This morning, we visited Cafe Britt, one of Costa Rica’s most recognizable coffee brands. The tour itself was actually really fun. Josh and I got pulled up to do a coffee-making and tasting thing with the tour guide, which was pretty cool. The guide was great and clearly knew what he was talking about, and…
Tag: Pitt Business
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Day 3: Keeping Vietnam Bright
After a fun night of street food and karaoke with the UEF students, I was excited to see them again for class this morning. We learned more about how to strategize and problem solve if an international organization experiences a disruption. We also celebrated Becky’s birthday with the delicious passion fruit cake. Happy birthday! For the…
Day 3: Hottest One Yet
Wow, it was hot today. The moment I stepped outside in the morning (after rolling out of bed ten minutes before we had to leave), I was immediately sweating. We headed over to UEF for another lecture on sustainability, this time focusing more on supply chains and how they can be resilient. One of the…
Chocolate Comas and Empty Wallets
Today I woke up in Quito and fell asleep in Otavalo, Ecuador! I had fruit, eggs, a croissant, and the best coffee for breakfast at the hotel. We only stayed 2 nights at the hotel in the historic downtown of Quito. I have never eaten so much chocolate in one day before. The first chocolate…
Sunday — Arrival: First Impressions of Germany and Augsburg (Day 2)
The first thing I noticed was the local market and grocery stores that were actually inside the airport. This was very unique compared to what we have in the states. The prices also didn’t seem to be that outrageous in the airport as well. Which again is very different from what we have in the…
Day 1 Blog: Travel
The trip compared to the last couple of flights I have taken was longer but managed to be way smoother in terms of the airline giving clarity and being mostly on time. The last 3 flights I have taken had a cancellation of some sort involved. So it was nice for this one to be…
Bartering and Bios!
Following our departure from Quito, the past few days have been tightly packed with fun and fleeting moments! On the outskirts of Quito, we first visited Bios, where we had the opportunity to taste test a variety of chocolate, and even explore the break down of the chocolate making process. David, the current director of…
Day 3 – Public Care
Before I get into today’s blog, I just wanted to say happy International Nurse’s Day. Since learning more and more about the healthcare system, both in the United States and in Argentina, I can confidently say that without nurses, our healthcare systems would not be able to function. It is because of them that patients…
Chocolate, Bargaining, and Questionably Rare Steaks
Over the past 2 days, we did a LOT. We traveled from Quito to Otavalo, and along the way we had some really cool experiences. To wrap up our time in Quito, we visited Yumbos Chocolate for a chocolate tasting. The chocolates were very different, some tasted fruity, some were a little bitter, and one…
Postcards from Morocco: Deep Dives and Daily Rhythms
Today’s focus shifted from the overload of the Medinas and markets to the invisible threads that hold Moroccan society together. We took a deep dive into the pillars of Moroccan life: religion, politics, and the evolving role of women. Being here in Rabat, the capital city where tradition and rapid modernization intersect on every street…
Day 3: Trip to Tigre and San Isidro
Today we took a boat trip on the Tigre River to the Tigre Clinic public hospital. This hospital was in a pretty poor area and served provinces within a 2-hour distance. I noticed that this can be very inefficient and could cause problems for the clinic and people because they also only have one ambulance…
Moo-ving Beyond Shareholders
Costa Rica centers itself on community and sustainability, and Los Pinos exemplifies this better than most. The dairy cooperative, one of the largest in the country, follows a model that involves small farmers sharing resources and decision-making power in the production of their products. Starting with only 25 farmers and a focus on high-quality feed…
Got Milk?
Today we visited Kyndryl, Dos Pinos, and the Oxigeno Mall. Kyndryl is an IT corporation based in NYC with a location in Costa Rica. With data and AI, they are helping countries all around the world grow. Their IT services help increase efficiency and reach more customers. They help all sorts of companies around the…
Costa Rica has Different Ways of Doing Business
Today we visited Dos Pinos and Kyndryl where we were able to compare the cooperative business model with the multinational corporation model. I believe cooperatives create more value for the country because the benefits are directed to the local community. At Dos Pinos, the shareholders are farmers themselves, so the people doing the hard work…
May 12th – Milk and Computers
We got to visit two different parts of the Costa Rican business world today, both equally important to not only Costa Ricans, but also us in the United States and other countries worldwide. After visiting both Kyndryl and Dos Pinos, I think both companies create value for Costa Rica, but in their own respective ways….
May 11th – No Free Ice Cream
Today we visited two very different companies, Kyndryl and Dos Pinos. Kyndryl is a global IT services company with 80,000 employees operating in 60+ countries. They chose Costa Rica specifically for the educated workforce, which makes sense. They have invested a lot in their people too, with 98 hours of training per employee and over…
From Technology to Dairy
Today we visited Kyndryl and Dos Pinos, which are two very different types of businesses. Kyndryl is a large IT company based in New York that primarily works with banks, airlines, and many other companies worldwide. They chose Costa Rica because of the educated workforce and growing technology sector. I thought it was interesting how…
Religion, Gender, Politics, & Beach Soccer
Another round of classes took place today, with a primary focus on religion, politics, and gender dynamics. As a result, I had the opportunity to learn more about the history of household dynamics and make a connection with how my host family navigates daily life compared to historic Moroccan families. The father, like many other…
Day 2: A Humble Day with Park Hyatt
Xin chao! Tên tôi là Ally! We learned a few Vietnamese words and phrases to start our day, as well as made 3-minute proposals for services that are successful in America that we think could be successful in Vietnam as well. My group did food delivery robots and we won a UEF notebook! I also…
Day 2: Xin Chào!
Xin chào! Today we went to UEF about smart and sustainable service in businesses, where we played a kahoot and I got second place! As a prize, I got nori flavored chips which I am excited to try eventually. We then did presentations about business models that have been successful in the U.S. that haven’t…