Video on Pineapple

What is the true cost of pineapple? That is the question needs to be taken into consideration since each supermarket have their own price. The narrator talks about her trip to Costa Rica and sees that they have their own problems to take care of, like the spillage of argochemical that goes in rivers and lead to the ocean. Its interesting to hear from different people in Costa Rica talks about how their live has change due to the spillage of agrochemicals fromt the Dole Company at Batan airport. Some of them have the same complaint on working hard to take care of their family and how things have change due to the spillage. One lady by the name Aidi (not sure if i spell it right) talks about how her heatlh came from great to ground. At first she was happy with her life that no illness was to reach her level of surviving however the spillage turn her life the other way around. Sadly, others talk about working hard to make sure his daughter has a shot at a good education and leading a good life. Seems like his daughter is his motivation of providing for their family no matter what.The others share with the watchers how hard it is to get a holiday off to go see his family in Niaguara. I was suprised to see that worker have to ask for permission to be off on holidays. Doesn't everyone deserve to be off that paticular day? Since were talking about Costa Rica i think they have a different interpretation of holidays.
Anyways, some companies do encounter these kinds of problems such as spillage or shortage on products. People working in large company deals with oil and dangerous chemical should be really careful with the work they do or else the mistakes they made will wipe out most lives in Costa Rica. The idea of using chemicals for growing plants has a take on its pros and cons. Its good that it protects the crop from pesticides but it might be dangerous for the crop itself. The usage of chemical on crops for fast growth and protection should be limited. Perhaps it makes work more easier but they should also consider the outcome of their decision of using those chemicals. Towards the end of the video the narrator did mention that the less people pay in Europe the higher the price people pay in Costa Rica. Is that fair? Aside from all the things shown in the video it all comes down to what the narrator says and i also agree with her. Its the supermarket and big traders who should set the price and put a stop at price war. They are the ones who can make the decisions and hopefully a price that will satisfy not only the big traders but the customers too.

Field Trip to Waimanalo

     The field trip to Waimanalo reminds me of the time when my brother took me to his work place. He works in American Samoa Land Grant. The imagery of the greenhouse, the pig stall, trees all over the place struck me when we walk around the farm. Its almost as if im walking through the Land Grant work site with my brother telling me about how they are able to contribute to enlarge the site for a better development of Land Grant. Its very much similar to what the tour guide lectured on. He told us that him and the crew are working hard each day for the betterment of the farm they are working on. By the looks of the tour, these people has done a tremendous job with the farm and contributing adequate ways to widen its development. The livestock and crops on the farm as the tour guide explain is a job well done for the workers and hopefully they keep up the good work. The tour guide allows us to take some ulus and avocados if we want to. Ulu and taro are the most common in American Samoa.
     However, by the looks of the farm, a lot of money has been spend on providing some of the equipments that helps get the work done on the farm. They also have a restauraunt called "Sweet Home" happens to serve the best meals. Most of crops used in the restauraunt for meal preparation comes from the farm. I thought this was a brilliant idea, that way no money can be spend on buying food products from other stores. Everything else they need comes from the farm. My brothers work place (Land Grant) does the same but since its a working site (which they do not own) they are able to harvest and give it to store on a price they offer. Whichever store interested to buy it they trade: they get the money, store get the crops. In addition, Land Grant always have a taste-session before they release it. This is held once on harvest week, where they invite people to taste the sample for free and they get feedbacks from the people. I only attended this twice and it was a great experience for me. Everything they put out for the session taste great and ready to be sold. Going on the field trip made me reminisce through old times when i was introduce in a farm site similar to the farm over at Land Grant. As far as the field trip, i had a great time and learn more about agriculture.

Video narrated by Jeff Johnson

      Watching the video narrated by Jeff Johnson got me thinking on how people go about finding themselves. Jeff Johnson and his friends have the same love for climbing some of the them its a hobby but for some its just to explore how it feels to be a climber. The narrator not only have a love for climbing but he also likes surfing. Its all about finding the things that he likes doing in life and as mentioned in class seeking happiness i would say this relates to the video. A group of friends doing what they love to do and what makes them happy. Aside from the narrator and his friends climbing, surfing and going on a journey for months, the imagery that strucks me the most was their stop in Rapa Nui for help. A storm on sea broke the sail of their ship but they kept going until they found an island called Rapa Nui. Jeff Johnson tells his audience that staying in Rapa Nui and discovering that island made him wants to stay there. The hospitality and warm welcomes that made them feel like part of the island.
     It was said in the video that if you love a place, you have a duty to protect. This is very true in so many levels. There stay in Rapa Nui was fantastic they were not short on things to survive. Their new friend Makohey showed them around and made them feel more at home. The Rapa Nui people even help them restore the damage on their ship and give them enough food for the continuous journey. The Rapa Nui showed them that money are not the only means for survival. Land and sea offers much more to survive in terms of food to eat and water to drink. Rapa Nui depends more on the land and sea for survival rather than money that comes from work. On the other hand, their stop in Rapa Nui was another way for Johnson and his friends to reconnect with nature and look at the world from another point of view. Instead of climbing huge mountains and surfing on surfboard there is more to life than that. As they stayed their, Jeff wanted to stay there but they had a journey to finish so they continue on. The video was easy to relate to because it gives the viewer so many reasons to strive for what they want, find happiness within their everyday routine, find themselves relating to nature and that every journey has a happy ending. I really enjoyed watching it in class.

Guest Speaker: Kat Brandy's Presentataion

     The guest speaker we had in class by the name Kat Brandy has shared some interesting ideas in class while presenting her portion of the presenation with partner Mr. Henry Curtis. Kat's presentation comes as a suprise to me as she talks about people and the experement of student being inmate and guards. Kat mentioned that we are a web of life. The web of life can be a compared to how the world works and the connection of people to one another. People work together regardless of their cultural background to keep the world a better place. This goes together with what Kat mention about the experiment that they run witht the students. The experiment was to let the student perform as inmates and guards. She explains that the experiment went well.
      Another part of the presentation that i enjoyed a lot was her personal situation that she shared with us. I find it hard to believe at first when she shared on how she has gun pointed at her, mobbed so many times but still she manage to solve the situation. During the presentation that day she was one of the courageous people i've ever met. These are the kinds of things that deals with life and death situation but gladly she had a way with people. Also, i agree when she told us that people in prison want to give back but they don't know how to do it. In relation with class, its the relationship between people and their environment. Sometimes its our surrounding that can change a person. For example, when someone goes to prison that person is surrounded by inmates, dirty cells, and guards. Its very uncomfortable and that person can go through different kind of emotions but mostly scared and lonely. In order to connect with other people we have to help them out. It is our responsibility to help them find their way. Everybody wants to do something but not everyone knows how to do it. The youth today can make the wave and save a life. A wave that reaches out to other people who needed help and tell them that there help is on the way.

Vocabulary on decline due to fewer books

         Professor Nicholson states that parents should make sure their children must carry around a dictionary to help build up their vocabulary. I think his title should be "Vocabulary on decline due to modern technologies (phones,computers, etc.)." Although each classroom prefer the use of books, computers seems to make things easier for research and almost everyone are using it. Even students are using computers in school and at home. The problem presented is vocabulary on decline due to the specific use of phones and computers. Today, internet has provided the world of entertainment including muyspace, facebook, twitter and much more. The chatting language that everyone use are called "slang" or "acronyms". Its the kind of language that applies the use of inappropriate vocabulary (vocabularies that you can't find on a dictionary). The use of these words has cleared of the use of a vocabulary in the dictionary and its meaning. When people chat, text or IM each other, a lot of them tend to use short words for big vocabulary and it saddens most instructors that they might accidentally use it in writing. Professor Nicholson speaks on the use of dictionary to build up vocabularies in class is much required. Its the use of computers and interenet sites that declines the usage of vocabulary not books. A lot of books are being issued each year by famous writers and dictionaries are being upgraded but most people would prefer the use of computer rather reading the actual book.

Response to "The kids aren't all right"

     After reading this article the questions that bothers me the most was "are drugs really the answer?." Is this refer to drugs as in literally drugs or another term for prescriptions? The usage of drugs will depend on the diagnosis a child experience at a young age. Although, some doctors may give you prescriptions to help deal with the diagnosis but does it really help? Some does some doesn't so its on a be careful basis for the child for the reasons that not every child response well for the medicines taken. Plus, some kids may be allergic to those prescriptions. I disagree with the parents idea of taking their daughter to the mental hospital right away. They should try to solve the problem at home if there is no improvement than take her to the mental institution or to see a therapist. I personally think that the diagnosis of a child at a young age would come from their environment. It also involves the people who are responsible in taking care of her as she grew up, which in this case, her parents, siblings and her family.
     I think parents should look into dealing with the problem at home before taking them to the a mental hospital. The idea of taking them to the hospital makes it worse because they will feel that their parents don't love them anymore. When a child grew up in a healthy and happy environment, mostly likely that child will not be diagnose with antidepresent due to the fact that everyone in the family are providing for her. The whole family gives the child so much love,care,support and almost everything. As oppose to someone who grew up in an environment with lack of the following being mentioned before, the child will deal with such difficulties let alone diagnose with antidepresent. The feeling of not getting the support they want from home can be another reason why teenagers are depressed. Some feel that they are left out and that parents don't really care about what they are going through. These teenagers must get much attention from the parents so they will know that they do matter. Since these teenagers are diagnose at a young age, its better for the parents to reach out to them and get to know what really is going on with them. They must open up to them and if by any chance they can't really help it, then its time to see a therapist or take them to a mental institution.