It's official. I'm truly an international traveler now.
Our professor sent out an email last night when she got to the hospital saying WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. She appreciated that we were slow to call her last night because we were worried about her rest and well-being, but she emphasized that she needs to be called immediately in case of a problem. It's her job to take care of us, and we also mean a lot to her. We should notify her if we "get lost, in trouble, or don't feel well (even stomach problems)."
Hmmm....well, since you asked...
I'll save you the details, since you can probably figure those out, but let's just say the delicious stuffed potato didn't agree with my stomach as well as it agreed with my taste buds. I wrote to her to let her know, saying I had taken 4 Pepto tablets because I was worried about the 1.5 hour bus ride to our first client meeting this morning.
Cue page long email response -- stay in the hotel, don't risk it, yes it's your client, but this is more important, don't take meds, drink water, could be bacterial, let me know if you get a fever, drink water, but not tap water, eat the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apple sauce, toast), no dairy, trust me, I have experience. Alright, then. Luckily, today is probably the least eventful day on the itinerary, so if it had to happen, I'm glad it happened today.
So here I am, in my hotel bed, with 2 1.5L bottles of water near me and bread from breakfast to last me all day. At least it will give me time to work on the Power Point for our presentation on Friday, but yeah, this sucks. And it's 2am back home right now, so no one is on GChat to keep me company...whomp whomp.
I'm so happy to join the international travelers' club. :-/
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Turkey - Day Two
Our professor finally made it to Turkey at midnight last night. She was stuck on the tarmac at Dulles trying to get to JFK for three hours. She missed her connecting flight, which was a direct flight. When she got to JFK she sprinted to her next flight option but, even though the plane was still there, the gate was closed and she wasn't allowed on. She got the next flight to London and had a 9 hour layover, just enough time to get a $150 day pass at a hotel for a shower and nap. Instead of hanging out with us this morning after breakfast, she had to wander around Istanbul to go suit shopping. To add on to the fun, she's 3 months pregnant (and had to find maternity clothes), has 150 undergraduate exams to grade, and hasn't returned our drafts of our deliverables with feedback yet. Poor woman can't catch a break.
After a class meeting and a guest speaker this afternoon, we headed to the Ortaköy area, which is by the water and, as our professor described it, a great place for dinner, shopping, and people watching.
Purdy.
Famous stuffed potatoes. This picture doesn't do them justice.
This gives a better idea of the height. My arm was tired after holding this while I ate.
After a class meeting and a guest speaker this afternoon, we headed to the Ortaköy area, which is by the water and, as our professor described it, a great place for dinner, shopping, and people watching.
Purdy.
Famous stuffed potatoes. This picture doesn't do them justice.
This gives a better idea of the height. My arm was tired after holding this while I ate.Remember how I said my professor can't catch a break? Well, she decided not to join us at Ortaköy so she could continue with her work, sleep, and you know, take care of her unborn child. Unfortunately, we made tonight a little more exciting than she probably would have liked. The bus was going to pick us up and take us back to the hotel at 9:30. After having one drink (I swear, just one drink each) at a pub, we headed to the potato stands around 8:30 or so.
After one bite, one of my classmates collapsed in the middle of the street. She was out for a minute or two before waking up. In the meantime, we called our TA, but he was on a dinner boat, so it would be a little bit before he got there. We had broken up into smaller groups, so we didn't have our native Turk with us, so another classmate ran off to find her. In the meantime, we ran to the police down the street and they called an ambulance. One of the vendors gave us water for said collapsed classmate. Lots of Turks stopped to help. By the time the ambulance arrived, she was awake and sitting on a bench, with a rockin' knot on her head. The paramedics told her to throw up. Huh? It wasn't the food, she was sharing the potato with another classmate, and we were all eating them. Before she collapsed, she said her chest hurt.
The ambulance left because her pulse was back to normal and she was awake and we didn't trust them. Our Turk drove her, her closest friend, our first responder classmate, and our TA to the hospital. TA called our professor, who of course hopped in a cab to go meet them at the hospital. (Added drama - there was bickering as to whether we should call the prof because the TA was slow to do so).
Is the suspense enough? Classmate is fine. As some predicted, she was just fatigued and dehydrated. Apparently she hadn't slept in two days, and wasn't keeping up with the water, and something similar had happened to her one time before. Gotta keep drinking water when you are traveling, I've been told. I think they left the hospital about a half hour or hour ago.
By the way, apparently I'm not so good in crisis mode, especially during my first trip abroad. I was like a deer in the headlights with shaky hands. I stood back and let other people handle the situation. Better to not be in the way and not give wrong opinions on solutions. So don't get hurt or sick if you travel with me. I won't be much help.
After one bite, one of my classmates collapsed in the middle of the street. She was out for a minute or two before waking up. In the meantime, we called our TA, but he was on a dinner boat, so it would be a little bit before he got there. We had broken up into smaller groups, so we didn't have our native Turk with us, so another classmate ran off to find her. In the meantime, we ran to the police down the street and they called an ambulance. One of the vendors gave us water for said collapsed classmate. Lots of Turks stopped to help. By the time the ambulance arrived, she was awake and sitting on a bench, with a rockin' knot on her head. The paramedics told her to throw up. Huh? It wasn't the food, she was sharing the potato with another classmate, and we were all eating them. Before she collapsed, she said her chest hurt.
The ambulance left because her pulse was back to normal and she was awake and we didn't trust them. Our Turk drove her, her closest friend, our first responder classmate, and our TA to the hospital. TA called our professor, who of course hopped in a cab to go meet them at the hospital. (Added drama - there was bickering as to whether we should call the prof because the TA was slow to do so).
Is the suspense enough? Classmate is fine. As some predicted, she was just fatigued and dehydrated. Apparently she hadn't slept in two days, and wasn't keeping up with the water, and something similar had happened to her one time before. Gotta keep drinking water when you are traveling, I've been told. I think they left the hospital about a half hour or hour ago.
By the way, apparently I'm not so good in crisis mode, especially during my first trip abroad. I was like a deer in the headlights with shaky hands. I stood back and let other people handle the situation. Better to not be in the way and not give wrong opinions on solutions. So don't get hurt or sick if you travel with me. I won't be much help.
General Thoughts - first trip abroad
My roommate for the trip just asked me what I thought about my first international trip. I realized I said some things to her that I didn't include in the first two posts:
- Free booze on international flights is pretty cool
- Sleeping on international flights is pretty tough (for me and my long legs), but I do like the sleeping mask they give you.
- There isn't a water fountain to be found in the Charles de Gaulle (Paris) airport
- When we were waiting for the bus, we had cabbies try to make deals with us (a group of 9) to take us to our hotel. Our professor warned us not to take a cab unless we wanted an adventure and/or didn't mind getting ripped off. We stuck with the bus.
- I mentioned the traffic before, but seriously, it's chaotic. But at least they are little cars, and no SUVs like in the States.
- I peed in a hole in the restaurant last night. The toilet, that is, was a porcelain hole in the ground.
- Beer is measured in centiliters. 70 cl is a very large beverage.
- My bizarre sleeping habits have translated well and I'm not sure if I'm going to have trouble with jet lag. I went to bed at 11:45 Turkish time, and woke up at 6am, felt fine, but went back to sleep, got up at 8, and feel amazing.
- Our professor missed her flight out of Dulles. We got an email from her around 6pm asking one of us to leave a European power adapter for her at the front desk because she was going to get in around midnight and had lost her luggage....
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Turkey - Day One
I flew from DC to Paris with 4 of my classmates, and ran into 5 more classmates in Paris waiting for the flight to Istanbul, on which we all were flying. Did a little bit of sleeping on each of the flights (which were about 8 hours and 3 hours respectively), but nothing that would really make you feel rested.
We landed around 2:30pm Turkey time, 7:30am DC time. We waited for a bus to take us to our hotel, and traffic was terrible. But while were traveling to the hotel, we were observant of the surroundings, because, while on our project, we are going to be keeping a field log full of reflections. Our first is about our "first impressions" of Istanbul, so to drop the cliche, we noted and shared examples of how Istanbul is truly a city where "East meets West, tradition meets modernity." We drove along the coast of the Sea of Marmara, and I felt like I was driving along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, with people and families out along the park, having cookouts and playing soccer. But then we turn our heads to the left and saw all the ruins of the ancient city along with countless mosques.
Incluing waiting for the bus time, riding the bus time, walking from the bus to the hotel time, plus check-in time, I got to my room at 5pm. We can see the Bosporus Strait from our room. We hadn't eaten since noon-ish so a group of us decided to explore, since we don't have anything school related until 1pm tomorrow. We walked to the main strip with food, shopping, and lots of people - Istiklal Avenue. Whereas, on our drive we saw many women wearing head scarves and being fully covered, Istiklal could have been a just another packed street in NYC or DC. Perhaps U St, with all the skinny jeans and Converse that I saw. But throw in the occassional call to prayer from the many mosques in the city, and you are reminded of where you are.
Our group grew as more people got into town, and culminated in a fun dinner with "traditional Turkish food and beer" as our waiter marketed it to us. Four courses of deliciousness.
Back in our room now, we have our balcony door open so we can enjoy the perfect weather, hear the sounds of the still bustling street. There's also some traditional Turkish music being played, which makes closing out this evening that much more enjoyable. Sleep now. In country projects start tomorrow.
We landed around 2:30pm Turkey time, 7:30am DC time. We waited for a bus to take us to our hotel, and traffic was terrible. But while were traveling to the hotel, we were observant of the surroundings, because, while on our project, we are going to be keeping a field log full of reflections. Our first is about our "first impressions" of Istanbul, so to drop the cliche, we noted and shared examples of how Istanbul is truly a city where "East meets West, tradition meets modernity." We drove along the coast of the Sea of Marmara, and I felt like I was driving along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, with people and families out along the park, having cookouts and playing soccer. But then we turn our heads to the left and saw all the ruins of the ancient city along with countless mosques.
Incluing waiting for the bus time, riding the bus time, walking from the bus to the hotel time, plus check-in time, I got to my room at 5pm. We can see the Bosporus Strait from our room. We hadn't eaten since noon-ish so a group of us decided to explore, since we don't have anything school related until 1pm tomorrow. We walked to the main strip with food, shopping, and lots of people - Istiklal Avenue. Whereas, on our drive we saw many women wearing head scarves and being fully covered, Istiklal could have been a just another packed street in NYC or DC. Perhaps U St, with all the skinny jeans and Converse that I saw. But throw in the occassional call to prayer from the many mosques in the city, and you are reminded of where you are.
Our group grew as more people got into town, and culminated in a fun dinner with "traditional Turkish food and beer" as our waiter marketed it to us. Four courses of deliciousness.
Back in our room now, we have our balcony door open so we can enjoy the perfect weather, hear the sounds of the still bustling street. There's also some traditional Turkish music being played, which makes closing out this evening that much more enjoyable. Sleep now. In country projects start tomorrow.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Turkey - Day Zero
I stayed up until 5:30am packing and still had a lot more to do. My mom and I got pedicures at 11am for an early Mother's Day outing, then I had about 3 hours to pack before go time. Turns out I didn't know what all to bring and wound up packing a lot.
The parents got to my place, some advice was given, and some readjustment of bags occurred. We left, I made it through security, and I was on my way to Turkey, an excited bundle of joy.
The parents got to my place, some advice was given, and some readjustment of bags occurred. We left, I made it through security, and I was on my way to Turkey, an excited bundle of joy.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Stay Tuned
So obviously I haven't been good about keeping this here blog up to date. Turns out business school keeps you pretty busy.
What's going on -- classes are over. I should be studying for finals right now, which are tomorrow and Tuesday, with a take home-monstrous essays-type exam due Thursday. Then at 6:40pm on Friday I get on a plane to Turkey. That's right, freakin' Turkey. Off to present on the consulting project we've been working on the past 7 weeks. Did I mention this is my first trip abroad? Hot damn, I'm excited.
The first 5 or so days will be really busy and stressful because we will be finalizing our project for our client. But we are one of the first groups to present, so for the rest of the time my group can relax while the other groups finish up and present their projects. And our professor has planned some amazing cultural activities and outings for us. I'm going to do my best to blog every night or every other night while I'm there, posting pictures too. We have to keep a travel log for the class anyway, so I'll probably just post a lot of those reflections.
Then after 10 days of school stuff, I'm sticking around for another 9 days or so and going to an all-inclusive resort on the Aegean Sea! Ohhhh my goodness. I can't wait. We're getting a sweet discount too from a GW alumna who works there. I'm packing my sun screen.
Fly home on the 29th. Celebrate a best friend's birthday. Say hello to the parents. Then on June 1, I start my internship. Oh yes, I got the internship that I was dying to get. Just found out on Thursday. (Screams with excitement). It's perfect in every way, and I can't wait.
I just need to survive this week....
What's going on -- classes are over. I should be studying for finals right now, which are tomorrow and Tuesday, with a take home-monstrous essays-type exam due Thursday. Then at 6:40pm on Friday I get on a plane to Turkey. That's right, freakin' Turkey. Off to present on the consulting project we've been working on the past 7 weeks. Did I mention this is my first trip abroad? Hot damn, I'm excited.
The first 5 or so days will be really busy and stressful because we will be finalizing our project for our client. But we are one of the first groups to present, so for the rest of the time my group can relax while the other groups finish up and present their projects. And our professor has planned some amazing cultural activities and outings for us. I'm going to do my best to blog every night or every other night while I'm there, posting pictures too. We have to keep a travel log for the class anyway, so I'll probably just post a lot of those reflections.
Then after 10 days of school stuff, I'm sticking around for another 9 days or so and going to an all-inclusive resort on the Aegean Sea! Ohhhh my goodness. I can't wait. We're getting a sweet discount too from a GW alumna who works there. I'm packing my sun screen.
Fly home on the 29th. Celebrate a best friend's birthday. Say hello to the parents. Then on June 1, I start my internship. Oh yes, I got the internship that I was dying to get. Just found out on Thursday. (Screams with excitement). It's perfect in every way, and I can't wait.
I just need to survive this week....
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Officially Distractable
Swamped is a good way to describe life right now. Mostly from schoolwork, but also from responsibilities of the extracurriculars. Things I need to do from Sunday - Wednesday: sing in church, meet with a group to figure out a finance paper, take a quiz, take two exams, write one case analysis, be interviewed for the internship I'm dying to have, learn Access for a computer lab, and try to set up an interview with people in the U.S. Trade Representative's office for my Turkey consulting project.
My goal for today was to read the three articles I needed to read in order to take the quiz and write the paper. I went to Panera to read the two articles I had on hard copy. I read those articles faster than I've ever read articles this year. I did not have my laptop open, I knew no one around me, there was no TV, and some smooth jazz was playing in the background. Feeling good about myself, I came home to make myself some dinner and read the last article, which is in PDF form on my computer. That was four hours ago, and I'm on page 3.
Websites I've frequented: Facebook, Gmail, Weather.com, Facebook, Horoscope Compatibility, GWork (our school's website for jobs & internships), Prudential & Nationwide (trying to find insurance quotes for our hypothetical condo we are buying for aforementioned finance paper), Liberty Center (the location of said hypothetical condo purchase...may I live here please?), Facebook, a blog I like, The New Colony, Spider Solitaire, Facebook.
I need that security system that the Federal government has installed on employees' computers so I'm blocked from going to these websites and I can do my work. Here's to another late night.
My goal for today was to read the three articles I needed to read in order to take the quiz and write the paper. I went to Panera to read the two articles I had on hard copy. I read those articles faster than I've ever read articles this year. I did not have my laptop open, I knew no one around me, there was no TV, and some smooth jazz was playing in the background. Feeling good about myself, I came home to make myself some dinner and read the last article, which is in PDF form on my computer. That was four hours ago, and I'm on page 3.
Websites I've frequented: Facebook, Gmail, Weather.com, Facebook, Horoscope Compatibility, GWork (our school's website for jobs & internships), Prudential & Nationwide (trying to find insurance quotes for our hypothetical condo we are buying for aforementioned finance paper), Liberty Center (the location of said hypothetical condo purchase...may I live here please?), Facebook, a blog I like, The New Colony, Spider Solitaire, Facebook.
I need that security system that the Federal government has installed on employees' computers so I'm blocked from going to these websites and I can do my work. Here's to another late night.
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