Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Sabrina Testut

From American students to Interns in London, the 2013 GLSers have definitely experienced a lot of change this past semester. I know for me, it was a huge change going from Tennessee, which contrary to English popular belief, is not just a bunch of hillbillies drinking whisky on the front porch, to London, England, which really doesn’t have as bad of weather as Americans tend to think. All of this change that I experienced  definitely helped me learn a lot; I learned to always make sure to look both ways at least twice before crossing the streets in London just to make sure I didn’t look the wrong way, I learned that if I wanted  to blend in with the locals wearing a North Face jacket and Sperry’s might not be the best idea, and I also learned that the not so pleasant looks I got on the tube weren’t anything personal, the next time I rode I just needed to be a little more conscious of how loud I was letting my conversation get.  

This past semester was definitely an experience.  We practically started out as 27 strangers living together - thankfully, not exactly Real World style-in a country many of us had never visited before and now it feels as if I spent every day with some of my closest friends. It really is entertaining to look back to last semester when all the GLSers hardly knew each other and were secretly all afraid of Fred, oh how studying abroad has changed us.

The first two months in London were fantastic, Statistics and BA were great and so were all of the travelling adventures I went on. I also really enjoyed the real London working experience that I got out of my internship at Maxus. Maxus is an international media planning agency with many major clients such as Fiat, which was the team I worked with.  My first week at Maxus was definitely chaotic because it was full of jumping on to projects hoping I wouldn’t mess anything up too much while also trying to get to know everyone I worked with. I couldn’t have asked for a more welcoming company, everyone was so nice to me and made me feel as if I had been there for months. I also really enjoyed all of the projects I was able to help with. All of the projects I worked on were very eye opening and helped me understand so much more about the media world than I ever thought I would know. Maxus made  me love the media world; the people are fun, the work is interesting, and the perks aren’t too bad either!

This semester was all I could have asked for and more. Dr. Mee and Lane were wonderful, I made 26 new best friends and I had the experience of a lifetime.  My only regret – I wasn’t  there for the wedding.


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Looking back on London

As I look back on mine and my classmates' time in London, I can't help but think about how absolutely phenomenal our experience was. Our classes were wonderful. Our teachers augmented their usual syllabi in order to complement our time in London and were enthusiastic to get to know us through out of class activities and day trips. Each of our teachers was truly excellent and I personally felt that they cared about me holistically, not just about my grades or my homework.

As my internship, which was in Parliament in the office of Sarah Teather MP, wound down I took a  weekend trip with a few of my fellow GlSers. I went to Brussels, Belgium with Nicholas Love, Daniel Whitaker, Astrid Emkes, and Hannah Alexander. We had an amazing time. We ate so much and enjoyed the wonderful Belgian chocolate. It was really a wonderful trip to take at the end of a semester in Europe. Perfect weather and you can't beat the location!

My final trip of the semester was with one of my roommates Nicholas Love. We went to Paris together and had a truly perfect weekend. The weather we had a was amazing. You can't beat the French when it comes to aesthetics and fine cuisine, and we enjoyed both immensely. This was definitely one of my favorite trips.

London was truly amazing. I can't believe it is already over and that I am now back in the States looking back. The friendships that I and the rest of the GLS Class of 2013 forged while we were abroad are some of the best we have made in college. This trip served not only as a chance to learn about other cultures and have a bona fide addition to our resumes, but as a chance to really get to know the people that are a part of the community that is the Class of 2013 and Global Leadership Scholars.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Brianna Milam


These past four months in London have flown by faster than I can even begin to describe.  It feels like just yesterday that we were exhaustedly dragging our bags through the rain into our 17th century flats and beginning to explore the new culture we suddenly found ourselves immersed in, but today we are packing our bags to hop back on a plane to the U.S.
I’ve enjoyed my time in London, and throughout the past few months, I have learned a great deal about myself and my fellow GLSers.   I think that the time we have spent here has brought us together not only because have we learned and worked together, but because we have explored, discovered, and laughed together.  We have successfully travelled the world as a group of 27, and in doing so, we have become study partners, travel buddies, and best friends.
Living abroad has had its challenges – from wrong directions to misunderstood words, sometimes it’s a bit difficult to adjust to a culture that seems so similar yet, in reality, is so different.  I still catch myself finding new differences almost every day, but each new thing I learn makes me feel a little closer to being a true Londoner.
I’ve met some wonderful people through my internship and had many unforgettable experiences in London.  I’m sad to be leaving this beautiful city behind, but I know that when I return home, I will still have my GLS class to reminisce with me about the ‘good old days across the pond’.  It’s time for me to return home and see where else my life and the GLS program will lead me.


Monday, April 11, 2011

Genna Rossi


 I'm glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone.
 (Dr. Seuss)

           “Learning by doing” is the phrase I think of when I think of our Global Leadership Scholars experience. Whether that means being knocked down from standing on the left side of the escalators or taste testing a different peanut butters to make London feel like home, it’s funny to admit that we’ve all brought a little piece of our culture to London. By far, I’m most impressed with each of our personal growth. I am proud to say I can now make travel arrangements like my Dad AND actually get us beyond the confines of the airport! The majority of us have averaged about six trips during our short four months here. We have expanded our horizons through cultural submersions and it’s definitely something I’m going to miss.

            Secondly, the culture of independent living in London is something worth missing. We’ve planned, we’ve discovered, and we’ve lived the great adventures of everyday Londoners. Whether it be the food stalls of the Borough Market or the soccer fields of Regent’s Park, I’m proud to say I’ve checked off the majority of sites on my “to-do” list.

            In our last month of April, we started off the first weekend touring the Olympic Site and riding atop the London Eye. How amazing it was to see London in a whole new perspective! This past weekend, Thien and I took one last adventure to see beautiful Stockholm, Sweden! It was a great way to end our traveling seeing Kungliga Slottet royal palace, Stadshusset city hall, eating delicious Tunnbrodsrull! Being so close to the end of our adventures in London, it was easy to admit that we missed our friends back in London already!

            I’m not going to lie, I’ve definitely been thinking about all the little things I miss about home (not to mention, all of the talk about Chik-fil-A makes me believe that everyone else agrees with me). Looking back, this has been the most wonderful learning experience I have ever had. I am going to miss so much of London, and I can only hope that one day I’ll be able to return and reminisce.

            Reflecting on one of the best things about this experience is being the fact that I have been graced by the presence of twenty-seven wonderful friends just within the confines of the building. The bond we have made with each other is the most unforgettable part of this journey. Little did I know getting on a plane alone four months ago I’d have so many learning experiences with friends that have been there with me through it all. 

            I don’t think I’m the only one who’ll admit that we’re all going to be a little lonely without each other. For the past four months we’ve been rubbing off on each other and I’m happy to admit that a little piece of GLS greatness will be left in London. It’s hard to believe that in one week we’ll all be back to Blackberry messaging, homemade meals, and having dishwashers…well, maybe it won’t be so bad after all!

            This experience has taught me a lot about myself and building relationships with others. I have learned that without the amazing friends I have been surrounded with, this experience would not be the same. London is a wonderful place worth exploring and through our explorations, I have learned so much more than I could ever imagine.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Jessie McDowell

The first two months of our European adventure involved country hopping to everywhere from Amsterdam to Switzerland with a little school stuck in between. We always arrived to our flats on Sundays completely exhausted from our weekend traveling, but excited to do the same thing the next week. 


Internship life is not the same. We went from acting like crazy college students traveling around Europe on a whim, to being real adults with big kid jobs. To be honest, I hated it. This could be due to the fact that my internship was straight out of “The Devil Wears Prada”, or that on my first week I tripped over a computer cord (franticly running around for a scary boss will do that to you) and demolished the company laptop. Yup, it was a rough week. Stay in school. The real world sucks. 


Luckily there is a happy ending to this story... well, so far. Surviving my third week  in cut-throat fashion PR has given me a new perspective. I got told my press release was “well written” yesterday, and I have never been happier. I worked for that. Hard. Having an internship in a foreign country isn’t supposed to be easy. You wouldn’t grow and learn that way. I am lucky enough to have an great career opportunity, move to an amazing city with the best, most genuine people I have ever met, and see the world with my best friends. I never want to go home. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Nicholas Love

The third week of our internships is already coming to an end! This experience is actually going by really fast, even though I am working 40 hours a week. Many of us are (hopefully) starting to get settled in to our placements. I am interning at EDM Media and they are a direct marketing company that does a lot of work for non-profit organizations and charities. I did not pour one cup of tea my entire first day at work! I was shocked when my colleagues made it for me. My co-workers have about 7 cups of tea everyday and I think I am slowly starting to become addicted to Earl Grey. I am glad to report that work has been very challenging for me and that I have learned quite a bit thus far. Dr. Mee would be very proud; I am doing statistical analysis everyday at work. I am so thankful that we took statistics this semester, I feel like I am filling in for a guy with a PhD in stats! I have been able to implement many things that I learned in statistics and in BA 207.

Because of our busy work schedules, many of us are not traveling abroad as much as we were. We have been using our weekends to truly appreciate and enjoy the great city of London. Thankfully, spring time has finally struck London and the long awaited blue skies and sunny days have arrived! Last weekend everyone explored the many parks found around the city. A group of us went to Regent’s Park for a day full of activities in the sun. We brought a football, a soccer ball, a frisbee, a hammock, and books for a whole day in the park. The weather has been glorious the past few days it reminds us all of home. My roommates and I have been visiting new parts of London and trying different ethnic foods, such as Indian, Persian, and even Lebanese. Audrey Webster and I went and saw Swan Lake this past Monday at the Royal Opera House and it was my first actual ballet. I am not going to lie, I was pretty lost in the story. So, naturally, I went home and googled it and now it makes complete sense. I just thought that Prince Siegfried was weird for falling in love with a bird, but now I get it. I feel so cultured now!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

James McDonald


"Around people I don't know, I'm totally at a loss" -Barbara Streisand

Spring break saw GLS'ers traveling all over Europe. From Switzerland, to Italy, to Austria, our group had representation all over the continent. I was fortunate enough to visit the French Riviera and experience the Carnival celebration in Nice, France, win (and then lose) 8 euros in the Monte-Carlo casino in Monaco, and even more fortunate to survive hiking the Cinque Terre trail in Italy. After being lost for nearly 5 hours, we finally found the correct trail only after crawling through thorns, balancing on the edge of cliffs, scaling vertical rocks, and falling into creeks on the reg. In a race against the remaining sunlight, we made it to Vernazza with less than an hour of light left. We moved on to Florence for the remaining part of our trip. After haggling down street leather vendors, avoiding fake rolex salesmen, and eating way too much pizza, pasta, and gelato, we managed to visit some great art galleries such as the Uffizi and the Gallería Académia. I also snagged an illegal picture of the statue of David by Michelangelo! My only regret is that I never gelled my hair and rode a vespa around the city. I was totally DTRAVAGMH (down to rent a vespa and gel my hair) but we never got around to it.

As everybody's spring break week came to a close, we were faced with a reality check as our work placements were to start the following Monday. I work with a company called FareShare that collects extra food supplies from major food distributors and then redistributes it back out to food kitchens. However, some people have struggled with internships that do not exactly fit what they wanted to experience. This has caused for a stressful week for many of my classmates.

This weekend was my first in London in over a month. We used it to experience new parts of the city and find other nightlife besides our usual hotspots. "Barbara Streisand" by Duck Sauce has found its way onto my ipod, as this techno song seems to fuel all of Europe's pubs, bars, and clubs. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to relax and not stick out as a tourist, but in the next month I will be in Paris, Amsterdam, and Alicante, Spain, so I don't think the feeling will last long.



Sunday, March 6, 2011

Kristen Kerr


Time is flying! The adage "time flies" holds a bittersweet truth in acknowledging that our adventures in London are already halfway over. The past couple of weeks have been two of the most eventful: our classes ended, we traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland as a group, and we dispersed across Europe in pursuit of week-long Spring Break ventures. With all of our traveling and cultural immersion, rest assured that we are gaining an invaluable global perspective and forming lifelong relationships with one another. Furthermore, our internships are right around the corner, and by right around the corner I mean they begin tomorrow! Blessed, Privileged, or Lucky? All of the above.


After our excellent performances on our final exam in Dr. Morris's class, we were able to relax and look forward to visiting Edinburgh for the next three days. I was particularly interested in this trip because Kerr, my last name, is Scottish, and I wanted to learn more about the Kerr clan and my heritage.

Upon arrival in the land of the bagpipes and kilts, we were able to check into our hostel and spend the afternoon visiting Edinburgh Castle. I could understand why it is a popular tourist destination. It is beautiful with fascinating history. Later that night, our group went on a ghost tour in the city. Dominic, our guide, was entertaining and great at painting eerie pictures in our minds. Overall, the tour was a lot of fun.


Our bus tour was scheduled for Thursday. With an early start, we rode through Scotland to our final destination of Loch Ness, where we were all certain to see the Loch Ness monster, Nessie. The mountainous terrain along the way was breathtakingly beautiful: snow capped mountains with streams of water flowing along the sides towering over the green grass-covered land below. Wow. The sunshine and scenery we had been missing in London was more than enough to keep us from too much disappointment when Nessie decided not to come out and play. We enjoyed a peaceful lunch on our boat ride across Loch Ness followed by a couple of picture stops to end the day.

On Friday, some guys decided to go to the famous St. Andrews Links golf course and a group of girls and I hiked up to Arthur’s seat, the highest point in Edinburgh, where we were able to get a spectacular view of the city. The remainder of the day was spent roaming and souvenir shopping.

After our trip to Scotland, a group of fellow Global Leadership Scholars and I were off to Nice, Cinque Terre, and Florence. From Carnaval to an empowering hike along Italy’s coast to a climb to the top of the Duomo, Spring Break 2011 was one of my most memorable trips yet.

Olivia Harris

Berlin, Germany



Twelve of us spent a weekend in Berlin, Germany- aka- The Fatherland. Wow, what an adventure! We left early Friday morning to experience and explore the nightlife capital of the world. After landing, we managed to find our way on the train/subway system to the main area of town and grab some lunch at a German restaurant. Knuckle of pork, meatballs, sauerkraut, currywurst, and Weiner schnitzel is a snippet of the delicious delicacies we enjoyed.
Using a Germany guidebook, we ventured out into this large historic city! We saw Museum Island (a bunch of museums all in one area), saw the Parliament building, delighted in a nice walk through the park, saw a ton of monuments, and went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum to learn all about the Berlin Wall. I wouldn’t doubt if we walked 10 miles with our backpacks. 
After grabbing a bite to eat, we all played “the name game” for a while in the hostel before heading out to experience the nightlife. Can’t say it was world-class…we may have been in the wrong part of town. Definitely represented the “East Side” that night. We still had fun!
Saturday was a blast!! We took a Fat Tire Bike Tour! The tour guide was Irish/British and really funny. We made some new friends from Texas and hung out with them rest of the day. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and got to see the Jewish Memorial, the place Hitler died (under a parking lot now), and even got to see where Michael Jackson hung his child off the balcony. We also visited this museum (sorry I can’t remember name- it's German)… but it was basically about the Jewish people, concentration camps and political scandals. We ate dinner at this hole in the wall Turkish place. The chicken kabobs were a hit. We explored more that night and just enjoyed taking everything in.



Interesting facts:
-Berlin is poor. In fact, they are 800 billion Euros in debt and their industries tourism and government. The rest of Germany keeps them afloat.
-All the buildings are fairly new (as everything was bombed in the war). However, all the statues are very old. Hitler had a fondness for all statues, so before the bombing began, he had all the statues sunk under ponds outside of Berlin so that they wouldn’t be destroyed. They were later salvaged and put back onto the rebuilt buildings.
-You can tell a difference between the East and West (building wise). It’s eerie. It’s insane how all this history happened so recently. 


Monday, February 21, 2011

Becca Keyes

Tomorrow morning, the GLS class of 2013 will take their final test of the semester. It is absolutely insane how fast the time has flown here. Yesterday, one of the girls asked what the date was. Upon hearing February 20, we were all shocked. Have we really already been here for almost two months?
 








We sure have! The experiences we have gotten to have and relationships we have been able to build have made it an amazing two months at that. Just last weekend, we had some ladies hiking in Norway, a group indulging in the Irish countryside, and some exploring the great city we live in! I, however, along with my lovely flatmates (plus Daniel!), were off to the city of love and lights, Paris.




Did we encounter some language barriers? Yes. Did it rain and have a biting wind chill during our bike tour? Sure thing! Did we have the time of our lives and share some laughter? No doubt about it. Paris is definitely a place I would love to go back to and spend extended time there. From the cobblestone roads to dinner atop the Eiffel Tower, it was an incredible weekend trip. The weekend trips have been such a treat here in Europe. During internships, we will be able to explore more of the local London culture, but until then, we are loving the intense culture shock every weekend and the stories everyone comes back with. We are also pros at airports now and the whole custom procedure. We are learning more than expected here!


The best part about this trip is the people. I may get sappy for a minute here. We have gone from being academic acquaintances who may study supply and demand together to great friends who are doing life together. We are learning not only about Statistics, the Functions of Business, and Cultures from all across the continent, but about each other and how to love each other well when home is far away. I am so thankful for each person here. It's a diverse group, and we like it that way.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Robert Mee


This post is mainly for the parents of GLS students who, after reading their amazing travelogue, are surely wondering whether there is any substantive studying happening in London.  My wife and I were privileged to be there for one month with these 27 students and I can confirm that they did indeed study.  

Between January 10 and February 3, each (4-hour) class day was like a week for a usual semester, so each week was equivalent to a month of school.  By Jan. 21 we had reached “Spring break” and celebrated by going to Oxford together.  Oxford is an hour-long train ride west of London and home of the oldest university in England.  My interest in Oxford is due to C.S. Lewis having been a student and professor there.  However, the most popular attraction in town was undoubtedly Christ Church College, due to its connection to Harry Potter.  So we visited Magdalen College, St. Mary the Virgin Church, the Eagle and Child pub, and the Christ Church College hall.  How typical of our experience in England – a mix of real history and fun!

 

 
It is a great privilege to teach GLS students in London – one I am eager to repeat.  My wife and I enjoyed all our trips and discussions with the students.  And when my dad and stepmom came for a visit, the students were so thoughtful and polite with them.  As parents, you would have been most proud of your sons and daughters.

Not only was teaching in London a first for me, so was going an entire semester with no student absences!  That had never happened in my 30 years of teaching undergraduates.


And now to the students.  As the sun came up on Feb. 4, we sped away from London on Eurostar, going under the channel and arriving in Antwerp, Belgium before noon.  If anyone goes to Antwerp, you must visit the Plantin-Moretus museum, which houses the history and collections of a family-run printing operation that was in business from the 1550s to the 1870s.  They have the oldest two remaining printing presses in the world, they printed the first atlas, they published books in more than a dozen languages, ...  From the T/F quiz about my family, you know that Cherol loves books – so this was the perfect site for us.  


 

We definitely enjoyed Belgian chocolate in Antwerp and we began to learn some Flemish/Dutch.  It was a relaxing time after our compressed semester and conversations with my Statistics colleagues were most enjoyable.  My only regret was turning down the opportunity to have kangaroo for dinner our first night there.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Kathryn Hamlin

Hello from London,

Although that greeting sounds right, I think we can all agree that we have spent almost as much time around London as we have outside of it. Because of our rigorous schedule inside of the classroom, I have found that the best way to spend your time (and money) is travelling to all of the amazing countries surrounding England. Just this last weekend we had groups in Germany, Spain and Sweden. I know that my schedule has completely piled up with trips planned from Dublin to Florence to Wales.
Right before changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace

I was in a group of 4 who visited Stockholm, Sweden this past weekend. There were a couple glitches in getting there: the multiple feet of snow surrounding us everywhere, the fact that none of us had packed correctly, and best of all, our bus was unable to make it all the way to the central station due to icy conditions; however, once we woke up the next morning and walked to the old city, we were able to see how beautiful the city was. The city is so unique because it is an archipelago, and the architecture that accompanied that was breathtaking. I know that we would have never imagined visiting Stockholm before this trip, but it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I hope that I’m able to go again, but maybe after the weather warms up a little.

One of the beautiful sights in Stockholm, Sweden

Back in London, we have all experienced so much through our Business Administration class. There is only so much that you can learn while sitting in a classroom, so Dr. Morris has been able to open up the class to a study of business markets in and around London, which allows us to ask questions and get feedback from different types of organizations. Not only does this put the context into practice but it gives us all a chance to see a different side of London and International Business strategies and organizations.

The GLS class of 2013

We all have so much coming towards us within the next couple weeks, and I can only imagine that it will continue to get better and better.

Cheerio!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Emily Griggs

Greetings from London!
Well, we made it through our first week of Business Administration 207, with Dr. Morris. We have sped through eight chapters in four days and according to Dr. Morris we are four ninths of the way done with our course. We meet six hours a day for BA 207, which is rather daunting, so Dr. Morris has come up with a solution. We meet in the morning for three hours where we cover two chapters from the text book and in the afternoon we apply what we have learned.
Thus far we have visited Camden Market and Harrods to apply our knowledge; both outings were exciting experiences. Our class divided into groups according to our major and created questions to ask the vendors, sales people, and proprietors of Camden Market and Harrods based on the material we had learned that day.
 For Camden Market we compiled questions such as, where do your products come from? How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? How often to you order products? Do you have any employees? 
Our questions for Harrods were slightly different, common questions included: how do you motivate your employees? Are you satisfied as an employee? Do you have autonomy over your area of the store? How do you set your products apart from competitors?
We have greatly enjoyed our first two outings and look forward to the upcoming week. We do not have much more time until spring break and our internships begin and I know that we are all excited about both. Living in London truly is an incredible experience which we all will treasure. 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Robert Davis

"Are you drinking much?" "No"
"Met any interesting people?" "A few"
"Really? Are you sure you aren't spending every night out on the town?" "I'm sure."
"Have you found anything fun to do near your flat?" "Yes, there's loads of stuff to do around here."
"You do realize the legal drinking age is 18, right?" "Yes, and, no, I haven't taken advantage of that."
(Sadly, questions 1, 3, and 5 are all compliments of my parents who are understandably, if unnecessarily, worried about my self-discipline.)

I've been asked so many questions by my friends and family back home that it's sometimes hard to muster up more than a one or two word answer to a question which I could spend an entire hour answering . The hardest question to answer, however, is "Where do you plan on going?" I honestly thought at the outset that I would spend my weekends off touring the rest of Europe. In my head I'd planned out trips to Spain and Italy and Austria and Greece. Little did I know the allure of London would keep me home most weekends.

To date, I have gone on exactly 1 trip (an extended weekend in Bath with my flatmates). Every other weekend I have simply wandered about London until I saw something that piqued my interest. The first time I pulled on my hiking boots and went out for a stroll I stumbled upon the Camden Market district. After spending an hour in the stalls and more money than I care to admit to, I emerged quite a few pounds lighter but with a couple new leather notebooks and a wonderful cup of apple cider. The subsequent weekend I walked out to Shoreditch to hear if the bells really say "When I grow rich". On the way I found myself in Islington so I decided to search for the flat corresponding to the phone number 22079460347. To my disappointment I didn't find the flat, much less a man with two heads and three arms or even one Ford Prefect. Fortunately I happened across a lunchtime food market between Shoreditch and Islington which greatly improved my mood.

Obviously I could pile example upon example and story upon story of all the various markets, shops, and curiosities I have found in London, but that would almost certainly be as stultifyingly dull as your average tri-d. I will say only one thing more.  If you find yourself in London and you're feeling overwhelmed by all your weekend options, there is only one truly pertinent piece of advice:

Don't Panic.