Why JetPunk?

This is the impact which first got me thinking about JetPunk's influence on my life. Over half of my classmates are international students, and often times there are cultural differences among us. Furthermore it can be difficult to make connections at first with other classmates, and more unfortunate is how difficult it can be for new international students to adjust to being a graduate student in a foreign country.

This is why I've really grown to appreciate the things that I've learned thanks to JetPunk. For instance, when I meet new students, I am able to talk with them a little bit about their culture or at the very least, hold a conversation about their country. For instance, typically I ask them where they're from, and after they name their country, I ask where specifically. Then, thinking I'm confused, they try to explain where their country is, and so I have to clarify by asking what city/state/province/etc. Or perhaps I'll just ask if they're from X city. I'm usually hesitant to be that presumptuous, so I usually make a guess that statistically makes sense (for instance asking if a Ugandan is from Kampala), but I've found it really makes them light up. It's sad that most people they've talked to don't even know where their country is, so it brings them joy to know there are people out there that do know about their country.

The JetPunk knowledge that I have gained has helped me immensely to not just be able to hold conversations about foreigners' culture, but also has opened me to want to learn more about other cultures. I obviously don't know about every culture and country, but JetPunk has given me a desire to keep learning more!

Before making an effort to think of why JetPunk hasn't been a waste of my time, this was usually my automatic response. As an undergraduate student, I majored in Spanish, though my current studies in graduate school have no relation to Spanish. And since I live in the Midwest, I don't exactly have much of an opportunity to continue growing my Spanish skills. Involving myself in the Spanish section of JetPunk has helped my skills in vocabulary, grammar, and Hispanic culture tremendously. Between taking quizzes in Spanish, making quizzes in Spanish, writing blogs in Spanish, and (more recently) reading blogs in Spanish, I've found that my skills are more honed now than they were as a Spanish student.

JetPunk has also motivated me to learn more about other languages. Unfortunately, I don't think I would even classify myself as proficient in any other languages, but I've been motivated to learn Portuguese and Italian, though my progress there is severely lacking at the moment.

This pro is probably only really applicable to me due to personal circumstances, but for others it could be generalized to a greater technological/coding awareness.

As many other invested quizmakers here on JetPunk, I have developed a familiarity with Inkscape, a vector graphics software. As a mathematician, I use LaTeX for my research. Unfortunately, often times there is no simple way to incorporate a detailed graph or figure into a LaTeX file without simply importing a file (.png, .svg, etc.) with the figure. It reached a point where some topological spaces or other graphs that I was trying to illustrate were not easy to draw in tikz-cd (a LaTeX package which can be used to draw images). I ended up asking my advisor about it and was surprised when he said that he uses a software called Inkscape to make figures for his research papers. Thanks, JetPunk.

Lastly, we have the thing which I've seen most commonly cited as one of the best parts of JetPunk. Whether you're seek it out or not, community just seems to find you here. It could start as the same people commenting on your quizzes, for example. You can add other users as "friends" or join a group with others. Possibly the best example of JetPunk community is Discord. Personally, I'm not a big Discord fan, but simply being on the JetPunk Discord server, you can see how this website has brought together people from across the world.

In my personal experience, I've come to know dozens of individuals because of JetPunk. Many have helped me practice a new language (Portuguese with MG!), inspire me to blog more (baptistegorce), or motivate me to be more creative in quizmaking.