COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
CCU has a new motto: Experienced at Coastal....Well CCU how's this for experience?!
I am an undergraduate at ccu and I just graduated this past May. I needed two more classes and I really didn't want to take a whole semester worth of filler classes and I was struggling to figure out a way to squeeze in all of my classes when my advisor told me about study abroad for business majors. I knew I HAD to get involved so I started my application process and below is my plea for entry into the Study Abroad program...
I have a desire for traveling that dates back to grade school. While my peers were watching Cartoon Network or Comedy Central, I was watching The Travel Channel. I dreamt of becoming just like Samantha Brown and hopping from country to country passing on knowledge and a passion for the world and different cultures. While I now realize the chances of her job opening up are slim, the opportunity to travel and do the things she does are still within reach with the help of Coastal Carolina University.
My choice to transfer to Coastal Carolina University after my freshman year of college has been the best decision for my education. As I started my journey to earn my undergraduate degree in business, I had given up on the idea of studying abroad. Being a transfer student I had to focus on core classes to make up for lost credits. Still that did not prevent me from seeking out opportunities for learning about it. The staff and faculty here have given all their students ample prospects to grow and experience inside their major, including the opportunity for internships. As I was applying for internships I chose those in the business realm which would get me as close to travelers and people of the world as possible. I still have an aspiration to learn of foreign cultures and traditions. One summer I worked as an intern for Airlie Conference Center, a business conference center just outside of Washington DC. There I met a great deal of international business professionals and learned a great deal but my longing to travel did not falter. When my Advisor, Jay Teets, told me of the study abroad to China and Korea, I was immediately interested. When he said it would cover two of my last required courses to graduate I knew I had to try everything to be a part of this program.
Having this specific study abroad program fit into my schedule to graduate was not the only reason I chose to apply for it. While it is a deciding factor for me being so close to the end of my journey at Coastal Carolina, I would have chosen this trip anyways. The culture in Asia has always spiked my curiosity. It is so different from our own and has so much tradition and history. The fact that this specific study abroad trip is in its second year of running makes it that much more attractive to me. It was obviously a successful trip and only a few can say that they have done it before. I can only imagine going to these two countries would be like stepping into history while still being a part of modern day society. I am fascinated by how the two mix especially when it comes to business practices. My goal for this trip is to gain insight as to how culture impacts business relationships and to learn how we can work together to make the world more accessible for all.
In spite of giving up on my dream for becoming a world renounced host on The Travel Channel, I have replaced that with the dream of becoming a cultured business woman and a citizen of the world. This program will give me knowledge and experience and be one of the first big steps towards that dream. Thank you for considering my application into Culture and Business in Asia and I hope to be traveling with you May of 2012.
Needless to say this got me in (otherwise why would I be blogging about it?) and from that moment on my adventure of a lifetime began!
I am an undergraduate at ccu and I just graduated this past May. I needed two more classes and I really didn't want to take a whole semester worth of filler classes and I was struggling to figure out a way to squeeze in all of my classes when my advisor told me about study abroad for business majors. I knew I HAD to get involved so I started my application process and below is my plea for entry into the Study Abroad program...
I have a desire for traveling that dates back to grade school. While my peers were watching Cartoon Network or Comedy Central, I was watching The Travel Channel. I dreamt of becoming just like Samantha Brown and hopping from country to country passing on knowledge and a passion for the world and different cultures. While I now realize the chances of her job opening up are slim, the opportunity to travel and do the things she does are still within reach with the help of Coastal Carolina University.
My choice to transfer to Coastal Carolina University after my freshman year of college has been the best decision for my education. As I started my journey to earn my undergraduate degree in business, I had given up on the idea of studying abroad. Being a transfer student I had to focus on core classes to make up for lost credits. Still that did not prevent me from seeking out opportunities for learning about it. The staff and faculty here have given all their students ample prospects to grow and experience inside their major, including the opportunity for internships. As I was applying for internships I chose those in the business realm which would get me as close to travelers and people of the world as possible. I still have an aspiration to learn of foreign cultures and traditions. One summer I worked as an intern for Airlie Conference Center, a business conference center just outside of Washington DC. There I met a great deal of international business professionals and learned a great deal but my longing to travel did not falter. When my Advisor, Jay Teets, told me of the study abroad to China and Korea, I was immediately interested. When he said it would cover two of my last required courses to graduate I knew I had to try everything to be a part of this program.
Having this specific study abroad program fit into my schedule to graduate was not the only reason I chose to apply for it. While it is a deciding factor for me being so close to the end of my journey at Coastal Carolina, I would have chosen this trip anyways. The culture in Asia has always spiked my curiosity. It is so different from our own and has so much tradition and history. The fact that this specific study abroad trip is in its second year of running makes it that much more attractive to me. It was obviously a successful trip and only a few can say that they have done it before. I can only imagine going to these two countries would be like stepping into history while still being a part of modern day society. I am fascinated by how the two mix especially when it comes to business practices. My goal for this trip is to gain insight as to how culture impacts business relationships and to learn how we can work together to make the world more accessible for all.
In spite of giving up on my dream for becoming a world renounced host on The Travel Channel, I have replaced that with the dream of becoming a cultured business woman and a citizen of the world. This program will give me knowledge and experience and be one of the first big steps towards that dream. Thank you for considering my application into Culture and Business in Asia and I hope to be traveling with you May of 2012.
Needless to say this got me in (otherwise why would I be blogging about it?) and from that moment on my adventure of a lifetime began!
Preparing to be unprepared
Packing for a long trip in another country is a nightmare. We were only allowed one bag; no more than 50lbs. I know I know....that seems like an excessive amount, but when you don't know exactly what you are getting yourself into, it's hard to be prepared. The professors informed us of the basic weather and the amount of times we would be dressing in business attire but again, if you've never done it how do you know?
We got to the airport around 4am seeing as our flight left at 5:15 am and most of us hadn't slept so we were probably the most boring, unenthusiastic group to ever leave for a Study Abroad. I was particularly emotional because my amazing boyfriend Chris, was the one dropping me off at the airport and I knew when I got back from Asia, he would be moving out of our cozy apartment for grad school leaving me to finish my Capstone. So clutching my not so tiny suitcase, with bags under my eyes, tears were falling from my cheeks as I kissed him goodbye. From here on out it was a lot of security checks and weird strangers sitting too close. We flew from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte, then Charlotte to San Fransisco, then finally San Fransisco to Shanghai, China.
The flight from Myrtle to Charlotte is a whopping half hour. No big deal. Then Charlotte to San Fransisco was 4 hours and this was much more miserable. I was over-tired and sitting next to a woman in a bright orange fleece pull-over, whose carry-on was a silver bike helmet and a violin. I have no idea how she got involved in extreme violining but I was in no mood to find out. I was stuck in the middle seat and trying to sleep with my backpack on my lap as a pillow but that wasn't really working out especially when the extreme violinist opened a snack of tuna. Who brings tuna on a plane to snack on?! No way was I letting that happen again for the 13 hour flight to China! So I came up with a plan to just get on the plane early and sit between Mon'chel and Michelle and when the other passengers came by and saw us in their seats, I politely as possible, in my best British accent, asked if they would mind if we sat together. And it worked!!! Everyone was so polite and had no problem trading. This was infinitely a better flight.
We got to the airport around 4am seeing as our flight left at 5:15 am and most of us hadn't slept so we were probably the most boring, unenthusiastic group to ever leave for a Study Abroad. I was particularly emotional because my amazing boyfriend Chris, was the one dropping me off at the airport and I knew when I got back from Asia, he would be moving out of our cozy apartment for grad school leaving me to finish my Capstone. So clutching my not so tiny suitcase, with bags under my eyes, tears were falling from my cheeks as I kissed him goodbye. From here on out it was a lot of security checks and weird strangers sitting too close. We flew from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte, then Charlotte to San Fransisco, then finally San Fransisco to Shanghai, China.
The flight from Myrtle to Charlotte is a whopping half hour. No big deal. Then Charlotte to San Fransisco was 4 hours and this was much more miserable. I was over-tired and sitting next to a woman in a bright orange fleece pull-over, whose carry-on was a silver bike helmet and a violin. I have no idea how she got involved in extreme violining but I was in no mood to find out. I was stuck in the middle seat and trying to sleep with my backpack on my lap as a pillow but that wasn't really working out especially when the extreme violinist opened a snack of tuna. Who brings tuna on a plane to snack on?! No way was I letting that happen again for the 13 hour flight to China! So I came up with a plan to just get on the plane early and sit between Mon'chel and Michelle and when the other passengers came by and saw us in their seats, I politely as possible, in my best British accent, asked if they would mind if we sat together. And it worked!!! Everyone was so polite and had no problem trading. This was infinitely a better flight.
A Good Size
Our small yet epic group at our first stop in Asia, Shanghai China!