of her speech was what the people she works with deemed a message box. She said that if everyone in your organization cannot fill out the message box in the same way, then there’s a problem with communication within the group. And if there are problems within the group, that’s just a sign you’re probably not communicating well outside the group (to your clients and market) either.

The message box, according to Lindsay’s example, looks someting like this:

So if I can advocate for one thing, it’s to keep your lines of communication open! And thanks to PRSSA UW-Madison and Lindsay for inspring this post.

Any communication tips? Organizations or just people who really inspire you?

Feeling the (Parisian) love

Oh boy. Tonight’s post was a struggle to get out. Colby Gergen was right in his post tonight, being a college student sometimes sucks, especially in the aspect that we never have consistent schedules and making time for anything, anyone, can sometimes prove to be more difficult than you’d think. But priorities, people, I’ve got my priorities for the night. Right now they are:

1. Read many many more pages of required reading
2. Blog.
3. Read more.
4. Sleep.

Doesn’t that just take you back? Make you want to re-live your fun college days? Just kidding, I know I’m super lucky to have the opportunities I do, especially to study at a great university where I’m pushed every day to be better. And I’m ready and willing to spend some (read: all) nights at the library if it means being a little more prepared to do my job (being a student). But sometimes when Monday comes you feel a little shortchanged because, really? Really? The weekend is already over? It just seems unfathomable that all that time flew by so fast, that life happens so fast. (Deep, I know)

But I digress, because believe it or not I do have a point (but not a mental filter, at least not today). And that point, my friends, is one that has been talked to death. I’m pretty sure the last dying breath of this topic was eked out many hours ago, and I’m late to the party on analyzing it, but here goes nothing:

OMFG. The Google Ad. Can I just have them make an ad…for my life? To be proposed to? To announce the birth of my firstborn? I’ll embed it here for you if you’ve been living under a rock:

My friend Peter had an interview today and, being a strat comm.-related position, he and the interviewer talked #brandbowl ads. How could Google’s not come up?

Her position: It was a little trite and overly-emotional. Google is an integral part of our society, why would they even advertise?

Peter’s position: With Bing’s advertising efforts showing results, it was a perfect opportunity for Google to step its game up.

And step it up, Google did! Considering that last week there were only murmurings of Google having a Super Bowl ad, I’d say they pulled a good, worthy surprise on us. And I enjoyed their surprise effort much more than David Letterman’s.

Thoughts from an inexperienced, strat-comm beginner? Google does it right as always. They are literally, the dream team, and I can’t imagine a commercial that could promote a product in a more simple or touching way.

What did you think of the Super Bowl ads? What others stood out to you?