Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Cherry Blossoms - A Reaction Essay

A Cherry Blossom in the Sun.
Have you ever heard about the Cherry Blossoms? A cherry blossom is a flower of the Japanese cherry tree. Cherry blossoms are from the Himalayas. Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gifted 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, DC in 1912. Every year we celebrate spring and honor the special friendship between the United States and Japan by visiting the cherry blossoms. Thousands of tourists visit the cherry blossoms so they are famous all round the world.  When I visited the cherry blossoms, I learned to take the metro, we took some pictures and I made some new friends.

Firstly, I was so unfamiliar with taking the metro so I looked for the map at the metro station and found my destination. I was supported by my teacher. He showed me the map and told me about each and every stop. We studied the map and followed it towards our direction. We took only one train which made us quite comfortable. We took metro from Virginia to Washington DC, so I was able to view some of the area from the metro which was awesome. Moreover, it was quite adventurous to take the metro instead of taking our own vehicle.

Secondly, when we got off of the metro we walked for some distance. We were very lucky to have good weather which made our trip nice and fresh. After 15 minutes we reached the tidal basin. I felt like I was in heaven. We all felt lucky to see such wonderful scenery which only comes once a year. The cherry blossoms add great beauty to Washington DC.  I felt amazed to touch the flowers and feel the environment during nice weather. I took some selfies as well as some group pictures which were full of fun. We took photos of the Potomac river, birds, ducks floating in the river and the Jefferson Memorial.

Thirdly, I made new friends from the other class. We introduced ourselves and talked about our cultures, traditions, customs, norms and values. We went to the restaurant nearby and spent some time making some jokes and talking about our own countries. In this way I was able to learn about the traditions of Muslims, Christians, Koreans and Hindus. This helped me understand about the thoughts and perceptions of people according to their culture. Furthermore, knowing some different aspects of life makes life adventurous.

          Finally, this field trip taught me a lot about moving around in the city and taking some tours in our daily busy life. Adjusting to the new environment is not easy, however, if we move around, make friends and enjoy the environment it will be valuable for our future.  

Risk and Technology - A Reaction Essay



           
Technology in Business isn't always as easy as 1,2,3.
  Have you ever thought about the digital ecosystem? Do you know what happens when disruption meets the change monster? Patrick Forth, who is a Senior Partner and Managing Director at BGC Sydney, gave a speech. He focuses on large scale change in Technology. He says how digital ecosystem like devices, social media, the internet of things, speed of connection, data creation, and stored drive disruption. He talks about how risk averse behavior affect the company to lose its business. I like his speech because he encourages business to take risks, the way he explains every things, and the information enriched my life.
First, I like his speech because he encourages business to take risks and compete with the disruption of the technology, and data. If companies do not take risks and meet with the change in the technology environment that will lead them to lose their businesses. Finally, I like his example about Kodak Film Company. The Kodak film company lost its business because it did not want to take risks to compete with digital cameras and just kept the same film or tried to improve film.  
Second, I like the way that he at the beginning talks about the effect of the digital ecosystem. Also, he gives details and examples for everything in his speech. Moreover, he encourages the leaders to think out of the box and hire young adults with expertise in technology. Also, his talk is passionate. In addition, he uses clear ideas.
            Finally, I like his speech because the information enriched my life. For example, I did not know about 3-D printers or the tech company Red Hat before his speech. Also, his speech has a lot of business terminology that I did not know before. Moreover, I did not know about the disruption before.
            In conclusion, I like this Ted Talk because of the way he used it to analyze the problem. The examples that he gives encourage businesses to take risks. I have learned new information and words, so I recommend it to everyone interested in business. 
        
By Dalal