Pitt Plus3 Program

Day 14: Bound for USA

Today was a sad day, as we were finally leaving Augsburg and heading back home to the states. We woke up super early so we could get to the airport on time. As always, I personally woke up again to “Never Gonna You Up” by Rick Astley. I went downstairs to dig into a big…

Reflection Blog

It’s crazy to think that a little over two weeks ago, we were gathering in Panther Hall getting ready to go to a different continent. Plus 3 Germany was an amazing journey where I made so many new great friendships that will last for a long time. I also learned so much about business that…

Day 13: Her name was Barbara

I got up at 6:15 am by waking up to Rick Astley and headed downstairs. We ate breakfast and took some pears for a snack as usual. Apples are my favorite, but sadly weren’t available. Today was our free day where we could do whatever we wanted. Some of us had the idea of going…

Day 12: Germany’s Disney

I woke up at 7:30 am to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”, but didn’t get out of bed until 7:56 am when I went downstairs and grabbed some breakfast. We boarded the bus ready for an amazing adventure. On our travels, I was excited to see German animals, a deer and 2 swans. We…

(Not Quite a) Train to Busan

First up, we checked out of the hotel as today we traveled to our final destination: Busan. Busan is the 2nd largest city in South Korea, with over 3 million people and is located beautifully along the coast, home to numerous beaches and seaports. Before continuing with Busan, however, I must talk about what came…

Oh Ship! Almost to Busan

This was another travel day, during which we headed closer to Busan by stopping in Ulsan, a coastal port city home to Hyundai Heavy Industries’ factories and dry-docks. Before Hyundai, we took a stop at Jinsang Marine Management. Jinsang works with various national shipping corporations providing goods such as spare-parts, crew food, and small consumer…

China… I love you 3,000

The last 2 weeks have been a transformational, eye-opening experience that I will certainly remember for the rest of my life. This trip may be one of the few times I will be able to explore in great depth the culture and way of life of a foreign country while learning about a focused subject…

The Beginning of the End

Waking up to my 8 o’clock alarm, it was hard to believe that this is the final day of our visit to China. Although the 4 a.m. bus ride to the Pittsburgh airport seems like an eternity ago, each individual day in China passed as minutes. Coming to the lobby at 9 a.m. we were…

Hẹn gặp lại

Last blog post. I’ve been putting this one off. Summing up the last two weeks? From stepping off the bus with a lei thrown around my neck to adjusting my ao dai as we took photos at the farewell dinner – I don’t think I have nearly enough words to mark my experiences. Luckily, I…

A Great Job Planning

On my ninth day in China I began my first full day in Shanghai, definitely my favorite of the three cities. When I woke up in the morning to get ready to go to the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), I was still amazed with the sights I saw of Shanghai the…

Can We Go Back?

It hasn’t even been a week, but I’m already missing everything and everybody in Ho Chi Minh city. Plus3 was truly the opportunity of a lifetime; I couldn’t have asked for more. I was able to learn so much about both globalization/development in Vietnam and Vietnamese history and culture in a short amount of…

Plus3 Germany 2019: It Really Was the Best Two Weeks of my Life

May 24th, 2019 Tough blog today. One week ago at this time, Lucas and I would be finishing up at the Porsche Museum and getting ready to head over to Mercedes on the S-Bahn in Stuttgart. Three weeks ago I would be arriving at Pitt for our overnight stay at Nordenberg Hall. It would be…

Xièxiè, China

What is business? Before this trip I would have answered that business is about making money. The only problem with this is that it’s simply wrong. Of course, a primary goal of a business is to make money, but what’s important lies in the way a business goes about that. Business can be personal, helpful,…

Port Fried Rice

After sleeping through my alarm for the first time this trip, I rushed into the shower, threw on my clothes, and hurried to the lobby by our 7:30 meeting time. As we settled into our seats on the bus, we were greeted by Sarah, a Pitt graduate who has lived in Shanghai for the past…

AmCham with Chris and Dan

Since I had stayed up late yesterday night, I was slow to get up. But having showered, gotten dressed in business casual attire, and eaten a cliff bar, I was prepared for today’s excursions! We all boarded the bus and made our way to the American Chamber of Commerce just an hour from our hotel….

Feels like a Dream

It’s almost been about a week since I’ve been back at home. I’ve been reflecting on the whole trip and enjoying the good memories and friends that I made. It doesn’t even feel that long ago when I stepped off the bus and got a lei put around my neck at UEF. Now 3 weeks…

Back to School

I woke up well rested after sleeping past 8 am for the first time all trip! Yesterday’s bullet train ride brought us to Shanghai, China’s largest city and financial hub. The great buffet style breakfast of our 5-star hotel matched if not surpassed the breakfasts of our previous hotels (which were already very good). We…

Mask on

Before I came to China, I had the misconception that pollution was going to be horrible everywhere and I wouldn’t be able to breathe outside without a mask. Once I got to Beijing I realized how wrong I was. China really put in great efforts to clean up their skies and the only reason people…

Half-Baked Warriors

China’s far-stretching history has produced a community so rich in culture and tradition. Not only have the customs of many generations of people contributed to societal beliefs, but the remnants of many historical events result in a nation concentrated with cultural attractions. We began day 6 by travelling to one of these many sites; the…

Big Trouble in Little China

Having travelled for the majority of day 5, day 6 had much in store to compensate for the lengthy trip. That being said, the bullet train that brought us from Beijing to Xi’an (a distance of over 570 miles) in under 6 hours was a novel experience. This transportation feat is a perfect exemplar of…