October 30, 2013

A day before halloween, many of the students were dressed up! But that did not stop us from having one of the greatest presentations (in my opinion) this term. I was not able to participate in Kitashiro-san's lecture so I cannot say anything about that, but I really enjoyed the presentation that Mr. Floyd and Dr. Daisy did today. 

Although it was brief, the information was very packed together and kept my eyes open the whole time. It's incredible to think that one person, in this case Dr. Daisy, was able to turn the whole situation around and is still continuing to prosper. When Dr. Daisy was telling us about how he gave the vice presidents and directors the right to speak up and actually do more work, it reminded me of the lessons that Shackleton taught us. Shackleton gave all of his crew members a special job so that they felt a good kind of pressure to do their job for the team. Dr. Daisy was doing the same thing with his co-workers so that each person had their own job and so that they can create a better environment together. Dr. Daisy was also in a completely different environment than what he was used to and he had to completely change the way things were run at the college. Like he said near the end of his presentation, I can imagine how there will be some people who will have trouble coming out of their shell. But I found it great how Dr. Floyd believes that he can get at least 80% of his people to get used to the new way of things:) At the very end, when Mr. Floyd wrapped things up, I realized how I was so drawn into their presentation that I completely forgot about the time! Even though we did not have much time to peer edit, I really enjoyed today's presentation and am glad that we got to spend a good amount of time on it.

Week of the 21st~25th

Since starting this week we only have to write one blog post, I thought that maybe I could write a little bit about each day of the week!

Monday... Usually I'm so tired on Monday's first period class but this week we had a very special guest, Hibiya-sensei! I agree with Ken that there was a lot about her history that seemed a little bit too much, but I think her history really showed how she is an independent woman and her confidence and strength is what got her the position that she is at right now. When Shiho asked the question of what was her biggest struggle as a woman leader, I was surprised when she answered, right now. Hearing her about her experience at the conferences, I was once again in awe of how she has gotten herself to such a respectable position in such a short period of time. 

I really enjoyed the video that Ken showed us in class at the beginning! A good laugh was just what I needed since I was getting stressed with some stuff inside and outside of school. For the main portion of class we discussed citations and paraphrasing vs. plagiarizing for our essays. I thought that I knew most of the information that would be presented since I have written many essays for other classes, but being able to refresh my mind with all of the technical writing skills need in writing this academic essay was very useful. 

On Friday we did some paraphrasing exercises and got into our groups to talk about our essays. Since the first draft was due that day, we all had a few paragraphs done but had similar problems with how to cite the essays and if our information was okay. We are so used to having to write argumentative essays, that the informative essays we all are writing seemed sort of bland... In my case, I was planning on only writing one paragraph on a certain topic but once I started writing and gathering necessary information, the length turned out to be that of an entire body section. So I will probably need to go in for a tutorial to get things sorted out haha

And thank you Ken for the amazing brownies! I think we all (except Joki haha) were very happy about the sweet treats that brought our spirits back up:)

October 18, 2013

Today was the first time that I got to discuss my research paper with my group, Moeka and Haruka. We are all analyzing companies that were listed in the "Top Ten Most Admired Companies in the World". It seemed like we were all still wondering on what topics to focus on in our essay since analyzing the entire company would be an incredible amount of information. And we all shared a common difficulty of not being able to find many sources other than ones that are actually provided by the companies we will be analysing. I am analyzing the Coca-Cola Company and why it is so admired by focusing on its leaders, the many brands they own, and the global activities that the Coca-Cola Foundation does. 

In the second half of class, we were given a presentation on the Hong Kong speech contest. Even though I have never been to HK, I was actually interested in applying for this contest (partly because I wanted the ¥1000 gift card). When I heard the winner from ICU speak, I was amazed by her clear pronunciation even though she was born and raised in Japan. As a person who grew up in the States for about 15 years, it made me feel bad about my own English level and how we barely differed... By the end of class I was actually interested in the competition, but then Kristi, Yusuke and I were denied entry because of our dual citizenship :(

"Risk"

Taking a risk is not something that is easy. Just like Perkins says in this chapter, "There are times when doing nothing, or making a 'safe choice', actually entails greater risks than a bold gamble" (150). This made me think, how do you decide when to take action and when to stay put? In Shackleton's case, his decision to leave Elephant Island and search for food supplies by going to South Georgia was a definite plus for his crew. Obviously, I have never experienced something so life threatening or risky before. I think that you never know whether the choice you made was right until the situation has completely ended, which can be very dangerous sometimes. However, I feel that it is important to be adventurous, especially while you are young, so even if it turns out to be a mistake, you can learn from it and grow.

http://www.inspirationalspark.com/image-files/jumping-quoted.jpg

Back in my first year at ICUHS, I was playing around in the hallways and took a huge leap in the air and landed badly (on concrete floor, wearing flip flops...). At first the doctor said it was fine, so I only used crutches for a week and even went on a trip to the states for three weeks over the summer. After I returned to Japan, I went to a different doctor and found out that part of my bone had chipped off. Also, that chipped off part had turned 90 degrees and my body was trying to fix it by itself. No wonder it hurt so bad and I had a huge lump on my foot... I had to decide whether I would have surgery on my foot to re-break my bone and screw it back together in the correct position, or just leave it since it didn't affect my daily routines or cheer. To me, this was a huge deal because having surgery would mean not being able to exercise for 3 whole months, which meant not competing at the annual cheer competition and putting aside the lead role in my ballet performance. On the other hand, not having surgery meant that one day it would be hard for me to continue ballet and when I got older, I would experience some pain in my foot. At first I could not decide whether or not to take the "risk" of this surgery, but I decided to have surgery in the end. After long months of waiting and finally thinking that I would be able to dance again, I was told by my doctor that I would need to have surgery once more to fix a certain tissue around my originally broken bone. At that moment, I seriously thought that I was cursed by some sports-God who didn't want me to dance ever again. After about a year from the day that I broke my foot in the hallway, I was finally back to ballet lessons and cheer practice with a pain-free foot. Now that I think about it, I am very glad that I took the choice of having surgery because without it, I may not be dancing right now. And to be quite frank, I think that I've actually improved technically in my ballet skills after overcoming this struggle. Even though this "risk" of mine is nothing compared to Shackleton's or his crew's, I think that it is one of the biggest and one the most rewarding risks that I have taken in my life.

"Conflict"

The first section of this chapter, "Deal with anger in small doses", stood out to me because I usually allow lots of small things to pile up and then  I usually end up exploding when I overflow with anger, which is a really bad thing... If I am able to deal with the small doses of anger each time, I feel like I would be able to handle my anger better. 

It is scary to think how severe environments can make a person overact in a certain way, like in the Karluk expedition. Stealing is obviously not an action that would be forgiven in regular circumstances, but I think killing because of theft would only happen when people are put in such extreme situations without a proper leader to help smooth out the conflict. Shackleton, being able to learn from the mistakes of other leaders, became a role model for his crew and knew that he had "to set an example in dealing with the inevitable tensions and strains caused by the close quarters and the physical and emotional stress suffered by the crew members" (115). I liked how the book talked about Frank Wild, not just Shackleton, and how he was able to keep the rest of the crew settled on Elephant Island, when Shackleton and some of the other men left. With the main leader gone, I imagine it must have been a lot of pressure for Wild to keep everyone under control and as comfortable as possible without much information on Shackleton's whereabouts. 

When I read that Shackleton was actually known to have been short tempered (115), I was very surprised because the actions he took on this expedition make him look like a very calm, friendly, and optimistic man. Allowing the ones who do not get along very well with the others (or already have problems) to bunk with him was very smart. Although, if I was in his position, I probably would have felt it to have been like sacrificing myself so that my crew did not have to deal with those people. Taking these troublemakers to South Georgia made him have more to deal with, even though he must have actually been very stressed ever since they shared tents on the island. I wonder how Shackleton dealt with all of this stress if he was known for being a short tempered man.  Personally, I think that I am not one who gets stressed or angry very easily, but when small things pile up too much, I either have a meltdown or just explode. I feel like Shackleton, who seems like he sacrificed a lot for his team and the expedition itself, would have had these small things pile up too. It seems like he was taking most of the stress in by allowing to let his crew live in peace, but he's human too right? Did he not explode at one point  during the expedition from the stress and anger piled up inside him?

Oct. 7

It was great being able to talk about everyone's blogs today at the beginning of class! I haven't been able to read through all of the posts but after hearing about some of my classmate's posts, it made me want to read them more in detail. I personally enjoyed the video that Megumi posted, and it definitely put a smile on my face even though I was exhausted in the morning. It's truly amazing how one small thing like a high five, or an interesting joke will make people's day and put a smile on someone's face. When I saw Narumi's pictures and heard about Kenta's a cappella songs, it made me think about how much time and passion I devote to things that I find gratifying. Ballet has been a huge part of my life ever since I put on my first pair of ballet flats at the age of 3, and now that I think about it, I spend quite a lot of time at the studio. Some people ask me isn't it hard to keep up with both school and ballet (and bukatsu back when I was in high school) but I actually find myself at ballet more when I'm busy. Ballet is my getaway from reality, and just those 2 hours I spend in the studio for one lesson allow me to reset myself to do my other work more efficiently. I guess this is really THE thing I find most gratifying in life (so far at least), and I was able to realize once again how grateful I am to have ballet.


We got into to groups to discuss how we each manage our conflicts and how comfortable we are with them. Even though I don't particularly enjoy conflict, which I'm not sure if anyone does, I think I am calm and reasonable enough to deal with most conflicts. From the questionnaire, I scored highest in the problem solving section (which makes me an owl!) so I guess I'm good at solving problems between people? In my group, we came to the conclusion that there are times when it is better to just not fight about it but sometimes we need to sit down, talk, and solve the problem(s). In my cheer team in high school, we have a meeting maybe twice or three times a year when we all just vent and say what is on our minds so that we can solve all of our problems and move on. Especially in a team sport where every person's opinions and feelings are important, I think times like these are necessary. Some people may not feel very comfortable having to discuss conflict, but in a team, solving all of the problems to be able to perform as one cannot be avoided.

Oct. 2

In yesterday's class, we started off with the question, "What's my sentence?". At first, I had no idea what Inoken was talking about but after watching the video and deciding that we would do a class project by making a video, I started asking myself that question. I still haven't come up with my sentence but hopefully I can think of something that will be "me" by the end of the trimester :)

We wrapped up our negotiation course by doing a questionnaire and getting into groups to discuss our results. The negotiation style that I scored highest in was the Collaborating style, which surprised me because in all of the roll plays we did in class, I did not do so well. Everyone in my group had a different "best style" and we were all able to see how that style would match that particular person's personality. However, we agreed that it is necessary to change styles depending on the other side and the subject of negotiation. If you are negotiating with a company that you want to keep a good relationship with, you might back down a little on your needs and become accommodating. On the other hand, if you want to seal the deal in your favor no matter what the consequences, you will be showing your competitive side. I learned in this  part of the course that it is important to think ahead of time and have a fully engineered brain when negotiating with someone, especially someone who is competitive. I hope to be able to use some of the things that I learned in class in real life negotiations in the future.

"We are one- we live or die together"

Teamwork is obviously a key factor when in such a severe situation like Shackleton and his crew. I felt that being able to watch out for your own teammates, whether you are the leader or not, is important for everyone to feel like part of the team. When I was part of the cheerleading team in high school, I could feel that we all had each others' backs. Since it is a sport that requires everyone to be alert and ready for anything to happen (especially when a stunt does not succeed and someone accidentally falls), cheerleading required all teammates to see the big picture so that everyone knew what each person was doing at a certain time. Even though we were not a particularly strong team in the sense of getting high scores at competitions, we were a strong team that had a very tight bond and understood the entire team.

Recently at my ballet studio, I see a lot of teamwork going on and this actually surprised me. While rehearsing for an upcoming performance, I saw a lot of my friends helping each other out when memorizing sequences and reviewing the previous choreography we learned. I used to think of ballet as an individual sport and art because every one wants to be in the spotlight and be noticed when dancing on stage. However, for the next performance, we are all part of the "corps de ballet" or the background dancers who are there to let the main principal dancers shine. So instead of trying to stand out, we must all dance at the exact same timing and dance as one group. Even though my situation right now is no where near as life threatening and severe as Shackleton and his crew's, I am able to feel the importance of teamwork and how crucial it is for everyone's "survival" in each situation.

P.S. My role is the dancer in the front on the left row~!! If anyone is interested in coming to see the show, please let me know!! :)