The World Through Economics

Other than my after class excursion, today went along like any other day; and when I say 'any other day', I mean  the past three days. A routine has definitely set in. Other than lecture and seminar topics, and today's outing, nothing special or out of the ordinary happened. 

After meeting with my cohorts and Mrs. L, two of my suite-mates Emmi and Alicia, my friend from class Jackee, and I went to Times Square. To get there we took a cab and split the fare. It was an astonishing experience that hasn't really sunken in yet. I was in Times Square, New York (across the country from home) with a couple of other teenage girls and we were just roaming around and enjoying the city. I feel like I've been productive because I was able to get some souvenir shopping done.

My afternoon excursion.

In lecture today Professor Mesznik discussed such things as financial collapse, bonds, and shares. This is all pretty interesting but it is all a little confusing. I understand the simple gist of the point he is trying to make but I don't really understand everything. I have never studies econ before! So all of the vocabulary and the concepts (many of which make sense after you think about them for a while) are completely new to me.

 In seminar, Meiping, the TA, discussed international trade. In this she talked about how countries will produce and export the products that they are most efficient at producing and that make the most profit. Even if the country is more efficient at producing a product that they import from another country, they will put their resources into the highest profiting product. With this she also discussed the comparative value of different currencies and how this factors into trade. For example, if a country's currency worth less than  that of another country, the other country can import more product for less money.

As far as work I have to put into the class goes, it is relatively easy. There is not much work other than reading, but there is a lot of reading.

I sit in my classes and realize how grateful I am to be here and to take this course. I again thank the ILC, the WCCUSD, the donors, and the supporters of this program. Even though an Intro to Business, Finance, and Economics really doesn't sound interesting, it is. This class presents how the world works and cooperates with itself from and economic point-of-view. Everything that I learn in this course will be applicable in the real world. Although I don't understand the specific mechanics of it all, anything I gain from this course is helpful.