Fall Semester

This semester I have taken it a little easier on myself.  I settled on taking only 5 classes, which has proven to be a really good fit.  I started with 6, but dropped a French class to use the time for homework instead.  These classes plus my internships/jobs have proven to be a good combination allowing me to learn and get real world experience at the same time.

CLASSES

The classes I am taking this semester include Business Strategy and Policy, International Marketing, Business Ethics and Sustainability, e-Business Infrastructure, and my internship class.  The most difficult by far is the e-Business infrastructure class, mostly because it is so technical - and my last computer tech class was a while ago.  That being said, I am proud of the work and learning I have been doing in the class and hope to make the most of it.  I am hoping for all As this semester, but even if that doesn't happen, I know I will be able to secure at least a B or B+ instead.  One big difference I noticed this year is that I have a very small amount of "homework" from these classes. Group projects are the largest out of class commitment - besides those I feel like most of my time is spent studying for tests and quizzes, no bookwork or small assignments yet.

INTERNSHIPS/JOBS

I am lucky enough to still have my internship at Right Source Marketing, where I work 2 days a week.  They are such a wealth of knowledge, it really is a privilege to be able to work with them.  Everyone is so friendly and helpful, plus its clear they are all very good at what they do.  It is also fun to work downtown (minus the commute) and learn what its like to be in the city environment.  I am sure more updates will come when I have the chance to reflect back on my experience here as a whole.

I was also fortunate to have Mile One ask me to stay past my internship, and they offered me a paid part-time position 2/3 days a week - basically doing what I already have been doing.  I really enjoy who I work with there and what I do, so I was happy to stay even though I would have really enjoyed having more free time.  The best part is, they are moving to Towson this coming September - even closer to my apartment!

Last but not least, I have been hanging on to my job at the bank - I love everyone there too! I mostly go in on Fridays to help with big projects they have found for me during the week.  Our most recent is our new Facebook page, which they have decided can be my baby since I am a Marketing major.  That should be a great piece to add to my portfolio.


always,
a

The rest of my summer...

HOBBIES
My newest hobby I started this summer. I decided to make sure I had lots of free time this summer (seeing as it was my last one) and so I picked up what I though would be a fun hobby - extreme couponing.  It was time consuming, but it was relaxing. I often clipped while I was watching tv, and it made me not feel as guilty for vegging out.  I was rather successful with my shopping trips. At grocery stores I was about to save around 50% on my trips, drugstores I was able to save as much as 70%.  It was fun and I'm glad I started, I think its good to see how much you can save if you really put your mind to it. More recently I have fallen behind, with the switch from summer to school, but I have plans to catch back up ASAP.

VACATIONS
I was fortunate enough to enjoy some vacation time this summer.  Actually, before the summer even started I got to go to Las Vegas for my birthday, possibly one of my favorite places in the US.  I did gamble, even though I'm not fond of it, and I made some $$$.  Besides the shopping and sightseeing and laying by the pool, I also got to see a show at the MGM grand.  It was a cirque de soelil show - Ka.  Its the one with the MOVING stage, it was really something else.  Overall, it was a great time and I can't wait to go back again.


Another vacation I went on this summer was a cruise to Bermuda.  The pink sand beaches weren't as pink as I expected, but they were beautiful nonetheless.  I had a great time both on and off the ship, but I might be a little biased because cruises are my favorite kind of vacation.  Unlimited food is also something I can't complain about. I loved getting to dress up and dress down every day. Dinner was always a great time too because I got to see everyone again.  People said things are SO much more expensive there, but I just though they were "touristy" prices, nothing too crazy.


SUMMER CLASS

Besides, jobs and internships, I also took two classes this summer.  The first class was computer science - mostly it was about how technology was being applied practically for the needs of today.  I learned about a multitude of cool technology that is experimental, or along those lines, and how useful it would be if it were ready to use now.  The other class was a marketing class - consumer behavior.  Again, a lot of it seemed like it was common sense to me; the biggest thing these classes do is give me the proper term for ideas I have already seen from my personal observations ( I can't help but think like a marketer, even in my every day life).  This class was online, the second online class I have taken. The first time, wow that was a disaster. I'm not sure if it was my fault or the professor's, but this time was much smoother.  I was pleased with my grades at the end.

Summer Time Adventures

As I mentioned in my previous post, I would be writing later about all the things that kept me so busy (and so away) from my blog.

INTERNSHIPS
First, and maybe most exciting, my two internships I got for over the summer. My Monday/Wednesday internship was at Mile One Automotive, even if you haven't heard of them - you probably still know them.  They own every other dealership in the area, and continue through PA, VA, and NC.  I am in the marketing department working with the eCommerce director.  I work on projects related to facebook, event marketing, SEO, youtube etc. I am fortunate to have found such a company with many facets to their marketing department, allowing me to gain experience in many areas. They even offered me the chance to apply for a position with the event marketing team about 2 months ago, what a treat!

www.mileone.com

My second internship was at an upscale catering company called Chef's Expressions.  It is a much smaller company, so it was good to be able to contrast the experience in trying to decide if I preferred a larger or smaller company.  I worked on a number of "regular" almost weekly projects, as well as a couple long term items.  One of those was a website for a big event they are working on called the farmer and the chef (check it out: www.thefarmerandthechefmd.com), I hope you think its pretty! The other was proposing and then moving them from a paper to online referral program.  I also created it to be usable for feedback after events as well.  An exciting concept that I introduced them to was QR codes, which are now a regular part of their postcard mailouts.  I certainly learned a lot with Chef's.

www.chefsexpressions.com

PART TIME JOB
This isn't really anything new, but for those of you who are wondering, yes - I am still with the lovely ladies (and gentleman) at Baltimore County Savings Bank in their Financial Services department working as an administrative assistant. I love it there and am going to stay as long as I can :)

Marketing as a Career

Attention fellow aspiring markers: some good news from marketing professional Robert Rose:

"Marketing as a practice is one of the few job sectors that is continuing to grow at the moment. And, the fundamental changes in the practice of marketing are changing the job description -- and creating expansive opportunities for career skills we didn't even know we'd need.

The top-growing job categories for 2011 didn't even exist in 2004 when our newest employees were thinking about going to college. The number of social media jobs has gone up by 600 percent over the past five years. The astronomical growth of social marketing, mobile marketing, content marketing, and other practices has created all new positions on our team.

Additionally, with all the talk about jobs and the economy, it should be noted that the entire marketing category is growing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry is expected to increase by 13 percent per year through 2018.

OK, let's be honest -- today's marketer probably doesn't have a marketing degree. If you do, then you're the exception, not the rule. In fact, according to some studies, 10 percent of us are English majors that -- well -- didn't make it with that novel or screenplay in our desk."

If that isn't good news, I don't know what is.

always, 

a

original content on: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/29885.asp

I'm BACK!

To all my loyal followers - so sorry I left you for so long.

My summer was a long and busy one, 2 internships, a part time job, (a couple vacations), and 2 summer classes kept me pretty busy.  Needless to say, an update is called for. Be on the lookout for updates on all of the above listed activities.  Lots of good things happened for me this summer, many good learning experiences with positive outcomes.

Now, though, school is starting again. My schedule looks pretty good, minus the never-ending night classes (aka class Monday through Thursday night). Classes are some that I am hoping to gain real world knowledge from - especially my international marketing class. I will also be taking my internship class this semester, which is supposed to be a helpful tool in solidifying a job after college.  

My internship is with Right Source Marketing, located in Canton in the old factory building. I hope to be able to explore the world of content marketing and learn its value, in addition to using that experience as a judge of which kind of marketing I would like to work in after I graduate.  If you want to check them out, please visit: http://www.rightsourcemarketing.com/ but I'm sure you will be hearing more about them in posts to come.

always,

a

Geert-Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

While writing a paper for my International Business class, I came across an interesting website that discusses the Geert-Hofstede Cultural Dimensions for a given country.  Of course, one that I had to consider in my paper was the United State and I was surprised by some of the rankings.  Take a look for yourself:

http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_united_states.shtml 

I used this information mostly to write about how to start a business in a foreign country, and as a Spanish minor I usually find all things about country differences intriguing.  The dimensions include a Power Distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index and Long-Term Orientation.  These dimensions provide powerful insight into the cultural aspects of each country.


I chose to compare the US to Costa Rica (wonder why, huh?) for my research.  Needless to say I enjoy the information gathering process and I actually feel like I learned a lot.  I say this because there have been many other times where I take required classes and feel like they are a mindless waste of my time.  It's nice to feel like I am doing some quality learning every once in a while. 


Feel free to click on Costa Rica on the side navigation bar in the earlier link to check them out as well.


always,
a

The last of Costa Rica - Week 3

The "sand" at Jaco

Wednesday class was class as usual.  Our main 4 page composition was the second half of class today, I am hoping I did well but I know I will get points off for some grammar.  After class we all went to a local health center to learn about the health system there.  Basically, its free and easy to use - the only downside is that sometimes it could be a little slower than you would like because EVERYONE uses the same system and the money allocated to it by the government doesn't allow for more people to be hired, which would make the process a little faster.

Thursday in class we had our big presentations due, on anything about Costa Rica that interested us.  Of course, mine was on Costa Rican immigration and the myths surrounding it.  They have a lot of stereotypes about their most frequent immigrants, Nicaraguans, just as we do about Mexicans. I stayed up late making sure it was perfect.  We also had local artisans come to school during our break and we could buy some souvenirs from them.  I also tried to plan a trip to "Isla Tortuga" today instead of going to another volcano this weekend like we are supposed to - we will see if that goes through.  It's supposed to be SO beautiful!

The brown beach

Friday we had a test as usual, our last one (finally).  I hope I did well because I am really hoping for an A in this class.  Then everyone at school had a big caribbean/tican lunch together, it was absolutely delicious.  After class myself and some friends went back into San Jose to finish our last minute shopping.  While we were there, I managed to find a tour company that would drive all 12 of us to Jaco (a local beach) for only $200, not bad. Weekend plans = set.

My potted gifts!

Saturday we left for Jaco at 8:30.  The drive was about 2.5 hours, but when we got there we were a little surprised.  It was a smaller beach, the sand was a darker brown color and the actual beach part was covered with lots of little rocks.  The sun was also MIA.  We still managed to have some fun, then we showered and came home.  My sister made me a delicious dinner that night! She is such a good cook.

Sunday.  What a sad day.  Did I cry? No, but I'm still not sure how I managed that one.  I got up a little early to shower and told my sisters I wanted to go to the store for some snacks.  I really was planning on going to the local florist to get some really nice thank you flowers for them, but of course they were closed.  I finally found a plant store and got two little potted flowers, one was purple to represent me (its my favorite color) and one was pink to represent their family.  They loved them! (thank goodness)  Turns out they also got me a small gift, a pair of earrings.  They noticed I like to wear them when I get dressed up to go out.  They happened to match the shirt I was wearing home so I put them on right away and wore them all the way home.

I will never forget my time in Costa Rica; the things I saw and did, the places I went, the things I learned, and most importantly, the people I met.

Mi Casa

All packed up, SO not ready to go...

Mi Familia Tica

If you ever have the chance to go - take it. The only thing you will regret, is having to leave.


always,
a

THIS is why I am ok with switching my major...

Yes, I know. I still have yet to post my last blog entry but thats because my journal of events is currently sitting on my mothers bedside table so she can read up on every little thing I did in Costa Rica (that way I don't have to make sure I remember every little thing and I can just write it down).  I promise once I get it back I will finish the updating.

But now that I am home, and back to this terribly cold and snowy weather, its time to figure out my life again - good news this time though...

Finally, this year in school my classes have begun to overlap and are beginning to form something like an education that might actually be applicable to a career.  Tonight I was reading an article that I was assigned for my eBusiness class and was happy to see some encouraging data:

"According to researcher Borrell Associates, which tracks advertising trends, local-online advertising will grow to $16.1 billion this year, up from $13.7 billion in 2010."

Online = eBusiness  -my first major

Advertising = Marketing  - my second major
_____________________________________
      the industry where I want to work just grew 3 billion dollars!!!

Yes, I know I just rounded up quite a bit, but I'm not the best at math - plus it makes me feel better to say 3 billion.  I am also currently learning in that class about how to make a webpage which is something I would really like to learn more about. I am looking forward to that a lot.

In a couple days there should be another post about the good news of my possible on-time graduation as well as my plans for work, interning and classes in the future so stay tuned!

always,
a

Week 2.5

Just a few days have passed since the last post, but I have only a few days left here in Costa Rica so I want to make sure that I don’t forget to write anything.

Manuel Antonio Refuge - $10 entrance fee

Saturday we left at 6 for the beach.  We had a couple setbacks but luckily nothing too major.  We made it onto the sand by 12.  There wasn’t great sun, however the view was spectacular.  I don’t really think that pictures can do it justice; it was so pretty.  We were on the pacific side for everyone that just asked my blog, the beach is called Manuel Antonio – its also a protected park.  It was a very nice day, and we all had a nice dinner at a local restaurant after.

The food stealing monkeys!

Sunday the weather was much hotter, it was extremely humid both days though. After yesterdays lack of tannable weather I decided to make sure something good came out of today so myself and a couple friends decided to rent some surfboards, so I spent the rest of the day surfing.  And no, I can’t actually surf but I sure will float around on my board and try when I find a good wave.  We also enjoyed watching the monkeys try to steal everyone's food!  I also enjoyed the hotel pool right before we had to leave.  Going back home to Curridabat was a shame, but I guess we had to for class Monday.

With the Pacific Ocean

Monday actually was a fun day of class because we had our festival of fruits.  They brought in all of the tropical fruits that were in season for us to try.  It was interesting, but I must admit that I didn’t find anything new that I really liked.  Tasted some really different fruits though.  After class we had a lecture about the education system, that I found very interesting.

 

Hotel Pool (my room is on the right)

Tuesday we had another regular day of classes. After class we went to the local campus of the Universidad de Costa Rica Public universities only cost $40 a semester, if you can believe that.  We had a presentation on the community service the students do there.  Each student is required to complete 300 hours of community service to graduate.  They do the work with other students of their same concentration as well as others to learn how to work cooperatively within the community and interdisciplinary.  Most of the time they work in areas of extreme need; the idea is that when they join the workforce they will understand they are working for the greater good of the country and not just "plata" (money).  I think this is a concept that could and should be applied to every college across the world, some people just don't realize what they have or how much help their community might need.

always,
a

Week 2!

Sorry I wasn’t able to update on Friday – my sister was on the computer all night and Saturday morning I left for the weekend so today is the day for last week’s update.

Sunday was my favorite day in Costa Rica thus far by leaps and bounds.  It was a rather long day so please allow two paragraphs for me to semi-adequately describe it to you.  It was our only free day this whole trip so we planned our own activity.

Jungle Cats!

We left at 6 am by private tour bus for La Paz waterfall.  After about a 1 hour drive we arrive to the place where we ate breakfast. Typical Costa Rica: Gallo Pinto, eggs, fried plantain, cheese and bread with strawberry spread.  Another hour drive followed and after many twisty, curvy roads we arrived at La Paz.  Little did I know there was basically a zoo included in the waterfall, check this out: open air bird house (got to hold a toucan), jungle cat house, orchid garden, hummingbird feeding area (yes I got to hold a hummingbird on a flower in my hand), open air butterfly conservatory (had to be careful not to step/run into them), monkey house (they held our hands through the bars), snake house, frog garden and last but not least – La Paz waterfall.  Here is the website if you are interested: http://www.waterfallgardens.com. We then took a shuttle back to the top and had lunch at a gorgeous open air restaurant where the exotic rainforest butterflies flew around our heads as we ate a delicious buffet. JUST WAIT. That is only the first paragraph.

Rainforest Frog

Day Amazing – part 2. After lunch we all got back on the bus, down some more curvy roads on the edge of the mountains/rainforests and drove about an hour to The Springs.  Here is a link but don’t look yet:http://www.thespringscostarica.com. The Springs is a five star resort with small hot pools everywhere ranging in temperature from lukewarm to 108 degrees.  Each was gorgeous; there was a swim up bar, Jacuzzi, waterslide, multiple waterfalls, and beautiful tropical plants everywhere.  Not to mention the whole place overlooked the Arenal Volcano.  After about 3 hours of swimming, relaxing, and tanning, we returned to the locker rooms to shower for our 3 course dinner.  I got a house salad, coconut battered mahi mahi, and black forest cake.  Way too soon, we found ourselves on the way back home to Curridabat. Over 12 hours on that tour wasn’t enough for some of us.

La Paz

Wanna guess how much that cost: 3 meals, all transportation and 2 incredible locations?  $129. In Spanish we say “vale la pena”.

Monday we had to go back to school – seems to happen to us everyday after there has been a weekend recently. Darn it.  Class we got a new teacher – Giovanni. After class today we had someone come speak with us about migration in Costa Rica.  Here that mostly means Nicaraguans immigrating to Costa Rica, aka: “Nicas”. Rather interesting/useful considering that I have to write my 25 page paper on that exact topic when I return to the U.S.

Buffet Lunch

Tuesday we had class as usual. After class we had a professor from UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica) come and speak to us about Costa Rican history and it’s place now.  I’m not a big history person so this lecture was probably the most boring to me so far, in addition that, the guy spoke SO fast and talked 40 minutes past when he was supposed to.

Wednesday was another day that should prove helpful to my research efforts for my paper.  We visited a local Nicaraguan village called Rio Azul (Blue Rive) and separated into pairs.  Each pair interviewed a mother or young adult who immigrated here from Nicaragua.  It was such an eye opener for so many students.  I interviewed a single mother who left her alcoholic, drug-addicted husband to bring her children to Costa Rica so they could get an education and so she could get a job to buy them food.  Really makes you appreciate what you have.

The Springs

Thursday after class we went back to the other Nicaraguan village to play with the children.  This time we made cards with them and then went outside to jump rope and play some futbol (soccer) for a bit.  There were a lot less kids this time and they weren’t nearly as crazy.

Friday we had our big weekly test.  I studied for about 6 hours on Thursday but I still didn’t feel prepared ( I don’t know that I ever would have).  We were given our oral topic yesterday so I just decided to write my response and memorize it to decrease the chance of making a mistake.  More time consuming, but again I would say “vale la pena”.  It was a relief to have those over and after words we all enjoyed a sweat inducing workout of a Latino dance class which included Salsa, Meringue, Creole Swing, and a short choreographed piece.

Manuel Antonio is next so be sure to check in again soon!

always,

a

(ps. There are more photos but this is all I have at the moment – will update)

COSTA RICA, here I am!

Costa Rican beauty the second we get there!

You guessed it, its gorgeous here.  So we landed from our 3.5 hour flight and of course, this rainbow was there to greet us - I took it as a good omen.  It was a 1 hour ride from the airport to our houses, we were all exhausted and starving because our first plane was delayed an hour and our second we had to run to in order to make on time.  I could write pages and pages about what we have been doing here, but I am going to try to keep it to one page a day.  Get ready for a Costa Rican adventure!



The first day after we had our placement tests, we went to the bank to exchange money, learned all the good places to eat lunch (and ate lunch) and then had a short orientation to living with a host family and the tico (Costa Rican) culture.  The current exchange rate is about 500 colones to 1 dollar, which is actually rather easy to compute when shopping as long as you can multiply by 2.

Colones (local currency)

The second day we had a more substantial class.  We were assigned to classes according to ability, but the classrooms are very small and classes only consist of 1 to 4 people each.  Its intimate, but good for learning and especially convenient for lots of questions about the language and the culture.  In the afternoon we were lucky enough to make it to downtown San Jose and do a scavenger hunt.  The hunt itself wasn't that fun, but it was kind of convenience to be forced to practice asking people for directions - little did I know how handy this would be.  I'm sure you're thinking, how hard could it be? worse comes to worse just mapquest it or ask someone. I would tell you that 99% of streets don't have names, and if they do no one knows them.  Also, they only use landmarks, measurements of blocks and meters, and pointing to tell you how to get places.  About 25% of the time, the measurements they give are wrong, too much or too little.  Usually more of the latter which makes me constantly worry that I already passed my destination.

Day three we went to a museum.  It was all about the history of San Jose and the ancient times. To be honest I don't remember too much but I have the pictures to remember it by for later.  Later in the day we all decided to find somewhere to hang out and a local restaurant/bar was having karaoke night so we decided to go.  It was fun, we didn't stay out late but its nice to interact with the ticos outside of school.

Our mask maker!

On the fourth day I got my first sunburn.  We sat in the sun during lunchtime and my arms burned a little.  This is nothing compared to my burn in a couple days.  After class, we went to visit a local Nicaraguan community of "pobres" to play with the children and bring them juice and cookies.  They were ecstatic to have us there and I was surprised to see so many of my classmates so into playing with the kids.

Day five (does it feel like time is starting to fly to you too?!) its finally Friday!  We had our weekly test in our classes and I think I did fine.  After class we got a bus to a workshop of a local mask maker.  Probably the most adorable man I have met here thus far.  He said the masks are like a second family to him and he refuses to sell them because he wouldn't sell family.  He even gave one away to the winner of a game we played but first he asked her where it was going and then kissed it goodbye.

Today, day six, we went to the Orosi Valley.  Everywhere the "naturaleza" is so pretty.  We made a few stops on the way to the main rest/photo area.  Once we got there we spent about an hour just sitting around talking quietly, admiring the view, and enjoying the most perfect weather.  The view was gorgeous.  This is also when I got sunburned - every stop we went to was 10 or 15 minutes to take pictures, but no one told us we were going to be at this one for so long otherwise I would have put on the SPF 30 sunscreen I brought with me.  Live and learn I guess. When we got back to Curridabat, a couple of us decided to go back to downtown San Jose to pick up a few last minute things for our trip tomorrow.  What trip is that you ask? I guess you will have to wait and see. Talk to you again in a week!

Orosi Valley (Me, Liz, RJ)

-a