Joint ventures and strategic alliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Joint ventures and strategic alliance - Essay Example It also fosters reduction of risks and costs between the parties in different areas. Such areas include relationships with suppliers and the development of new technologies. Strategic alliances are sometimes considered to have equal magnitudes as joint ventures. The difference between the two is where an alliance can accommodate parties that are competitors, and the engagement lasts for a short time as compared to a joint venture. A joint venture, therefore, is a business agreement in which the parties involved agree on certain factors towards the development of what looks like a new entity. The factors are development criteria, finite time, creation of a new entity and new assets by contribution of investment. The parties to the joint venture contribute equity. Per se, they share the expenses, assets and revenue on agreed on basis. Strategic alliances and joint ventures are critical to the organization for a number of reasons. The paper focuses on discussing these reasons and whethe r the reason enables the alliances and ventures to complement global mega-mergers as a global business strategy. There are several critical reasons or important factors that necessitate for the formation of global strategic alliances and joint ventures. Per se, they are the benefits that international businesses may accrue from such alliances and ventures (Chou et al., 2014 p. 42). There are many motivational factors that may drive the firms to enter into the ventures or alliances. Per se, the use of strategic alliances and joint ventures is increasingly gaining popularity. A growing number of globally multinational firms are finding it better to carry their operations under such umbrellas. Firms argue that under such agreements, each party can bring to the table complementary strengths. Such powers enable the companies to gain significant competitive advantages (Chou et al. 2014, p. 42). The firm’s knowledge

Sunflowers by Vincent Essay Example for Free

Sunflowers by Vincent Essay Van Goghs Sunflowers are among his most famous paintings, but few realize that many sunflower pictures, not only the most famous Vase with Twelve Sunflowers and Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers. These were canvases he decorate the Yellow House in Arles in anticipation of the visit of his friend Paul Gauguin, and hope that others will follow him and form a utopianArt community. Some of the paintings of Vincents sunflower seeds are all but indistinguishable, with only minor differences in playback show is different. During his stay in Paris, he cut the sunflowers in various stages of Green be dry to dry. It seems to put his passion for sunflower seeds with him from his home in Holland, where he walked, and even make the kind of dramatic subjects, whom he loved. In the world today is the sunflowersynonymous with the work of Vincent, instantly recognizable and just as much right as the water lilies, Monet belongs. Vincent Sunflowers No. 2, the most famous still life sunflower, yellow to yellow, has the same universal appeal and impact of all his favorite images. So common is the appointment of a sunflower in fact, that in 1987 a Japanese company paid a record equivalent to almost $ 40 million for Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers at an auction. Van Goghs sunflowers are thrown many screens around the world to witness his mastery, residing in Europe, London and Tokyo, to name a few galleries now. During his stay in Paris, Vincent familiar with some of the greatest painters of the impressionist period. The artists all had a great influence on each other, even Van Gogh and the other was identified as a powerful genius of Les Vingt, Monet and Toulouse-Lautrec. You can easily see Sunflowers, Paris, where Vincent painted later in the yellow house in Arles, because they are cut flowers without a vase. This cut sunflowers are shown in various stages of drying, but the final color palette of Vincent bright and bold, is indicated at this point in his artistic journey through the images of life and joy. The influence of the master of Western art and artists can not be overstated. His work bridge impressionism, expressionism, cubism, and more with a singleLanguage understood by all lovers of beauty and truth. The huge popularity of a vase of sunflowers is the test its strength and sincerity. Although Vincent was suffering from a serious mental imbalance and eventually took his life that left a corpus of more than 2,000 screens in about a decade, depicted as a living heritage. Whether you are his descriptions of fields of wheat and stars swirling life, tender and thoughtful portraits of peasants, whom he loved or flowers in a vibrantsimple vase, all his works with his own stylistic stamp. was able to comfort regarded as an excellent form of communication of the Spirit, his work on his wildest dreams and console humanity through art. It is through his paintings, its not too novel, the troubled life, which as a prophet poet, artist and teacher, was to be evaluated. The analysis of the Sunflowers – Vincent van Gogh

What Leads Characters To Exact Revenge?

What Leads Characters To Exact Revenge? Maupassants short stories Vendetta and Mother Savage both deal with the subject of revenge. We learn right from the beginning that in both stories, the widowed mothers live in harsh, rough environments where there is an unfriendly atmosphere. Each story features a widowed mother who is grieving the loss of her son, her only child, and becomes determined to exact revenge. Both widows avenge with unique plans to ensure that their victims suffer gruesome, agonising deaths, with which they hope to achieve satisfaction and peace of mind for themselves In Vendetta, Widow Saverini shows a mothers love for her son when she plans to exact revenge for the death of her only child: you shall be avenged, I tell you. You have your mothers word, and you know she never breaks it. Widow Saverinis love for her son is unique and reserved, possible because of her parents showing lack of emotion in her upbringing. Her love is seen more as a duty to raise her son than to be affectionate and tender loving. Widow Saverini spends many months preparing the dog for the revenge: for three months she accustomed her to this method of attack. She shows her determination in the precision she uses to exact her revenge to perfection. Widow Saverini sacrifices the family dog -Semillante- in a cruel and barbaric act: the woman gave her nothing to eat and maddened with hunger Semillante barked hoarsely. The cruelty she uses shocks us and it displays her level of cold determination. However it could also be seen as a way of involving her beloved pet to aid her di sguise at the revenge. Widow Saverini cleverly creates a human-like figure, with which she uses to practice her revenge: she took some old clothes that had belonged to her husband, stuffed them with straw to represent a human figure, and made a head out of a bundle of rags. This tells us that she has great initiative to succeed with her talented resourcefulness of using everything she already owns. Widow Saverini also uses a disguise which prevents her from being caught and killed herself: she disguised herself to look like a tattered old beggar man. This shows her intelligence as she has thought everything through, enabling her to make the perfect attack and quick getaway. Also, by using her dog to do the dirty work, technically she hasnt committed a murder and she is able to remain disguised and unknown to the public of who she is. Widow Saverinis anger is devious and we are unable to see her true feelings for her sons death throughout the story. However we notice that her actions speak louder than words or feelings. Her feeling remain reserved and rather than immediate rage, she is patient and waits three months before she can release her fury. Widow Saverini is full of grief and isolates herself: she would not allow anyone to remain with her, and shut herself up with the dead body. She does not want anyone to know her sorrow or to appear weak in front of others. Widow Saverini does not cry until she knows that no one will disturb her silently shedding great tears. She feels that she does not need to create an impression when she is on her own and is able to let out her emotions. She feels that the only way to move on is to be active and to avenge her son so that he can rest in peace: you may sleep in peace. You shall be avenged Widow Saverini shows commitment to her son as it is the last thing she can do for him. Despite the company of the young Prussian soldiers, Mother Savage is constantly longing her son to return: the old woman kept thinking all the time about her own son. This tells us that she has a motherly bond with her son and wants nothing more but for him to come home again. She cannot help but ask so many questions as she misses him and cannot take her mind off. She also wants to know exactly where her son is and what he is doing and asks questions such as: do you know where the French regiment has gone- the twenty third infantry? My boy is in it. Mother Savage does not want to lose her son and wants to keep track of where he is. We see how much she loves her son- from the very beginning to her death she loves him. She was still clutching her letter soaked in blood. This shows that unlike Widow Saverini, Mother Savages love for her son is much more tender and affectionate, which is how we would expect it to be. Mother Savage is very compassionate towards her son: she would never k iss him again, her big boy, never! This is the first thing that she thinks about after her sons death and it is how we see how close they were to each other. This is a different response to Widow Saverini who is much less emotional and immediately starts to plan her revenge. Mother Savage is determined to avenge her son whether she kills the real murderer or representatives. Both widows show a high level of determination for revenge and see it as the ultimate way to move on. They feel it is the only way how can rest in peace without their sons. Mother Savage acts on her revenge immediately and uses many resources to help her find revenge. Unlike Widow Saverini, who avenges her sons murderer, Mother Savage uses the Prussian soldiers as representatives to get her revenge. Even though she is planning to kill them, we see that she has some sympathy for the mothers of the sons: she got them to write down for her on a piece of paper, with the addresses of their families. This shows that u nlike Widow Saverini whose aims are to kill her sons murderer and to escape punishment, Mother Savage has thought about everything and feels that the families ought to know about the deaths of their sons, just as she did. Mother Savage is very discreet about her grief: she quickly hid the letter in her pocket and, having had time to wipe her eyes, greeted them calmly, looking her usual self. Both of the widows- Widow Saverini and Mother Savage, feel a sense of pride and do not want to show their grief in public as they feel it will weaken their reputation. Mother Savages grief for the death of her son is slightly delayed as she is overwhelmed by the sudden news and hesitates before she cries: so shocked and dazed that she didnt even feel any grief yet. Similarly with Widow Saverini, Mother Savage does not cry instantly, yet waits for reality to sink in. She does not want to show her emotions immediately as she wants to remain strong. She loves her son fondly and when she starts to cry: grief [floods] into her heart which stresses the pain of how much she misses him. Whilst preparing dinner, the blood of the rabbit causes her to imagine the bloody, gruesome death of her son: she kept seeing her big boy cut in two and red all over. This shows that she does have feelings, everything makes her think of her son and she cannot cope. Mother Savage imagines her sons death: the head falling, the eyes widening, while he was always chewing the end of his bushy moustache as he always did when he was angry. We can picture the image vividly in our m inds which helps us to engage with her feelings and feel sympathy. Mother Savage is distraught by the news and this is emphasised by the trauma she experiences when the rabbit is prepared for dinner: she stripped the skin from the red body; but the sight of the blood which she was touching, which covered her hands, the warm blood which she could feel growing cold and congealing, made her tremble from head to foot; and she kept seeing her big boy cut in two and red all over, like the animal still quivering in her hands. This shows that she is unfocused and due to the shock of it all, she is relating everything to her sons death. She does not hesitate to work out a plan of revenge and acts very quickly so that within the same day, she avenges her son, unlike Widow Saverini who plans out her revenge in the course of three months. Mother Savage controls her rage yet anger she holds for the death of her son causes her to take the blame on the four innocent soldiers living with her and with their death, she feels satisfied. She is proud of her revenge and is willing to die for her son as she admits and confesses with satisfaction that she killed the men. Widow Saverini escapes punishment though Mother Savage is honest and executed. In some ways we find her heroic, that as she was willing to die for her son and was unafraid. The story Vendetta is situated on the coast of Corsica in a tough, hostile environment. Widow Saverinis house is built on a spur of the mountain: and in places actually overhanging the sea, her town looks across the rockstrewn straits on the low-lying coast of Sardinia. The rough terrain and the place where Widow Saverini lives, gives us the impression that life is cheap. The cultural aspect of where she lives is the survival of the fittest and these cultural forces are part of what causes people to act tough and seek revenge. Life is tough and people who live in a harsh environment are bound to be tough and unforgiving. Widow Saverini lives in a house Clinging to this peak, overlooking this terrible passage, where vessels rarely venture. The people she lives amongst do not show sympathy for death as it happens every day. Likewise, in similar circumstances, Mother Savage lives in an isolated house, far away from the village, on the edge of the woods. These cultural forces contribute towards their responses to upsetting ordeals, e.g. the deaths of their sons. However, the story of Mother Savage is situated in Virelogne in France, in a very beautiful area where there is blossom on trees, little woods and grounlike veins carrying blood to the earth. This explains how the area is full of life and naturally beautiful unlike Widow Saverini whose house was amongst a cluster of other houses, Mother Savage lives in the countryside in an isolated house far away from the village on the edge of the woods. This tells us that she lives in a small world, solitary and independent. We also know that though her house is situated in a beautiful setting, cruelty is always beneath the surface. In Vendetta, the people do not seem to have the feelings to care and we see that it is a society where no one helps. They are all very determined with mild corruption: The next day Antoine Saverini was buried, and soon his name ceased to be mentioned in Bonifacio. This tells us that since death is a frequent occurrence in the area, the people who Widow Saverini lives amongst are tough as they are experienced by murders and vendettas. However, in Mother Savage the societys attitude to death is very different. In Virelogne, the people are kind and pleasant and death is something that is unexpected and rare. The people in the village are jolly and friendly, women are seen in the street on a spring morning wearing gay, flimsy dresses. This leaves us with a welcoming pleasant atmosphere where we feel safe. By contrast we see that the people see Mother Savage as an outcast, people didnt feel too sorry for her because they knew she had money, so she stayed alone in an isolated house far awa y from the village. This shows that they do not wish to have anything to do with her so they ignore her and leave her alone. The region suffers from its effects of the Franco Prussian war. The war is a serious factor and though it is very short, there are many killings and deaths which result in revenge schemes causing problems and slight havoc in the area. Similarly with both stories, Vendetta and Mother Savage, they are centred on the effects of war, which is how the scheme of revenge erupts. In the two stories the wars a very different. In Mother Savage the war is completely pointless which resorts to much unnecessary killing, including the death of her son which leads to revenge. Though Mother Savage has a decent amount of money, many of the villagers are members of the lower class and do not. They are severely affected by the war and treated unfairly as they are forced to give refuge to the Prussian soldiers and have no choice, causing them havoc with their lives. Also, Mother Savage is a victim of the war and is full of unbearable grief from her sons death which is why she responds to the letter in such an inhumane way. In Vendetta the community is very rough and, similar to Mother Savage, she is treated cruelly and after the death of her son; she responds in a very sly yet violent way. Mother Savage is treated without any form of justice. She is given no trial and not even the chance to explain the reasons for her actions. She is executed at the scene of her crime roughly twenty minuits after she has had her pleasure of vengeance and is forced to stand against the wall to be shot: she was seized and pushed against the walls of the house, which were still warm [from the fire]. She is treated with the same brutality that she treated the soldiers with. The behaviour of Mother Savage and the Germans was understandable though it would be unacceptable in our society today. In Vendetta there is, similarly with Mother Savage, no form of justice. The community is rough so due to their behaviour, the law is helpless and since vendettas are expected, nothing happens. When Widow Saverini kills Nicolas Ravolati, though her plan is tactical, there is no search or punishment for her because there is no law and the police force seem to be non-existent. Widow Saverini believes that she is doing right thing by avenging her son and even goes to church to pray for strength: she besought Him to aid and support her, to lend to her poor, worn-out body the strength she needed to avenge. This shows us that she believes what she is doing is morally right and does not see it as a crime to kill ones murderer. We also notice the irony of praying to God to help her kill someone. It is mentioned several times in the story that Widow Saverini goes to pray for help from God. From our point of view we believe that she is doing the wrong thing; as it is the opposite of how God wants us to behave. She also goes to church a second time to pray just before she avenges her son: Widow Saverini went to a confession and communion, in an ecstasy of devotion. This shows how keen she is to do what she believes is the right thing. It also shows us how a much tougher and more hostile community believes that revenge is the right thing to do and that God is always on their side. However in Mother Savage the theme of revenge, unlike Vendetta, is not affected by any religious beliefs. When we look at Maupassants life experiences, we can perhaps understand why he based his stories upon those themes. His mother had been the playmate of the novelist Gustave Flaubert, who was the influence of his career. When Maupassant was very young, his parents separated through divorce, onwards living with his brother and mother. This links to how in both of the two stories, the mothers do not have husbands and are widows with nothing but their only son. This is of a similar circumstance to Maupassants childhood. From his early education he retained a marked hostility to religion. This also has similarities with Vendetta. It was part of the reason to why Widow Saverini planned her gruesome revenge because due to religion she believed she was doing the right thing, when in fact she was not. This shows that he is criticising religion here. Maupassant always loved solitude- like both of the widows, and in his later years he developed a constant desire for solitude, fear of death and crazed paranoia of persecution. In 1892, Maupassant tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat, he later died in 1893. We see that towards the end of his life, he became mentally unstable, later resulting with an attempt of suicide. Maupassants characters are very disturbing and we are able to link his mental unstability with them. The two widows seem to be mentally unstable which is because of the cultural and personal forces they live with. Many of the stories that Maupassant wrote are rather sinister and involve the Franco-Prussian war, which he grew up with. The stories have a pessimistic nature due to the problems and illnesses he had in his background life, which also tells us that he was most likely stressed with his life. In Mother Savage we sympathise with the main character, Mother Savage, because we feel sad for how the war has caused her so much grief and anguish towards the Germans. We also sympathise with her because she is willing to die for her son since she loves him so much and despite her honesty she is executed at the wall of her house by the Germans. We look up to her honest behaviour and admire the bravery and courage she has to admit to having killed the soldiers. We respect her personality because though she kills the soldiers, she has the decency to record their addresses and only kills them because they represent the men who killed her son. We also begin to feel quite attached to her because we begin to understand who she is and of her moderate behaviour towards everything that happens. The narrator ends the story with a powerful image, and I picked up a little stone still blackened by the fire. This causes us to consider the story and question whether her methods were morally right. However, in Vendetta we sympathise more with Widow Saverinis victim than herself because we condemn her for avoiding punishment and how she does not even consider for once his side of the quarrel between him her son. Also, as we do not even know Widow Saverinis name, we feel more distant and therefore we sympathise with her less. The short story form is a very effective way of exploring revenge. Short stories are based upon a single plot which makes it easy to focus on. This meant that we could easily focus entirely on the theme of revenge and explore it in further depth. Short stories also often have a moral/key theme which leaves the ending very memorable and intriguing. Only one or two developed characters are necessary and there are not many descriptive passages so the setting is established quite quickly. This means that we can read the story and get to the point quickly, in this case revenge, and explore in depth the theme of revenge. This makes the whole story a lot more effective. The story Mother Savage suggests that Maupassant is condemning revenge as he reminds us that it causes severe punishment and death, although in the story Vendetta it suggests that Maupassant is advocating revenge as it is possible to escape punishment and it leaves you with peace of mind. Maupassant seems to leave us to deci de whether revenge is good or bad having outlined the factors of both decisions.

The Role of Loneliness in James Joyces Ulysses Essay -- Joyce Ulysses

The Role of Loneliness in James Joyce's Ulysses Have you ever had one of those days when the world seems cold and unfeeling? Where the people that surround you are far away and uncaring? Ulysses is about one of those days, and two people who are stuck within it, searching desperately for a way out. Loneliness runs like a thread through Ulysses, a novel by James Joyce. It constantly tugs at the character's minds, and drives their lives in subtle ways. Joyce drives the point home by giving a drab, grey description of the character's lives. Ulysses is set in 1904, Dublin, Ireland. Joyce's book was first published in 1922. The plot of Ulysses is fairly simple. The novel re-creates the days of two Irishmen, Leopold Bloom, the main character, and Stephen Dedalus, the son of Bloom's good friend, Simon Dedalus. The story starts with both characters waking up, and follows their lives through a single day. Stephen is a school teacher, and Leopold works as an advertizing canvasser for the local newspapers. For Stephen, it's only a partial day of school, so after receiving his pay, he goes and visits a nearby relative and then goes for a walk on the beach. Meanwhile, Leopold has woken up, and prepared breakfast for himself and his wife. After going to the butcher's and the post office, he goes to the funeral of an old friend, Paddy Dignam. After the funeral, he goes about business in town, and comes across Stephen twice. Finally, as Bloom visits a friend in the hospital, he sees Stephen, extremely drunk with a group of medical s tudents. All of them go to a pub. At the pub, they all get bombed, and Bloom takes Stephen on a drunken rampage through town. When Bloom realizes the state Stephen is in, he takes him home, and offers to let Ste... ...death of Stephen's mother is still filling his mind - during his drunken spree, Stephen actually thinks that his mother had come back to haunt him. Bloom, on the other hand, after subconsciously searching through Dublin since his son's death, has found someone to help, and be a father figure for them. Although Bloom's gesture of kindness is rejected by Stephen, Bloom has taken the first step out of the dark grip of loneliness by trying to help another. James Joyce's Ulysses is a story that conveys the drab lives of two miserable Irishmen. The setting portrayed in this book is bleak. Both characters are absorbed in their own loneliness, and lack the perspective to see beyond it. Although Ulysses may seem long and extremely confusing, Joyce creates a thorough depiction of this human condition. Works cited Joyce, James. Ulysses. New York: Random House, 1961.

To Singapore with Love Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

To Singapore with Love It was with sleepy eyes that I first got off the airplane and into the city of Singapore. All of a sudden, however, I was jolted awake. Colorful signs and exhibits flashed the words, "Welcome to Singapura!" At that moment, a thrill rushed through me. I had arrived in the City of the Lion, an exotic and mysterious city in the orient, about to start on an exciting journey of learning and adventure. From our first day of arrival, the delegates were treated with kindness and respect. I continued to be amazed by the organization's staff, whose members stayed up in the early hours of the morning to greet us, provide us transport from the airport to the Pasir Ris Resort, and then to check us in. Every day, the event coordinators made sure we were well-informed and cared for, attending to our each and every need. From the very onset we were introduced to our conference groups. Ensuring a diverse mix of students and teachers, I was pleased to find myself exposed to a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. The student and adult group leaders were amazingly friendly and organized. I was very impressed by their leadership abilit... ... that the 2nd APEC Youth Science Festival was a great success. Although there were aspects that could have been improved - like more leisure time, improved accommodations, and better food - the event was extremely well-balanced and beneficial. With a healthy mix of educational research, scientific discussion, cultural interaction, and fun, the overall experience was a success. When I boarded the plane to return to the United States, it was not without a feeling of regret and wistfulness. I knew I would miss beautiful Singapore, but I would also treasure the new memories and friends I had made.

Outline Influence of Childhood Experiences on Adult Relationships Essay

Individuals differ in their relationships; psychologists have researched whether adult relationships are related to early experiences in life. Bowlby believes that the type of relationship the individual has with their primary caregiver gives a basis of a future relationship. This is called the internal working model. The fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, which is by nature, babies display social releasers which helps them ensure contact or proximity with the primary caregiver, as they similarly will with their partner in their adult relationship. Another example of the internal working model is the continuity hypothesis, which is a key theory to explaining childhood or adolescent experiences on later adult relationships, where it states that childhood relationships will affect your future relationships, Mary Ainsworth explores this by looking at our relationships as infants as concluded three types: Secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant. Secure is where the infant is in a calm state even without the presence of the primary caregiver, secure avoidant is where shows little distress, avoids contact with caregiver when returns, and insecure-resistant is when child shows a lot of distress, anxious and nervous. This demonstrates the relationship that the child has with the primary caregiver when they are present and not present. This gives the child a set of beliefs about themselves and the nature of the relationship with others, the continuity thesis see’s this as a predictive behaviour of future relationships. Hazen and Shaver also devised a theory that supports the continuity thesis, they say that when a child perceives a threat to a relationship or themselves, they will feel frightened or worried, therefore they seek the primary caregivers attention. Depending on the situation the attachment behaviour varies depending on the need of the child. They also observed adult relationships, where adults normally feel safer and more secure when their partner is nearby and responsive, the partner may be used as a secure base, when they may feel sick or threatened they will seek attention of partner which mimics their infant-mother relationship. Another psychologist Freud, also looks into unresolved conflicts as a child, he links this into adult relationships, where he concluded that this could cause difficulty forming. He explains this using our defence mechanisms. Again, Hazer and Shaver supports the thesis as they published the ‘love quiz’ in an American Newspaper, and found that the majority of responses were secure attachment which gave them long lasting happy and stable relationships, however this could be due to a social desirability, as only certain category of people would reply to the newspaper advertisement, for example middle class, or those that are happy in their relationship are more likely to respond to the ad rather than those in an unhappy unfulfilling relationship. The participants were given 3 statements which each reflected the type of attachments that Mary Ainsworth found, he found those who were securely attached trusted each other and was in a happy stable relationship, those who were insecure avoidant were uncomfortable being close to others and insecure resistant were likely to be possessive and preoccupied about their relationships. However this study has been criticised for social desirability as participants may respond different knowingly that their information would be shared, and also for being retrospective as they are doing this from memory However there has been other explanations that suggests otherwise, for example Kagan presents the temperament hypothesis where different infants simply may just have different personalities, for Kagan the strange situation measures the temperament rather than attachment and the attachment behaviours displayed are a reflection of this infants temperament. However the bizarre case study of the Czech twins would go against the continuity theory as to where their childhood attachment were abusive, unsatisfied and had no social or emotional bonds went to the opposite after they were adopted by two loving sisters who they formed a normal loving bond and both went onto have long lasting stable relationships, this doesn’t show that adult relationships replicating childhood attachments as they are still able to have normal relationships without experiencing it at childhood. The continuity thesis is also very reductionist as they don’t take in any other consideration or factors that can affect their relationships, for example peer influence, cultural differences for example, a collectivist culture is more likely to spend most their time mothering the child, so they are more likely to form an insecure attachment, but can still go on to developing normal relationships.

Cultural Immersion Essay

Culture has been characterized as the beliefs, arts, morals, customs and traditions exhibited by a group of individuals within a particular society (Langness 1987). It has long been believed that culture has been associated with one’s ancestry. My trip to Jamaica has made it evident that this entirely is not the case. There are a number of other factors that could cause two groups of individual from the same ethnical background but living in different societies. My paper will be discussing my experiences and realization during my short but meaningful trip to the island of Jamaica. My Cultural Background In order to show that people who come from the same ethnical background do not necessarily have to have the same culture, I will first provide information regarding my own personal background to serve as the basis. Although I am an American living in California, my ethnical descent is African. The roots of my family are embedded in Mississippi. It is for this reason why the food and way of life I have been brought up with resembles those that live in the southern part of the country. In fact, even if I do come from a single parent household, our traditions are very much Southern from the food we eat, the importance we give to our religion and spending time with the family. Day One of My Trip This trip was not just my first time to Jamaica, but my first trip outside of the United States. The moment I had gotten out of the plane, I could say that I was immediately shocked with what greeted me. When I left California for Jamaica, I went through an airport that was air-conditioned and my full of the latest security precaution devices and machines to pass through. I did not see anything of this sort when I arrived in the airport at Jamaica. No high-technology security equipment and no air-conditioner running in the airport. I was greeted by a man named Darwin Mills who was going to drive me to the house of Mr. and Mrs. James, my host family. Mr. Mill’s disposition was as warm as the weather. He was more than happy to drive me first around the Montego Bay area of the island to show me around. Although he was extremely enthusiastic about everything in Jamaica, I could not help but notice how different it was from my hometown in California. It was if I was in another world. For starters, the vehicle used by Mr. Mills to bring me to my destination was right-handed, which was why they were driving in the opposite lane than I would back in California. I also saw people walking on either side of what was supposedly their main highway. When I meant that they were walking on either side of the highway, I am not talking about them walking on sidewalks on either side of the highway. They were literally walking on the side of the highway. What really caught my attention was how underdeveloped the area was. It was not anything like what you would see in tourist brochures and magazines. The streets were filled with pot holes. Houses were small and the fences were poorly made. There were no skyscrapers or large business establishments back home. It made me realize just how fortunate I was living in a sturdy well-built house with a sturdy fence and driving on a well-paved road, despite the horrendous traffic. My first taste of authentic Jamaican cuisine was at lunch time when Mr. Mills brought me to the Rock House Hotel. I was blown away on just how fresh the food was. It tasted deliciously different. After which, I was taken to Rick’s Cafe, which is known more for the daredevils jumping over the cliffs into the wide blue ocean. At the background was a steel drum band playing Reggae music, which is one of the signatures of Jamaica. I was fascinated on how something so simple could be able to develop wonderful, upbeat music. When Mr. Mills dropped me at Mr. and Mrs. James’ house, I nearly jumped at the sight of the dogs that Mr. James keeps loose at the front yard. He apologized for them and explained to me that their dogs were allowed to run loose for their own protection. Although their homes were equipped with two air-conditioners, he explained to me that this is rarely used since electricity is rather expensive in Jamaica. This is the reason why they only use electric fans. As I retired for the night, I kept reminding myself not to immediately judge my life back in California and what I have initially seen in Jamaica so that I would be able to fully understand more about living in Jamaica. Day Two of My Trip The highlight of the second day of my trip was when Mr. and Mrs. James introduced me to Mr. James’ uncle, Charles and his cousin, Brenda. It was through my conversation with them that I begun to slowly learn more about Jamaica. According to them, for a long time, Jamaica had been a colony of England. It only gained its independence in 1962. Majority of the inhabitants of the island were predominantly of African descent, like I was. Although they live far away from Africa, they still hold dearly to their African traditions and customs. Celebrations of the various African festivals are held annually. Despite its booming tourism industry, Jamaica remains to be a third world country. This conversation had answered a lot of my questions when I had first arrived in Jamaica and it had opened my eyes and my mind and developed an understanding and appreciation to the people living in Jamaica. Despite everything surrounding them, they remain to be warm and extremely accommodating to me and more than willing to help me learn as much as I can about Jamaica and Jamaican’s way of life. Day Three of My Trip My last day in Jamaica happened to land on a Sunday. The day started with a day at the beachside which Jamaica has long been known for. But I did not go there to swim, because I do not know how. Instead, I had been taken by Mr. James to the beach to do some shopping. Unlike in California where everything is bought in the local grocery or seafood market, here in Jamaica, it only takes a matter of a few hours for the food to be caught, picked, cleaned, cooked and served. Speaking with meals, my last meal in Jamaica was something similar that one that I would usually have back home. We were served a feast of greens, jerk chicken, rice and peas. Just like back home, Sunday was a time when families get together and enjoy each others’ company over a wonderful spread of home-cooked favorites. Reflection Taking the road less traveled by American tourists in Jamaica, I was able to learn so much about their way of life. Back home, I have been fortunate to have access to a number of amenities and privileges that most Jamaicans would only dream about. Yet, their situation has not diminished their warm and sunny outlook towards life. Despite their limited resources, Jamaicans are able to make the most of what they have and keep a positive outlook. For instance, some African Americans to this day hold a grudge against Caucasian Americans for the prejudice, racism and oppression the older generations have experienced since the time of the slave trade. While Jamaicans had also experienced the same oppressive treatment in the hands of the English, they have placed the oppression behind them and instead celebrate on the fact that they are now free from the oppression. Reference Langness, L. L. (1987). The Study of Culture. Novato, CA: Chandler & Sharp.