The Final Days

              We are in the last day of classes. Presentations for management class are interesting. It was great to see how everyone picked very different things to export to the European Union.  We chose to export Victoria's Secret to Italy. I was really happy with our final project. Another group of girls chose to do Downey's wrinkle release to France. I liked how they took their personal experience, and applied it to the projects. Some of the other products Exported are RedBox, Chipotle, Car-may a high precision pump, Coach and many more. All in all it has been a great experience. 

         While working and Learning in France i have learned a lot about the processes we go through vs. what a french student. When our teachers were listening to us they found that we all are very optimistic. They stated that a French student would have listed ALL of the possible problems. It is interesting to me that we all have the same basic learning structures, yet our culture is still very present within our education systems. I am sad that it has all gone by so fast. I can't believe that i have already been here for an entire month. I leave to go back home in 3 days. Tonight we are going to get dinner in the Notre Dame area also called Saint Michel. We found an amazing Crepe  shop. After that we plan on watching the light show at the Eiffel Tower. Some of our UNC group leaves early tomorrow morning so we are enjoying are last night as a group. See you all soon back in the U.S.

XOXO, Chelsea

Last week of classes

           The last week has jumped up on me. The time in Paris has gone by so fast. I am extremely happy i got the opportunity to come over seas and take class. I have met a lot of people and learned to not be as ethnocentric when evaluating my surroundings. on Tuesday we went to a museum that housed Claude Monet's Paintings. One of his paintings is the reason the Impressionism movement was named. The painting that represents this was not valued until more recent years. It was found rolled up and being shipped to a buyer. They have now restored it and put it in to a giant gold frame. One of the things i find peculiar is the fact that many of the museums here they move around the order and presentations of the artwork. Each time we go out teacher Claude looks for the painting where it used to be and almost every time it has been moved to a new mall.
            Wednesday we had our last marketing class. We were divided into groups of 4 and assigned a case. I was in a group with Rachael Prouhet, Brittani Knott, and Lis Beard. We did are article on 4 car companies and their attempts at international marketing. Each group has a different company or set of companies. I was fun to see the different ways to present between the Florida students, German, Turkmenistan and us. The students from UNC, tended to use a PowerPoint that was very concise and fewer bullet points. The German seemed like he wanted to give a full background on the company, beyond what was included in the article assigned.
         The last piece of our week here at school is focused on our management class. We are finishing up our last project and adding on finishing details for exporting into the European union. We are in teams of two. I choose Rachael to be my partner because i knew she was a good worker and the project it worth a lot of our grade. We were originally going to do the company Melt. The company is not currently strong enough financially ready for going international. We switched companies and now are working on exporting Victoria's Secret to Rome, Italy.
XOXO, Chelsea

P.S. I am sad the adventure is coming to an end here in the next couple of days, Paris has been an amazing experience!

New Friends

             We had a long weekend, so we took advantage of it. On Sunday we hiked up a hill to a church. From the top of the hill you can see over the city. There are fountains, grass and trees, which is a nice break from the city. The church is called Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre. We got to walk around the inside it was beautiful. The church reminded me of a small-scale simplified version of Notre Dame. After you can pay 5 Euros to go to the top where there is a small balcony. It was 300 stairs spiraled all the way up. Once we were up there the view was breath taking. The next day Rachael and I went to the Eiffel Tower. We went all the way to the top. I think I took a million pictures. Being able to look out over the entire city was amazing!  It was one of my favorite things I have done here. One thing we still have to do is see the light show at nighttime.  The day before we went a man jumped off of the first level of the tower to a half pipe below on roller blades.

            On the second week we met a exchange student from London. We decided to meet up as a group and all go to dinner. We went to a French restaurant in Bastille, which is the place to go; Bastille that is. Some of the kids got a duck thigh, which was very tender and quite good. Another dish was chicken in coco milk and crumbles. After that we walked around the city. There was a big protest, which was kind of crazy, and there were tons of people all sleeping on the sidewalk and walking around asking for money. It was a fun night. There ended up being 1 person from the U.K., 1 from Canada, 2 from Spain and 2 from America. We got talking about perceptions of one another and it was interesting to hear everyone’s point of view.

XOXO, Chelsea 

Customs & New Things

This weekend I got to explore Paris some more you don’t realize how big it truly is until you have realized you have been here almost 3 weeks and you still have endless possibilities of things to go do and see.

            On Friday we went to the museee-orsay. It was a neat museum although there was a construction going on so there were not as many exhibit areas. The next day Rachael and I went out to a French dinner place where people line up down the street to sit down and eat. Although it is a very large restaurant in comparison to the others we have visited. We had a good meal there we had a cucumber and tomato salad, chicken and frites, followed by a pastry filled with ice cream and topped with warm hot chocolate. We were halfway through our meal and 2 boys were seated next at our table. We were confused about what was going on at first. The boys ended up knowing English and explained it is part of the ambiance. They told us about French food customs. In different regions they eat different things. Some of the items we though were strange was the frogs legs, horse, and calves head.

            After that they showed us a university that is very well known, they called it Paris’s MIT. Talking with them was very interesting and a great way to learn about some of their customs. They were telling us about their school system they are in. It is like a middle ground between high school and a university. They have half civilians and half military students. The purpose of this school is to study up hard on all the subjects so that they can get into some of the harder universities in Paris. 

Enlightenment On the Other Side

            This week was very interesting during classes we learned a lot about payment options between 2 countries. Back a home you learn that a letter of credit is the best form of payment to use while you are doing business. In Paris we have learned of some stories that represent why a letter of credit is not always the best choice. Another form of payment discussed is that you cannot always rely on your transportation company. Once that company has arrived at the dock they don’t always want to hold on to your products. Most of the time they do not always have a place to store them until the company pays you and they end up being delivered to the buyer without a full payment.

            We also went to a museum that used to be a old train station in Paris it now is full of painting and exhibits. It was once built so that all of the people coming into Paris for a large event were not all coming into the same train station. The station is now closed and they have built a new one, which is one of the largest buildings in central Paris. Some of the paintings in the building are famous because of all the controversy they had caused a long time ago. One painting is of 2 men and 2 women they look as if they are all at a picnic. The two men are relaxed and fully clothed and the women have no clothes on and are also sitting there relaxed. Another set of painting were from an exhibit formed with all of the rejected paintings some of them are of the human body and were not acceptable at that time and others were just not artistic enough and not understood.

            This week as a whole was very enlightening and I really enjoying hearing the other side of business transactions. Sometime I believe Americans think they rule the world, yet in another country they lose the power entitlement many think they have. Being abroad has enlightened my way of thinking even more and made me understand some of the true differences between our thought processes.

XOXO, Chelsea  

when in Milan, Italy

            A few students and I went to Milan Italy this past weekend. We all had a ton of fun and it was nice to compare 2 European companies. Milan has a lot more trees and greenery in their area. The Metro was a simplified in comparison to the Paris metro. Italy’s food was absolutely amazing. I feel as though everyone says that the food in France, but I love the Italian food.  

            One of the days we got off a Dumo the dome area and there was a ton of people. The big football game (our soccer) against Germany was going on, so the whole town was crazy. O n our way to dinner we were suppose to get off at a stop that is in central Milan but it was closed due to an extremely large number of people rallying for the big game. All in all we had a great trip and it was an amazing getting to see the pride in their football team. 

The Little Things in Life

            This week has been a ton of fun and also very eye opening. My Paris family and I are all having amazing time together and learning life lessons. This week we went to the Louvre and it was fascinating. The museum is huge and it took us a very long time to get through it. We walked around with our teacher for a while then she left us explore on our own. We got lost trying to find the Mona Lisa and the crown.              As a group we went out for sushi. I am getting much better at my phrases in French. There have been some places where people have a hard time understanding us; so being able to tell them in French (or at least try) has been helpful. Rachael and I have done many transactions in French. Another recommendation would be to get a phrase book it has been super helpful.

            One night we were coming home from a dinner down in the Notre Dame area and we ran into some boys causing trouble. At that point it was really nice that we have been staying together as a group and being safe.  I am so happy to be here with my fellow MCB students. Also we have noticed that we sometimes get stared at more when we are wearing certain clothing items. This has shown me some of the differences between the States and French culture.

            Shopping has also been a lot of fun, some things we all find odd though. There is a new pair of pants that everyone seems to be wearing. They have an extra long seem between the thighs. Many of the stores we go into show us the pants. It is interesting to see some of the fashion differences between the U.S. and the French. The fashion here as a whole is really individualistic, everyone has a unique style and it all seems to be accepted.

 If anyone has any questions about french culture let me know and ill try to look out for it!

Until next time, XOXO

Chelsea 

A way of thinking...

            Marketing class has been very interesting this week. We have been going over cases after a lecture and it has helped apply the learning objectives. Some of the cases we have done include the companies supreme canning company, Hardy wine, as well as a financial case. The marketing teacher has been a joy to take class with and I have been enjoying this week very much. This has been a great experience

            Our teacher has told us that culture is the main differences but the biggest things are the small things. You have two choices with international marketing you can either adapt or start a Global view with the company. The company has to make the decision to either export or internationalize. In Saudi Arabia there are some major differences women do not drive, and you could possibly wait 3 days to be seen. One of the most important things with global marketing is to simply listen to your specific market. Preparing to enter into the international market is a way of thinking not just steps. Listening to a teacher’s perspective on how she approaches international marketing and her experiences has helped shed light onto how a European goes into a market.

            All in all it has been a great week in marketing class. It has been wonderful to try new teaching styles. Another day adventure we went to the Louvre museum. We went down to the middle-ages area and got to see the first wall and drawbridge built by the first king. It was interesting to see the floor plan of each king did to personalize the building. The history is so rich in Paris and it is amazing getting to see how all of the different pieces were saved and the stories behind each one. The Napoleon’s apartment area was beautiful. All of his rooms could only be made in red, black or gold. Paris is wonderful.

XOXO, Chelsea 

French Survival & Class

            Classes in Paris are different from the classes in the U.S. I feel as though we do a lot more conversing about the topic with the teacher. In class we have a kid from Germany, our teacher started to tell us about the special partnership the French and germens have. It was very interesting to listen to how both side view their partnership and the details of it.  We will be doing a project on importing a company to a member of the European Union. It has been a challenge to come up with a company that is big enough to want to sustain a international presence, and is not already it the European Union. Our teacher calls it penetrating the market with a new product or service.

            The other class we have been taking in French survival class. Our teacher speaks really fast in French and we are to respond with a certain phrase. I took French in high school and it still is hard for me to pick up everything she is saying and translate it. We reviewed out je, tu, il, elle, Vous, Nous, ills, and Elles.; which is how we set ourselves up to say, I, you, he, she, you, all, we, the group of boys, and the group of girls. After that we went on to learning more words to help us in the restaurants.  J’ Voudrais is I would like and the French really appreciate you at least trying to ask in French. 

Field trips?

We got a tour of the city on a boat ride, it is huge there are so many things to see. We also learned to ride the metro to school. It is a little bit confusing getting there but we figured it out. Another recommendation I have for people coming in the future is an alarm clock with batteries, and 3 converters if you are a girl. 1 for each of your computers, one for hair, and one for a router so that you can both use the Internet at the same time.

            Lastly we went on a field trip with class. We went to the Notre Dame Church and the crypts, which is the remains of a city that they found when they were going to build a parking lot for the church! Next we went to the oldest tree is Paris is has cement in and around it to keep it up. It is also next to the oldest church. As a class we went in the church we were not allowed to talk which is challenging for our class. It was very small inside. I think I am starting to realize that everything here is on a much smaller scale than we have. All in all the city is full of life and the architecture is absolutely beautiful.

XOXO Chelsea 

Paris... and a few tips!

            Paris is one of the most beautiful cities! On the way our plane got delayed for 3 hours, I believe it had to do with the volcanic ash being thrown into the air. As Rachael and I got off our plane we ventured through the airport. The architecture is very cool.  The escalators at one point all meets up in an outside area and you can look down upon 8 different escalators. After we got off of the plane we waited for an hour to get our baggage. As we were waiting we found out that the airline baggage people had gone on strike! Finally we got out of the airport and met up with our “person” Marie! She was a little hard to find, we had to exit terminal 1 to locate her and the instructions said we would meet in terminal 1 (a little confusing).

            We left the airport into our black van. We sat in the lanes for a very long time about an inch away form the big buses. We finally arrived at our hotel and got our keys, Rachael and I are on the highest floor of our whole group, it’s a pretty view but the rooms are tiny!!!!! We had to ask for blankets and the concierge desk had no idea what we were talking about! So we got our little French handbook and asked him in French! The bedding is not the cleanest I would say. I would bring your own sheets if you can fit them in your luggage. 

All aboard... almost!

             Getting ready to leave for France is really exciting, yet stressful. I am finishing my finals for the Spring 2010 semester.  Making a packing list for Paris so far I have:

·      Umbrella

·      Currency

·      Coach Pouch slang (so things do not get stolen)

·      Converter

·      Splitter

·      Sheets?

·      Do I need pots and pans? (we have a stove but do we have things to cook with?)

·      Oh yea and maybe some clothes!

            Making a list of items to bring with me has made me realize that I am not prepared for this trip at all. I moved up my final for Friday to Monday so I could allow myself extra packing time. I am sure I will forget something, its inevitable. I am really excited to leave. My family is leaving to go to New York before I leave for Paris so we will not get to see them before I depart. But I have promised them many Skype conversations and they can read my blog, when they miss me.

            I am starting to get lots of advise from everyone. My sisters told me to get up really early one morning and go watch the sunrise against the Eiffel tower, another spot to stop is a fondue place near the really big church in France (I hope I can find it).

            Overall I have a ton of things I am looking forward to doing in Paris. It has come so fast. Getting through finals week this year doesn’t sound quite as bad, because at the end I get to go to Paris, France. It is a reward for a hard semester of work, for more schoolwork. I am sure it will all be worth the amazing experience I am about to embark on.

XOXO until next time, Chelsea Smith