Welcome to the GGC Study Abroad Journal

Two weeks later...
Friday, June 06, 2008 By Sasha Ruiz
and it's good to be home, but now I'm more curious than ever about what else is out there. My head is filled with ideas on how I can get out and see the rest of the world as soon as possible.

It was very interesting to see and experience the different cultural and business attitudes as we traveled through Europe. The Drs. Peppas really pulled out all the stops and it felt like a huge privilege to be meeting with such high profile corporations. I can only imagine how this experience is going to benefit me in the future.

The entire studies abroad experience has been amazing and it's already changed many of my perceptions about the world around us. To anyone who has been thinking of traveling: do it now. Get out there and change your world view. And if you need someone to go with you, give me a call!

One week later...
Saturday, May 31, 2008 By Rico Torres
...and it feels nice to be home. I thought it'd be good to look back a week after the trip and share some of the thoughts after being repatriated to the US.

The flight back was much better (though it felt much, much longer) than the flight there. The plane wasn't completely full, so all of us had room to stretch. We got up about 6:00 to be on the bus by 7:00. The hotel had breakfast bags for us, and then it was off to the Zurich Airport. The airport was nice, but like every other building I’ve been in, air conditioning is not always used. :( Getting through passport control and security was very easy and quick--almost too quick, but I guess they're ready to get you out of their country. By 09:30, we began boarding, and the trip home officially commenced. The Peppas’ are staying in Switzerland, so they took us as far as they could go in the airport and let us go. I’m so appreciative of the experience they were able to provide for our entire group and me. The group on our plane home was only 11 as Megan took a plane to the UK for two weeks, and Felix and Amanda left for Germany the day before. I had in my journal that we were moving at about 498 mph and just hitting the Atlantic Ocean with only 8 more hours until we arrived in Atlanta.

I really do feel like a different person. Maybe it's because this is the first time I've really been out of school. Though I have the project to finish, it feels nice to have free time. It's also given me some much needed time to relax. I'm feeling very fresh and ready to see what my next endeavor is going to be.

Coming out of the trip, you see the world in a totally new light. In Org. Behavior, I remember talking about paradigms and how they act like colored lenses as you view the world. My lenses have definitely changed, and I'm much more appreciative of different cultures. I was born in Germany, and this was my first time being in Europe since then. For some people, traveling across the US is an experience--it was for me. Traveling to Europe was like a whole separate world. The languages, the culture, and the rich history...this was an amazing sight. By nature, I compare things as they are in Europe to the US, and it's interesting how we have similarities and differences. If you really want to test your perceptions, take a study abroad trip.

It was odd getting back into my car after riding public transportation, spending 9117 miles in two airplanes, and many buses for 12 days. It felt GREAT to lay in my bed after being in five hotels over the two week period. After many, many miles of walking around four countries, I feel out of shape here at home, but I'm ready to try our new gym next week. Like Sandy, I plan to brush up on the very minimal French I learned before the trip with Rosetta Stone. Language seems to be one of the cornerstone pieces to understanding a society of people, and it's time to branch out.

The Study Abroad experience is definitely one that will change your life. It'll change the way you view things, people, culture, and the world.

Graduation is less than a month away. I'm ready to continue traveling the world, and I'm ready for the next segment of my life. Thanks to this trip, I'll see it in a totally new way.

Learning Experience
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 By Sandra Hayles
Just some thoughts on our trip.

We owe the guys with laptops a big thanks for keeping everyone informed for us. I personally have a desktop at home and was not comfortable taking my work laptop with me, so I suppose I am a bit late getting comments in, but hope you are all still reading. Internet access in public spots was not as readily available as we thought it would be – and when it was, it was expensive. We also owe the “Drs. Peppas” a huge thanks for the preparation that they put into our trip. Everything was perfectly scheduled and arranged for us. Their connections in Europe and their expertise in organizing the Studies Abroad excursions certainly made this trip a great learning experience, and it could not have gone more smoothly!

I have been to Europe many times to visit acquired family, and I actually have to travel to France at least once a year to work with my French colleagues. This experience was very different and I am so thankful that I went. Please don’t let the fact that you have been to Europe dissuade you from signing up for the next Studies Abroad trip. This is not your vacation trip – it is about learning about business and economics in other cultures, as well as the people and the language – and it was fun!

The European Parliament visit was where we started our trip and I have to say, it is very impressive. We heard many languages spoken from the groups on the steps of the building as we stood outside. I would have to say that this is one of my favorite stops on the trip. I wish we could have stayed longer. We could have asked questions for hours.

The corporate visits were one of the most important parts of the trip for me. It was great learning about the culture and immersing ourselves in the social aspect of the cities, but hearing how European businesses were affected by 9/11 and the Enron scandal was an invaluable experience for me. I knew that the Enron scandal resulted in Sarbannes-Oxley in the US, but I just never thought much about how it would have affected European businesses. As consumption of goods changed in this country after 9/11, it also did the same in Europe so their markets were also affected by both of these occurrences. I found it interesting how many different ways that the exchange rate plays an important role in profits for businesses in Europe. Some businesses actually buy parts/raw materials in euros, but sell their product in dollars. It’s easy to see that this could have a financial impact for them.

My topic to report on for this class was the business of Champagne Production, so the visit to the Champagne Bureau was a special treat. When we guffaw at the French for their frustration with US producers calling our sparkling wine by the name “champagne”, we should stop to think. It was illustrated to me very simply - oranges from any other state should not be called Florida oranges; salmon from the rivers of New York should not be called Alaskan Salmon. I am sure there are many more examples we could think of to illustrate this point. The French are adamant that only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France should be called Champagne. This certainly gives us something to think about. I know I now agree with the French on this point. I wasn’t so sure of this when I left on the trip.

This trip also made it abundantly clear how important learning a foreign language can be. My French is barely passable, but I felt that I did not have much trouble communicating – because many people in Europe - France particularly, speak English. How many stores could visitors from Europe go to in this country where they could readily find someone who spoke French or German? Think about having to go to a pharmacy in Europe to find something you really need and simply not being able to ask for it. Thank goodness, they usually have an English speaker available in Europe. My colleagues in France often apologize for getting confused with tense of words when writing e-mails in English. I always tell them it’s a good thing they don’t have to interpret my French! They have made much more of an effort to learn our language than we have theirs. I have made it a goal to get out my Rosetta Stone CD’s and get busy on improving what little French I do know.

While I really enjoyed our travels to Europe, I have to agree with Joanna, that it was great to return to the good ‘ole US of A. This is home and where it is easiest for us to communicate and where we are the most comfortable. It was also a great experience to learn something new about traveling in other countries and rewarding to get to know my fellow travelers better. This is a trip full of memories – many of which we captured with cameras, and many that we will simply talk about for quite some time. Don’t miss your opportunity when Studies Abroad rolls around next year!

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