Today we said ciao to Milan, and hello to Florence! We met down at the lobby at 9:30 and embarked on a 4+ hour journey by bus to the city. The bus was not as bad as an experience as I thought it’d be since the seats were comfy and plentiful, there were outlets for…
Tag: Summer 2017
Plus 3 Italy Scholarship Blog
Ciao!! I am so excited for my study abroad trip to Italy. I can’t wait to begin studying the supply chain through fashion industries in Italy. From the classes and lessons that we have taken so far for our pre-trip meeting, I am looking forward to what this trip has in store and how the…
Costa Rica Reflection
I thoroughly enjoyed every second of my time in Costa Rica. Pitt Business’ Plus3 program is an incredible way for their students to experience the world while learning things that will transfer over to their domestic studies. While abroad, we focused on supply chain management, specifically, how coffee makes its journey from, for example, a…
Scholarship Reflection!
I received the Thomas Angelo Honors Scholarship in order to help me go on this study abroad to China. I am extremely grateful to have gotten this opportunity to go and I couldn’t have done it without this scholarship. I was able to explore different facets of the business industry and see it on a…
Looking Back on My Costa Rica Adventure
My study abroad program was two weeks in Costa Rica studying the supply chain of the coffee industry. It was so much fun but also it was exhausting and came with lots of challenges. I only had some Spanish vocabulary background from high school, but basically no experience speaking the language. So it was very…
Reflection Part II: The Pura Vida Effect
Upon arriving in country, we sat down with our host mom to sign a contract stating that we’d be respectful of the house, follow basic rules, etc. All was going smoothly until we reached the last bullet point. -Student must speak/communicate in Spanish and only Spanish. My…
Reflection Part I: American Girl in Tico Culture
In 11th grade, I took a writing course that focused on the power of storytelling. One of my classmates shared a story with the class about her experience travelling back to her family’s roots in India. She spoke of how excited she originally was to meet her people, however, her dream didn’t go quite as…
Final Report
Ethical Issues in My Profession: One of the major themes of this trip was the use of big data. As a computer engineer, I will have to be careful in considering how I collect and share this data. If data is taken or distributed without the customer’s knowledge, it could erode trust in my profession,…
Day 12: Yu Garden
It’s unreal how the time flies. Today was our last full day in China, and it was bittersweet. We began our day by visiting the Yu Garden. I was particularly excited for this site because it is the one I studied for the pre-departure presentation. And, I was not disappointed, it was a beautiful place…
Day 11: TE Connectivity & Dupont
I woke up late today. We were supposed to be in lobby at 8:45 and I got out of bed at about 8:25, so it was a stressful morning. I quickly showered and threw on a business casual outfit, then raced downstairs to grab some bananas and yogurt. At 8:44, I met with group, and…
Day 10: Yangshan Port
Our day began with a trip to the Yangshan port. On the way there, our tour guide for the day, a business man in the freight-forwarding business, talked to us about his work in logistics and adjusting to life in China and Shanghai. He told us that he hadn’t much considered living in China, but…
Day 9: Donghua University
We visited Donghua University today, a college famous for its engineering, business, and fashion schools. When we arrived, we were treated to another lecture on the smartphone industry. This time we learned about the big three tech companies in China – Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (collectively known as BAT). Baidu is essentially the Chinese Google;…
Day 8: Shanghai
Today marked out arrival in Shanghai. Again, we traveled at over 200 miles per hour by bullet train. This time though, I spent most of it catching up on sleep. However, in the last hour or so of the ride, I woke up, and Dr. Li shared some loose-leaf tea with me. I had never…
Day 7: Terracotta Army
With its incredible history, breath-taking scale, and intricate detail, the Terracotta Army has been my favorite site yet. There were 3 massive dig sites, enclosed in hangars, that told the history of the site. The first site contained mostly unearthed and fully reconstructed warriors, including foot soldiers, archers, generals, horses, and carriages. Each statue was…
Day 6: Greater Wild Goose Pagoda
What an eye-opening experience. Today, we visited the Xi’an Children’s Village. The Children’s Village is a 100% donation funded home for Chinese children whose parents are either in jail or otherwise currently not able to support their children. We were there to deliver Pitt’s donation, and to partake in several activities with the children. First,…
Reflection on Plus3: Vietnam
I am beyond honored to have had the opportunity to journey to Vietnam. The trip exposed me to the raw beauty and sheer size of our world. Whether I was trying new fruits or attempting to learn the Vietnamese language, I was able to experience new adventures everyday. I am so grateful to have received…
Day 4 – Hirschvogel and Oberammergau
Wednesday May 10, 2017 This morning we had a very early morning because we had to take a bus to Hirschvogel, which was about an hour away. When we got there, we listened to a presentation about the company and then toured their factory. The factory was much different from Faurecia, because Hirschvogel had…
Hello Vietnam | Goodbye Vietnam
“One day I’ll touch your soil. One day I’ll finally know your soul. One day I’ll come to you. To say hello… Vietnam.” —Quynh Anh (Hello Vietnam) It has been a few days since I left Vietnam. I have set a side writing this final blog until now as adjusting to the time zone difference has…
Reflection
Well guys, here goes my last blog post. I’m devastated just thinking about going back to work, taking summer classes, and not having anymore delicious Bavarian pretzels! Traveling to Germany through Plus3 has been one of the most phenomenal trips of my life. I’ve become so close to so many kids from Pitt and Germany and…
Figurines and Final Company Visits
Hello Everybody, Yesterday was our last day of company visits, our last day with our amazing bus driver 007, and with our purple clad bus that looks like it was decorated by a grandma. The overwhelming feeling as I got off the bus today for the last time was that I did not want to…