An English Education

Well first module came and went, I can't believe how fast time is flying here. The last four weeks I studied Introduction to Marketing with a great group of hard working students. There were 7 of us in the class so we all got to really know each other, and that in itself made the class a lot of fun. The instructor (I have talked about this in past posts but I will mention it again - bear with me ;) )  was really great because he is not an academic or a scholar he is simply a man that has put in a lot of work in the industry and has come back to the university to give back to the world. 

Every class we are taught new materials and at the end of the class we all present on what he taught last class. It goes like this everyday up until the final presentation. Every time we do the presentations we receive feedback from our peers and the next day we re-present what was talk to us last lecture as well as the incorporated criticisms from the previous session. These forces us all to apply what we learn directly after we have learned it, and by presenting this we receive feedback on if we have fully learned it correctly. It is not easy to slide by or even pretend to work for single a day, if you do that you would just look like a fool in front of everyone and clearly demonstrate that you do not in fact pay attention during the lecture.

It was one of my favorite classes and I will admit I am kind of sad to see it over and the class dispersed. But the second module has already begun and I have the same professor and two of the students from the previous session with me. It is the same exact structure as the previous class except that we do not create a marketing plan from scratch as we did with the first module, rather we remake a failing strategy plan for an already existing business. This should be interesting, and I am excited to see how the next four weeks go!

Also, on a note about the way things are graded here. During the final week I approached my professor and asked him how things were graded differently in comparison to the States. He compared it a lot to checks and balances.

In England when a final assignment is submitted the professor reviews it and it is sent to a second person at a different university to review as well. But this review is of the professor's grading to make sure it's fair with the students past work and marks. Then it's sent to another person then that makes sure that its grading is consistent with the schools standards. Basically everyone is kept in check. 

I realize that in the United States from my experience and from others I have spoken to, it is not always a question of whether or not the class is hard, but it whether or not the professor is. Students in the US pick classes based on who is teaching it, and I believe if we could incorporate the grading system from England into the United States then maybe it would be a lot fairer and students could be ensured that they are receiving the marks that they deserve.

Cows and Canoes!

What a busy last few days this has been! This past weekend (July 12th) was packed full of so many different activities it makes my head spin thinking about it! 

It all began with a trip into the south side of Sussex organized through the school with my fellow classmates. I think it was somewhere near where I went on the Seven Sisters hike (check it out below if you haven't already). We all got loaded up into this van and headed over to where the hike for the day was to start. The road there was so incredibly narrow and so full of trees that its a wonder that the van still has paint on it. The trees claw up all of the tall vehicles that go through there.

We finally got to the spot where we were to start our hike, the first step off the van and I was already avoiding cow pats (short for patties). We hiked through grasslands and thin forests, across rivers, and more cow pats than I have ever seen all at once. At the end of our short hike we all arrived at the base where we were to do the rest of the days adventures. 

 

There was so much to do and not nearly enough time so we all split into small groups and went through all of the different activities. My team started off with the canoes! About four of us in a canoes took a trip down the river.. trying to navigate at first wasn't so easy, and even towards the end we ran into some brush on the side of the water, which ended up being stinging nettle, which if you have ever touch you, you know that it is really really not pleasant.

This plant (which I don't have a picture of yet) when lightly brushed against your skin makes you feel like your hand is on fire while in a cactus.. yep definitely not fun. I had it on my hand and my arms which created welts and a burning sensation, but strangely enough after 30 minutes the pain and the welts were gone. There is a plant that grows next to it that allegedly when you rub it on the affected spot it heals you instantaneously, but most people aren't sure if this is actually a cure for the pain, or just a placebo effect.. still I wish I found some of those dock leaves!

After our canoe ride we took a lunch in the middle of the field, surrounded by cows, what do we eat? Hamburgers of course! homemade delicious hamburgers, the food they made on this trip was all specifically homemade to display the food culture, so even at lunch time I was learning about the things around me and more about England. The drink on the right is called Elderflower Cordial, it is made with these Elderflowers that only bloom in May. They pour hot water and sugar over them and add local berries as well as lemon. All of it is edible and very refreshing. I would compare it to the way you would drink a glass of lemonade on a hot day. It was the best thing to drink after that canoe ride. If you look closely at the plate of food on the let you will notice the orange flower next to the burger in the salad, I was really surprised how many flowers they actually consume.

 

 After lunch we went mountain biking! We ran through an obstacle course of forest, field, and of course more cow pats. Its harder than I expected it to be, mountain biking makes you focus so much on keeping balance because the ground is so uneven. One girl even flew over her handle bars!

 Then was story time! After all of that physical activity we were all ready for a nap, so we laid underneath a large tree and listened as this story teller told us of old myths and folktales from the area, we learned about ancient dragons, and lost lovers, when he wasn't telling us the stories he was playing the flute that only added to the deep relaxed feeling that comes from good story telling.

He even let me play the flute too!

 Finally our trip ended with some homemade chocolate cake and a local game of stool ball!

School in the UK!

So most of my posts so far haven't been about school, and that's because its just so much its hard to put down all of it into one post. But it here goes!

I am taking Introduction to Marketing for my first session here at the University of Sussex, in Brighton England. My class has about seven people in it, comprised of students from UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Hamburg School of Business in Germany, Technologico De Monterrey in Mexico, and Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. Our class is diverse in where everyone is from so its interesting seeing how everyone's views and understandings differ.

For our class work we were all placed into groups and expected to make a marketing plan by the end of the module. During each class the professor goes over a new aspect of the marketing campaign, overnight or over the period of a day, our groups needed to change our marketing plan to reflect the new material that we had covered. Each day of class it begins with the professor going over new material, and it ends with each of us presenting our modified marketing proposal.

This way of learning has been extremely beneficial to my understanding of marketing and branding in the corporate world. Moreover it has taught me how to work with my classmates in an efficient way to come up with a proposal in a short amount of time.

I have spent a lot of my time here (when I am not exploring) in the computer room with my classmates going over marketing strategies, pricing, and product image. I have really been able to enjoy this type of studying.. it has kept me engaged in the class because I can directly apply what I learn, and then see immediately how well I have really learned it by presenting it.

It has been such a great opportunity to do my classes here with a diverse group of students. Not only do I learn about the material but I learn about my classmates countries' as well. Like something small.. in Germany when they write two thousand they use periods instead of commas (2.000) - which is a HUGE difference when you are writing a budget out and you are only getting 20 dollars instead of 20,000 dollars!  This is something that I would have only really noticed by working with someone from Germany.. or you know going to Germany too ;)

Finals are next week and its our final presentation! I am actually really excited about it instead of nervous, I am not sure if that's normal but I am happy with that!

Thanks for following my blog thus far!
I am headed off to London this weekend, then Paris the weekend after that, not to mention starting my next module as well, so keep checking back!

My First Week

So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I started class this week, Introduction to Marketing. The schooling is so different here compared to back at home. The professor I have explained on the first day that he isn't an academic, not someone with a PhD, only someone with 15 years of experience in the industry. Which to me is the best way to learn about something, directly from someone that has applied it for years.

After classes for the first week, with small trips into town here and there, I began the big beautiful trip to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for the weekend. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been with its old architecture and marshlands.



The first day that we arrived there we took a bus and went to see the Van Gogh museum, photos do not do his art justice. From there we walked for awhile and arrived at the Anne Frank house. This house was really a special experience. It was really like a trip through time walking through that house with Anne's quotes from her diary up on the walls. After that we saw the red light district... all I can say is that I am pretty sure this is the Las Vegas of Europe, but with less casinos and a lot more obscenities.

 The second day in Amsterdam we went on a countryside bus tour and rode bicycles through a town with a few of the last remaining old windmills. The windmills used to be used to pump water out of the land so that it could be fertile enough for the farmers to plant their crops. 

Wooden clogs with flowers, right outside of the clog factory

The tour then took us to see an old dutch cheese factory and a clog factory where the farmers shoes are made. They still wear them today too!

 It ended up being a very long day after all of that. We went out to see the famous club scene and stayed out late enough that we had to catch a cab to the airport afterwards without any sleep. We finally arrived back in Brighton to go back to school for the week!

Preparing to leave

I will be spending the summer in the United Kingdom studying Marketing at the International Summer School - University of Sussex. During my stay there I will be traveling to surrounding areas and exploring their local businesses. Check out my blog daily to see what places I'll post!