Education for Humanity

Education for Humanity

Our Organization exists to open the world of knowledge and further the passions of students in developing and developed countries. We believe that education is most important to advance technology and overall human standard of living. The world needs more teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs among many other professions and our goal is to expose students all over the world to the interesting lives of professionals so that they can pursue their passions early on. We will have a two-fold program, one in the developing world and one in developed.

Developing countries

Our aim here is to find human capital that will want to volunteer to teach English to a local population in Africa. When these students get the hold of English, we will have a basic means of communication. Our curriculum will then incorporate basic survival skills such as growing/finding food, purifying water, and self-defense. The next step is to teach topics such as math, science, and writing. If the country has access to electricity, we will introduce low-cost laptops pre-installed with videos of instruction on a variety of topics to supplement their learning in class. Students who graduate from our programs will be given an opportunity to either stay and teach basic education to their native population or further their education through our second program in developed countries.

Developed countries

As technology is becoming a bigger part of our lives, we have to teach kids and the new generation of students how to use them as tools for success instead of time sinks. We also want to provide an alternative to the current education system so that our students are not confined to the 5 days a week 8am – 3pm schedule. We want to use technology to show students a variety of professions, starting with those currently in highest demand. Students who finds an interest in one field will be grouped together to be taught the skills needed for that profession. Our aim is to identify student’s interests early on and provide support to help them pursue their passion. To keep our curriculum engaging, students will be using virtual reality (VR) technology to play simulation games that teaches them academic concepts. They will also be able to use the VR space to work on projects and test their knowledge. We want to associate learning to a fun, interactive experience that is spurred by the child’s personal interest. We want our students to graduate with the skills tantamount to any degree in America without having to go through all the tedious classes that they are not interested in. Students often time do not remember what they learned because they are not actively engaged or interested in it. Our VR systems will teach students

Get Involved

Our organization is different because we seek to teach the skills for basic survival in developing countries, along with basic education so that locals can be self-sufficient and to help students discover their passions early on so that we can produce highly motivated, productive professionals. To make this vision a reality, we need vast amount of funding for both programs. This is where Anima Mundi Development Partners steps in. Through your funding, we can create a self-sustainable teaching model in developing countries, which will then funnel graduates into our technologically advanced programs. Through this, we will increase the literacy rates across the board and provide more manpower to solve many of today’s world issues. 

A World We Dare to Imagine Pt 1.

All men are created equal, however not all men will have equal opportunities and the resources to realize their dreams. Some children may be born to wealthy families where they have family guidance and financial support to become whatever they want to be. Other children may come from impoverished families where getting by day to day is a struggle and they can’t even begin to think about their dreams when they don’t even know where the next meal is going to come from. Like Jacqueline Novogratz, I believe that in order to change the world, we must start at the very bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We must understand how we can provide the food, clean water and shelter for these impoverished families and then create self-sustaining systems to teach them how lift themselves out of their poor living conditions. Only after we meet these basic needs can we focus on higher needs to level the playing field and offer equal opportunities.  

In order to have equal opportunities, education and mentorship is needed. Freshman students from low-income or immigrant families often times are not aware of all the resources available to succeed. They do not know that frequently visiting office hours will help them build a strong relationship with the professor where the student can draw further expertise. They may not have the guidance needed to help them cope with college life and professional development. As a result, a mentorship program must be created to provide these low-income students with resources and guidance that will help them excel in their studies and prepare them well for internships and full-time jobs. 

Going beyond college, education can be reformed as a whole from K-12. In New York, students have to take exams in 4th grade to determine which middle school they go to. Then in 8th grade, they take the Specialized High School Admission Test (SHSAT) to score a spot in one of the eight best public high schools in New York. Then from grades 9 - 11, they must take the SATs to place into colleges. All along the way, an elementary student who is passionate about learning but is horrible at taking tests will be placed into  a poorly equipped middle school. Teachers and learning environment may not be as great as those in better schools. Then they may not do well on the SHSAT and go to a similarly bad high school. These students will be slowly fall behind and be less competitive when it comes to college. What if we are able to level the playing field with different forms of education? Perhaps introduce Virtual Reality and simulation games that will inspire and excite students when it comes to learning. What if we can teach them to chase after their interests in learning rather than feed them test prep throughout their K-12 student careers? When education is reformed to create the new generation of scientists, leaders and creative individuals, these students can better serve the world by doing what they love to do.  

Current Oil Prices

Recently, I have been getting into investing and closely following the market trends for the price of oil. It is interesting to see how a hot commodity used for energy and transportation purposes reacts to
global markets and possibly make money off these trends.

Earlier this year in February, the price of oil hit its all time low at $27 per barrel and drove many small oil companies to bankruptcy. Since then, oil prices have rallied and returned to $40 a barrel. Previously, it was thought that oil will stay at all time lows because of the high supply of oil production coming from Iran, OPEC and shale oil. However, recent reports show that OPEC is getting ready to freeze production along with Russia and Kuwait on April 17th in Doha, Dubai. In addition, the U.S. inventory for oil decreased by 4.9 million barrels when it was expected to increase by 2.9 million barrels. The slowed demand and possible freezing of production is driving oil prices back up.

My recommendation is to closely watch the Doha meeting on the 17th. If there is an agreement to freeze production levels, we will definitely see a higher oil price. The best way to invest in rising oil prices is through Oil Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) such as USO, UWTI, OIL, and UCO.

An Interview with Lynne Twist

On her journey of life, Twist discovered one important concept: the idea of sufficiency and having enough. In her current work with the Hunger project and working with the indigenous Anchuar people, she is able to see how there is no waste in the rain forest and how there was no ownership. Money does not exist in this world because everything is shared. Every one made everything for everyone else. Although there is still competition in nature, it is only used for the survival of species and not used explicitly to destroy others.

Apply this idea of having enough to our current financial structure and we will be able to appreciate the resources we have rather than have a fear of depleting resources. These ideas really hit home in today’s consumer economy because we always want more and more. We spend hours of our life to obtain money so that we can spend that on materialistic goods. If we only work until we have enough or spend until we have enough we will not over consume and over produce. As a result, we can focus our efforts on working towards the greater good whether it is hunger, environmental preservation or peace.

Genius of Money Chapter 13: Money and the Modern Mind

Money consumes time and mental resources more often than we would like because of the power and control the implied value of money holds. Bloom says that if we take a hard look at the values and intentions for why we need money, we will be able to resolve our personal financial conflicts. He poses a several questions to consider:

- Where are the opportunities to explore these deeply significant issues of money and the modern mind?

- Why does our culture hold such a long-standing taboo against money?

- What will create the leverage for long-term transformation for individuals and for culture?

To answer these questions, Bloom uses the example of J.S.G. Boggs, a contemporary artist who drew a $20 bill on the back of a napkin to present as payment for meals he’s eaten at restaurants. If the restaurant accepts this “money” as a form of payment, he will record the date, time, people involved, receipt, cost of transaction, and even ask for change. His art exhibition later goes back to buy the $20 bill” for the gallery. Boggs' form of payment shows how fictitious and perception-based our normal monetary value system is.  Money is what we make of it, and if we are able to think outside the box and pay with something other than the currency issued by the Federal Reserve, then we can solve many of our financial issues.

Bloom also uses Brother Grimm’s fairytale “The Grave-Mound,” where four characters represents a different archetype, to examine the relationship of money, the need for it, and its uses. A poor peasant begs a rich farmer for money to feed his starving children. The rich farmer’s consciousness questions what choices he’s made with greed and generosity, and give the peasant more food than needed on the condition that the peasant watches over his grave for three nights after his death. A soldier voluntarily joins the vigil on the third night and tricks the Devil who tries to use money to bribe off the two so that he can take the farmer’s soul. At the end, the Devil fails to take the farmer’s soul, the peasant turns greedy and wants to split the money that was bribed, and the soldier reminded the peasant to be humble by giving away his share so that they can live peacefully off what is left.

All of us can identify with a single character in this story, but at some point, we also identify with all characters. Simply said, we can either let money control us, or control money ourselves and only use it where it is needed or use it for the benefit of others. If we examine our inner values, our relationship with money and what we use it for, we can free ourselves from its control and the way it is used in our worlds.  

Genius of Money Chapter 1: Tribute Paid: At the Intersection of Spirit and Money

“The realms of spirit and religion, engaged as they are with the non-material world, nevertheless must find a way to work in a world that trades in money” (John Bloom). There has always been a duality between money and religion where religious followers are told to not be greedy and let go of material possession. Bloom argues that a third realm exists where both money and spirituality intertwined.

Using examples from the Bible and Stafford, Bloom says though taxes and interest rates are needed to share the costs of well-being the government provides (i.e. Medicare, Social Security, Public goods), religious institutions are exempt from these monetary policies. Jesus endorses taxes when a tax collector asks Peter for money, but tells him to instead pay the man with a fish, which will have a coin inside. On another occasion when approached by a tax collector himself, Jesus refuses to pay taxes because the coin is inscribed with Caesar’s name. Therefore, tax collectors should only collect what belongs to the state and what belongs to god, the state is not entitled to.

We agree that both money and spirituality are not mutually exclusive, but must work alongside one another for the well-being of individuals. If taxes are too high with not enough benefits, it affects our ability to give more because we don’t have that much to give.  If we do not have enough taxes, government projects will not operate sufficiently. Though taxes should also not be imposed on religious institutions since making profits is viewed as greed, money generated from government taxes should be donated to said institutions so that they may operate. 

Saturdays Foodventures - PappaRich!

Papparich
Photo Courtesy of la.eater.com

Coming from a very traditional Chinese background, I am community oriented and often spend weekends with large groups of people. Since family is so far away back in New York, I spend most of my weekends here with friends, typically going to Monterey Park’s Atlantic Seafood or Ocean Star to eat dimsum. Today is different. Connie, one of my best friends at USC, asked me to drive for her Malaysian Student Association event – getting lunch at PappaRich!

Roti Canai with Chicken Curry

PappaRich is a Malaysian chain restaurant located in Monterey Park. Their menu had everything that I missed eating from Singapore: Laksa, Char Kway Teow, Nasi Lemak, and Roti Canai. I am even more surprised to see the beverage options included Milo Dinosaur, an iced chocolate malt drink, and Teh Tarik, a hot milk tea drink. If there is one thing you need to know about me, it is that I love travelling to eat amazing food. Though this is the first time I ate at this restaurant and I know I will soon be coming back for more.

Chicken Nasi Lemak with Shrimp

I split 2 dishes with Connie: Roti Canai, an indian-influenced flatbread served with curry, a spicy sauce and a sweet sauce, and Nasi Lemak, a coconut rice dish served with curry chicken, dried fish, peanuts, shrimp, cucumber, and Sambal spicy sauce. The sambal in the Nasi Lemak is a lot spicier that I expected and had me sweating bullets within a few bites. Luckily, I am saved by the waiters who came over every ten minutes to refill my water a total of 7 times! The food is deliciously authentic, but what came after is even better.

Half & Half Boba

To complete this Saturday Foodventure, I have to get Boba and there is no better place to get Boba than Half & Half.  I got the Iced Milk Drink with Grass Jelly, Caramel, and Honey Boba. This is the finishing touch that sent me into a deep food coma. I drove home in haste to pass out on my bed. Foodventure = Success!

BEER ME!

Hate beer? Let me change your mind. As a college student, your experience with beer is probably limited only to the Bud light and Natty lite you drink at tailgates and house parties. Your first sip may have been horrible, but you continued to drink it because of social pressure and there was nothing else that you can chug. Then after one too many, you may have thrown up and decided for yourself that you absolutely hate beer and will never have one again. Well, let me help you give it another chance except this time we’ll replace the crap beer you had in the past with the craft beer that is full of flavor and aromas from all over the world. Here are the items on the agenda:

• What's in my beer?

• Beer Types

• Places for craft beers

So get your bottle openers ready because we're about to pop some bottles!!

What's in my beer?

Water: Most beginner brewers use tap water, but sophisticated brewers use varying levels of hardness and alkalinity of water to get different flavors from malt.  

Malt (left) and Hops (right)
Photo Courtesy of www.drinkbritain.com

Hops: Like the taste bitterness of beer? Hops has a bittering agent called alpha acid that adds the bitter flavor into beer. It is also used as a preservative to store beer for long periods of time, which explains why most beer nowadays has hops added in.

Malt: This ingredient gives your beer color, body, sweetness, and roasted flavors.

Yeast: This is the ingredient that causes all the magic to happen. Yeasts are living organisms that eat the sugars released from boiled malt and produces alcohol and CO2.

Other ingredients that can be added are: fruits, spices, grains and even chocolate!

Handy dandy diagram
Photo courtesy of popsci.com

Beer Types

Beer comes from two varieties: lagers and ales. The biggest difference between lagers and ales is not the ingredients that are used to brew the beer, but in the method of fermenting it. Lagers use bottom fermenting yeast, which means yeast that ferments at the bottom of the barrel, and usually fermented cold. Ales uses top fermenting yeast which ferments at warm temperature. So the important thing to remember is yeast used and the temperature that the beer is fermented at.

I have listed below some of the most common, and my favorite, styles of beers along with a few examples so that you can try them out by going to your local Ralphs.

• Pilsner: These are light lagers, usually with a light to golden yellow hue. Pilsners are usually low in alcohol content and features a strong hoppy flavor that makes this beer slightly bitter. Sam Adams Noble Pils, Lagunitas Pils, Firestone Pivo Hoppy Pils
• Stouts: Stouts are usually the darkest beers. They are roasted and have hints of chocolate, caramel, licorice, molasses or coffee. Magic Hat Vanilla Stout, Guinness Stout
•  Pale Ale: Made by warm fermentation, pale malt and slight hoppy flavor. Magic Hat Not Quite Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Goose Ten Hills Pale Ale, Alchemy Pale Ale
• India Pale Ale: IPA’s were first created when British troops stationed in India wanted to drink beer from the motherland. Hops is added to the beer to prevent it from spoiling on the journey to India. It is very bitter and can range from light golden yellow to darker red amber. Firestone IPA, Lagunitas IPA, Sam Adams Rebel Grapefruit IPA

If you look closely, some of the examples have repeated brand names in different style categories. This is because I like to buy variety 12-packs with 4 different types so that I can try out many different types of beer all at once. You can even opt for the Ralphs Pick 6 option for $9.99 which gives you even more variety to choose from!

For all the ladies out there, I highly recommend getting something fruity with pear, grape fruit or blood orange. And yes, you might be thinking, “Well if I’m going to get something with fruit in it, why don’t I just get a cider?” Sadly, I have to say that ciders are not beers because ciders are fermenting using apple juice, while beers are fermented using malt and hops. Ciders do not have malt or hops and the only thing it has in common with beer is the magic – yeast.

Where can I get amazing craft beer?

Congratulations you’ve made it to the most exciting section! Where are the goods and how can you get some? As students from all over the world, you may not have easy transportation so I have handpicked three awesome breweries near USC that you can Uber to or you can visit your local Ralphs.

Angel City Brewery 216 S Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Angel City Brewery
Photo Courtesy of angelcitybrewery.com

Located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, Angel City is a must visit place to learn more about breweries, go on their tours and taste their exclusive variety of Angel City beer on tap 7 days a week. It is one of my favorite breweries because it allows you to bring outside food. Food trucks are usually parked outside at nights and Wurstkuche is only a 4 minute walk away.

Barrel Down 525 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Barrel Down
Photo Courtesy of yeastsidebrewers.org 

Offering a variety of over 40 taps from local breweries and regional producers, Barrel Down is the place to go once you know your beers. Their experienced bartenders will teach you about their selections of beers, wines and cocktails to match with your fried chicken sandwich or juicy beef burgers. Best to come during happy hour when beers are only $5!

Beer Belly 532 S Western Ave Los Angeles, CA 90020

Beer Belly
Photo Courtesy of Jennica R from Yelp,com

Started a little less than 5 years ago in the heart of Koreatown, BeerBelly has grown to be a great place to not only drink craft beers but also eat delicious food. This gastropub is a favorite hangout spot among hipsters and prides itself on serving craft beer and crafty foods. Therefore if you love to pair a beer with your meals I can’t recommend this place enough! Definitely order their Death by Duck Fries and Beer Belly Grilled Cheese with egg.  

Now that you have learned a little bit more about beer, I hope I have changed your mind. Give these places a visit and try out their craft beers along with the delicious foods. If not, go grab a cold one at Ralphs for about $1.00 a beer. Cheers!

Works Cited

Flowers, J. (2013, July 26). An Introduction to the Confusing World of Beer Styles. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://learn.kegerator.com/beer-styles/

Geek, B. (2009, August). Cider is Not Beer. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.beeradvocate.com/mag/3786/cider-is-not-beer/

Harbison, M. (2013, January 25). BeerSci: What Is The Difference Between A Lager And An Ale? Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/beersci-what-difference-between-lager-and-ale

Kraus, E.C. What Goes Into Beer? | EC Kraus. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.eckraus.com/what-goes-into-beer

Growing a Farmer Post 2

I recently watched a video about why we should stop drinking dairy milk and it made me think about Kurtwood Farms. The speaker talks about the inhumane treatment of dairy cows where cow plantation farmers emotionally and physically abuse their cows so that they will quickly produce high volumes of milk and calves for slaughter. This animal abuse is nothing like the way Timmermeister treats his own animals. Timmermeister has open pasture for his cows, pigs, and chicken and feeds them every day. Even when he slaughters them, he maintains his empathy for his animals by giving them a quick and painless death. In recent years, there has been many videos showing farm animals living in cramped cages, forced to produce more milk or offspring using chemicals, then brutally dragged off for slaughter once they got old and no longer produced. Though Timmermeister’s farm is small, I would rather pay a higher price to buy meat produced on his farm than the meat produced by large farms simply knowing the way the animals were handled.

Though Timmermeister is an established farmer, I see him more as a businessman. He made the goal of developing a plot of land to live the life he wanted, then identified opportunities where he can diversify his portfolio of ventures and acquire the skills needed to manage these ventures. The best thing about his business is that he is not looking to be efficient or make profits. He is looking to live a simple life tending to his ventures so that they can continuously produce goods for him to consume. Financial independence is something that many people seek, but only few people like Timmermeister actually finds. It is inspiration for anyone to pull himself up by the bootstraps, start his own business and live the life he has ever dream of. 

How to Sell Anything

What if I told you some people have the power to influence the way another person thinks and behaves? Wouldn’t you want to have the same superpower too? I know I would. Welcome to the world of sales, where the sale is already made and you just have to take the product home. We are constantly living in a world where sales is the most necessary skill you need to sustain a living. When you are out looking for job, you are essentially selling yourself to recruiters. When you have a great business idea and want to pitch it, you are selling the benefits of your idea. When you are working in any company, you are selling either products or services to customers and end users. It is advantageous to hone your sales skills and be the best and presenting whatever you want to sell to people in the best light possible.

So how can we achieve this?

Understand your customer and the problem

A huge part of sales is knowing who the target audience is and what they are looking for. Sales has a bad connotation because people see it as sleazy car salesman who are only looking to get the most commission for themselves and are looking for the next sucker they can rip off. Customers do not like pushy salesman who are only focused on the sale. Effective salespeople play a more consultative role focused on building a relationship with the customer by creating an environment of safety and trust to understand the customer’s issues. Identify the customer’s issue through research and chatting with them. Help prioritize the issue, quantify how the issue affects the company as a whole, and what has stopped the customer from solving the issue in the past. Usually it’s because of Time, Money or Knowledge. From there, you will identify an opportunity to solve a customer’s issue with your credibility and your company’s product.

Identify solutions to the problem

Products and solutions are vehicles that deliver a service. For example, if a person wants to buy something, but does not have the money to do so, banks may try to sell them a credit card. The credit card itself is a tangible product that delivers a service (spend money you don’t have).

How the customer can benefit from the solution and how it is better than the competitors

Communicate value by identifying the features of your product that best fulfills the service a customer is looking for (problem), you will have essentially sold them your product. The product sells itself and you are helping the customer understand how the product can improve his quality of life.

By playing a consultative role, you can be more effective in selling. Understanding how your products fits the needs of the customer and solves their problems is the key factor in getting more sales. Follow these steps and you will be on your way of influencing how people think and behave. 

LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM, BUILD YOUR OWN FARM!

How often do you hear anyone drop everything he is doing, buy a plot of land and creating what will eventually be his life-long dream -- a farm? Writer Kurt Timmermeister embarked on his journey of pursuing his American dream of owning a home, only to find himself creating a vegetable business, making honey and cider, then buying another 8 acres of land to eventually create his pastures for his sheep and cows in his incredible story Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land. Kurt’s entrepreneurial spirit and determination to succeed inspires me to review how I approach business and fulfillment.

Capitalist America has evolved in recent years to create the innovation revolution, popping out entrepreneurs faster than Kurt can milk his cows. While everyone is talking about the exciting technology coming out Silicon Valley and coding becomes the new fast track to wealth, Kurt prefers to get into the muddy grit of it all by entering the small farm business. Knowing nothing about farming and never intending to enter this space, the soon-to-be farmer self-learns and experiments with various sources of crops until he could optimize and run his business successfully. Every new chapter introduces a new type of crop, a different way to run each venture and an important business lesson.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

Entrepreneurs fails all the time, but what makes them successful is the perseverance to continue working towards their goal. Kurt’s negligence killed his first batch of bees and the post office’s storing conditions killed his second batch, but he kept trying until his bees finally produced honey 2 years later. Deer ate away at planted orchards, but Kurt determined to make hard cider kept replanting his apple trees until they became tall enough to survive on their own. Mistakes made the first time becomes a lesson for the second or even third attempt until it becomes success.

Take the Leap

“I was grateful I didn’t know what was to come for fear of never starting out” Kurt wrote describing his cow, Dinah. Creating a farm from scratch, milking a cow for 2 hours, and having orchards eaten away by deer are daunting if Kurt knew about the time and effort commitment beforehand. However, if he did not jump right in and adjusted his learning as needed, he would not have created his awesome farm. Taking fear of failure out of the equation by keeping optimistic about what he ultimately wants enabled Kurt to stay determined about adding new equipment and improvements on his plot of land.

For Kurt fulfillment, happiness, and wealth is being able to look at cows grazing his pasture and eating produce from his self-sustaining farm. In a world where money makes the world go round, this perspective is refreshingly eye-opening. There are other ways to be happy instead of chasing after money. Though I will not one day leave my city life, buy land and create a farm, I am inspired one day own my own house and grow my small garden of produce for tangible fulfillment.