Erika Off The Ground
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Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my 21st birthday. I was bummed it wasn’t it the states but you all made it soooooo fun!
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So I spent my second weekend in Ireland in the city of Waterford. My early start class went for a field trip. We saw a gold resort called Mount Juliet. They hosted some kind of open that Tiger Woods won a few years back. It was gorgeous. I wish I had the money to stay there….HAHA! From there we visited Kilkenny Castle, it was gorgeous. Ireland is as picturesque as you would imagine! We also got a tour of Waterford Crystal (they make the crystal for the New Years Eve Ball in New York). The tour was awesome! We got to see everything close up and they even let us touch the crystal! We also went to the beach! It was my first time at the Atlantic Ocean!! And you would never believe it, but I went cliff jumping!!! It was quite scary because it was so high, but so worth it! The weekend was awesome. I by far have the best early start class. Yay business!
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One Week In
So I have been here for a week now. I have had orientation and my early start class has started. It’s a lot to take in. I think it finally hit me today that I will be here for the next 4 and a half months. I must say, that is a LONG TIME!
So lets start with my school, University College Cork. It is pretty, must I say! One building is practically a castle! I finally have my ID, that makes me official, right? The education structure is going to be a little strange to adapt to once regular term classes start. Each class is only about 2 or 3 hours a week and you are typically graded on one or two assignments. Kind of a scary thought, but I think it will work out in my favor. I learned that I can take year long classes but only do the fall semester, which is exciting because there is a Contemporary Issues in HR class that I would love to take! The registration process is new to me but seems smart. I have two week to attend any and all classes I have an interest in and then I pick from there. That means I don’t have to waste a semester on classes that don’t interest me, especially in my situation where I get to take electives (in business, of course!). But Fall classes are pretty far off.
I am loving my early start class- Management and Marketing in the EU. I know if will really complement Business of China on my resume! But more than that, the class is quite interesting. All the professors in the department will be teaching a little on their expertise making the class really worth my while. Not to mention I get to take about a million field trips! My first one is tomorrow and it is our overnight one! We are visiting Mount Juliet, which is a golf resort (be jealous Drew), Waterford Crystal, and meeting with entrepreneurs. Other field trips I get to go on are a Jameson tour, a Heineken tour, a Titanic Experience exhibit (be jealous Allison!), and to the Fota Wildlife Park (which I am most excited for!). Overall, this class rocks!
So shopping is an experience. I go to the grocery store hoping for things I eat in the US and come home with something completely different. I am surprised in the lack or Irish food resterresturatsnts, or at least what I believe to be Irish food. I was expecting stews galore. I vow that I will find a good stew though, it is my semester mission! I did get fish and chips the other day, which was quite exciting, might I add!
I believe that is all for now! I hope to have pictures and a blurb up about my field trip soon! Love and miss you all!
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Ireland, We Finally Meet!
After what feels like forever of traveling, I made it to Cork, Ireland! I started my journey in Sacramento, followed by Minneapolis, then Amsterdam (for 22 hours might I add), then finally Cork! Overall, travel went well, expect for the fact that I am so messed up on sleep. I am so tired and knock out for a good there hours, then I am awake at midnight writing this. Anyway, Amsterdam was great. I took a hop-on-hop-off tour where I could get on and off as I pleased. The city it’s self is really interesting. It really is old history, mixed with new and modern. I took a canal cruise as well! Amsterdam is all accessibly but it’s canals. I went to the diamond museum, let me tell you, that was cool, I could go for a shiny $9,000 ring too (; I got to see the IAMSTERDAM sign, which was really cool as well. The city has so many bikes. Due to the narrow streets and high population, very few people have cars. More than 60% of the population rides bikes. I went and walked around the flower market, just for my mom because I know how much she LOVES flowers! All in all, I can say it was a successful trip to Amsterdam!
Now that brings me to Cork! I love this city, I can honestly say that even though I have been here less than 24 hours!! I truly feel at home here. I like the fact that it is a big city, but small in comparison to San Francisco. It seems to be a really safe city. I walked around and did some errands along with having dinner with two gals from Ohio.
My apartment is nice. I have my own room and I share the rest of the apartment with one other girl. Pics to be posted soon (when I have everything cleaned up).
So that’s pretty much sums up my last 72 hours or so. Can’t wait for so many more adventures!
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So I have been in Shanghai for a couple weeks now. I apologize about my terrible attempts at updating my blog. I can’t believe I will be States bound in just 11 days!
Classes: Classes have been interesting. Chinese is hard, as I knew it would be, I am not a foreign language guru in any way! It is awesome to be learning the language in the country though. Business is great. Very informational with actually business trips. We have visited GM Shanghai and listened to a lecture about employment opportunities in China. I’ve already had one Chinese test and I have two more before I get to go home. I have a business presentation next week and a paper due when I get home, both on Human Resources in China… right up my ally (=
Cultural Immersion: Shanghai is an interesting place. It is so big and new, I guess you can call it. We have visited the Bund a few times, which is the Shanghai business district. We went to the pearl tower (pictures to come) which was an awesome view of the city, but have I mentioned I’m afraid of heights? We walked on a glass floor so we could see the city underneath us, I was tantalized with fear, but It was amazing…when I didn’t look down. We also went on a night boat ride on the Pudong River, it was awesome to see the bund all bright and flashy. We have visited a water town, which is a town on the water, it was like the Chinese version of Venice! This week we get to go to the zoo (if it doesn’t rain)!!! And for anybody who knows me, I love the zoo and I am super excited. I’ve heard rumors that you can ride an elephant for like 25 RMb which is less than 5 USD! Overall, it is great getting to explore and do different activities!
Food: So as much as I love Chinese food, I am so tired of it. There is this little restaurant a few blocks away from our school which we call “The Fried Rice Place” that we have become regulars at. The owners are really nice and the food is good and cheap. They know us as the Americans and we eat their almost every day. This country cannot make a burger at all though, unless you go to McDonald’s, which I must admit we have, homesickness really brings out the desperate in people. They have three main American restaurants over here: McDonald’s, Pizza Huts and KFC. They all taste better than the ones in the states. Pizza Hut is classy here, it’s a sit down restaurant!
As much as I am loving my experience, I am ready to come home. I am missing all my friends and family more than I would have thought. I want to thank everyone who supported me on this trip emotionally and financial. I greatly appreciate you all!
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Shanghai
So I’ve been in Shanghai for a few days now. Classes started yesterday and studying has begun. The business class is really interesting but the Chinese class is going to kick my butt! I have no idea how I am going to succeed in this class! UGH! But, I mean, it’s all part of the experience. I am a little disappointed that the campus is so far out of the city. But, on the bright side, we are going into the city on Friday! I’m really looking forward to exploring Shanghai because it is supposed to be more modern that Beijing. Overall, this trip has been once in a lifetime. It has been very eye opening as well. I hope I make it through these classes!
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So on Wednesday we did a business visit to the main dairy producer in China. It was interesting. The factory we went to was only for yogurt but they also make ice cream, milk, pretty much everything dairy!
In the afternoon we went to the Great Wall of China! I never could have believed that I would climb the Great Wall but I did. We climbed up taking what felt like a million steps but it was worth it. All in all I would say it was a great day (=
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Culture Shock
So I know I haven’t updated in days!!!! It’s because my days have been jam packed and also the internet acts up, but that’s China. So here is the low down, I am going to write a few different entries about the last few days.
So to start off, culture shock is definitely present. Going somewhere where you can’t understand a single word is crazy! Everything from taking a cab, using the internet and ordering food is hard. I think I am getting better but we will see. Shanghai will be a whole other experience. As much as it is hard, I am excited!!
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So I’m sitting here in the Hong Kong airport waiting for my 9am (it’s 7:40am now) flight to Beijing. It’s still unbelievable. The plane ride didn’t seem as long as it was. Watched a movie, took a sleep (it was wayyyyy to long to be considered a nap!), and was fed two on board meals. The women sitting next to me was super nice, which is always a plus. On a not so happy note, I’ve been trying to charge my computer and my apple adaptor won’t work. I am really hoping that it’s just the hong kong one that is messed up and it isn’t my actual charger! On another note, the group I’m here with seems really awesome and I’m super excited to be here, but honestly, I still don’t think it has hit me. We will see!
