Getting Confidence
In September 2006, when I immigrated to the US, I knew just a few simple phrases in English and could write very little. For a long time I avoided meeting people because I couldn’t have even a simple conversation with them. And three years later, I’m in the English-1010 class, and am writing a self-reflective essay.
On the first day of the class, I was a little uncomfortable among my native English-speaking classmates. Would I be up to the task? But after our professor introduced himself and announced our course outline, I felt that I could do it--step by step, and with a lot of hard work.
Our first assignment, a reflective memoir, was a very interesting project. First, I had just a general idea about the topic, but didn’t have any clue how to write that essay. But in class, we learned how to ask the right questions and answer them, how to use free-writing to pick vivid details and develop them, how to organize effective writing and consider the audience, how to revise our drafts, etc. Using my new knowledge, I came from the point of “I don’t even know where to start” to the final product. In course of the project, I got a lot of help from different people—my husband, my peers, my tutors in the ESL lab and the Writing Center, and, of course, from my instructor. Their constructive feedback helped me to make my final paper strong and interesting.
All the writing methods I learned during my first assignment were also helpful for my next papers. But there were some new challenges for me. For example, in the film review assignment, the most difficult part was the critical analysis where I–not an expert in cinematography--had to evaluate the film director’s and actors’ work. Eventually, after participating in the class work and reading many published film reviews, I began to understand the main points of critical analysis.
The main difficulties in the third assignment, rhetorical analysis, were recognizing the rhetorical techniques the two writers I chose to review used, and justifying my choice of the most successful rhetoric. Also, my instructor’s audio feedback on this assignment turned out to be a challenge because I couldn’t understand some words in his message—so again I needed help from others. Overall, what I’d learned from this assignment is that rhetoric is a very important writing tool—it can serve to reinforce sound logic, but can also sometimes conceal the author's biases, preferences and subjectivity.
The last assignment was even more challenging because it was a group project. My additional difficulty was the necessity to communicate with the members of my team as we progressed towards our goal. Yet soon I began to see that in some respects I was very helpful to our joint efforts. Group work is complicated, especially at the beginning--people are all different, they don't know each other, and often have very different ideas. The ultimate group success depends on how well all members can communicate and participate. At first, our group couldn’t decide on a topic narrow enough for this assignment. Our next problem was too many sources and too much information to go through. How to choose what would best support our thesis? We had to apply the knowledge we’d acquired in the class—we examined our assignment, stated the problem we wanted to discuss, made an outline, used brainstorming and free-writing, and then picked the most interesting ideas, details and examples. To make our writing effective and reach our goal in persuading readers to act, we applied rhetoric—ethos (we tried to be objective and used reliable sources, statistics, and facts), pathos (we appealed to the readers’ sense of civic responsibility), and logos (by using vivid examples, statistics, and logical reasoning). What I liked most in the group work was the democratic nature of the decisions we made--we collectively discussed all the ideas and decided on the best to go into our paper. We all thought and read critically which helped our work. As always, peer review and our instructor’s feedback were very helpful—based on them, we revised our writing and fixed the mistakes.
The class is almost finished, and looking back, I can say that it was a very good one for me. I’ve learned many things that I’d never thought about. Critical reading, summarizing, analysis, evaluation, rhetoric—they all help us to effectively express our own thoughts and to understand the writing of others. By learning these essentials, I continue to build a strong English language base for my new future and to expand my own world. Everything I’ve learned during this semester will provide me with more confidence in my future academic activities and life in the new culture in general. This class has helped me to take a few important steps towards my goals, but I still have a lot of work ahead of me.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
My assignment # 4 (When Faucets Don’t Flow)
English 1010
August 6, 2009
When Faucets Don’t Flow
Have you ever had plumbing work done in your home? You may have been through the unfortunate situation of not being able to get a glass of water, flush the toilet, or take a shower because your water is turned off. Sure it may have been for only an hour or two, but what if the water is shut off permanently? We are so accustomed to having water on demand; it heeds our call. Just a turn of the valve and it is there, the fuel of our lives. Without it we would die. But are we sure it will be available the next time we need it?
Americans have taken water for granted. We often forget that there are places in the world, such as villages in Africa, where people have to trek several miles a day to pail water out of a stream. We don’t see their blistered feet; we have amusement parks and swimming pools with millions of gallons of water that we frolic in, and if some water gets into our mouth, we spit it out with disgust. Fortunately, we live in a developed country that has no water shortage problem. Or does it? The Western part of the US, and Utah in particular, do in fact have a serious water shortage problem. “If Utah’s municipal and industrial (M&I) water demands increase at the same rate as its population growth, the state is headed for trouble.” (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 1). Even though Utahns have felt this problem at certain times in the past, it may be a bigger problem in the future.
When our forefathers first arrived in Utah they had nothing to greet them but the dry dirt and sagebrush. With blood, sweat and tears they managed to take what little water was available to
sustain them in their new home. Today Utah is a state with a highly developed water supply infrastructure, but we still live in a desert zone. Utah is the second driest state in the US (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1). Our annual precipitation is only 13 inches (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 1). The western United States receives less precipitation than the rest of the nation. “Water is the life-blood of Utah’s environment. From lush mountain meadows to harsh desert valleys, water holds everything together—making the land inhabitable by people and wildlife.” (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 2). If the forecast of global warming is correct, we will likely get even less precipitation.
Another factor contributing to the water shortage problem is our ever-growing population. “From 1990 to 2000, Utah’s population increased by more than 510,000 people to over 2.2 million,” and it is expected to more then double to nearly 5 million during the next four decades (State of Utah. Division of Water resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 1). According to the State Water Plan, we will need an additional 800,000 acre-feet of water supply, and half of this amount supposed to be conserved by the municipal sector (Hooton, par.2).
It is not just the population growth that threatens our future water supply, but the fact that Utahns tend to over consume water now. Thus, if nothing changes, an increased water demand will make the Utah’s water problem worse in the future. According to Utah officials, the state’s residents use about293 gallons of water per person per day (gpcd) compared to 245 gpcd used by the residents of the other Rocky Mountain States (State of Utah. Division of Water resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 1). Some experts say the annual amount of water over-consumption is roughly equal to half of the capacity of Jordanelle Reservoir (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1).
So the problem we are facing is very serious. If we don’t conserve water now, in the near future we will have to invest significant capital in water development projects—dams, reservoirs, pipelines, and such. Even worse, we may not even have enough water to satisfy our future needs under any realistic scenario. “… saving water [now] could prevent a jolt to the regional economy. If drought strikes and the lack of water becomes acute, that will cost the state jobs, and ultimately hit all Utahns’ pocketbooks.” (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1).
The State of Utah has begun addressing the water shortage problem since the early 90s. The 2003 Utah Water State Plan adopted a 25 percent reduction in the residential water use by 2050, and the good news is that we can easily reach this goal without a major investment. The plan includes a set of recommendations to consumers on how to water lawns properly, use water-wise plants and zero-landscaping. It has information on how to apply for the free Water Check Program and rebates. Also included in the plan are educational programs about water conservation for children and adults. (State of Utah. Division of Water resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 2-17). This plan is only as good as the people participating.
Public places are making some progress in saving water. Have you ever walked into a public bathroom and someone has left the faucet leaking, or maybe even running full blast? Many public bathrooms are eliminating this problem by adding motion sensor activated low flow faucets. When the user walks away the water simply shuts off. Not only do motion sensor fixtures prevent faucets from not being shut off properly, but they also have the added bonus of eliminating the spread of germs. However, many businesses feel that changing their faucets will be too expensive. Some people are afraid that water conservation will require significant changes in their lifestyles, but it is not true. We can start conserving water by taking care of the simplest things in our houses. For example, we don’t pay much attention to a dripping faucet. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a scientific organization whose goal is to help minimize our wasted resources, a faucet that drips every second wastes up to five gallons a day (1). In the metropolitan Salt Lake area, we have roughly 300,000 households, and over a million faucets total at the very least. If even one in ten faucets leaks, we have 500,000 gallons of wasted water in a single day. By the way, do you have any leaking faucets in your house?
There are many simple everyday tasks that we do without paying much attention to how we use water, such as tooth brushing, dish washing, doing laundry. With a little thought and effort we can conserve water doing every one of them. The Utah Division of Water Resources published the following water-saving tips:
· Perform an annual maintenance check on your evaporative (swamp) cooler. Check for and fix any leaks you find.
· Wash only full loads in your washing machine, or adjust the water level to reflect the size of the load.
· Pay attention to your water bill and become familiar with your water meter—use them to track your water use and detect leaks.
· Purchase appliances that offer water- and energy-efficient cycle options.
· Fix leaky plumbing fixtures, faucets and appliances in the house.
· Show children how to turn off the faucets completely after each use.
· Locate your master water shut-off valve so that water can be saved if a pipe bursts.
· Install aerators on every faucet. This could save you as much as 1 gallon every minute you use them.
· Be aware! Listen for drips and leaks around the house. (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 1). These tips alone will not solve the problem, but used in conjunction with our proposed solutions they will get us closer to solving the problem.
So far we talked about the water usage problem inside our houses, but 67 percent of the household water usage in Utah goes towards lawn watering (Figure 2). Sadly, “Utahns use more water than they need” (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan). We often see sprinklers watering sidewalks and driveways instead of lawns, so it is obvious that just by simply adjusting sprinklers we can save water and money.
To learn about the work being done by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District towards water conservation, we interviewed its representative Kris Sagers. He started by first formulating the problem as follows. “Even though we have low precipitation in Utah, the typical homeowner on average uses about 50” of water to water their yard. The average lawn (Kentucky Bluegrass) requires anywhere from 25-35” of water to maintain. This is definitely the place to start saving.” Sagers then suggested limiting grass to the areas that are flat and primarily used for recreational purposes. Do watering late at night or early in the morning so that the water has time to get down into the root system to feed the lawn. Also make sure that your sprinkler system is getting good coverage, and if needed, space the heads closer together to fix any dry spots. Altering watering patterns to the particular season will help as well--shorter times in the spring and fall, and longer in the hot summer months.
Sagers also suggested using water-wise plants to cut water usage. Utah’s native grasses such as Blue Grama and Buffalo grass require significantly less water—only 0.5” once every 12-14 days. Mulches, rocks, and other hardscapes are also good choices to use instead of grass in places like the mow strips and any areas of the yard that have severe slopes, that require huge amounts of water to keep green. Sagers and his associates work with contractors, nurseries, and cities to promote the advantages of water-tolerant landscaping in new construction.
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District works in partnership with other water agencies and the State of Utah to promote water conservation. The “slow the flow’ ad campaign is one of the examples. “These ads are currently running on television to make people aware of the need to watch their management of water,” Sagers says. However, these ads only reach a small portion of the target audience.
So here is the situation now. We do have a water crisis, and the people of Utah are aware of it. In a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll, 83% of Utahns felt that it was very important to conserve water, and that 73% strongly supported some sort of ordinance restricting the watering of lawns between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm (Sagers). So, the citizens of Utah are concerned about the water situation, but the question is whether we are doing enough to solve the problem, and the answer is no. When and how do we start to act?
We propose a two-part solution. First, education. We need to start as early as possible by creating programs in school to inform and teach our children of the crisis that we are in. We must raise awareness about the urgency of the situation and the ways they can save water at home. We need more teachers prepared to work with children on water conservation. Students should be provided with more lessons, simple visual aids, and hands-on experiments on the issue in schools.Then, kids and parents, working together can start to see the benefits of these programs in their homes. It should not be a one-time event, but an ongoing process. We also should not forget the well-known fact that many habits we possess are formed in early childhood and are hard to change later in life. That is why all the appeals to conserve water addressed to the adults often fall on deaf ears. To keep adults informed about water saving benefits cities should include pamphlets in the monthly water bill that promote easy water conserving tips.
What adults often understand best are monetary incentives and disincentives. For example, several years ago, Cedar City changed its water billing procedure from a declining rate to a progressive one (Gillespie 2). “For example, residents are charged 48 cents per one thousand gallons of water they use up to 8,000 gallons. From there it jumps to 60 cents per thousand gallons up to 25,000 gallons at which point it tops out at $1.20,” says Cedar City Engineer Kit Wareham, “We’ve seen pretty good declines in water usage.” So part two of our solution is to work out a system of monetary measures that encourages good water usage and discourages waste. It can be modeled on the Cedar City experience or based on current rates used for billing by SLC Department of Public Utilities as shown below (State of Utah. SLC Department of Public Utilities. Billing information 2):
Water Rate Schedule - Rates & Payments
Article IX. Rates And Payments
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS (SINGLE)
Winter Months (November - March,Inclusive) City Water Rates County Water Rates
All water metered 0.88 $1.19
Summer Months (April - October,Inclusive) City Water Rates County Water Rates
Block 1: 1 through 9 hundred cubic feet of water $0.88 $1.19
Block 2: 10 through 29 hundred cubic feet of water $1.35 $1.83
Block 3: Excess over 29 hundred cubic feet of water $1.88 $2.54
These payments don’t take into account any penalty for excessive or wasteful usage of water. The baseline water use for Utah, established in 1995, is 321 gpcd. Now Utahns consume 293 gpcd, and according to the Utah State Plan, it should be 25% less by 2050 (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 2). So, the baseline should be re-established in accordance with the plan, and there should be a penalty in the billing system for those who exceed the limit. For example, if we take for baseline 2900 cubic feet of water, it would be:
Block 1(saving): 100 -- 900 cubic feet of water $0.75
Block 2(under baseline): 1000 – 2900 cubic feet of water $1.35
Block 3(exceed or wasteful): over 2900 cubic feet of water $4.00
These numbers are just examples, but the main principle is that a wasteful use of water should be discouraged by significantly higher billing rates. We think it will be a fair solution because if those who waste our water sources don’t pay now, we will all have to pay in the near future. At the same time, people who save water should be rewarded. Part of the revenue can be directed towards children’s educational programs we proposed earlier; the rest will be used for improvement and development of the water infrastructure.
Even though we still have to develop new sources of water, conservation is the easiest way to have enough water in our future. Starting today, if every household saved as little as five gallons of water a day, what would be the result? The yearly savings would be 1825 gallons per household (an average, 73 additional showers), and 547 million gallons per Salt Lake Valley.
So with regard to the water problem in Utah, the bottom line is this. Nature’s gifts such as snowy winters and rainy springs will not always solve the problem—they are only a short-term relief. Many citizens have already internalized this problem, and have started to act—“the State’s residential water use has dropped by 18 percent since 2000” (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1), but we need the full participation of everyone in this effort. Water is essential to our way of life and to every living breathing plant and animal upon this earth. If we don’t have water, we will not survive. We are the responsible stewards of this precious resource, so let’s begin today to do something about it before it’s too late. The water is running.
August 6, 2009
When Faucets Don’t Flow
Have you ever had plumbing work done in your home? You may have been through the unfortunate situation of not being able to get a glass of water, flush the toilet, or take a shower because your water is turned off. Sure it may have been for only an hour or two, but what if the water is shut off permanently? We are so accustomed to having water on demand; it heeds our call. Just a turn of the valve and it is there, the fuel of our lives. Without it we would die. But are we sure it will be available the next time we need it?
Americans have taken water for granted. We often forget that there are places in the world, such as villages in Africa, where people have to trek several miles a day to pail water out of a stream. We don’t see their blistered feet; we have amusement parks and swimming pools with millions of gallons of water that we frolic in, and if some water gets into our mouth, we spit it out with disgust. Fortunately, we live in a developed country that has no water shortage problem. Or does it? The Western part of the US, and Utah in particular, do in fact have a serious water shortage problem. “If Utah’s municipal and industrial (M&I) water demands increase at the same rate as its population growth, the state is headed for trouble.” (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 1). Even though Utahns have felt this problem at certain times in the past, it may be a bigger problem in the future.
When our forefathers first arrived in Utah they had nothing to greet them but the dry dirt and sagebrush. With blood, sweat and tears they managed to take what little water was available to
sustain them in their new home. Today Utah is a state with a highly developed water supply infrastructure, but we still live in a desert zone. Utah is the second driest state in the US (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1). Our annual precipitation is only 13 inches (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 1). The western United States receives less precipitation than the rest of the nation. “Water is the life-blood of Utah’s environment. From lush mountain meadows to harsh desert valleys, water holds everything together—making the land inhabitable by people and wildlife.” (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 2). If the forecast of global warming is correct, we will likely get even less precipitation.
Another factor contributing to the water shortage problem is our ever-growing population. “From 1990 to 2000, Utah’s population increased by more than 510,000 people to over 2.2 million,” and it is expected to more then double to nearly 5 million during the next four decades (State of Utah. Division of Water resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 1). According to the State Water Plan, we will need an additional 800,000 acre-feet of water supply, and half of this amount supposed to be conserved by the municipal sector (Hooton, par.2).
It is not just the population growth that threatens our future water supply, but the fact that Utahns tend to over consume water now. Thus, if nothing changes, an increased water demand will make the Utah’s water problem worse in the future. According to Utah officials, the state’s residents use about293 gallons of water per person per day (gpcd) compared to 245 gpcd used by the residents of the other Rocky Mountain States (State of Utah. Division of Water resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 1). Some experts say the annual amount of water over-consumption is roughly equal to half of the capacity of Jordanelle Reservoir (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1).
So the problem we are facing is very serious. If we don’t conserve water now, in the near future we will have to invest significant capital in water development projects—dams, reservoirs, pipelines, and such. Even worse, we may not even have enough water to satisfy our future needs under any realistic scenario. “… saving water [now] could prevent a jolt to the regional economy. If drought strikes and the lack of water becomes acute, that will cost the state jobs, and ultimately hit all Utahns’ pocketbooks.” (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1).
The State of Utah has begun addressing the water shortage problem since the early 90s. The 2003 Utah Water State Plan adopted a 25 percent reduction in the residential water use by 2050, and the good news is that we can easily reach this goal without a major investment. The plan includes a set of recommendations to consumers on how to water lawns properly, use water-wise plants and zero-landscaping. It has information on how to apply for the free Water Check Program and rebates. Also included in the plan are educational programs about water conservation for children and adults. (State of Utah. Division of Water resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 2-17). This plan is only as good as the people participating.
Public places are making some progress in saving water. Have you ever walked into a public bathroom and someone has left the faucet leaking, or maybe even running full blast? Many public bathrooms are eliminating this problem by adding motion sensor activated low flow faucets. When the user walks away the water simply shuts off. Not only do motion sensor fixtures prevent faucets from not being shut off properly, but they also have the added bonus of eliminating the spread of germs. However, many businesses feel that changing their faucets will be too expensive. Some people are afraid that water conservation will require significant changes in their lifestyles, but it is not true. We can start conserving water by taking care of the simplest things in our houses. For example, we don’t pay much attention to a dripping faucet. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a scientific organization whose goal is to help minimize our wasted resources, a faucet that drips every second wastes up to five gallons a day (1). In the metropolitan Salt Lake area, we have roughly 300,000 households, and over a million faucets total at the very least. If even one in ten faucets leaks, we have 500,000 gallons of wasted water in a single day. By the way, do you have any leaking faucets in your house?
There are many simple everyday tasks that we do without paying much attention to how we use water, such as tooth brushing, dish washing, doing laundry. With a little thought and effort we can conserve water doing every one of them. The Utah Division of Water Resources published the following water-saving tips:
· Perform an annual maintenance check on your evaporative (swamp) cooler. Check for and fix any leaks you find.
· Wash only full loads in your washing machine, or adjust the water level to reflect the size of the load.
· Pay attention to your water bill and become familiar with your water meter—use them to track your water use and detect leaks.
· Purchase appliances that offer water- and energy-efficient cycle options.
· Fix leaky plumbing fixtures, faucets and appliances in the house.
· Show children how to turn off the faucets completely after each use.
· Locate your master water shut-off valve so that water can be saved if a pipe bursts.
· Install aerators on every faucet. This could save you as much as 1 gallon every minute you use them.
· Be aware! Listen for drips and leaks around the house. (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Conserve Water 1). These tips alone will not solve the problem, but used in conjunction with our proposed solutions they will get us closer to solving the problem.
So far we talked about the water usage problem inside our houses, but 67 percent of the household water usage in Utah goes towards lawn watering (Figure 2). Sadly, “Utahns use more water than they need” (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan). We often see sprinklers watering sidewalks and driveways instead of lawns, so it is obvious that just by simply adjusting sprinklers we can save water and money.
To learn about the work being done by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District towards water conservation, we interviewed its representative Kris Sagers. He started by first formulating the problem as follows. “Even though we have low precipitation in Utah, the typical homeowner on average uses about 50” of water to water their yard. The average lawn (Kentucky Bluegrass) requires anywhere from 25-35” of water to maintain. This is definitely the place to start saving.” Sagers then suggested limiting grass to the areas that are flat and primarily used for recreational purposes. Do watering late at night or early in the morning so that the water has time to get down into the root system to feed the lawn. Also make sure that your sprinkler system is getting good coverage, and if needed, space the heads closer together to fix any dry spots. Altering watering patterns to the particular season will help as well--shorter times in the spring and fall, and longer in the hot summer months.
Sagers also suggested using water-wise plants to cut water usage. Utah’s native grasses such as Blue Grama and Buffalo grass require significantly less water—only 0.5” once every 12-14 days. Mulches, rocks, and other hardscapes are also good choices to use instead of grass in places like the mow strips and any areas of the yard that have severe slopes, that require huge amounts of water to keep green. Sagers and his associates work with contractors, nurseries, and cities to promote the advantages of water-tolerant landscaping in new construction.
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District works in partnership with other water agencies and the State of Utah to promote water conservation. The “slow the flow’ ad campaign is one of the examples. “These ads are currently running on television to make people aware of the need to watch their management of water,” Sagers says. However, these ads only reach a small portion of the target audience.
So here is the situation now. We do have a water crisis, and the people of Utah are aware of it. In a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll, 83% of Utahns felt that it was very important to conserve water, and that 73% strongly supported some sort of ordinance restricting the watering of lawns between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm (Sagers). So, the citizens of Utah are concerned about the water situation, but the question is whether we are doing enough to solve the problem, and the answer is no. When and how do we start to act?
We propose a two-part solution. First, education. We need to start as early as possible by creating programs in school to inform and teach our children of the crisis that we are in. We must raise awareness about the urgency of the situation and the ways they can save water at home. We need more teachers prepared to work with children on water conservation. Students should be provided with more lessons, simple visual aids, and hands-on experiments on the issue in schools.Then, kids and parents, working together can start to see the benefits of these programs in their homes. It should not be a one-time event, but an ongoing process. We also should not forget the well-known fact that many habits we possess are formed in early childhood and are hard to change later in life. That is why all the appeals to conserve water addressed to the adults often fall on deaf ears. To keep adults informed about water saving benefits cities should include pamphlets in the monthly water bill that promote easy water conserving tips.
What adults often understand best are monetary incentives and disincentives. For example, several years ago, Cedar City changed its water billing procedure from a declining rate to a progressive one (Gillespie 2). “For example, residents are charged 48 cents per one thousand gallons of water they use up to 8,000 gallons. From there it jumps to 60 cents per thousand gallons up to 25,000 gallons at which point it tops out at $1.20,” says Cedar City Engineer Kit Wareham, “We’ve seen pretty good declines in water usage.” So part two of our solution is to work out a system of monetary measures that encourages good water usage and discourages waste. It can be modeled on the Cedar City experience or based on current rates used for billing by SLC Department of Public Utilities as shown below (State of Utah. SLC Department of Public Utilities. Billing information 2):
Water Rate Schedule - Rates & Payments
Article IX. Rates And Payments
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS (SINGLE)
Winter Months (November - March,Inclusive) City Water Rates County Water Rates
All water metered 0.88 $1.19
Summer Months (April - October,Inclusive) City Water Rates County Water Rates
Block 1: 1 through 9 hundred cubic feet of water $0.88 $1.19
Block 2: 10 through 29 hundred cubic feet of water $1.35 $1.83
Block 3: Excess over 29 hundred cubic feet of water $1.88 $2.54
These payments don’t take into account any penalty for excessive or wasteful usage of water. The baseline water use for Utah, established in 1995, is 321 gpcd. Now Utahns consume 293 gpcd, and according to the Utah State Plan, it should be 25% less by 2050 (State of Utah. Division of Water Resources. Utah’s M&I Water Conservation Plan 2). So, the baseline should be re-established in accordance with the plan, and there should be a penalty in the billing system for those who exceed the limit. For example, if we take for baseline 2900 cubic feet of water, it would be:
Block 1(saving): 100 -- 900 cubic feet of water $0.75
Block 2(under baseline): 1000 – 2900 cubic feet of water $1.35
Block 3(exceed or wasteful): over 2900 cubic feet of water $4.00
These numbers are just examples, but the main principle is that a wasteful use of water should be discouraged by significantly higher billing rates. We think it will be a fair solution because if those who waste our water sources don’t pay now, we will all have to pay in the near future. At the same time, people who save water should be rewarded. Part of the revenue can be directed towards children’s educational programs we proposed earlier; the rest will be used for improvement and development of the water infrastructure.
Even though we still have to develop new sources of water, conservation is the easiest way to have enough water in our future. Starting today, if every household saved as little as five gallons of water a day, what would be the result? The yearly savings would be 1825 gallons per household (an average, 73 additional showers), and 547 million gallons per Salt Lake Valley.
So with regard to the water problem in Utah, the bottom line is this. Nature’s gifts such as snowy winters and rainy springs will not always solve the problem—they are only a short-term relief. Many citizens have already internalized this problem, and have started to act—“the State’s residential water use has dropped by 18 percent since 2000” (“Saving Water; Saving Utah” 1), but we need the full participation of everyone in this effort. Water is essential to our way of life and to every living breathing plant and animal upon this earth. If we don’t have water, we will not survive. We are the responsible stewards of this precious resource, so let’s begin today to do something about it before it’s too late. The water is running.
My assignment #3 (Illegal Immigration—Can We Deal with It in a Rational Way? )
Writing 1010-015
July 23rd, 2009
Illegal Immigration—Can We Deal with It in a Rational Way?
The United States, a country of immigrants from the very start, currently has the issue of immigration that continues to be a hot spot. As a legal immigrant myself, I know firsthand that the immigration law is strongly enforced for those who chose a legal way of entering this country. At the same time, America has a problem of illegal immigration, so difficult and multi-faceted, that all attempts to solve it have not been successful. Year after year, the situation becomes more complicated and acute so it requires an immediate solution. During the past decades, the issue of illegal immigration has been discussed extensively and passionately by politicians, various lobbies, social scientists and journalists proposing a wide range of solutions. There are some who advocate a total ban on illegal immigration, and there are others who advance a very liberal approach to allowing millions of temporary workers into this country. Is it possible to find a solution that would satisfy everybody? To make proposals look credible, their authors use a wide arsenal of rhetorical techniques to win the argument.
Two fairly recent op-ed columns on illegal immigration that were written for general audiences are good examples of the use of rhetoric in advancing the authors’ positions. The titles of both articles reflect their main ideas. Both writers agree on the urgency and necessity of solving the problem of the illegal immigration now, but offer different solutions. One focuses solely on the change in the immigration law by adding an extensive guest-worker program, while the other claims that only a two-step action (complete border control followed by the full amnesty for the illegal immigrants already in this country) will do. The question for us is which of them uses rhetoric more effectively in persuading their readers.
The first column, “Immigration Law Should Reflect Our Dynamic Labor Market,” by Daniel Griswold, was published in the The Dallas Morning News on April 27, 2008. Daniel Griswold is director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington; he has authored or co-authored major studies on globalization, trade, and immigration. In his article, Griswold states, that the American immigration law collides with reality. We do not have a simple system that provides for guest workers to enter the United States. At the same time, Griswold says, millions of low-skilled illegals cross the border because there are many jobs for them that Americans do not want to take any more. In the author’s view, illegal immigrants mostly are not bad people--they seek economic opportunities that are not available in their home countries. Griswold says that we can either continue to put the emphasis on the enforcing of the current immigration law spending more billions of dollars, or we can change our immigration rules to reflect the reality of our labor market. Griswold’s main point is this: if millions of otherwise good and law-abiding people pursuing their reasonable goals are forced to violate a law, it indicates a problem with the law. He reminds us that we have already had a successful historical experience with legal temporary guest workers in the early 1950’s, when Congress “rumpled up enforcement” along with the larger number of guest-worker visas. As a result, illegal border crossings dropped 95 percent. Griswold then points out that there are other examples from our history when, by changing the law, we made it “compatible with how people actually arrange their lives.” Such examples should guide Congress in its approach to fixing the Immigration Law.
The author of the second op-ed, “First a Wall--Then Amnesty,” is Charles Krauthammer. He is a widely respected columnist for The Washington Post. He also writes for New Republic, Time, and Weekly Standard and has numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Bradley Prize. “First a Wall--Then Amnesty” appeared in the Washington post on April 7, 2006. Krauthammer’s main thesis is that the solution to the illegal immigration problem must be done in sequence: first, “to regain control of our borders” (which, according to him, we have lost) and second, to “legalize the situation of the 11 million illegals among us.” Krauthammer reminds us that during the immigration reform of 1986 “nearly 3 million people got permanent residency,” but the reform did not include a mechanism to stop the continued flow of illegal immigrants. So now we have 11 million more of them in our country, and Americans are wary of the proposed solutions that deal only with the legalization. Krauthammer also asserts that the employer sanctions (the basis of the 1986 reform) were “not only useless,” but even “pernicious”, because the border control enforcement “is the job of government, not landscapers.” His main point is that first of all we need to convince those opposed to legalization that we can radically reduce future illegal immigration. The way to do it is to build a tight barrier on the border. Even though border fences are ugly and expensive, they work, and many countries have been successful “in keeping out potential infiltrators.” After we reduce “the river of illegals to a manageable trickle,” Krauthammer says, “dealing generously with the residual population of past immigration” will become politically possible. In conclusion, Krauthammer tells us that the final result will not be a “mushy compromise,” but “full amnesty (earned with back taxes, learning English, and the like) with full border control.” And the problem would not only be solved, but we would also act “as one nation.”
As we can see, both articles look logical and convincing, so it is important for the reader to understand the rhetorical techniques each author uses to convince their target audiences.
In his first paragraph, Griswold uses strong emotive words, such as “many virtues” and “glaring exception.” He sets up his main topic, the United States as a nation of laws, and highlights one exception to that. “Among its many virtues, America is a nation where laws are generally reasonable, respected and impartially enforced. A glaring exception is immigration." The author's goal here is to appeal to our sense of virtue and to emphasize the gravity of the problem.
In Krauthammer's introductory paragraph, he brings his readers into the conversation by using words such as "our," "we," "us" ("our borders," "we who decide," and "among us.") He says, "Every sensible immigration policy has two objectives: (1) to regain control of our borders so that it is we who decide who enters and (2) to find a way to normalize and legalize the situation of the 11 million illegals among us." The use of the personal pronouns serves to involve the reader in the debate and transforms a general societal problem into a personal one. Here the author tries to reconcile the value of sovereignty with our sense of humanity.
In the next paragraph, Krauthammer builds his credibility by being objective in considering the two main sides of the problem. On the one hand, "No one of good will wants to see these 11 million suffer." On the other hand, by itself, "legalization creates an enormous incentive for new illegals to come." Krauthammer's first point is to appeal to our sense of goodness and the second one is to appeal to our sense of reason. By considering the two sides of the problem the author demonstrates his fairness, thus gains reader's sympathy.
Another interesting rhetorical device is how one frames an issue. For example, Griswold presents the problem of illegal immigration as a lack of an effective guest-worker program. Thus his solution is a simple choice between defending the border at all costs vs. passing a expansive guest-worker program. Griswold says,
We can spend billions more to beef up border patrols [..] erect hundreds of miles of ugly fence slicing through private property along the Rio Grande [..] raid more discount stores and chicken-processing plants from coast to coast. We can require all Americans to carry a national ID card and seek approval from a government computer before starting a new job. Or we can change our immigration law to more closely conform to how millions of normal people actually live.
He deliberately describes one possible solution in the darkest and most extreme terms (“spend billions more,” “hundreds of miles of ugly fence,” “raid more discount stores,” and “require all Americans to carry a national ID.”) Then he paints his preferred solution as simply logical (“to more closely conform to how millions of normal people actually live.”) In describing possible approaches, Griswold uses the “difficult-easy” pattern making it clear which one the author wants us to accept. In doing so, he appeals to both our emotions and sense of reason.
Using logical arguments and reasoning is one of the strongest rhetorical tools that help authors to win their readers over. Here is, for example, how Krauthammer uses this technique.
If the government can demonstrate that it can control future immigration, there will be infinitely less resistance to dealing generously with the residual population of past immigration. And, as Mickey Kaus and others have suggested, that may require that the two provisions be sequenced. First, radical border control by physical means. Then, shortly thereafter, radical legalization of those already here. To achieve national consensus on legalization, we will need a short lag time between the two provisions, perhaps a year or two, to demonstrate to the skeptics that the current wave of illegals is indeed the last.
Here he uses the cause-and-effect argument (if—then), then makes his “sequencing” proposal while enhancing his own credibility by citing an expert on the subject, and concludes the paragraph with the likely outcome. Krauthammer’s logical reasoning is clear to the readers and works effectively towards advancing the author’s argument.
The authors also build their credibility by using statistics, facts, and historical examples. Griswold furthers his argument by framing the illegal immigration issue in terms of a well-known historical event. He writes, “In the 1920s and '30s, Prohibition turned millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans into lawbreakers and spawned an underworld of moon-shining, boot-legging and related criminal activity." Since most of people know about Prohibition and its unintended effects, they can probably agree with the author when he moves to his point in the next sentences, "We eventually made the right choice to tax and regulate alcohol rather than prohibit it."
As we can see from the examples above, rhetoric is very important, and its skillful usage determines a writer’s ultimate success. In our chosen examples, both authors have high reputations. Both Griswold and Krauthammer are very accomplished and experienced writers, but after reading their two articles, I decided that Krauthammer’s piece is more convincing to the reader. From the first sentences he engages the reader in the discussion; his whole op-ed is built as a dialog with the reader.
Krauthammer constructs his writing using strong and logical arguments; he reviews the issue in its historical context, honestly acknowledges the other points of view, and makes concessions and rebuttals. In my opinion, Krauthammer uses the most successful combination of rhetorical techniques. I did not find any fallacies in his writing, while in Griswold’s piece I noticed a couple of them. For example, Griswold claims, “The fundamental choice before us is whether we redouble our efforts to enforce existing immigration law, whatever the cost, or whether we change the law to match the reality of a dynamic society and labor market." So, does the last part of this sentence mean that changing the law will not cost us anything? Another problem with Griswold's writing is that he does not specify what kind of change in the immigration law we should enact to solve the problem. Instead, he uses general phrases like "match with reality," or "The law must be compatible with how people actually arrange their lives." In Krauthammer's article everything is clear and logical, and supported by strong evidence and examples. His article helps us to understand the power of properly used rhetoric. By using a rich and balanced complex of rhetorical methods (including voice tone, word choice, sentence structure and tempo of writing), Krauthammer successfully achieves the goal of persuading his audience of the urgency of the problem and his proposed ways of solving it.
The issue of illegal immigration is complex and often polemic. Therefore, it is important to carefully balance each argument. It is not always easy to distinguish between logical reasoning that might produce positive result and fallacies that may lead to mistaken conclusion. The art of rhetoric may serve to reinforce sound logic, but also sometimes disguises an author's bias, preferences and subjectivity. When considering such a loaded topic as illegal immigration, the reader must always take into account the power of rhetoric.
July 23rd, 2009
Illegal Immigration—Can We Deal with It in a Rational Way?
The United States, a country of immigrants from the very start, currently has the issue of immigration that continues to be a hot spot. As a legal immigrant myself, I know firsthand that the immigration law is strongly enforced for those who chose a legal way of entering this country. At the same time, America has a problem of illegal immigration, so difficult and multi-faceted, that all attempts to solve it have not been successful. Year after year, the situation becomes more complicated and acute so it requires an immediate solution. During the past decades, the issue of illegal immigration has been discussed extensively and passionately by politicians, various lobbies, social scientists and journalists proposing a wide range of solutions. There are some who advocate a total ban on illegal immigration, and there are others who advance a very liberal approach to allowing millions of temporary workers into this country. Is it possible to find a solution that would satisfy everybody? To make proposals look credible, their authors use a wide arsenal of rhetorical techniques to win the argument.
Two fairly recent op-ed columns on illegal immigration that were written for general audiences are good examples of the use of rhetoric in advancing the authors’ positions. The titles of both articles reflect their main ideas. Both writers agree on the urgency and necessity of solving the problem of the illegal immigration now, but offer different solutions. One focuses solely on the change in the immigration law by adding an extensive guest-worker program, while the other claims that only a two-step action (complete border control followed by the full amnesty for the illegal immigrants already in this country) will do. The question for us is which of them uses rhetoric more effectively in persuading their readers.
The first column, “Immigration Law Should Reflect Our Dynamic Labor Market,” by Daniel Griswold, was published in the The Dallas Morning News on April 27, 2008. Daniel Griswold is director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington; he has authored or co-authored major studies on globalization, trade, and immigration. In his article, Griswold states, that the American immigration law collides with reality. We do not have a simple system that provides for guest workers to enter the United States. At the same time, Griswold says, millions of low-skilled illegals cross the border because there are many jobs for them that Americans do not want to take any more. In the author’s view, illegal immigrants mostly are not bad people--they seek economic opportunities that are not available in their home countries. Griswold says that we can either continue to put the emphasis on the enforcing of the current immigration law spending more billions of dollars, or we can change our immigration rules to reflect the reality of our labor market. Griswold’s main point is this: if millions of otherwise good and law-abiding people pursuing their reasonable goals are forced to violate a law, it indicates a problem with the law. He reminds us that we have already had a successful historical experience with legal temporary guest workers in the early 1950’s, when Congress “rumpled up enforcement” along with the larger number of guest-worker visas. As a result, illegal border crossings dropped 95 percent. Griswold then points out that there are other examples from our history when, by changing the law, we made it “compatible with how people actually arrange their lives.” Such examples should guide Congress in its approach to fixing the Immigration Law.
The author of the second op-ed, “First a Wall--Then Amnesty,” is Charles Krauthammer. He is a widely respected columnist for The Washington Post. He also writes for New Republic, Time, and Weekly Standard and has numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Bradley Prize. “First a Wall--Then Amnesty” appeared in the Washington post on April 7, 2006. Krauthammer’s main thesis is that the solution to the illegal immigration problem must be done in sequence: first, “to regain control of our borders” (which, according to him, we have lost) and second, to “legalize the situation of the 11 million illegals among us.” Krauthammer reminds us that during the immigration reform of 1986 “nearly 3 million people got permanent residency,” but the reform did not include a mechanism to stop the continued flow of illegal immigrants. So now we have 11 million more of them in our country, and Americans are wary of the proposed solutions that deal only with the legalization. Krauthammer also asserts that the employer sanctions (the basis of the 1986 reform) were “not only useless,” but even “pernicious”, because the border control enforcement “is the job of government, not landscapers.” His main point is that first of all we need to convince those opposed to legalization that we can radically reduce future illegal immigration. The way to do it is to build a tight barrier on the border. Even though border fences are ugly and expensive, they work, and many countries have been successful “in keeping out potential infiltrators.” After we reduce “the river of illegals to a manageable trickle,” Krauthammer says, “dealing generously with the residual population of past immigration” will become politically possible. In conclusion, Krauthammer tells us that the final result will not be a “mushy compromise,” but “full amnesty (earned with back taxes, learning English, and the like) with full border control.” And the problem would not only be solved, but we would also act “as one nation.”
As we can see, both articles look logical and convincing, so it is important for the reader to understand the rhetorical techniques each author uses to convince their target audiences.
In his first paragraph, Griswold uses strong emotive words, such as “many virtues” and “glaring exception.” He sets up his main topic, the United States as a nation of laws, and highlights one exception to that. “Among its many virtues, America is a nation where laws are generally reasonable, respected and impartially enforced. A glaring exception is immigration." The author's goal here is to appeal to our sense of virtue and to emphasize the gravity of the problem.
In Krauthammer's introductory paragraph, he brings his readers into the conversation by using words such as "our," "we," "us" ("our borders," "we who decide," and "among us.") He says, "Every sensible immigration policy has two objectives: (1) to regain control of our borders so that it is we who decide who enters and (2) to find a way to normalize and legalize the situation of the 11 million illegals among us." The use of the personal pronouns serves to involve the reader in the debate and transforms a general societal problem into a personal one. Here the author tries to reconcile the value of sovereignty with our sense of humanity.
In the next paragraph, Krauthammer builds his credibility by being objective in considering the two main sides of the problem. On the one hand, "No one of good will wants to see these 11 million suffer." On the other hand, by itself, "legalization creates an enormous incentive for new illegals to come." Krauthammer's first point is to appeal to our sense of goodness and the second one is to appeal to our sense of reason. By considering the two sides of the problem the author demonstrates his fairness, thus gains reader's sympathy.
Another interesting rhetorical device is how one frames an issue. For example, Griswold presents the problem of illegal immigration as a lack of an effective guest-worker program. Thus his solution is a simple choice between defending the border at all costs vs. passing a expansive guest-worker program. Griswold says,
We can spend billions more to beef up border patrols [..] erect hundreds of miles of ugly fence slicing through private property along the Rio Grande [..] raid more discount stores and chicken-processing plants from coast to coast. We can require all Americans to carry a national ID card and seek approval from a government computer before starting a new job. Or we can change our immigration law to more closely conform to how millions of normal people actually live.
He deliberately describes one possible solution in the darkest and most extreme terms (“spend billions more,” “hundreds of miles of ugly fence,” “raid more discount stores,” and “require all Americans to carry a national ID.”) Then he paints his preferred solution as simply logical (“to more closely conform to how millions of normal people actually live.”) In describing possible approaches, Griswold uses the “difficult-easy” pattern making it clear which one the author wants us to accept. In doing so, he appeals to both our emotions and sense of reason.
Using logical arguments and reasoning is one of the strongest rhetorical tools that help authors to win their readers over. Here is, for example, how Krauthammer uses this technique.
If the government can demonstrate that it can control future immigration, there will be infinitely less resistance to dealing generously with the residual population of past immigration. And, as Mickey Kaus and others have suggested, that may require that the two provisions be sequenced. First, radical border control by physical means. Then, shortly thereafter, radical legalization of those already here. To achieve national consensus on legalization, we will need a short lag time between the two provisions, perhaps a year or two, to demonstrate to the skeptics that the current wave of illegals is indeed the last.
Here he uses the cause-and-effect argument (if—then), then makes his “sequencing” proposal while enhancing his own credibility by citing an expert on the subject, and concludes the paragraph with the likely outcome. Krauthammer’s logical reasoning is clear to the readers and works effectively towards advancing the author’s argument.
The authors also build their credibility by using statistics, facts, and historical examples. Griswold furthers his argument by framing the illegal immigration issue in terms of a well-known historical event. He writes, “In the 1920s and '30s, Prohibition turned millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans into lawbreakers and spawned an underworld of moon-shining, boot-legging and related criminal activity." Since most of people know about Prohibition and its unintended effects, they can probably agree with the author when he moves to his point in the next sentences, "We eventually made the right choice to tax and regulate alcohol rather than prohibit it."
As we can see from the examples above, rhetoric is very important, and its skillful usage determines a writer’s ultimate success. In our chosen examples, both authors have high reputations. Both Griswold and Krauthammer are very accomplished and experienced writers, but after reading their two articles, I decided that Krauthammer’s piece is more convincing to the reader. From the first sentences he engages the reader in the discussion; his whole op-ed is built as a dialog with the reader.
Krauthammer constructs his writing using strong and logical arguments; he reviews the issue in its historical context, honestly acknowledges the other points of view, and makes concessions and rebuttals. In my opinion, Krauthammer uses the most successful combination of rhetorical techniques. I did not find any fallacies in his writing, while in Griswold’s piece I noticed a couple of them. For example, Griswold claims, “The fundamental choice before us is whether we redouble our efforts to enforce existing immigration law, whatever the cost, or whether we change the law to match the reality of a dynamic society and labor market." So, does the last part of this sentence mean that changing the law will not cost us anything? Another problem with Griswold's writing is that he does not specify what kind of change in the immigration law we should enact to solve the problem. Instead, he uses general phrases like "match with reality," or "The law must be compatible with how people actually arrange their lives." In Krauthammer's article everything is clear and logical, and supported by strong evidence and examples. His article helps us to understand the power of properly used rhetoric. By using a rich and balanced complex of rhetorical methods (including voice tone, word choice, sentence structure and tempo of writing), Krauthammer successfully achieves the goal of persuading his audience of the urgency of the problem and his proposed ways of solving it.
The issue of illegal immigration is complex and often polemic. Therefore, it is important to carefully balance each argument. It is not always easy to distinguish between logical reasoning that might produce positive result and fallacies that may lead to mistaken conclusion. The art of rhetoric may serve to reinforce sound logic, but also sometimes disguises an author's bias, preferences and subjectivity. When considering such a loaded topic as illegal immigration, the reader must always take into account the power of rhetoric.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Перу. День 12-й.
Покидаем Кузко. В а/порт прибыли вовремя, все посты прошли, попали опять с тем же экипажем, что летели сюда… От Кузко до Лимы без посадок – час лету, так что мы только глаза прикрыли – как уже посадка.
Времени – 12 дня. Пристраиваем чемоданы в камеру хранения, наводим справки. На Сити-тур, который хотели взять – уже не успеваем (Надо ехать далеко, в р-н Мирафлорес, где большинство отелей, откуда этот тур стартует). Едем, опять же, самостоятельно, в центр, на ту же Плаза дел Армас, с которой наше путешествие начиналось.
Времени – 12 дня. Пристраиваем чемоданы в камеру хранения, наводим справки. На Сити-тур, который хотели взять – уже не успеваем (Надо ехать далеко, в р-н Мирафлорес, где большинство отелей, откуда этот тур стартует). Едем, опять же, самостоятельно, в центр, на ту же Плаза дел Армас, с которой наше путешествие начиналось.
И опять натыкаемся на празднество! Снова святых туда-сюда ликующий народ носит :-). Ходим, смотрим, снимаем… Время подкрепиться – пытаемся найти место, где не опасно проглотить кусок чего-нибудь :-).Страшно… Но кушать хочется – решаемся, и заходим в боле-менее чистую на вид забегаловку. Ничего - живые :-).
Идем дальше. Поражает грязь и разруха. А ведь рядом – самый центр, и это в столице!
Пытаемся обнаружить что-то пиятное глазу в полной обшарпанности и запущенности. Кое-где находятся “останки былого” – свидетельства былого процветания…
Поворачиваем снова к центру, выходим к церкви Св. Франциско. Идем туда на экскурсию. Красиво, но тоже ветшает, и немного не по себе оттого, что под нами катакомбы с захоронениями и бесчисленными черепами и скелетами.
Дальше продвигаемся в обратную сторону, снова подходим к Плаза дел Армас – и снова попадаем на шоу, которого никак не ожидали! Теперь это их военный оркестр. Сначала они просто промаршировали через площадь под музыку и выстроились на ступенях перед входом в церковь. А потом начали такое вытворять! Не знаю даже, как это назвать – то-ли художественный марш, то-ли танцы военного оркестра… Но маршировка с порхающими в воздухе винтовками под танго и пасадобли – это что-то…
А потом они просто играли для народа, и народ балдел, а одна пожилая пара (видимо, в прошлом профессиональные танцоры) очень здорово отплясывала на радость всем собравшимся.
Идем дальше. Поражает грязь и разруха. А ведь рядом – самый центр, и это в столице!
Пытаемся обнаружить что-то пиятное глазу в полной обшарпанности и запущенности. Кое-где находятся “останки былого” – свидетельства былого процветания…
Поворачиваем снова к центру, выходим к церкви Св. Франциско. Идем туда на экскурсию. Красиво, но тоже ветшает, и немного не по себе оттого, что под нами катакомбы с захоронениями и бесчисленными черепами и скелетами.
Дальше продвигаемся в обратную сторону, снова подходим к Плаза дел Армас – и снова попадаем на шоу, которого никак не ожидали! Теперь это их военный оркестр. Сначала они просто промаршировали через площадь под музыку и выстроились на ступенях перед входом в церковь. А потом начали такое вытворять! Не знаю даже, как это назвать – то-ли художественный марш, то-ли танцы военного оркестра… Но маршировка с порхающими в воздухе винтовками под танго и пасадобли – это что-то…
А потом они просто играли для народа, и народ балдел, а одна пожилая пара (видимо, в прошлом профессиональные танцоры) очень здорово отплясывала на радость всем собравшимся.
Вот на этой приятной ноте мы и закончили наше путешествие. Ну а дальше уже была дорога домой, и домой, скажем прямо, тоже приятно возвращаться:-).
Перу. День 11-й,
...и вообще-то, последний! Мы чуток ошиблись! Так заотдыхались и увлеклись, что обсчитались... Если бы агентша не прислала напоминалку, мы могли бы сильно "пролететь".
В последний момент, уже совсем вечером, пошли на рынок – затариваться сувенирами…
Вот и все, почти…
День провели замечательно – с утра выехали с тур-автобусом в Писаг (в коем мы успели побывать сами), дальше – Урубамба (и вкусный ланч там), потом – Оллантайтамбо, и последняа точка – Чинчеро (куда мы планировали поехать сами на следующий день – если б он у нас был J).
Красота неописуемая! Казалось бы – уже трудно чему-то удивляться – столько всего видели! Но тут за каждым поворотом – новое удивление!... Все вместе – природа, руины эти…
Красота неописуемая! Казалось бы – уже трудно чему-то удивляться – столько всего видели! Но тут за каждым поворотом – новое удивление!... Все вместе – природа, руины эти…
В последний момент, уже совсем вечером, пошли на рынок – затариваться сувенирами…
Вот и все, почти…
Перу. День 10-й.
9 утра. Сидим в холле, готовые к походу. Приехал за нами паренек, отправляемся в путь. Сначала на машине. С нами еще только одна пара – молодые ребята из Англии. Оказалось, что маршрут проходит по тем же местам , что мы проехали позавчера во время Сити-тура. Но это даже неплохо – без толпы народа, и гид рассказывал немножко подробнее, да и “вид с другой стороны” немножко...
Например, подробности из пещеры K’энгко о мумиях… Время мумифицирования было – 1 неделя. При этом вытаскивались все органы, кроме сердца, И вовнутрь тела закладывались специальные травы, одна из них – мунь’о (на местном языке “кечуа”), имеет похожий на мяту запах. Эту же травку они использовали для хранения провианта, в частности картошки (три года может лежать, как свежая). Мумифицировали только членов королевской семьи, а мумии эти потом, так же, как сейчас католические святые, почитались во время религиозных праздников.
После пещеры мы пошли выбирать лошадей. Саше достался старикан по кличке Комбо, который все время потом срезал дорогу и норовил пойти своим путем, то водички попить, то травки пощипать… Мне дали довольно норовистую кобылу по кличке Сампа. Она не любит, когда другие лошади “нарушают ее личное пространство” – и кусается. Но меня она не кусала, и везла исправно :-). Я сначала сидела и тряслась, как куль, но потом ухватила “фишку”, и даже получила удовольствие от езды, при этом не отбив попу!
Мы опять побывали в крепости Пукапукарра, в Тамбомакай, и на Саксайваман - где мы расстались с нашими лошадками, с гидом, и проводником (местным мальчишкой по имени Йохан, который всю дорогу шел пешком, и в основном погонял Комбо).
Мы отказались ехать вниз на машине - решили спуститься пешком – оказалось, что это в пределах пешего хода от центра. Спустившись, поели, и потом болтались по городу до самой темноты…
По возвращении в отель опять выпили уже ставшего привычным напитка из листьев колы (местные только его и пьют, а нам он здорово помог аклиматизироваться), и только после этого уже окончательно завалились в номер.
Завтра – последний тур, и предпоследний день в Кузко.
Например, подробности из пещеры K’энгко о мумиях… Время мумифицирования было – 1 неделя. При этом вытаскивались все органы, кроме сердца, И вовнутрь тела закладывались специальные травы, одна из них – мунь’о (на местном языке “кечуа”), имеет похожий на мяту запах. Эту же травку они использовали для хранения провианта, в частности картошки (три года может лежать, как свежая). Мумифицировали только членов королевской семьи, а мумии эти потом, так же, как сейчас католические святые, почитались во время религиозных праздников.
После пещеры мы пошли выбирать лошадей. Саше достался старикан по кличке Комбо, который все время потом срезал дорогу и норовил пойти своим путем, то водички попить, то травки пощипать… Мне дали довольно норовистую кобылу по кличке Сампа. Она не любит, когда другие лошади “нарушают ее личное пространство” – и кусается. Но меня она не кусала, и везла исправно :-). Я сначала сидела и тряслась, как куль, но потом ухватила “фишку”, и даже получила удовольствие от езды, при этом не отбив попу!
Мы опять побывали в крепости Пукапукарра, в Тамбомакай, и на Саксайваман - где мы расстались с нашими лошадками, с гидом, и проводником (местным мальчишкой по имени Йохан, который всю дорогу шел пешком, и в основном погонял Комбо).
Мы отказались ехать вниз на машине - решили спуститься пешком – оказалось, что это в пределах пешего хода от центра. Спустившись, поели, и потом болтались по городу до самой темноты…
По возвращении в отель опять выпили уже ставшего привычным напитка из листьев колы (местные только его и пьют, а нам он здорово помог аклиматизироваться), и только после этого уже окончательно завалились в номер.
Завтра – последний тур, и предпоследний день в Кузко.
Перу. День 9-й. Кузко.
Рано встать не смогли. Выбрались только около 9-ти… Нашли, откуда идет автобус на 
Писаг, и аж за 2,7 солей на нос (по доллару) доехали (примерно час езды) до места. Сразу пошли на рынок. Там можно просто пропасть – ряды, ряды, закоулки… Бродили, пока не затошнило и не зарябило… Для поднятия духа поели местных булок, которые прямо тут же и пекут, потом вдруг очень удачно купили серебрянный браслет (за 20-ку), очень симпатичный, да пару сувениров…
Ну и наконес отправились выполнять вторую часть плана – подъем в гору и осмотр руин и окрестностей. Это было замечательно – виды действительно
захватывающие. Подъем был непростой – довольно круто и долго вверх к руинам. Потом перебрались на другую сторону горы, вышли на дорогу, и сговорились с водилой за 20 солей доехать обратно до Писага. А
оттуда, уже с другим, за 30 – до Кузко. Выходим на Плаза дел Армас (центальная площадь), а там – гремит музыка и толпы народа… Какое-то шествие… Оказывается – католическая церковь празднует "Корпус Кристи"(Тело Христа)… Выносят святых из церкви, несут вокруг площади с “песнями и плясками” – каждого из святых сопровождает группа торжественно и нарядно одетых людей, и несут этих святых дюжины носильщиков. Святые эти вместе с тем на чем они располагаются – весят тонны… Музыка (оркестры) гремит, народ ликует, зеваки (туристы) наблюдают – све счастливы:-).
Батарейки у нас в камерах все сдохли – снимать уже нельзя – идем по главной улице (но уже без оркестра) – надо еще подкепиться и купить тур на послезавтра. Все удачно делаем, даже еще и на рынок заворачиваем (за очередной шапкой)… Завтра – лошади :-)
Писаг, и аж за 2,7 солей на нос (по доллару) доехали (примерно час езды) до места. Сразу пошли на рынок. Там можно просто пропасть – ряды, ряды, закоулки… Бродили, пока не затошнило и не зарябило… Для поднятия духа поели местных булок, которые прямо тут же и пекут, потом вдруг очень удачно купили серебрянный браслет (за 20-ку), очень симпатичный, да пару сувениров…Ну и наконес отправились выполнять вторую часть плана – подъем в гору и осмотр руин и окрестностей. Это было замечательно – виды действительно
захватывающие. Подъем был непростой – довольно круто и долго вверх к руинам. Потом перебрались на другую сторону горы, вышли на дорогу, и сговорились с водилой за 20 солей доехать обратно до Писага. А
оттуда, уже с другим, за 30 – до Кузко. Выходим на Плаза дел Армас (центальная площадь), а там – гремит музыка и толпы народа… Какое-то шествие… Оказывается – католическая церковь празднует "Корпус Кристи"(Тело Христа)… Выносят святых из церкви, несут вокруг площади с “песнями и плясками” – каждого из святых сопровождает группа торжественно и нарядно одетых людей, и несут этих святых дюжины носильщиков. Святые эти вместе с тем на чем они располагаются – весят тонны… Музыка (оркестры) гремит, народ ликует, зеваки (туристы) наблюдают – све счастливы:-).Батарейки у нас в камерах все сдохли – снимать уже нельзя – идем по главной улице (но уже без оркестра) – надо еще подкепиться и купить тур на послезавтра. Все удачно делаем, даже еще и на рынок заворачиваем (за очередной шапкой)… Завтра – лошади :-)
Перу. День 8-й. Кузко.
После вчерашнего спали, как убитые. Поднялись не спеша, сходили на завтрак… Есть время до экскурсии – до 1:40.
Пошли в город. Зашли в п
ару агенств – с целью определиться с планами н
а следующие дни. Купили пока тур на послезавтра – на лошадях, а назавтра запланировали поездку в Писаг – самостоятельно.
В означенное время прибыл автобус, и мы поехали на экскурсию по городу и окрестностям.
Сначала был собор “Базилика Кафедрал”, в котором времени провели хоть и немного, но голова закружилась – уж очень много там всякой всячины…
Пришли испанцы, быстрен’ко обратили всех местных в католическую веру, и те давай храмы строить и расписывать – на свои лад, по своим понятиям… Получилось пышно и богато, и с учетом пожеланий и видения местных устроителей. Например – первый алтарь, который они построили, сделан из камня и щедро покрыт золотом в 22 карат – ну не умели они тогда еще с деревом работать! Но потом, правда, очень быстро и хорошо освоили это дело, переплюнув, как водится, учителей:-). Так же было с росписью и скульптурой. Во все созданное внесли свой местный колорит, как например, получилось с извесной росписью “Тайная вечеря” - на столе у апостолов - апельсины , Гинни Пиг (такой ма-ленький поросеночек)…
Вторая точка – Храм Солнца (“Гориканча”). Грандиозное архитектурное сооружение, и опять-же, соседствуют два стиля, вернее, две эпохи… Инки в 14-м веке построили свой храм, а испанцы потом прихватизировали и что могли – переделали на свой лад. Сначала, конечно, растащили все золото и серебро, которого там было несметное количество (в том чисел сад, в котором все, начиная от скамеек, заканчивая птичками, цветами и листочками, было из золота и серебра), потом, используя то, что осталось от храма инков, как фундамент, построили уже свой, и назвали его “ Конвенто Дел Санто Доминго”. На инкских стенах сделали штукатурку и росписи. Когда было сильнейшее землятресение в 1910-м году, все, кроме стен и фундаментов инкского периода, было разрушено…
Они (инки) так обрабатывали камень, и так возводили конструкции (не имея металлических или каких-либо других инструментов и тягловой силы, то бишь лошадей и прочего), что просто диву даешься.
Дальше, по порядку:
Сагсайваман – ритуальное место и форт. Каждый год 21 июня инки там проводили (а их потомки проводят и сейчас) фестивали Солнца. Инки были превосходными астрономами (не только инженерами и архитекторами). Они, к примеру, уже тогда (14… - 16…-какие-то годы) знали, что Земля имеет форму шара (яйца), и знали точно, где именно на этом шаре они находятся.
K’энгко – пещера, опять же, ритуальная, для жертвоприношений и мумифицирования (технология которого - отдельная тема). Потом – два форта – Пукапукара и Тамбомакай (с водопадиком, где якобы “святая” вода)…
Стемнело, едем обратно. В 7:20 вечера нас забирают на ужин с шоу… Налопались опять без меры, посмотрели местные песни-пляски… С толстыми животами, опять-таки усталые и перенасыщенные впечатлениями, притащились в отель… Завтра опять подъем ранний…
Пошли в город. Зашли в п
ару агенств – с целью определиться с планами н
а следующие дни. Купили пока тур на послезавтра – на лошадях, а назавтра запланировали поездку в Писаг – самостоятельно.В означенное время прибыл автобус, и мы поехали на экскурсию по городу и окрестностям.
Сначала был собор “Базилика Кафедрал”, в котором времени провели хоть и немного, но голова закружилась – уж очень много там всякой всячины…
Пришли испанцы, быстрен’ко обратили всех местных в католическую веру, и те давай храмы строить и расписывать – на свои лад, по своим понятиям… Получилось пышно и богато, и с учетом пожеланий и видения местных устроителей. Например – первый алтарь, который они построили, сделан из камня и щедро покрыт золотом в 22 карат – ну не умели они тогда еще с деревом работать! Но потом, правда, очень быстро и хорошо освоили это дело, переплюнув, как водится, учителей:-). Так же было с росписью и скульптурой. Во все созданное внесли свой местный колорит, как например, получилось с извесной росписью “Тайная вечеря” - на столе у апостолов - апельсины , Гинни Пиг (такой ма-ленький поросеночек)…
Вторая точка – Храм Солнца (“Гориканча”). Грандиозное архитектурное сооружение, и опять-же, соседствуют два стиля, вернее, две эпохи… Инки в 14-м веке построили свой храм, а испанцы потом прихватизировали и что могли – переделали на свой лад. Сначала, конечно, растащили все золото и серебро, которого там было несметное количество (в том чисел сад, в котором все, начиная от скамеек, заканчивая птичками, цветами и листочками, было из золота и серебра), потом, используя то, что осталось от храма инков, как фундамент, построили уже свой, и назвали его “ Конвенто Дел Санто Доминго”. На инкских стенах сделали штукатурку и росписи. Когда было сильнейшее землятресение в 1910-м году, все, кроме стен и фундаментов инкского периода, было разрушено…
Они (инки) так обрабатывали камень, и так возводили конструкции (не имея металлических или каких-либо других инструментов и тягловой силы, то бишь лошадей и прочего), что просто диву даешься.
Дальше, по порядку:
Сагсайваман – ритуальное место и форт. Каждый год 21 июня инки там проводили (а их потомки проводят и сейчас) фестивали Солнца. Инки были превосходными астрономами (не только инженерами и архитекторами). Они, к примеру, уже тогда (14… - 16…-какие-то годы) знали, что Земля имеет форму шара (яйца), и знали точно, где именно на этом шаре они находятся.
K’энгко – пещера, опять же, ритуальная, для жертвоприношений и мумифицирования (технология которого - отдельная тема). Потом – два форта – Пукапукара и Тамбомакай (с водопадиком, где якобы “святая” вода)…
Стемнело, едем обратно. В 7:20 вечера нас забирают на ужин с шоу… Налопались опять без меры, посмотрели местные песни-пляски… С толстыми животами, опять-таки усталые и перенасыщенные впечатлениями, притащились в отель… Завтра опять подъем ранний…
Перу. День 7-й. (Мачу Пикчу-Кузко)
4 утра. Поднимаемся, сдаем на хранение наш большой рюкзак, завтракаем… В 5:15 за нами пришел гид, И мы двинулись на остановку, где уже было человек 30, и за нами начала выстраиваться длиннющая очередь. В 5:30 подали автобусы – в порядке очереди мы попадаем во 2-й. В полной тьме пока еще – трогаемся… Дорога сначала идет вдоль реки, но после моста сразу начинается подъем в гору, все круче и круче по серпантину. Начало светать, и мы уже могли различить кое-что за окнами, а погнявшись насамый верх, увидели зрелище, от которого захватило дух… Дорожка – узенькая-узенькая, а пропасть внизу – глубокая-глубокая… Когда подъехали (дорога заняла примерно полчаса), было уже совсем светло. Где-то в 6:10 начался наш (персональный!) тур. Наш гид, Альберто, молодец – подсказал нам выехать пораньше, чтобы избежать толпы (мы это потом смогли оценить, и остались очень ему признательны). По пока еще тихому (не знаю, как сказать – комплексу, городу инков?) мы начали продвигаться сначала круто вверх, потом немножко боле пологими дорожками, останавливаясь, делая снимки, слушая гида… Кульминационным моментом, конечно же, был восход солнца. Это невозможно передать словами, но… сначала оно осветило дальние заснеженные вершины. Потом мы увидели четко очерченные, как нарисованные, лучи, пробивающие утреннюю дымку. Эти лучи, как живые, двигались на наших глазах в пространстве, меняя угол падения, освещая все больше и больше… Они выходили симметрично из-за вершины, за которой пряталось солнце, и вид этот просто завораживал… И вот, наконец, начало подниматься светящееся облако, а за ним – точно в 7:10 – краешек солнца, и уже через секунды вся долина была залита утренним светом… Ети первые мягкие теплые лучи и великолепие места, где мы находились, произвели просто какое-то магическое воздействие. Пожалуй, можно честно сказать – подобное бывает только раз в жизни…
Наслаждаясь рассветной прохладой, мы двинулись дальше – смотреть, слушать, впитывать, фотографировать… Гид рассказал, я думаю, не так уж много, но услышанное и увиденное было просто потрясающе.
Через пару часов мы попрощались с Альберто, и весь остаток дня уже были предоставлены сами себе. Мы пошли дальше, наверх, по тропе Инков, сначала в одну сторону – к “Инка-Бридж”, потом в другую – к “Сан Гейт", по дороге не уставая восхищаться открывающимися перед нами видами. Потом спустились в
низ, и снова прошли по кругу, сделанному утром…
Итак, в общей сложности, восемь с половиной часов мы провели наверху. Переполненные впечатлениями, уставшие, слегка покусанные москитами – но жутко довольные… Но пора возвращаться вниз.
Садимся в автобус… Снова тот же сумасшедший серпантин… И в 3:00 мы уже на месте. 2 часа до поезда. С чувством глубокого удовлетворения слопали по гамбургеру и выпили местного пива – после такой прогулки это было просто изумительно вкусно!
Сели в поезд – за окнами уже темно. 4 часа болтанки, и мы обратно в Кузко, в том же отеле. Добрались до интернета, отправили “пис’мо(а) на родину(ы)”, и…спат’, спат’, спат’…
Наслаждаясь рассветной прохладой, мы двинулись дальше – смотреть, слушать, впитывать, фотографировать… Гид рассказал, я думаю, не так уж много, но услышанное и увиденное было просто потрясающе.
Через пару часов мы попрощались с Альберто, и весь остаток дня уже были предоставлены сами себе. Мы пошли дальше, наверх, по тропе Инков, сначала в одну сторону – к “Инка-Бридж”, потом в другую – к “Сан Гейт", по дороге не уставая восхищаться открывающимися перед нами видами. Потом спустились в
низ, и снова прошли по кругу, сделанному утром…Итак, в общей сложности, восемь с половиной часов мы провели наверху. Переполненные впечатлениями, уставшие, слегка покусанные москитами – но жутко довольные… Но пора возвращаться вниз.
Садимся в автобус… Снова тот же сумасшедший серпантин… И в 3:00 мы уже на месте. 2 часа до поезда. С чувством глубокого удовлетворения слопали по гамбургеру и выпили местного пива – после такой прогулки это было просто изумительно вкусно!
Сели в поезд – за окнами уже темно. 4 часа болтанки, и мы обратно в Кузко, в том же отеле. Добрались до интернета, отправили “пис’мо(а) на родину(ы)”, и…спат’, спат’, спат’…
Перу. День 6-й. (Кузко- Аквас Калиентес)
6:30 утра. Уже сидим в вагоне поезда. Поезд набит битком – все в Мачу Пикчу хотят. Причем поезд этот – только для туристов, местные же передвигаются отдельно "от людеи" …:-).
Расстояние тут – понятие относительное, но по времени – 4 часа езды. Трогаемся. Объясняет “проводник”, что будем отправляться “оригинально” – поезд начинает кататься туда-обратно раза 4, и уж только после этого окончательно и бесповоротно движется вперед. Виды за окном – просто фантастика. Город и пригород сменились сельскими картинками, а дальше – заснеженные хребты (все те же Анды!), ущелья, переходящие в живописные долины. В Аквас Калиентес приехали в 11. Заселились в “Президенте Хотел” (опят’ же – 2*, а не 3*почему-то, но тоже неплохо :-)). Делать особо нечего – пошли осматриваться… Использовали воучер на ланч (покушали зато, назло "Райнбоу", от всей души, компенсировав недостающую "звезду")… Поболтались вокруг, поснимали, разведали… Дальше – отправились купаться на горячие источники. Высидели аж целый час в вулканической воде, и, жутко собой и белым светом довольные, отправились обратно в отель, по дороге запасшись перекусами на завтра, т.к. предстоит провести весь день на Мачу Пикчу.
Расстояние тут – понятие относительное, но по времени – 4 часа езды. Трогаемся. Объясняет “проводник”, что будем отправляться “оригинально” – поезд начинает кататься туда-обратно раза 4, и уж только после этого окончательно и бесповоротно движется вперед. Виды за окном – просто фантастика. Город и пригород сменились сельскими картинками, а дальше – заснеженные хребты (все те же Анды!), ущелья, переходящие в живописные долины. В Аквас Калиентес приехали в 11. Заселились в “Президенте Хотел” (опят’ же – 2*, а не 3*почему-то, но тоже неплохо :-)). Делать особо нечего – пошли осматриваться… Использовали воучер на ланч (покушали зато, назло "Райнбоу", от всей души, компенсировав недостающую "звезду")… Поболтались вокруг, поснимали, разведали… Дальше – отправились купаться на горячие источники. Высидели аж целый час в вулканической воде, и, жутко собой и белым светом довольные, отправились обратно в отель, по дороге запасшись перекусами на завтра, т.к. предстоит провести весь день на Мачу Пикчу.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Перу - День 5-й. (Пуно-Кузко)
Снова раненько поднялись – в 6:50 отходит автобус… Погрузились, выехали из терминала… И вдруг, минут через 15 (еще в черте города) – стоп! Полиция разных мастей, с автоматами и без, окружает наш автобус с ничего не понимающими туристами… Может, что-то случилось на дороге? Но скоро выясняется, что это наш автобус – причина заварухи. Как нам потом разъяснили, у него не было лицензии на перевозки, и им надо было именно таким образом его “уличить”, то бишь, взять с поличным. Что было с этим автобусом – мы не знаем, а нас самих примерно через час пересадили в другой, и дальше уже все пошло по расписанию. Впереди – 9 часов пути с несколькими остановками в исторических местах. Первая – Пука Пукарра. Там нас ускоренными темпами провели по археологическому музею. А рядом была церковь, построенная испанскими колонизаторами из камней, бывших когда-то ритуальным храмом этих самых пукарра (такой народ там жил). Подъезжая к этому месту, мы видели остатки огромных террас, которые когда-то являли собой пирамиду, а наверху ее как раз и был тогда ритуальный храм, разграбленный впоследствии колонизаторами.
Познания из музея: по одной из версий, предки инков и пукарра каким-то образом прибыли в Латинскую Америку через Австралию из Монголии – древнейшие изображения и скульптуры якобы говорят об этом…
Дальше, примерно через час – короткая остановка – на “вью пойнт”. Высота етой точки – 4335м. – самая высокая на этой трассе, “Ла Райя”. Отсюда открываются замечательные виды горных хребтов Анд (или Кардильер - кому как нравится) – в снегах и туманах. Ну и базар – как же без него? Местный народ стекается сюда со своими поделками, в основном все из шерсти и шкур альпак и лам, ну и украшения (системы"фенечка" - наши дети когда-то етим сильно увлекались, только плели из бисера и цветных ниток).
Дальше дорога петляет , повторяя и кое-где пересекая русло реки. Ландшафт меняется, появляются земледельческие фермы, поля, эвкалиптовые рощи, пастбища и животные на них – стадами и поодиночке. Альпаки, овцы, коровы, ослы…поросята.
Еще через какое-то количество часов приезжаем на ланч… Какая-то деревня (названия не запомнила)… Нас завозят в какой-то двор, где уже ждет буфетный ланч. В туалете – ни воды, ни бумаги, пардон… (но у нас с собой было :-)). По-быстрому едим (и даже вкусно)
фоткаемся с альпаками, и двигаем дальше – на развалины древнего храма “Бога Богов”, которые осматриваем тоже в темпе (из-за утренней истории с автобусом и некоторыми "тормозными" туристами). Гид просит не разбегаться, иначе не успеем в последнюю по плану точку… Про храм же скажу, что построен был на широкую ногу, “с чувством, с толком…”. 3 м от земли – камень (который почти везде сохранился), дальше – обожженный кирпич из местной глины; стены, колонны, трапециевидные окна, двери, складские помещения круглой формы – все очень даже впечатляет… Умели же люди! Но потом пришли испанцы, и все пожгли и порушили. А что не сгорело – досталось нам посмотреть… Ну и, как водится – тут же неподалеку стоит католическая церквушка – в относительно добром здравии.
Ну вот… Дальше…
Последняя остановка. Католическая церковь. Старая, огромная, и жутко напичканная всякими богатствами. Опять же, из уже известных нам строительных материалов… Немыслимое количество и сочетание фресок, росписей, скульптур – всего, что обычно бывает в церквях, только раза в три больше :-). И золото… Огромные поверхности покрыты 24-х – каратным золотом… Гид много и со знанием дела объяснял про все это, но я уже воспринимала окружающую действительность в легком тумане…
В итоге день получился очень насыщенным, приехали мы в Кузко в 6, a пока заселились в отель (САМАЫ), было уже примерно 7… оказалось, что наш предстоящий график немного изменен, и назавтра надо снова рано в дорогу. Поэтому – немного прогулялись с целью ужина, и – отдыхать…
Познания из музея: по одной из версий, предки инков и пукарра каким-то образом прибыли в Латинскую Америку через Австралию из Монголии – древнейшие изображения и скульптуры якобы говорят об этом…
Дальше, примерно через час – короткая остановка – на “вью пойнт”. Высота етой точки – 4335м. – самая высокая на этой трассе, “Ла Райя”. Отсюда открываются замечательные виды горных хребтов Анд (или Кардильер - кому как нравится) – в снегах и туманах. Ну и базар – как же без него? Местный народ стекается сюда со своими поделками, в основном все из шерсти и шкур альпак и лам, ну и украшения (системы"фенечка" - наши дети когда-то етим сильно увлекались, только плели из бисера и цветных ниток).
Дальше дорога петляет , повторяя и кое-где пересекая русло реки. Ландшафт меняется, появляются земледельческие фермы, поля, эвкалиптовые рощи, пастбища и животные на них – стадами и поодиночке. Альпаки, овцы, коровы, ослы…поросята.
Еще через какое-то количество часов приезжаем на ланч… Какая-то деревня (названия не запомнила)… Нас завозят в какой-то двор, где уже ждет буфетный ланч. В туалете – ни воды, ни бумаги, пардон… (но у нас с собой было :-)). По-быстрому едим (и даже вкусно)
фоткаемся с альпаками, и двигаем дальше – на развалины древнего храма “Бога Богов”, которые осматриваем тоже в темпе (из-за утренней истории с автобусом и некоторыми "тормозными" туристами). Гид просит не разбегаться, иначе не успеем в последнюю по плану точку… Про храм же скажу, что построен был на широкую ногу, “с чувством, с толком…”. 3 м от земли – камень (который почти везде сохранился), дальше – обожженный кирпич из местной глины; стены, колонны, трапециевидные окна, двери, складские помещения круглой формы – все очень даже впечатляет… Умели же люди! Но потом пришли испанцы, и все пожгли и порушили. А что не сгорело – досталось нам посмотреть… Ну и, как водится – тут же неподалеку стоит католическая церквушка – в относительно добром здравии.Ну вот… Дальше…
Последняя остановка. Католическая церковь. Старая, огромная, и жутко напичканная всякими богатствами. Опять же, из уже известных нам строительных материалов… Немыслимое количество и сочетание фресок, росписей, скульптур – всего, что обычно бывает в церквях, только раза в три больше :-). И золото… Огромные поверхности покрыты 24-х – каратным золотом… Гид много и со знанием дела объяснял про все это, но я уже воспринимала окружающую действительность в легком тумане…
В итоге день получился очень насыщенным, приехали мы в Кузко в 6, a пока заселились в отель (САМАЫ), было уже примерно 7… оказалось, что наш предстоящий график немного изменен, и назавтра надо снова рано в дорогу. Поэтому – немного прогулялись с целью ужина, и – отдыхать…
Перу. День 4-й.
Подъем в 6:00, завтрак, выезд в 6:45. Едем на весь день на Титикаку , с заездом на два острова. Первый – Урос, в получасе хода на катере – плавучий. Народ там живет так же, как и в прошлые века… Шалаши-камыши, рыба-птица (едят-охотятся). Четко знают свое дело в отношении туристов – охотно (за типсы) демонстрируют свою утварь, лодки (произведения искусства) – плетеные из тростника… Даже спели нам “отходную” песенку :-). Этих плавучих островов – 56, все разного “возраста”, самые старые – около 70 лет. Мы были на 6-летнем. Живут небольшими группами, по несколько семей. Дети ездят в школу в Пуно (на лодках).
Титикака- огромнейшее озеро, в него впадает 27 рек, граничит с Боливией и Уругваем, длина – 165, ширина -60 км. Высота над уровнем моря – почти 4000м. Впечатляет!!!
Второй остров – Такуилес. До него пилим два часа (все на том же “легком катере” – с ветерком). Организм еще не адаптировался к высоте, и поэтому немного болит голова... и мутит. Пока едем – глазеем по сторонам, кимарим, снимаем… Попа площеет:-)…
Такуилес – совсем другого плана остров. Довольно крупный. Живет здесь всего около 1000 человек. Говорят на каком-то собственном наречии. Живут коммуной, при этом утверждают, что все счастливы. Основные деньги, похоже, получают от туризма и торговли рукоделием. С каждого туриста за “посмотреть”(это кроме еды в их ресторане) берут по 5 их же тугликов… Что еще… Пашут, сеют, вяжут… Причем вяжут все – от мала до велика. Одежда… Женатые-неженатые отличаются друг от друга цветом и формой шапочек (мужчины) и помпонов (женщины). (Саша хотел даже купить помпончик для меня – но не знал, какой именно, а перепутать побоялся:-))
Местные жители выращивают много чего (бобы, кукуруза, пшеница и пр.), и для с/х угодий устраивают террасы (без них – никак невозможно). Мы долго, пыхтя, поднимались вверх по тропе, любуясь видами и местными “достопримечательностями”. В то время как "местные" перли в гору как будто шли по ровной плоскости - совершенно естественно...Потом был ланч из супа и свежевыловленной форели (ну а кто против рыбы – тому омлет!) Все свежее и вкусное (удобства опускаю).
После ланча – опять-таки довольно долгий и крутой спуск к пристани на другой стороне острова. Некоторым было очень тяжко. Ну и все – снова катер, и снова два часа по озеру обратно в Пуно.
Вернулись уже в сумерках, осталось только поесть и завалиться спать, что мы и сделали с превеликим удовольствием.
Титикака- огромнейшее озеро, в него впадает 27 рек, граничит с Боливией и Уругваем, длина – 165, ширина -60 км. Высота над уровнем моря – почти 4000м. Впечатляет!!!
Второй остров – Такуилес. До него пилим два часа (все на том же “легком катере” – с ветерком). Организм еще не адаптировался к высоте, и поэтому немного болит голова... и мутит. Пока едем – глазеем по сторонам, кимарим, снимаем… Попа площеет:-)…
Такуилес – совсем другого плана остров. Довольно крупный. Живет здесь всего около 1000 человек. Говорят на каком-то собственном наречии. Живут коммуной, при этом утверждают, что все счастливы. Основные деньги, похоже, получают от туризма и торговли рукоделием. С каждого туриста за “посмотреть”(это кроме еды в их ресторане) берут по 5 их же тугликов… Что еще… Пашут, сеют, вяжут… Причем вяжут все – от мала до велика. Одежда… Женатые-неженатые отличаются друг от друга цветом и формой шапочек (мужчины) и помпонов (женщины). (Саша хотел даже купить помпончик для меня – но не знал, какой именно, а перепутать побоялся:-))
Местные жители выращивают много чего (бобы, кукуруза, пшеница и пр.), и для с/х угодий устраивают террасы (без них – никак невозможно). Мы долго, пыхтя, поднимались вверх по тропе, любуясь видами и местными “достопримечательностями”. В то время как "местные" перли в гору как будто шли по ровной плоскости - совершенно естественно...Потом был ланч из супа и свежевыловленной форели (ну а кто против рыбы – тому омлет!) Все свежее и вкусное (удобства опускаю).
После ланча – опять-таки довольно долгий и крутой спуск к пристани на другой стороне острова. Некоторым было очень тяжко. Ну и все – снова катер, и снова два часа по озеру обратно в Пуно.
Вернулись уже в сумерках, осталось только поесть и завалиться спать, что мы и сделали с превеликим удовольствием.
Перу. День 3-й.
С утра пораньше, позавтракав в отеле, выскочили в город – с целью. Оказалось, что вчера вечером мы забыли в ресторане конверт с купленными для отправки в Россию открытками и марками. Повезло – никто не утащил, и не выбросили:-). Заодно еще раз прошлись чуток по улицам Лимы. Транспорт подали вовремя, и мы выехали в а/порт (я еще успела подписать и отправить открытки).
До полета полно времени. Поболтались, выпили уже знакомого по Коста Рике кофе “Брит”, и, с небольшой технической заминкой, вылетели (чилийской компанией ЛАН). Час лету до Кузко, и 40 минут до Хулиаки. Нас опять же встретили представители Райнбоу, и с нами оказалас’ пара из Флориды, кот.раньше жили в Пуерто Рико – Вилли и Нора.
Хулиака – большой базар, много заброшенных домов, народ съезжается сюда из всех волостей, и торгует всем подряд – трудно перечислить… Впечатление неописуемое… Мы проскакиваем транзитом, не останавливаясь (потому как незапланировано у них там туристов водить), на ходу пытаясь заснять хоть что-то… Едем в Пуно, который является довольно крупным райцентром на берегу оз.Титикака. Дело к вечеру – вышли, огляделись, поели… Самочувствие из-за перепада высот – не из лучших… Но будем адаптироваться - куда ж мы денемся:-)
Перу. 20 мая - 1июня 2008.
Летим в ПЕРУ!!!
Бесконечные “срочные” дела наконец-то закончены (веранда покрашена, С.К. у нас, чемоданы уложены, счета оплачены)… Рома “просек схему"… И переключил свое внимание и любовь обратно на С.К.
Можно ехать!
Саша скоротал ночь у компьютера, Надя же поспала три часика…
5 утра: такси – аэропорт. Вылет в 7:10 (ДЛ-1098). Саша кимарит. Скоро посадка – народ прибывает.
3 часа лету до Атланты, 4 часа там в аэропорту; 6 часов – перелет Атланта-Лима.
Проходим необходимые процедуры, долго и нудно ждем свой багаж, потом тур-агента, потом машину…
По дороге из а/порта видим скопление народа и полиции. Нам объясняют, что это историческое событие – готовятся ломать (сносить) когда-то незаконно возведенные блок-посты между двумя районами города (для сбора денег за вьезд в р-н аэропорта).
Время – полночь. Приезжаем в свой отель, а нам говорят – мест нет! Везут в другой – оказывается – 2* вместо 3*…С утра редстоят разборки. Саша отстучал гневный е-майл в их американское представительство, где мы купили тур. Первое впечатление от Лимы – удручающее.
День 1-й, плавно перешедший во 2-й…
Бесконечные “срочные” дела наконец-то закончены (веранда покрашена, С.К. у нас, чемоданы уложены, счета оплачены)… Рома “просек схему"… И переключил свое внимание и любовь обратно на С.К.
Можно ехать!
Саша скоротал ночь у компьютера, Надя же поспала три часика…
5 утра: такси – аэропорт. Вылет в 7:10 (ДЛ-1098). Саша кимарит. Скоро посадка – народ прибывает.
3 часа лету до Атланты, 4 часа там в аэропорту; 6 часов – перелет Атланта-Лима.
Проходим необходимые процедуры, долго и нудно ждем свой багаж, потом тур-агента, потом машину…
По дороге из а/порта видим скопление народа и полиции. Нам объясняют, что это историческое событие – готовятся ломать (сносить) когда-то незаконно возведенные блок-посты между двумя районами города (для сбора денег за вьезд в р-н аэропорта).
Время – полночь. Приезжаем в свой отель, а нам говорят – мест нет! Везут в другой – оказывается – 2* вместо 3*…С утра редстоят разборки. Саша отстучал гневный е-майл в их американское представительство, где мы купили тур. Первое впечатление от Лимы – удручающее.
День 1-й, плавно перешедший во 2-й…
Разборки с тур-компанией продолжились, и в итоге часам к 10 мы, аж дважды позавтракав (ето они нас так с перепугу обхаживать стали:-), оказались в 4* “Эксклюзив Сан Агустин” вместо простого “Сан Агустин” :-) Получили в качестве извинения “велком дринк” – Писко соур, который на вкус оказался очень даже ничего:-), скоренько собрались, и отправились осматривать Лиму. Как за полдня осмотреть 8-ми миллионный город?
Покрутились в р-не отеля… (тут в центральном парке – Артюс Бертран – все с той же выставкой, которую я уже видела в Самаре и Москве), и поехали на такси (12 сол.=5 долл.) в центр. Болтались по улицам, но большую часть времени провели в Конвент Санта Доминго (монастырь+церковь) и на площади Плаза де Армос. Наснимали кучу картинок.
Стало холодно – смеркалось… :-)
Обратно такси (вождение тут – отдельная тема, не для слабонервных). Поужинали в ресторане "Гаити", аж за 70 сол. На двоих – ето примерно $ 25 (курс - $1=2.77сол).
Завтра в 9:50 нас должны (!) забрать в а/порт, и путешествие продолжится на местных а/линиях. Очень надеемся, что больше путаницы не будет, И “Рейнбоу-Радуга” оставит о себе приятное впечатление.
Monday, July 13, 2009
A Letter from the Past
I don’t like to store any unnecessary papers--like 20-year-old postcards, paid bills, manuals for toasters, etc. But I keep several things that are really important, and maybe even sacred, to me. One of them is my father’s letter--the only one that has survived from the past, after our family’s many moves from one place to another.
In the late 70s, we found the letter in a pile of old junk when we were cleaning our attic. The paper it is written on is old, crumpled and yellow; part of the letter is lost. The handwriting is very clear, and the grammar is perfect. My dad wrote this letter to his parents, my grandparents, informing them about my birth and other family news. He writes, “The child is beautiful, but she doesn’t sleep well. It is almost midnight now, but we can’t calm her down.” And later, “Valia and I decided to name her Nadia, even though the girls wanted to give her a different name.” He sounds a little bit tired and overwhelmed. As fate had it, I didn’t get to know my father, personally. All I know about him I learned over many years from many second-hand sources.
My parents met in Moscow at the end of 1953. They got married soon afterwards, in a very simple civil procedure. The country was still in ruins after World War II, there were shortages of housing and food, and life was very hard. For a short while, my parents lived in a dormitory, sharing one room with a few others. My mom told me, that they occupied a corner of the room, separated from their roommates by a curtain divider, where they had a simple metal-frame bed and a couple of plywood suitcases with all their belongings. My father was just out of the army,
and my mom worked in construction. They earned very little money, didn’t have much education, and had few prospects in Moscow. They were just like millions of ordinary Russians at that time. So when the Soviet government announced a new large-scale project “Tselina” (Development of Virgin Lands) and asked for volunteers to move to North Kazakhstan, promising them a new better life in exchange for their hard work, my parents, along with thousands of others, jumped on it.
When they arrived at their destination they found nothing but vast steppes and harsh weather. The first year, my parents lived in a cold cattle car. In the winter, my dad would find his mustache frozen in the morning. Every day was filled with hard work. The main purpose of their small community was to produce grain, but their first task was just to survive. Some people died during the first winter, many left, but those who remained just kept working. Most of them, like my parents, were young, hardy, and believed in themselves and their happy future.
My father was an irreplaceable worker: a blacksmith and a handyman, who could work and fix any agricultural machinery. Alex, my dad’s old friend, said: “People loved Ilia because of his easy-going personality, sense of humor, and willingness to help others. They nicknamed him batya (wise father in Russian) despite his young age.” My dad also enjoyed reading, watching movies and playing guitar. He was a good husband and father. My mom and two my older sisters loved him dearly.
He was 35 when I was born, and a year later he passed away. At that time I was too little to understand what happened. Growing up without knowing my father, without any memories of him, I didn’t even know what it meant to have a father. But pretty soon I started noticing that all my friends had fathers who cared for them. I began to realize that I was missing something. Then I started asking my mom and sisters about our father--did we even have one? They explained to me that our dad died from cancer, but at that age I just couldn’t comprehend it. So I just began to collect any information I could find about my dad. I liked to hear all those stories from the past. My sisters recalled that dad really enjoyed playing with them, reading books for them and tickling them until they burst in laughter. I explored our family albums and analyzed everything – appearances, poses, smiles, clothes and hairstyles. Basically, I tried to create my father’s image in my mind.
Many years later, when we found a piece of his letter, my first thought was that it was just like my dad’s life: short and unfinished. Then I thought my job was now complete: the last piece of the puzzle was found. There were only a few legible sentences in the letter, but they made an incredible impact on me. It was like talking with my dad, seeing his kind smile, and hearing his calm and soft voice.
Since then I’ve always kept my dad in my heart. When I feel like I’ve achieved something, I wonder if he would be proud of me. I tell him how my life is going, I ask him for advice in difficult situations, and somehow he always helps me.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Going Metric...The Sooner, the Better.
Written: April 29, 2009
While the 95 percent of the world has converted to the metric system, the United States stuck with inches, feet, ounces, pounds, Fahrenheit, etc. Only two more countries accompany us in this resistance against adopting the International System of Units (SI): Liberia and Myanmar (Elliott-Gower par.1). After more than 200 years, we are still “on the other side”. We need to fix it ASAP.
The very first opportunity to go metric was missed in the early 1800s, when “President Thomas Jefferson, an amateur scientist and mathematician, recognized the merits of metric, and there was a lot of pro-French, anti-British sentiment in the country” (par.4). Then, in nineteen century, the US government authorized the official use of metric measures, alongside British measures in 1866 and signed the Treaty of the Meter in 1875. After that, almost one hundred years nothing had happened, and only in 1968 the government authorized a three-year study on the feasibility of adopting the metric system, resulting in the 1971 blockbuster "A Metric America: A Decision Whose Time Has Come". Then, in 1975, the United States passed the Metric Conversion Act, which established the U.S. Metric Board (disestablished in 1982) and asked the private sector to make progress toward the metric system (amended in 1988 when the private sector said no thanks). And finally in 1991 the US required all government agencies to file an annual report on their efforts to go metric. It is 2009 now, and there hasn't been much activity in that area since last century (par.6).The metric conversion problem is a binary one, i.e. while we had some progress, the US as a whole is still not on the metric system. So what are the reasons that we have such a slow progress, and why people don’t support metrification widely?
It is very hard to break traditions. Of course, traditions are very important, but what kind of traditions? For example, such great civilization as Incas did not invent a wheel, so they had to drag their huge stones from quarries to construction sites in the most inefficient way. On other hand, once upon a time, we accepted water heaters, soap, and toilet paper, and have come to even enjoy them! (Kaye). So a distinction must be made between traditions and simple inertia. Some people just do not want to change anything if they can not see any benefits. Yes, maybe there are not such visible advantages in using metric system as in Kaye’s examples with toilet paper and hot water, but if one tries a little bit, one will see many benefits.
Metrification is a way to improve math scores and, as a result, be competitive in sciences and have a workforce that is ready “to speak the right language” in the global marketplace. Richard Slettvet, a special education teacher in Edmonds School District, says: “Why do American 15-year-olds rank 15th among nations in math? (http://www.edin08.com/). It’s not because they (or their teachers) are less intelligent than their international peers, but because Americans tend to associate gallons and miles with apple pie and motherhood, and hence are loathe to let go. Customary measurement and its partner in crime, mathematical operations using fractions, are like twin 10-pound handicaps hung from the necks of American students.” American elementary school students must learn both customary and metric length, weight and volume, unlike European students, who need to learn only metric measurements and therefore learn them better (Slettvet par.4).
The metric system is simple, logical and coherent. Some people probably think that it is difficult to learn SI. But this is just wrong. Indeed, math in metrics is much easier. Like pennies to dimes to dollars, all metric units are based on the power of 10. If we build a cube with a side length of 1 millimeter, it will hold a volume of 1 cubic milliliter of water, and that water will weight 1 gram. “Child’s play!” (par.6).
Another very important advantage of the metric system is that it avoids confusing dual-use of terms, such as the inch-pound system’s use of ounces to measure both weight and volume. The metric system is also simpler than the inch-pound one because it uses a single unit to measure the same quantity. For example, volume in SI is measured in single cubic units, while in the English system it is measured in teaspoons, fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons.
Understandably, for someone taught in the English system, switching to the metric system involves some necessary initial work, but like the learning to ride a bicycle, it becomes natural after some practice. “And never again dreaded word problems like this one involving mixed numbers and fraction division: “Maria has 6 ½ cups of flour. How many batches of cookies can she bake if each bath requires 1 ¾ cups?” (par.4).
Well, some people may say that going metric is not the most pressing issue in the US now, that there are other more compelling national priorities like dealing with illegal immigrants, terrorism, global warming, economic crisis, etc. All true, but if one follows this logic, there will never be a good time to convert to the metric system.
Definitely, the conversion to the SI will cost a lot of money, but “Once we go metric, we will even make sure that all our spacecraft reach Mars, and even galaxies that are light-years from us, because once and for all we will prevent the likes of the horrible embarrassment that NASA suffered in 1999: One group on a project measured distances in feet and miles; the other used meters and kilometers. The result: a $125 million Mars orbiter went AWOL in outer space. Metrification would eliminate such costly mistakes, and space travel would become affordable”. (Kh par.6). In today’s global economy being “exceptional” costs us too much.
Granted, some progress towards conversion to SI was made in this country. Many US businesses, especially exporters, already started using the metric system, and they recognize disadvantages of the continuous duality in measurements very well. Many industries convert to SI as they develop new products and as their old equipment wears out which allows them to minimize the conversion expenses and become more competitive internationally. At the same time, US consumers may be surprised at the number of items in everyday life that have been produced in SI. People routinely buy 1- and 2-liter soda bottles, take vitamins and medicines measured in milligrams, sip 750-milliliter bottles of wine, stare at computer screens measured in centimeters, use photographic lenses measured in millimeters, drive cars with KPH/MPH speedometers and so on…(Elliott-Gower par.7).
The metric measurements have already penetrated peoples’ lives, but Americans are still dependent on the two systems of measurements. This situation is inefficient and confusing. A short-term, nation-wide investment in metric conversion would eliminate the costs of using two measurement systems and provide long-term return on an efficient single-system metric economy. “There just hasn’t been the political will to embrace metrification. It’s not the sort of thing that inspires Homeric rhetoric. Moreover, like raising taxes, it may just seem un-American and, well, too dang foreign” (par.8). But times have changed, and the US no longer overwhelmingly dominates world trade. “America can survive and even prosper without the metric system, but not without the rest of the world” (par.9). Since trade and communication with other nations became critical to the health of the US economy, official adoption of the International System of Units is no longer a choice, but a necessity for the United States, and the sooner, the better.
While the 95 percent of the world has converted to the metric system, the United States stuck with inches, feet, ounces, pounds, Fahrenheit, etc. Only two more countries accompany us in this resistance against adopting the International System of Units (SI): Liberia and Myanmar (Elliott-Gower par.1). After more than 200 years, we are still “on the other side”. We need to fix it ASAP.
The very first opportunity to go metric was missed in the early 1800s, when “President Thomas Jefferson, an amateur scientist and mathematician, recognized the merits of metric, and there was a lot of pro-French, anti-British sentiment in the country” (par.4). Then, in nineteen century, the US government authorized the official use of metric measures, alongside British measures in 1866 and signed the Treaty of the Meter in 1875. After that, almost one hundred years nothing had happened, and only in 1968 the government authorized a three-year study on the feasibility of adopting the metric system, resulting in the 1971 blockbuster "A Metric America: A Decision Whose Time Has Come". Then, in 1975, the United States passed the Metric Conversion Act, which established the U.S. Metric Board (disestablished in 1982) and asked the private sector to make progress toward the metric system (amended in 1988 when the private sector said no thanks). And finally in 1991 the US required all government agencies to file an annual report on their efforts to go metric. It is 2009 now, and there hasn't been much activity in that area since last century (par.6).The metric conversion problem is a binary one, i.e. while we had some progress, the US as a whole is still not on the metric system. So what are the reasons that we have such a slow progress, and why people don’t support metrification widely?
It is very hard to break traditions. Of course, traditions are very important, but what kind of traditions? For example, such great civilization as Incas did not invent a wheel, so they had to drag their huge stones from quarries to construction sites in the most inefficient way. On other hand, once upon a time, we accepted water heaters, soap, and toilet paper, and have come to even enjoy them! (Kaye). So a distinction must be made between traditions and simple inertia. Some people just do not want to change anything if they can not see any benefits. Yes, maybe there are not such visible advantages in using metric system as in Kaye’s examples with toilet paper and hot water, but if one tries a little bit, one will see many benefits.
Metrification is a way to improve math scores and, as a result, be competitive in sciences and have a workforce that is ready “to speak the right language” in the global marketplace. Richard Slettvet, a special education teacher in Edmonds School District, says: “Why do American 15-year-olds rank 15th among nations in math? (http://www.edin08.com/). It’s not because they (or their teachers) are less intelligent than their international peers, but because Americans tend to associate gallons and miles with apple pie and motherhood, and hence are loathe to let go. Customary measurement and its partner in crime, mathematical operations using fractions, are like twin 10-pound handicaps hung from the necks of American students.” American elementary school students must learn both customary and metric length, weight and volume, unlike European students, who need to learn only metric measurements and therefore learn them better (Slettvet par.4).
The metric system is simple, logical and coherent. Some people probably think that it is difficult to learn SI. But this is just wrong. Indeed, math in metrics is much easier. Like pennies to dimes to dollars, all metric units are based on the power of 10. If we build a cube with a side length of 1 millimeter, it will hold a volume of 1 cubic milliliter of water, and that water will weight 1 gram. “Child’s play!” (par.6).
Another very important advantage of the metric system is that it avoids confusing dual-use of terms, such as the inch-pound system’s use of ounces to measure both weight and volume. The metric system is also simpler than the inch-pound one because it uses a single unit to measure the same quantity. For example, volume in SI is measured in single cubic units, while in the English system it is measured in teaspoons, fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons.
Understandably, for someone taught in the English system, switching to the metric system involves some necessary initial work, but like the learning to ride a bicycle, it becomes natural after some practice. “And never again dreaded word problems like this one involving mixed numbers and fraction division: “Maria has 6 ½ cups of flour. How many batches of cookies can she bake if each bath requires 1 ¾ cups?” (par.4).
Well, some people may say that going metric is not the most pressing issue in the US now, that there are other more compelling national priorities like dealing with illegal immigrants, terrorism, global warming, economic crisis, etc. All true, but if one follows this logic, there will never be a good time to convert to the metric system.
Definitely, the conversion to the SI will cost a lot of money, but “Once we go metric, we will even make sure that all our spacecraft reach Mars, and even galaxies that are light-years from us, because once and for all we will prevent the likes of the horrible embarrassment that NASA suffered in 1999: One group on a project measured distances in feet and miles; the other used meters and kilometers. The result: a $125 million Mars orbiter went AWOL in outer space. Metrification would eliminate such costly mistakes, and space travel would become affordable”. (Kh par.6). In today’s global economy being “exceptional” costs us too much.
Granted, some progress towards conversion to SI was made in this country. Many US businesses, especially exporters, already started using the metric system, and they recognize disadvantages of the continuous duality in measurements very well. Many industries convert to SI as they develop new products and as their old equipment wears out which allows them to minimize the conversion expenses and become more competitive internationally. At the same time, US consumers may be surprised at the number of items in everyday life that have been produced in SI. People routinely buy 1- and 2-liter soda bottles, take vitamins and medicines measured in milligrams, sip 750-milliliter bottles of wine, stare at computer screens measured in centimeters, use photographic lenses measured in millimeters, drive cars with KPH/MPH speedometers and so on…(Elliott-Gower par.7).
The metric measurements have already penetrated peoples’ lives, but Americans are still dependent on the two systems of measurements. This situation is inefficient and confusing. A short-term, nation-wide investment in metric conversion would eliminate the costs of using two measurement systems and provide long-term return on an efficient single-system metric economy. “There just hasn’t been the political will to embrace metrification. It’s not the sort of thing that inspires Homeric rhetoric. Moreover, like raising taxes, it may just seem un-American and, well, too dang foreign” (par.8). But times have changed, and the US no longer overwhelmingly dominates world trade. “America can survive and even prosper without the metric system, but not without the rest of the world” (par.9). Since trade and communication with other nations became critical to the health of the US economy, official adoption of the International System of Units is no longer a choice, but a necessity for the United States, and the sooner, the better.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Iz serii "Mysli po povodu" (raznyh statei)
Entry #1
Author: Rebecca Pasok
Title: To Drill or Not to Drill.
Publication: The College Writer.
Summary.
It is not easy to answer question to drill or not to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Some environmental experts support arguments against drilling some of them tell that drilling will not hurt people and wild animals. At the same time there is the considerable disagreement about the accessible amount of the ANWR oil. But, in any case those supplies would be not enough to ease our dependence on Middle Eastern countries for oil.
Therefore, the right question we really should ask is how to provide energy for everyone, now and in the future. Many people believe that the best option for Americans is to develop new technologies. Also, very important part of the problem is reducing our dependency on fossil fuels themselves.
Developing energy-saving technologies and choosing lifestyle oriented to conserve energy will help people to save environment both now and in the future.
It is not easy to answer question to drill or not to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Some environmental experts support arguments against drilling some of them tell that drilling will not hurt people and wild animals. At the same time there is the considerable disagreement about the accessible amount of the ANWR oil. But, in any case those supplies would be not enough to ease our dependence on Middle Eastern countries for oil.
Therefore, the right question we really should ask is how to provide energy for everyone, now and in the future. Many people believe that the best option for Americans is to develop new technologies. Also, very important part of the problem is reducing our dependency on fossil fuels themselves.
Developing energy-saving technologies and choosing lifestyle oriented to conserve energy will help people to save environment both now and in the future.
Response.
Even if we drill in ANWR, that would give us little in terms of energy independence. Therefore, in author’s opinion, our main efforts should be directed towards development of new energy-producing technologies and a systemic approach to energy-saving lifestyle. While
development of new technologies is best left to professionals, the question is what can each of us
do in our lives to decrease our personal energy consumption.
For example, in our family, we set the thermostat in our house a bit higher in the summer and a bit lower in the winter so that our hitter/air-conditioner unit is not running when unnecessary. We also winterized our doors and windows. We keep an eye on our interior lights – we turn them off when we don’t need them. We use washer and dryer only with full load. In summer, we turn on our sprinklers late at night. We paved the strip of land in front of our house with stones so that we use less water. In our family we have a single fairly fuel-efficient car which one of us drives while the other uses public transportation to get to work.
In short, we strive to minimize our personal consumption of energy and other natural resources. But there are limits as to how far we can go in that. We still have to do our shopping, and many stores are not very close to us so we have to drive there and so on. Still, given the magnitude of the problem, we ask ourselves if we can do more…
Shkol'nye sochineniya...
Expanding My Personal Freedom.
Immigrating to the United States from Russia marked a huge change in my life: new country, new culture… lots of things to learn! And one of my first most important tasks turned out to be getting a driver license. I quickly learned that a driver license is more than just a legal permit to drive a car. It is also a personal ID and a big part of one’s personal freedom.
One may not legally drive a car in the US without a state-issued driver license. I had my Russian driver license but by Utah law it was valid only for few months. In order to get a Utah drivers license, I had to pass two tests: one written and one road. Some of the road rules were new to me, for example, right turn on red light, and a special lane in the middle of a road for left turns. So, I got a copy of Utah Driver Handbook and started reading it with a dictionary.
Also, I realized that I could not do basic things in everyday life without a driver license. In stores, I could not pay by check without it. At doctor’s office, the receptionist would ask me for my insurance card and driver license. Even at a liquor store, I was asked to show my drivers license. I was not used to it because in Russia it is not the main personal ID. Russians have a domestic passport for that.
But there was yet another important reason for getting my driver license. Without it, I was confined to my house and the immediate neighborhood. It was a strange feeling for me, because in Russia I could get just about anywhere by public transportation, that is how most Russians
live. Here in Salt Lake City, I learned that public transportation was not always convenient or even available to get to certain places so I became dependent on my husband and friends to drive me around. This dependency made me feel restricted and awkward. One morning I had to be at the Immigration Services office on the other end of town. Normally, somebody would give me a ride, but it so happened that everybody was very busy that morning. My husband had an important business meeting, and our friends could not help me either. But I really had to be there so my husband ended up driving me to the appointment, and then rushing back to his meeting. It was a bit tense, but we both made it.
I remember very well the day I passed my final test and got my driver license. I felt a sense of real accomplishment and even joy. I made an important step towards establishing myself in the new life and getting my personal freedom back. That was two years ago, and in retrospect it seems like it was an easy step. Well, I hope in not too distant future I’ll look back at my current English language studies and think that was also easy.
Immigrating to the United States from Russia marked a huge change in my life: new country, new culture… lots of things to learn! And one of my first most important tasks turned out to be getting a driver license. I quickly learned that a driver license is more than just a legal permit to drive a car. It is also a personal ID and a big part of one’s personal freedom.
One may not legally drive a car in the US without a state-issued driver license. I had my Russian driver license but by Utah law it was valid only for few months. In order to get a Utah drivers license, I had to pass two tests: one written and one road. Some of the road rules were new to me, for example, right turn on red light, and a special lane in the middle of a road for left turns. So, I got a copy of Utah Driver Handbook and started reading it with a dictionary.
Also, I realized that I could not do basic things in everyday life without a driver license. In stores, I could not pay by check without it. At doctor’s office, the receptionist would ask me for my insurance card and driver license. Even at a liquor store, I was asked to show my drivers license. I was not used to it because in Russia it is not the main personal ID. Russians have a domestic passport for that.
But there was yet another important reason for getting my driver license. Without it, I was confined to my house and the immediate neighborhood. It was a strange feeling for me, because in Russia I could get just about anywhere by public transportation, that is how most Russians
live. Here in Salt Lake City, I learned that public transportation was not always convenient or even available to get to certain places so I became dependent on my husband and friends to drive me around. This dependency made me feel restricted and awkward. One morning I had to be at the Immigration Services office on the other end of town. Normally, somebody would give me a ride, but it so happened that everybody was very busy that morning. My husband had an important business meeting, and our friends could not help me either. But I really had to be there so my husband ended up driving me to the appointment, and then rushing back to his meeting. It was a bit tense, but we both made it.
I remember very well the day I passed my final test and got my driver license. I felt a sense of real accomplishment and even joy. I made an important step towards establishing myself in the new life and getting my personal freedom back. That was two years ago, and in retrospect it seems like it was an easy step. Well, I hope in not too distant future I’ll look back at my current English language studies and think that was also easy.
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