Starbucks Opens First Store in India

Anjana Pasricha

October 20, 2012

The world's largest coffee chain, U.S.-based Starbucks Corporation has opened its first store in India.

The move comes at a time when coffee is winning new fans in India, traditionally a tea-drinking country.

From a 370 square-meter outlet spread over two levels in an upscale Mumbai neighborhood, Starbucks began serving its first cappuccinos and lattes in the Indian market.

Both in its décor and products, the Starbucks flagship store has an Indian touch. There are vintage trunks, hand carved-wooden screens and tables of Indian teak.

The coffee it serves is prepared with coffee beans grown in India. Some food items such as chicken tikka Panini, cardamom croissants, and tandoori cottage cheese rolls have a local flavor. And to suit the pockets of a cost-conscious market, Starbucks has priced some products lower than in other countries - it will sell a "short" espresso for a little more than $1.50.

Chief executive of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, who came for the store's opening Friday night, called it "perhaps the most beautiful, elegant and dynamic store we have opened."

Starbucks comes to India in alliance with an Indian partner, Tata Global Beverages.

It must compete with a host of coffee chains - both local and international - that are already established in India.

Although India is traditionally a tea-drinking country, over the past decade, cafes have become the new social hot-spots, particularly among young people.

The chairman of an industry body, the India Coffee Trust, Anil Bhandari says "out-of- home" coffee consumption has grown phenomenally - it doubled in the decade up to 2010.

He says there is plenty of room for new chains to grow.

"Coffee drinking is on the crest of a major wave – special design- figure or person very happy because  of good luck or success- in this country and Starbucks is coming just in time, just at the right time to ride that crest," said Bhandari.  "You have a 250-300 million middle class in this country, so that

I don't think there is any dearth- shortage- of mass of consumers for Starbucks."

Starbucks will have to catch up with coffee chains that have already spread across the country. The biggest coffee chain, Café Coffee Day, has over 1,300 stores. Starbucks will build its presence slowly - it is opening two new outlets in five-star hotels in Mumbai next week. And it will open its first store in the capital, New Delhi, next year.

Pratichee Kapoor at Technopak consultancy in New Delhi says Starbucks will be able to make quick inroads because it has a "great brand pull."

"Being an international chain they will have an edge," said Kapoor.  "Plus just going to a Starbucks and carrying a Starbucks cup itself brings you in consumers mind, gives them some sort of edge, even whether it is buying their merchandise, buying their coffee or the fact that they have visited Starbucks or they have tried Starbucks coffee, the brand has a great resonance in consumer's mind. So I think, it should not be difficult for them to carve a niche- hole- suitable position."

Starbucks comes to India at a time when growth is slowing in the United States and Europe. Chief executive Howard Schultz says that the Asia Pacific region has emerged as a key driver for growth and that India, along with China, lies at the core of that strategy.

A VIETNAMESE MAN SEEKS BOOK REVOLUTION

A Vietnamese man hopes to raise the quality of education in his country by building “parent libraries” in rural schools.

Nguyen Quang Thach provides libraries to the schools so books are more available in farming communities.

He works with publishers in Hanoi to get the books at reduced rates for teachers and their students.

Mr. Thach says most schools have enough textbooks.

But he says many poor families have few books at home and do not visit school libraries.

He learned this by talking with farmers, workers and students.

More than 90 percent of Vietnam’s population can read and write.

But academic performance in the schools remains low compared to other Southeast Asian nations.

Corruption is a big part of the problem.

Vietnamese media often have stories about teachers giving high grades in exchange for money.
 

Some experts criticize teaching methods that depend heavily on dictation.

They say asking students to repeat everything a teacher says to the class harms their ability to think for themselves.

Nguyen Quang Thach says he wants people to invest money in books for a better future.

To date, almost 1,000 parent libraries have been built in Thai Binh  Province. Hundreds of books are in each one.

Several other provinces have copied this model.

For each school, Mr. Thach helps build libraries for up to four classes.

Other people then follow his example.

Parents of school children pay three dollars each for the first year and one dollar in other years.

The head of the AnDuc secondary school, Pham Duc Duong, told reporter Marianne Brown that Mr. Thach’s work has improved the quality of education.

“He says students have been doing better in competitions, especially in social science.”

Duong Le Nga heads the school youth group. She says that after the libraries were built, students started asking teachers more questions.

The students also set up debating teams.

She thinks Mr. Thach’s example helps student think more creatively -- “outside the box.”

The deputy head of the school, Uong Minh Thanh, says many students there will work in factories.

But after seeing the influence of the new libraries, he hopes the children will set high goals for themselves.

NIGHT MARKETS IN LOS ANGELES

Night markets in Asia are places where people enjoy street food and social gatherings.

"This is something we need."

In Southern California, the 626 Night Market in Los Angeles reminds George Ge of a night market in Taiwan.

"Everything is cheap and food, not very clean but taste awesome."

Six-two-six is the telephone area code for a mostly Asian neighborhood of Los Angeles. Jonny Hwang is one of the organizers of the 626 Night Market.

"Thailand, China, Korea, Japan have different variations of it. It's a staple of Asian societies there. Night markets have been around every day, every weekend. Thousands of people, people of all ages, families come out to have a good, safe time."

The 626 Night Market is like a market in Asia but it has a Los Angeles style. Aileen Xu enjoys it.

"What we have here is literally a huge melting pot, it's a fusion of all different Asians, and I mean, I think it's really representative of the Asian American population in L.A. because we're not all Chinese. We're, you know, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese. We're everything and we're mixed, and we have, we even have foods that are like Asian Latino."

And there is another difference with the night markets in Asia. This one in Los Angeles does not happen regularly. Jonny Hwang has only been able to organize a few night markets so far.

"Having this type of event of this scale in America, in LA, is very difficult. It's not like Asia where the rules are lax and you can almost do anything. Here, it’s a lot more structured."

He wants this night market to be held more often. He says it is a social event, but also good for the local economy.

"A lot of our vendors are local small business. A lot of them are entrepreneurs, first timers, and I think without this event, this platform, they would be hard-pressed to find places that they can participate."

The people who sell food and other products at the night market also have stores and restaurants, many of them in the local neighborhood. The night market lets them show their products to thousands of people in one night.

John Zhuang sells Taiwanese beef jerky, preserved plums and candied fruits.

He says having a food stand at the night market will help his business.

People from as far east as New York and as far north as the Canadian city of Vancouver have visited and asked for the night market to continue. Organizers say they are working to have the 626 Night Market become a monthly and possibly even a weekly event.
 

MINH NGUYEN- A FILMMAKER

Minh Nguyen, a 40-year old filmmaker based in Los Angeles, arrived in the US from Vietnam in 1982 when he was 9 years old.

His travels began a year earlier as one of the Vietnamese boat people.

Nguyen’s parents lost their business and home after the fall of Saigon.

The decision was made to flee and done in secret.

“Somebody would get a boat, and would calculate how many people would be on it, and at night you kind of sneak out and get on that boat,” Nguyen said.

“You get out to sea and you try to reach one of the refugee camps in Thailand, the Philippines or Malaysia. We actually got to Thailand.”

It took Nguyen five attempts before finally getting away.

“We tried to go all as a family and then we got caught,” he said.

“My dad was in jail for 85 months.

The women and kids, like me, were in the jail for about 2 weeks before we were let out.”

Nguyen remembers living conditions in the refugee camp were crowded, and families split up.

Men worked in the field while the women and children performed other jobs.

“My mom was doing cooking duties and things like that.

We all had to sleep together in this really huge barracks like a warehouse - like hundreds of people,” Nguyen explained.

After spending a year in a refugee camp off the coast of Thailand, Nguyen received sponsorship from a Catholic group in the United States.

He was later flown to San Francisco and settled in San Jose, California.

Transition to a new American way of life    was   difficult.

Nguyen started  fourth grade and was scared.

“I went to school and I didn’t speak or write English very well.

So for the first few months the teacher just put me in a corner until I was able to get caught up with English and was able to join the other students,” Nguyen said. 

He admitted being frightened, but said watching television helped him learn English.

Nguyen went to the University of California-Berkeley where he received a degree in molecular biology degree, and followed that with a job at the U-S Department of Agriculture. But Nguyen said he was bored.

He recalls writing short stories at night and later taking creative writing courses. 

“I remember I was enjoying watching movies and going to see plays, so I tried writing fiction and that really opened the world for me,” Nguyen said.

Several of his short stories were published in literary journals.

He attended film school and ultimately switched careers.

His feature-length directorial debut is the movie “Touch” - a romantic-drama about an unlikely friendship between a shy Vietnamese-American manicurist and an auto mechanic who is trying to keep his crumbling marriage alive.

The film has won a number of awards on the independent film circuit.

Looking back on his life and professional path, Nguyen advised:

“With hard work you can follow your dream.”
 

TOASTMASTER CLUB

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM IT?

Teaching Job Openings

 

Education is a fundamental of any industrialized nation, and so it is natural that qualified teachers remain in demand throughout the world.

In the U.S., there were over 3.8 million teaching jobs for 2004 including preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and secondary school teachers.

If you are seeking a career that will see good growth and with high employment availability, then becoming qualified for teaching jobs may be a proper career choice for you.

If you find pleasure helping people learn, then becoming qualified for teaching jobs may be in your best interest.

Teaching jobs are found in a number of environments, each of which has different requirements for working in those particular teaching jobs.

In some cases, you may have to obtain a two to four year degree and pass a certification exam, and in other cases your job experience may qualify you for certain teaching jobs.

There is no federal requirements for teaching jobs that occur in schools, so often requirements for teaching jobs in schools are dictated by local or state laws.

If you are considering teaching jobs in schools, it is likely that your state requires that you obtain a four-year degree and pass a certification or licensing examination. Teaching jobs in early childhood education, though, will sometimes only require a two year degree with certification. If you do not want to take a certification exam to obtain licensure, some school districts will allow you to become substitute teacher with only a baccalaureate degree. There is also the option in some areas that have difficulty finding qualified individuals to fill teaching jobs, where you can obtain a teaching job in an area of expertise as long as you have a degree in that area. If you are considering teaching jobs in schools, you may also need to understand that you will be subject to a background check.

If you are not necessarily interested in traditional teaching jobs in schools, there are other kinds of teaching jobs available to you. You can work in areas of training, tutoring, adult education, and more, which are teaching jobs in non-traditional settings. However, the greatest area of growth in teaching jobs will continue to be in schools.

As student enrollment in schools slowly increases, older teachers will be moving out of their positions at the same rate, so growth in teaching jobs is expected to be fairly steady over the next 10 years. The teachers who are able to be mobile will have the best chance of finding teaching jobs. Vocational teaching jobs are also expected to grow in the coming years, as schools are now offering many specialized programs to their students.

If you are interested in teaching jobs in school administration or policy development, you will need to prepare by getting a master’s degree. Getting the advanced degree, though, is usually made simpler through teaching jobs that offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit alongside health insurance and pensions.

Read the rest of the article here: Teaching Jobs.

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Heather Whitestone Speech Preview

Heather Whitestone Speech Preview

Premiere Speakers Bureau: Exclusively Representing the World's Most Compelling Speakers Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995 On September 17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.

During her year of service as Miss America, Heather focused her efforts and activities on motivating our nation's citizens to achieve their dreams through dedication, commitment and hard work.

As she delivered her message, “Anything is Possible,” throughout her term, Heather sought to inspire individuals to achieve their goals through the S.T.A.R.S. program (a five-point approach for personal empowerment).

As Miss America 1995, Heather traveled an average of 20,000 miles each month and spoke in a different city every other day. She has spoken to business corporations, non-profit organizations, churches, and government, including the FBI and CIA. Heather Whitestone was the first woman with a disability to be crowned Miss America in the Pageant’s 75 year history.

Heather lost her hearing at the age of eighteen months when she was rushed to the hospital with a dangerously high fever, the cause of which was later diagnosed as the Haemophilus influenza virus. According to the doctors, she was only hours from death when they administered two powerful antibiotics that reduced her fever and saved her life. With the doctors assurances, Heather's relieved family took her home believing that their once energetic toddler would be back to normal within a few weeks. After a few months, it became painfully obvious that there was a problem when Heather's mother accidentally dropped a pile of pans on the kitchen floor and Heather, who was playing nearby, did not even flinch. At the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, Heather tested as “profoundly deaf” with no hearing in either ear. Her condition was concluded to be the result of the virus, the antibiotics or a combination of both.  

PREVIEW TEST- Sep 4

        Preview test- Sep 4, 2012.

1. Did you finish that project yet?

1. It was a difficult one.
2. Yes, finally a week ago.
3. No, There’s only one.

2. What color is your new car?

1. I bought a sport car.
2. New cars are expensive.
3. It’s bright blue.--- brownish red- greenish gray.

3. Can you tell me  when the planning meeting will be ?

1. Every month.
2. This Monday at 10.
3. Yes, That’s the plan.

4. Are you taking 3 PM flight to Paris?                parents

1. From N.Y
2. It leaves in an hour.   
3. No, the 7 PM flight.

5. How was the Friday party night?

1. Very enjoyable------
2. By car.
3. Until around mid-night.

6. Do prefer playing tennis or golf?

1. All right. Let’s play.
2. I like both.     We both.
3. I didn’t play tennis.

7.   What d’ you think of the plan     to open an office in Yokohama?

a.   I think it’s a great idea.   I think you have a great idea.

      D’you think it’s a great idea?

b.   I leave the office open…..                 I leave it hot for 5 minutes.

c.   I’m going next month.

8.   May 40% I talk to you in a few minutes? May I ask U a few questions?

a.   Sure, what about?  About what—come one—go ahead.  Certainly

b.  Yes, Thanks to you.

c.  If you’re not too busy.

9.  Wasn’t that a fascinating article?  Wasn’t that a fascinating idea?

a.   He was fascinating.

b.  It will be finished soon.

c.  Yes, It was very interesting.

10. How many suitcases    are you bringing?

a.   Quite expensive.

b.   They’re very full.

c.   2 or 3.

11. That presentation wasn’t very long,  was it? Preparation- orientation.

a.  No, It wasn’t very difficult.

b.  You’re right.   It’s quite short.  I’m short at---- vocabulary.

c.  Thanks, I enjoy.

12. Did you catch the plane?

I didn’t catch exactly what you’ve just said.

Can please you put it   in another way?

       a.  No, I didn’t change my plan.

       b. Yes, I almost missed it.

       c.       No, I didn’t catch the cold.

CAREER COACHING TIPS- 1

XIN CON GOI TEN NHAU