Academics

I almost didn't update today. After the excitement of last week not very much happened in the past 24 hours. That and I have a presentation tomorrow so that's kept my pretty busy. So, instead of actually trying to come up with something creative or interesting I decided to copy and paste from an email I just sent a friend from college. Yeah I know- boring but hey...its better than nothing. :)

We had our language exam today. It's a relief to have that out of the way. I've enjoyed learning another language-dont get me wrong but at times it also feels so pointless since so many people speak English. It makes it so much more difficult to learn it on the street. Being done with language means that I only have two classes left. One is a seminar on Pacific culture, and the other is my research project. The seminar class has actually proven to be quite interesting. All of our lecturers have been very knowledgeable in their fields, and we've covered a variety of topics. In the beginning we were learning things about the Samoan way of life, the rule of law, the role of the church, economics, etc. This month we've moved into the traveling part and so it's become more of a comparison of cultures. The lectures in Savaii were mostly geological in nature, and in Fiji I think we'll be looking at the effects of tourism. It's been interesting, but I must admit I wish there wasn't going to be a test at the end. As for my research project- I'm doing that on renewable energy development in Samoa, more specifically the use of solar. It's coming down to the point where I need to actually define my topic and draw up an outline. As of right now I'm thinking of looking first at the philosophy behind electric development because it's really not based on economics. I read through one of the proposals and under the financial analysis it basically said yeah we aren't doing one because it would be pointless. I think it'll also be interesting to research because there is next to nothing in written form about the subject, which means that whatever I do will be based on interviews. For the second part I'll hopefully be working with the electric company to actually look at the feasibility of using solar panels to power one of the few places in the country that is currently not connected to the grid. This would be my opportunity to actually run the numbers and do some economics, plus it would actually benefit the company. In return I think they might be taking me out to visit one of the smaller islands. So that's pretty much where I am now in terms of academics.