Classmate stories
Lea*, a woman in Mandarin class whose name is changed to protect her privacy (and who is likely in her late teens), is from Jakarta, Indonesia. She says that meals there (and everything) is extremely cheap; but, of course, wages are also much lower since they are a developing country. Also, I must say, her English is flawless. You'd never guess she's from anywhere else but born and raised the Midwestern United States-->incredible!
In Jakarta, she says at any given spot, you can visit a food pushcart and get an entire meal for only $1.00! Not sure what her family does for a living but they must be quite well off since at least two older siblings studied in the United States and then returned home upon graduation. This is her plan, too, and she probably wants to study advertising but she's not sure, yet.
Lea's Mom wants her youngest child to study business because she can "use this for everything" but Lea says she hates accounting so probably doesn't want to go this route. Even her older sister, a business major, is not working now because she went back to Jakarta and started working for a big accounting firm but left because she was "bored." Must be nice to quit without much worry (or, maybe she is, but this isn't clear.)
Lea also says her family grew up with a maid and this is just "normal" but she also realizes this isn't how things are in the US. The bitter irony is, if you have a job (any job) in Indonesia, you're likely better off as long as you're not being physically abused (as is happening to Indonesians and other migrant workers in Saudia Arabia and elsewhere, according to this 2011 article in The Economist.)
With special thanks to Hunny for sharing The Big Mac index. Gives you a good idea how things are going economically around the globe based on the price of McD's famous sandwich.
Found out today another classmate, Carlie*, works at PeiWei, a fast-food Asian themed restaurant. Must be very tough to work and go to school full time. Don't envy the pain through this somewhat leisurely adventure!
In Jakarta, she says at any given spot, you can visit a food pushcart and get an entire meal for only $1.00! Not sure what her family does for a living but they must be quite well off since at least two older siblings studied in the United States and then returned home upon graduation. This is her plan, too, and she probably wants to study advertising but she's not sure, yet.
Lea's Mom wants her youngest child to study business because she can "use this for everything" but Lea says she hates accounting so probably doesn't want to go this route. Even her older sister, a business major, is not working now because she went back to Jakarta and started working for a big accounting firm but left because she was "bored." Must be nice to quit without much worry (or, maybe she is, but this isn't clear.)
Lea also says her family grew up with a maid and this is just "normal" but she also realizes this isn't how things are in the US. The bitter irony is, if you have a job (any job) in Indonesia, you're likely better off as long as you're not being physically abused (as is happening to Indonesians and other migrant workers in Saudia Arabia and elsewhere, according to this 2011 article in The Economist.)
With special thanks to Hunny for sharing The Big Mac index. Gives you a good idea how things are going economically around the globe based on the price of McD's famous sandwich.
Found out today another classmate, Carlie*, works at PeiWei, a fast-food Asian themed restaurant. Must be very tough to work and go to school full time. Don't envy the pain through this somewhat leisurely adventure!
