Simple Financial Statements and their Functions

Simple financial statements include the following

Balance sheet - this reflects the value of the business. In the balance sheet we find assets, liabilities and the capital invested. The simple equation for balance sheet is Assets = Liabilities + Capital.

Income statement - is also known as the statement of profit and loss. It reflects the financial status of the company whether it is incurring profits or losses. In the income statement sales is deducted with cost of sales to get net income before other income. Other income such as bank interests is then added to get the net income before tax.

Statement of Retained Earnings - this explains the changes in the company’s retained earnings for the period. It reflects the profits or losses incurred, dividends paid and the amount retained for future use.

What is the Marketing Process?

According to Kyle (2006) the basic marketing processes are:
1). Analyzing the customers and the business environment in order to
2) identify key opportunities to better and more profitably meet customer needs,
3) figuring out how to act on those opportunities, and then
4) implementing your plan.

Analyzing customers and business environment means identifying your target market, knowing their buying patterns and other pertinent information and also knowing the competition since they form part of business environment.

Identify key opportunities to meet customer needs. Once the market is identified, know the needs that the company can cater to.

Figure out how to act on opportunities is finding ways to explore and exploit these opportunities and translate them into profits.

Implementing the plan means carrying out or executing the plan in the course of doing business.

What is Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship pertains to new businesses which are designed to address particular opportunities. Entrepreneurship is also defined as the process of determining, assessing and utilizing opportunities. Webster defined an entrepreneur as “one who undertakes to start and conduct an enterprise or business, usually assuming full control and risk."

Since a number of new businesses fail, an essential part of entrepreneurship then is taking risks. Entrepreneurship does not deal with calculated risks. Risks cannot be insured nor minimized. And entrepreneurship deals with these risks by creating solutions to problems.

The vision of an entrepreneur is what drives the entrepreneurship. It also takes a lot of hard work and determination to create an entrepreneurship.

Microsoft, Yahoo and Google

Online business has never been more exciting as Silicon Valley giants Microsoft, Google and Yahoo bid for more online presence and get the lion share of advertisements and users.

The past few weeks, we've seen Yahoo negotiating with Microsoft while cavorting with rival Google. Google and Yahoo seem to reach an understanding. Microsoft and Yahoo are temporarily at odds with each other. The Silicon Valley love-hate-triangle seems to be intensifying as deals are being negotiated by all sides.

Is it possible for all three to work together? By the looks of it, this could be a distinct possibility. With Yahoo desperate for more customers, Google, dangling an irresistible partnership deal on advertising and Microsoft, wanting to penetrate the online business world, this scenario would not be far fetched.
Yahoo

Yahoo is in a bind right now. Among the three powerhouse, Yahoo is the one having troubles. In its bid to thwart the competition Google for the best web search company title, it has forgotten to develop its other important features. Thus, they find themselves unwittingly biting Google's dust.
Google

Google is unquestionably the force to reckon with when it comes to web search and brand advertising field. It has dominated the web search industry hands-down and beaten internet media pioneer Yahoo in that area. But Google could not be complacent especially if Microsoft is now making plans to enter the online industry.
Microsoft

Microsoft is the most profitable technology company to date. It is the software giant that also sells personal computers. Being Fortune 500's no. 44 most profitable company in 2007 with net profit margin pegged at $14.1 billion for personal computer sales alone, Microsoft is in a very comfortable position. This year, its most ambitious move so far is to offer Yahoo $44.6 billion. Microsoft is aware of the huge potentials of internet technology. So far, it has lagged behind in internet presence compared to Yahoo and Google. That is why it intends to enter this highly competitive arena in the coming months or even years. Steve Ballmer himself admits that “the future of the way people consume information, the way people socialize and connect is going to change a lot more in the next 10 years even than in the last 10.…... We are absolutely committed to be the leading player in that endeavor.”
Analysis

The name of survival of the game has always been challenge and response. That is why Microsoft and Google have remained on top of their game. It is in their abilities to respond to changes and be able to adapt to it. They also spearhead in introducing innovations in their fields. Needless to say, that is how these two giants manage to stay in shape - their ability to rise up to challenge enables them to lead the pack.

In the same vein, that is the very reason why Yahoo is a step behind. Yahoo's complex organization has somehow failed in responding to competitive threats. Response to the challenge came a tad late hence the reason for its dilemma right now. Yahoo's current status is not a result of one wrong decision or one instance of inaction. It is an amalgamation of various factors and poor decisions which has piled up through the years. It has floundered for the past 18 months but the trouble started two to three years ago.
What's Yahoo to Do?

There is still hope though for Yahoo. All is not lost for this internet pioneer media.

First, Google's strengths could be its own weaknesses. Its specialty is in the web search and search advertising areas. Due to this, Google has to spend most of its time on these two lucrative endeavors. The best strategy for Yahoo then is to could focus on other areas Google is not strong at. What those areas are, that's what their research department should find out. Once they found their niche, they need to develop it and strive to be ahead and stay ahead of the competition.

Second, social networking sites are gaining popularity these days. Google has tied up with Myspace for its advertising endeavors. Yahoo should do the same. They can tie up with Facebook or buy Facebook if they have the financial machinery to do so. If not, they can always start their own social networking site.

Third, Videos are also gaining prominence. This is one area Yahoo could look into and develop. Mobile phones are making it easier to upload videos on the net. Mobiles and videos still have huge potentials. Advertisers follow where the customers are. And videos like youtube are where customers are hanging out right now.

Lastly, leverage their 12,000 strong employees. Too much ideas and too little execution could be Yahoo's undoing. Management should learn to work with those at the bottom to come up with profitable ways to turn the company around. The decision making process is not exclusive to the management. Employees at the lower rung of the ladder should be allowed to contribute.

Google Adsense

Google adsense is a program that serves ad run by Google. Website owners can become a part of this program by registering for an adsense account. Google Adsense is in a nutshell an online advertising platform.

Once a website owner has registered and been accepted to the program, he can then display ads from Google using text, image or video advertisements.

Some webmasters maximize their AdSense income by:

1. traffic generating techniques such as online advertising.
2. provide great content on their sites
3. copies that promote clicking on ads.

For those who want to advertise with Google, they could sign through Adwords. This is the service for advertisers.

Adsense is gaining popularity among websites owners because the ads are not as obvious or distracting as some banners and are often based on the content of the website. A lot of professional bloggers are using this tool to generate income from their blogs.

Successful bloggers like Darren Rowse and Jeremy Shoemoney have been raking huge bucks from their Adsense accounts. Shoemoney received a check worth $132,994.97 from Google Adsense in August 2005. These are but two amongst the thousands of bloggers who made a fortune with Google Adsense.

A word of caution though, clicking your own ad is not allowed. Reloading your page repeatedly to increase page impressions could get you banned by Google. Don not promote your ads extensively or use too much keywords. These will not help in your earning as well.

The things to do though to increase your earnings could include placing your ads near content and navigational aids or at the end of the article. These seem to attract readers. Also, the large rectangle 336×280 is the best paying adsense format according to surveys.

Google Adsense has been hailed as one of the most lucrative money-making venture on the net. And its popularity is soaring high with more and more website owners joining in.

Business Fundamentals and Trends

In order to succeed in business, it is important to know the basics of business. Also, the current trends dictate to some degree the products being sold in the market. A good business strategy would be to keep oneself abreast of the latest developments particularly in technologies and fashion in order not to stay behind the competitors. Take for instance youtube. The latest craze in the internet nowadays is video-sharing. Companies that can promote their products through video-sharing would most likely have the upper hand in marketing compared to their competitors.

Fundamentals of business include proper planning, setting up objectives, promoting customer relationship, promoting supplier relationship, dealing with competition and use of accounting. To be able to manage these aspects well would spell the difference between success and failure in business. It is also important to know the legal aspects affecting the business and the need to adhere to business ethics.

Having a plan and setting up objectives before embarking on a business or during business is essential because it would be hard to provide a direction with which the business will follow without vision.

Customer relationship is very essential to the business. How well you relate to the customers could translate into profits in the income statement. Choosing the target market also falls under this. The target market must reflect the style, image and price point of the product you are selling. Otherwise, you will not be able to penetrate the said market.

Supplier relationship is important because without suppliers securing raw materials to create the finish product would be impossible. It is always good to establish good rapport with supplier as this would greatly facilitate the production process.

Competition is one of the threats to business. It is important to size up the competition to be able to make your products competitive in the market. Allocating proper resources and taking the time are important requirements to remain competitive.

Accounting is fundamental to business because it enables you to determine how the business fares. So one can make sound management decisions and adopt necessary changes. Learning basic accounting such as bookkeeping or making the balance sheet and income statement would be very helpful.



More on Business Fundamentals and Trends here.

The Importance of Branding

According to Diana Rowland, president of Rowland & Associates, Inc., a training firm in San Diego, California, author of Japanese Business Etiquette: A Practical Guide to Success with the Japanese (Warner Books, 1993) and co-author of International Excellence: Seven Breakthrough Strategies for Personal and Professional Success (Kodansha America, 1996), "Global competition is too great to "wing it" when you go abroad. Savvy business people learn about the specific cultural differences for each country where they do business. And the differences are significant."

Take McDonalds for instance. This brand is recognizable worldwide. Their global success is attributed to the fact that they consider several factors before infiltrating a country. This is so because there are factors operating in domestic mix that differs or is not applicable in another.

To be competitive, marketing the product internationally should take into consideration several factors that could play a role in the success of the product. These factors include: country's culture, resources found in that target country, current marketing situation, existing competition for McDonalds products, environmental forces operating in that country, cultural influences such as family, state, church, school and media. The 4P's is essential in coming up with international marketing concepts - product, price, promotion and placement.

An example of this situation is the fact that McDonalds may sell a lot of burgers in the United States but this could not be true in China. Since Chinese prefer to eat chicken more than beef. Necessary adjustments then should be adopted before penetrating international market.

Other factors important in international marketing are: language, culture and religion.

Language and cultural blunders inevitably lead to deals that go awry resulting in lost opportunities. The areas of cross-cultural and language training are essential to conducting international business and marketing strategies.

The development of branding is one way of remaining competitive in the global scene. There are many examples of branding that has operated successfully with similar images that are designed to be culturally generic, such as Pepsi-Cola in United States and Japan. Market placement of goods refers to the methods which define the sectors where the goods need to get delivered to or identifying segments of potential customers. International and local trade laws obviously affect the marketing strategy of a business as these could set limits in the approach they used.

To succeed globally, a business requires an amalgamation of factors - effort, money and time. The multinational company should consider the fact that the international market is four times larger than the U.S. market. Learning how to maintain competitiveness in the international market also enables the business to acquire necessary rudiments to keep their advantage at the local market. To be successful, the best strategy for a business is to weigh risks against the possible benefits.

Understanding Accounting

To understand accounting you must understand the basics which are debit and credit. Debit and credits are used to group the accounts. To understand debit and credit you must understand the equation A=L+C or assets = liabilities + capital. An increase in assets means an increase in debits. Credit is a deduction to assets. In liabilities and capital, the opposite is true. An increase in credit means an increase in liability and capital.

Debit entries are deducted to liabilities and capital. In order to understand the A=L+C equation, you need to understand what are assets, liabilities and capital. Those that fall under the assets are accounts that are considered the resources used by business such as cash, accounts receivables, buildings, equipments and others. Liabilities are what the business owes such as accounts payable, accrued interest payable and others. Capital is the investment used to acquire or produce assets. Accounts under assets, liabilities and capital are found in the balance sheet.

Income statement refers to the income earned by the business in the course of its operations. Income statement requires sales and cost of sales. Sales pertain to the gross sales of the business. Gross sales deducted by the cost of sales would arrive at the net sales or the net income before other income and tax. The amount arrived at in net income after tax could be used as the capital of the business which leads us back to the equation A= L+C. This equation serves as the core of accounting.

Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken and Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening'

Comparison between Frost's two great poems.

Robert Lee Frost was born in San Francisco, March 26. He was one of America's foremost 20th-century poets and a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Although his verse forms are traditional, he was a pioneer in the interplay of rhythm and meter and in the poetic use of the vocabulary and inflections of everyday speech. His poetry is thus both traditional and experimental.
Introduction:

The Road Not Taken talks about weighing of choices in life while Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening is about reflecting on the past choices made in life and how it affects the person as he readies himself for the inevitable end. The former is about youth and experiencing life, the latter is about old age or more probably an old spirit wearied by life.

The Road Not Taken. This free verse style poem is the most popular piece penned by Robert Frost. The Road not Taken talks about a person who comes across an intersection or a fork in the road and he has to choose which way to follow. The road, of course, is a metaphor on the choice/s we make in life.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. The poem does not really contain any direct metaphors or similes in its lines. Its strength unlike “The Road Not Taken” rests on its format and vivid depiction of the woods.

Both poems though make heavy use of symbolism. Both are similar in the fact that they appear to be simple yet close examination reveals hidden meaning. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening brings the narrator to the woods which follows that he is far from the city which is the symbol of life. Another symbolism is the phrase “Between the woods and the frozen lake”. The woods now become a symbol of life while the frozen lake signifies death. The final example of symbolism is death being compared to sleep. Symbolism in "The Road not Taken" is the represented by the fork in the road.

In “The Road Not Taken”, as the narrator pondered on his choices, he feels strongly that whatever "road" he takes will be for good. So he must weigh his decision well in order to come up with the best choice and not end up regretting it. He weighed his choices well and in the end, chose to follow the road less traveled or the road not taken often by travelers. By doing so, the narrator sort of declared his rebellion to the popular opinion as represented the by the other road. He decided not to conform to society and take up a less popular choice. This could refer to Frost's decision to become a writer, which as we all know, is not exactly a lucrative trade. His decision to take up writing as his profession might have been unpopular at first.

Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening unlike The Road Not Taken does not inspire one to rebel or to take on a active role. At first glance, Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening might denote just that - stopping in the woods to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Reading between the lines though would reveal that the stop in the poem could be referring to death. Therefore it is more passive. It echoes submission and fatalism a direct contrast to the need for action portrayed in The Road Not Taken.

The Road Not Taken signifies a difficult choice in a person's life that could offer him an easy or hard way out. There are no assurances on what lies ahead; if there will be success or sorrows. This offers a closer glimpse to the author's life. Choosing the harder path is admittance from Frost that he found the fulfillment he sought. Frost shows the typical human reaction when confronted with several choices to take both paths at first (ln13: “Oh I marked the first for another day”), but later confesses he “doubted if [he] should ever come back” (ln15). Thus, the poem's significance lies in Frost coming up with a decision by choosing a road and move on with is life. The act of choosing the road may represent his uniqueness and the fact that he is always moving forward and never stopping.

Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening, on the other hand, does not delve on moving forward but on taking a stop, a cessation of action. In this poem the narrator is actually wishing for death. The topic of death is apparent in a number of Frost's poems. This is probably the reason the last line “And miles to go before I sleep,” is said twice. It makes one thinks the narrator is sighing.

The similarity of The Road not Taken and Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening is more evident when in the latter the narrator admits that even if he longs for rest but he cannot. The horse and cart are preventing him to do so. The horse serves as a reminder for him to get back to reality “to ask if there is some mistake”. The cart represents his duties which he must fulfill which are signified by “harness bells”.

In Stopping by the Words there is a reluctance to continue with the daily routine but the narrator realizes that he has no choice or control over it. The Road Not Taken provides option to the narrator. But both narrators are aware of the fact that life goes on. That life doesn't end when he stops by the woods on a snowy evening or with his death wish. That life still continues after he makes his choice on which way to go as he ponders on the road not often taken.
Conclusion:

Frost's works The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening provide us contrasting and sometimes similar glimpses of life. The Road not Taken is about taking control and living life. Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening entails the desire for rest perhaps due to the narrator's feelings of weariness in facing life's struggles. But things do not end there, just as we make choices in The Road not Taken, the struggles still continue even after we experience Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening, whether we like it or not.

Alice Walker: Everyday Use

Everyday Use by Alice Walker is a story of a mother and her two daughters, Maggie and Dee. Despite being sisters, Maggie and Dee's personalities are as opposite as night and day. Dee is the popular one who aspires for higher goals. Maggie, on the other hand, contents herself with staying at the shadow of sister and to learn how to quilt.

Towards the end of the story, the mother must make a choice as to whom to give the quilt which they hold for generations. When Maggie spoke and suggested that the quilt be given to her older sister Dee, she began to see Maggie in a different light. She also learned to appreciate Maggie's simplicity and goodness as compared to Dee's sophistication and ambitions.

Barbara Christian noted that in Walker's work one can gleaned "contrariness," a "willingness at all turns to challenge the fashionable belief of the day." The much-covered quilt pertains to a trope. In this instance, the trope is a metaphor to reality as experienced by the author during her times. Sam Whitsitt said that “the tightness of the stitching depends on the tightness of the identity of any group which claims the quilt as its sign” (1). Kelley believes that "the most resonant quality of [real] quiltmaking is the promise of creating unity amongst disparate elements". Recently, Showalter observes that the quilt has "transcended the stigma of its sources in women's culhire" and become the "central metaphor of American cultural identity" (215).

During Alice Walker's time "the writing of fiction," as Mary Helen Washington observes, may refer to having "done under the shadow of men" (103). Therefore, the quilt could mean it takes the women from the domination of men and give them a voice, a place of their own.

As Sam Whitsitt points out “Moving out of the shadow of men, however, can lead to entanglements in the threads of women”. In a related article "The Needle or the Pen: The Literary Rediscovery of Women's Textile Work," Elaine Hedges narrates how women writers before the mid-1900s protect themselves and calm their nerves on the largely male-dominated literary establishment by used metaphor by saying writing was actually mere sewing-the pen refers to only a needle.

Both Elaine Hedges and Elaine Showalter recognize the importance of quilting, but have hesitations as to how it is used. Hedges notes "whether the needle doesn't at times move too magically to dispel conflict, to solve complex issues of gender and male power" (359), and Elaine Showalter points out that, "while quilting does have crucial meaning for American women's texts, it can't be taken as a transhistorical and essential form of female expression, but rather as a gendered practice that change[s] from one generation to the next..." (197-98).

Bakers said that "the sorority of quiltmakers, fragment weavers, holy patchers, possesses a sacred wisdom that it hands down from generation to generation of those who refuse the center for the ludic and unconfined spaces of the margins" (156). This analysis pertains to Dee, the prodigal daughter in the story. She is the character who plays on the margins. Dee, in the story, is being excluded according to Nancy Tuten calls "the establishment of a sisterhood between mother and daughter" (125), which pertains to the sisterhood between Mama and her daughter Maggie, not to the other daughter/sister, Dee.

In the story, Patricia Kane believes Dee is the prodigal daughter who does not receive the welcome she anticipates as opposed to the biblical story "prodigal son". The explanation for this is simple, Nancy Tuten believes that Mama has a "distaste for Dee's egotism" (126), that Maggie feels "disgust with her sister," and that, "in the end, Dee's oppressive voice is mute, for Mama has narrated her out of the story altogether."

The Bakers are more upfront. To them, Dee is evil, a "serpent" in Mama's "calm pasture" (159); inauthentic ("Dee is not an example of the indigenous rapping and styling out of Afro-America" [160]); and a traitor ("Individualism and a flouting of convention in order to achieve "aesthetic" success constitute acts of treachery in "Everyday Use"" [163]).

Mary Helen Washington believes that "Walker is most closely aligned in the story with the "bad daughter," Dee... the one who goes out in the world and returns with African clothes and an African name”. Which means, Walker most likely identifies herself with Dee more than any other character in the story "Everyday Use". Walker refers to Dee as an "autonomous person," and she points out the similarities like Dee, has an "African name ... and I love it and use it when I want to, and I love my Kenyan gowns and my Ugandan gowns--the whole bit--it's part of me" (Washington 102). Moreover, the name Dee is given, "Wangero," is the same name Walker herself was given when she went to Africa (Christian 13).

Susan Willis in noting that, "when the black writer takes the materials of folk culture and subjects them to fiction[,]... she is engaged in "an enterprise fraught with contradiction"" (102). Dee being the one fraught with contradiction is in danger of being branded as a traitor or excluded and shunned. But in a story as Diana Fuss pointed out in her book Essentially Speaking, it is definitely for the good to put some conflict rather than attempt to completely eliminate it. That is why in the end; Dee is relegated to the background and branded as a traitor.

Barbara Christian said that "Toomer's women are silent, their sense of themselves and their condition interpreted by a male narrator" (9).

The iron though as what Washington points out, is that the story of "Everyday Use," which is supposed to give voice to people in and outside of the story, make their stories heard, is distributed in a market that does not include them. Whitsitt said, “They never hear their voices being heard”.

Mama's "epiphanic moment of recognition" (Baker and Pierce-Baker 161) is a re-cognition that she ought to live in the moment. That she does not see reality as it presents. Bakers believe that it should be taken in the context of logic or politics of discovering identity. Barbara Christian believes in Walker's "contrariness". This is because she creates characters who act in spite of themselves or who act out of character. This creates "differences within identities" (Fuss 103).

Walker changes her sentence to past tense when she writes about Mama's epiphanic moment. "Something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet," which leads to "I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me..." (34). In this instance, as Whitsitt said “But the past tense is not opposed to the present” (3).

The story ends with this newly-discovered intimacy between a mother and daughter, found presently as they never have done before. The fact is it is written in the past tense and the story ends that way. This, in turn, leads one to wonder about how present the present tense is at the beginning of the story. This somehow creates a contradiction which is unique to Walker's writings.

As Elaine Showalter says in her article "Common Threads," the quilt itself is no longer specifically tied to woman's culture as years go by: "The patchwork quilt came to replace the melting-pot as the central metaphor of American cultural identity. In a very unusual pattern, it transcended the stigma of its sources in women's culture and has been remade as a universal sign of American identity" (215).

Julia Alvarez and the Immigrant Experience

The immigration experience of Julia Alvarez in her book How the Garcia Girls lost their Accents.

Julia Alvarez is a perfect example of an immigrant experience in the land of milk and honey, United States. Her life is a real illustration of the challenges of assimilation, racism and identity that all immigrants, anywhere in the world, could relate to.

“Although I was raised in the Dominican Republic by Dominican parents in an extended Dominica family, mine was an American childhood.” Alvarez quipped while she was interviews in American Scholar. Her fondness for Dominican Republic still shows though.

The stories she relate in her autobiography and in her various works of fiction offer glimpses of immigrant life which anyone who had to immigrate and immerse to a different culture with new sets of social demands and, on top of that, acquires a bicultural/biracial identity could easily identify with. These are but a few of the adjustments living in America for immigrants had to cope with.

Culture shock is one aspect of immigrants’ lives that need some closer inspection. The acclimatization to a new culture, new language and new way of life for some immigrants could be a nerve-wracking even traumatic experience for some. The emotional rollercoaster characterized by uncertainties, fears and insecurities that plague the immigrant during the initial phase of immigration could be an overwhelming experience.

The Alvarez family’s experience of fleeing Dominican Republic to seek political asylum in the United States is not an isolated case. There are a number of people who were forced to flee their country due to social and political unrest and settled in America indefinitely.

Perhaps the stigma of being driven out of the country by force must have compounded the misery and the pain the Alvarez’s felt in settling in the new country they were in. Fortunately, the majority of those who immigrate to America were not due to political reasons but as part of their personal decision to attain a better and more prosperous life for themselves and their families.

Alvarez starts her life story by recalling that her father belonged to a wealthy family who supported the losing political party during the revolution in Dominican Republic. Due to that, they felt the brunt of the winning party’s anger. Since her mother’s parents supported the winning political group they transferred to mother’s family compound. Alvarez experienced growing up with extended families consisting of cousins, aunts, uncle, grandparents and maids. Alvarez’s father is a doctor who became poor due to the revolution.

Their way of life in Dominican Republic was highly influenced by the American culture. They dressed in American clothing, ate American food and studied in American schools. All the families in the compound where Alvarez grew up were obsessed with America. To them, it was a picture of idealism and perfection.

Things took a dramatic turn in young Julia’s life when her father decided to join the resistance movement. Police began to spy on them. Just as the police was about to arrest him, an American agent passed the information to the doctor a few hours prior to the planned arrest. To evade arrest, the family immediately got on board an airplane out of the country and headed to America.

When the plane landed on American soil, Julia thought she was finally home at last. America had been the ideal country she wanted for the longest time. Now her dreams were about to become real. All her American training back in Dominican Republic would finally have its deserving ending – to call America home.

But not so. Life was not a bed of roses for young Julia as she found herself feeling homesick most of the time. She longed to be with her cousins and relatives in Dominican Republic. She also wanted to go back to her way of life, complete with the luxuries accorded to their family. Her experiences with the new country America were not exactly a nightmare but they were not as ideal as her dreams either.

She also felt alienated and discriminated due to her race. She missed her home and relatives. They lived in a small apartment. She found solace in reading books. The books diverted her from the painful reality she felt then. She later pursued degrees in literature and writing and gained respectable degree of success.

Julia Alvarez’s book critically acclaimed book “How the Garcia Girls lost their Accents” was published in 1991. This fictional book as the author admits is derived from her immigration experiences.

The book is about four sisters who came to America and the hardships and conflicts they faced in the middle of two cultures – their country’s and America’s. Fifteen stories comprise the novel and depict various interesting characters as well as offer deep insights. Hispanic women specifically find the book a true depiction of their lives.

The book features four girls: Carla, Sandra, Yolanda and Sofia. Carla is the oldest of the four girls. She is responsible one and acts as the analysts of the family. She later became a child psychologist so that she can fathom her own loss of identity as a child. Carla is seen as the strongest and more independent among the four and she does not demand much attention just like her younger sisters.

Sandra is the second oldest. She is the beauty of the family due to her lighter skin but has an eating disorder. She becomes obsessed with her weight in a society that equates thinness with beauty. The third daughter is Yolanda. Her story dominates the book. She’s a writer, school teacher and poet. Sofia is the youngest. She is seen as the wild one. She fell in love with Auto while studying abroad. They had a son. And Sofia had to quit schooling

The stories do not only delve on their different personalities but also show how young immigrants journey through life as they make necessary adjustments to adapt to the new surroundings and culture. The girls lived in the United States but are brought up under the strict almost overbearing rule their conservative of Dominican Republic parents. They were expected to abide by Old world rules reminiscent of their previous country and set by their parents. The girls rebelled in the process.

The book mostly revolves around the problems encountered by the four daughters when they first set foot in the United States. Later, these same problems beset them as they returned to Dominican Republic on summer vacations as visitors. The girls have an extremely difficult time adjusting particularly in making friends: “Here they were trying to fit in America among Americans; they needed help figuring out who they were, why the Irish kids whose grandparents had been micks were calling the spics.” (p.138)

Julia Alvarez’s books and her very own life story reflect the triumphs and travails of immigrants in the United States. The conflict of the immigrants revolves primarily on their need and struggles to assimilate to the American culture at the same time retaining their inherent identity. Once the inner conflict is resolved, acceptance and acclimatization begin.

Julia Alvarez and the Immigrant Experience

The immigration experience of Julia Alvarez in her book How the Garcia Girls lost their Accents.

Julia Alvarez is a perfect example of an immigrant experience in the land of milk and honey, United States. Her life is a real illustration of the challenges of assimilation, racism and identity that all immigrants, anywhere in the world, could relate to.

“Although I was raised in the Dominican Republic by Dominican parents in an extended Dominica family, mine was an American childhood.” Alvarez quipped while she was interviews in American Scholar. Her fondness for Dominican Republic still shows though.

The stories she relate in her autobiography and in her various works of fiction offer glimpses of immigrant life which anyone who had to immigrate and immerse to a different culture with new sets of social demands and, on top of that, acquires a bicultural/biracial identity could easily identify with. These are but a few of the adjustments living in America for immigrants had to cope with.

Culture shock is one aspect of immigrants’ lives that need some closer inspection. The acclimatization to a new culture, new language and new way of life for some immigrants could be a nerve-wracking even traumatic experience for some. The emotional rollercoaster characterized by uncertainties, fears and insecurities that plague the immigrant during the initial phase of immigration could be an overwhelming experience.

The Alvarez family’s experience of fleeing Dominican Republic to seek political asylum in the United States is not an isolated case. There are a number of people who were forced to flee their country due to social and political unrest and settled in America indefinitely.

Perhaps the stigma of being driven out of the country by force must have compounded the misery and the pain the Alvarez’s felt in settling in the new country they were in. Fortunately, the majority of those who immigrate to America were not due to political reasons but as part of their personal decision to attain a better and more prosperous life for themselves and their families.

Alvarez starts her life story by recalling that her father belonged to a wealthy family who supported the losing political party during the revolution in Dominican Republic. Due to that, they felt the brunt of the winning party’s anger. Since her mother’s parents supported the winning political group they transferred to mother’s family compound. Alvarez experienced growing up with extended families consisting of cousins, aunts, uncle, grandparents and maids. Alvarez’s father is a doctor who became poor due to the revolution.

Their way of life in Dominican Republic was highly influenced by the American culture. They dressed in American clothing, ate American food and studied in American schools. All the families in the compound where Alvarez grew up were obsessed with America. To them, it was a picture of idealism and perfection.

Things took a dramatic turn in young Julia’s life when her father decided to join the resistance movement. Police began to spy on them. Just as the police was about to arrest him, an American agent passed the information to the doctor a few hours prior to the planned arrest. To evade arrest, the family immediately got on board an airplane out of the country and headed to America.

When the plane landed on American soil, Julia thought she was finally home at last. America had been the ideal country she wanted for the longest time. Now her dreams were about to become real. All her American training back in Dominican Republic would finally have its deserving ending – to call America home.

But not so. Life was not a bed of roses for young Julia as she found herself feeling homesick most of the time. She longed to be with her cousins and relatives in Dominican Republic. She also wanted to go back to her way of life, complete with the luxuries accorded to their family. Her experiences with the new country America were not exactly a nightmare but they were not as ideal as her dreams either.

She also felt alienated and discriminated due to her race. She missed her home and relatives. They lived in a small apartment. She found solace in reading books. The books diverted her from the painful reality she felt then. She later pursued degrees in literature and writing and gained respectable degree of success.

Julia Alvarez’s book critically acclaimed book “How the Garcia Girls lost their Accents” was published in 1991. This fictional book as the author admits is derived from her immigration experiences.

The book is about four sisters who came to America and the hardships and conflicts they faced in the middle of two cultures – their country’s and America’s. Fifteen stories comprise the novel and depict various interesting characters as well as offer deep insights. Hispanic women specifically find the book a true depiction of their lives.

The book features four girls: Carla, Sandra, Yolanda and Sofia. Carla is the oldest of the four girls. She is responsible one and acts as the analysts of the family. She later became a child psychologist so that she can fathom her own loss of identity as a child. Carla is seen as the strongest and more independent among the four and she does not demand much attention just like her younger sisters.

Sandra is the second oldest. She is the beauty of the family due to her lighter skin but has an eating disorder. She becomes obsessed with her weight in a society that equates thinness with beauty. The third daughter is Yolanda. Her story dominates the book. She’s a writer, school teacher and poet. Sofia is the youngest. She is seen as the wild one. She fell in love with Auto while studying abroad. They had a son. And Sofia had to quit schooling

The stories do not only delve on their different personalities but also show how young immigrants journey through life as they make necessary adjustments to adapt to the new surroundings and culture. The girls lived in the United States but are brought up under the strict almost overbearing rule their conservative of Dominican Republic parents. They were expected to abide by Old world rules reminiscent of their previous country and set by their parents. The girls rebelled in the process.

The book mostly revolves around the problems encountered by the four daughters when they first set foot in the United States. Later, these same problems beset them as they returned to Dominican Republic on summer vacations as visitors. The girls have an extremely difficult time adjusting particularly in making friends: “Here they were trying to fit in America among Americans; they needed help figuring out who they were, why the Irish kids whose grandparents had been micks were calling the spics.” (p.138)

Julia Alvarez’s books and her very own life story reflect the triumphs and travails of immigrants in the United States. The conflict of the immigrants revolves primarily on their need and struggles to assimilate to the American culture at the same time retaining their inherent identity. Once the inner conflict is resolved, acceptance and acclimatization begin.

Hello World!

This blog is a compilation of my likes and sometimes dislikes. It will revolve mostly on BOOK REVIEWS, BUSINESS AND TRAVEL. Hope you will find this blog helpful. Please come back for updates.

River of Fire, River of Water by Taitetsu Unno: A Review

Shin Buddhism is the most popular form of Buddhism in Japan.

Taitetsu Unno’s latest book River of Fire, River of Water: An Introduction to the Pure Land Tradition of Shin Buddhism, is a sensible and easily reached introduction on Shin Buddhism. Shin Buddhism teaches faith in the great Buddha using Amida as the vehicle to attain enlightenment. Taitetsu Unno knows the topic well and this shows in the way he writes the book. He is the chief authority in the United States on Shin or Pure Land

Buddhism. He has the necessary background on Shin Buddhism being an ordained Shin Buddhist minister. He has written a number of pieces on Shin Buddhism. His previous works include a translation of the well-known Tannisho which is a collection of sayings by Shinran the founder of Shin Buddhism. This book serves as a quick introduction to Shin.

River of Fire requires deeper reflection. Dr. Taitetsu Unno introduces us to the most popular form of Buddhism in Japan providing spiritual insight. Unno does not only discuss in detail the Shin Buddhist doctrine but also relates his own experience and the changes that took place in his while practicing Shin Buddhism for decades. The book is partly autobiographical. The main theme though does not revolve around his life.

Shin Buddhism serves to enrich the increasing practice of Buddhism in the United States, which was already introduced to other forms such as the Zen and Tibetan traditions. River of Fire, River of Water is the first introduction to the practice of Pure Land Buddhism from a trade publisher and is intended for readers even those without prior knowledge about it.

The Pure Land tradition went as far back as the sixth century c.e., when Buddhism was first established in Japan. Unlike Zen where is practiced mostly by monasteries in remote areas, the Pure Land tradition was the form of Buddhism practiced by ordinary people. It is applicable on the daily life of a person. This makes the Pure Land tradition more adaptable to those who seek the Buddhist way. The method may differ but the end goal is similar to the others which is the development of the true self.

Shin Buddhism has been the widespread Buddhist faith of Japan. Its practice is mainly contained within the Japanese communities in the United States which somehow limits its growth to other groups. Books such as this will provide necessary information that will make Shin Buddhism easily understood and attractive to people.

Shin Buddhism requires the practice of conscience and faith. It does not encourage compulsion. Simple faith and conscience are the most important requirement to be able to attain enlightenment not strict discipline and morality.

River of Fire, River of Water is both an “easy read” and a reference work. Chapter 6, “Nembutsu: The Name-that-Calls” gets to the heart of Shin Buddhism. One quote that stuck is :

“Philosophically speaking, the nembutsu is the self-articulation of fundamental reality. As such, the saying of the Name contains the alpha and omega of the Buddhist soteriological path.”

Faith in Amida Buddha simply means uttering the name of Amida Buddha, or the Nembutsu – “Namu Amida Butsu.” It is not an automatic chant but celebrates deep faith to Amida Buddha’s promise to save all troubled beings who request for help.

Unno uses a variety of angles in Shin Buddhism to communicate the simple doctrine behind a difficult to understand faith. He describes what the practice is like:

“The person who chooses the Shin path devotes hours, days, and years to the interior practice of deep hearing…. This initial stage of deep hearing is like mastering the theory. But this must be followed by the saying of nembutsu, the practice equivalent to mastering technique in dance. After that everything must be forgotten and the person must “just live,” but now live with awareness, sensitivity, and grace.”

This book can be used as an introduction to a deeper study into the fundamentals and history of Shin Buddhism. Or, it can provide enlightenment to a person who seeks it and wants to experience this great faith. It depends on the reader but whatever options he or she chooses will work.

River of Fire, River of Water is a wonderful elucidation on Shin Buddhism and the tranquil life of faith in Amida Buddha. The fact that it is published by a major publisher, Doubleday, gives the book the prominence it deserves. Hopefully, it touches many lives as it preaches the constructive and life-affirming path of Shin Buddhism, the natural way to enlightenment.

Albert Camus' The Plague and the Philosophy of Suffering

This is a book review on the book The Plague by Albert Camus. It talks about its views on suffering.

In The Plague by Albert Camus , Dr. Rieux and Father Paneloux take an opposing view on the philosophy of suffering. Dr. Rieux is the narrator of the story. Their place Oran is under siege by a mysterious plague. Its cause is unknown but it all started when the rats died in multitude usually by the thousands daily. Dr. Rieux all devotes his time and energy to attend to the needs of the sick in Oran. As he goes through the motions of his daily tasks he tries to grasp the meaning behind all the sufferings he witnessed.

Father Paneloux is a Jesuit priest who delivers a forceful sermon that is intended to sting and wake up the parishioners from their erring ways at the start of the plague. Paneloux says that the plague was God's way to separate the good people from the bad. It was the harvest of the "wheat" for heaven and the "chaff" will be left behind and be meted punishment of terrible suffering.

Dr. Rieux does not agree with Father Paneloux's message on his first sermon. He believes that suffering is not God's way of weeding out the good from the bad. He is more concerned with alleviating the suffering of the person instead of viewing it in the context of philosophy, extolling its virtues the way Father Paneloux does.

Their differences are further noticeable when they circumstances bring them together once again. During the plague, a local magistrate M. Othon's son falls victim to the illness. The family is forcibly quarantine. Jacques, the son, becomes the test case for Dr. Castel's newly discovered serum that is intended to counter the plague. Rieux, Paneloux, Tarrou, Castel and Grand watch as the serum is applied to the boy and wait. The boy twists in pain. As they watch they feel deeply affected. The serum unfortunately has no effect and the child dies.

Dr. Rieux feels very bothered by the child's death. He is troubled by the great suffering he witnesses before the child succumbs to his illness. On his way out of the hospital he gets into a heated discussion with Father Paneloux on the topic of death. Father Paneloux insists that death is an act of God and should not be questioned. He concludes that "perhaps we should love what we can't understand."

Father Paneloux's philosophy on suffering stresses the fact that God is behind it. The best we can do then in times of suffering is doing what we can during the times of difficulties. As Christians, we should believe that God has a purpose for allowing our suffering; we should trust that purpose and continue the task at hand in the midst of our struggles.

Although Dr. Rieux does not believe that God is behind everything, he and Father Paneloux are in agreement that we can only do what we can to overcome in the midst of our suffering.