Howdy! My name is Chloe Geiger and I am one week into the Europe Marketing Study Abroad. We just spent five days and nights in London and arrived in Paris today and immediately saw the Eiffel Tower! What an awesome welcome!
I have spent significantly more time in London though so that is what I will be talking about throughout this entry. The courses that I am taking go hand-in-hand with being able to fully maximize my experience in the cities and countries while also learning and achieving academic goals. There is a healthy mix of classwork before, during, and after the trip which makes it more manageable and not a burden at any given time. Before the trip, a group of four colleagues including myself submitted a paper, planned, and practiced a presentation for it. During the trip, we presented it and also took heavy notes and wrote some daily journal entries for our final report. We also interviewed locals and typed those up. After the trip, we will finish our final report and create a
photo book full of what we have learned and specific memories and photos that capture that. I will also receive credit for another class with work that will mostly fall after the completion of the trip.
London and England as a whole have some significant differences from the US and Texas, but also some key similarities. I will focus on more of the differences. The culture there is significantly slower paced and more leisurely. We saw this from services at hotels and restaurants and also in how people spend free time. The parks were always full during the day and the residents seemed to prioritize and engage with the outdoors. There was also an emphasis on historical beauty that we are lacking in the US. We saw parts of Oxford that had been around since the 800s. That was very impressive! There were also more specific differences such as the clothes that they wore were less casual and more dressy. Also, at restaurants there was no ice and the water cups were much smaller.
I am looking forward to continuing to gain more insight on the cultures of these countries that we have the opportunities to visit. I am also excited to learn about these international companies’ approaches to business and specifically marketing. Below I have included a couple pictures of some of the highlights, hearing from Design Bridge and Partners and touring Chelsea FC and Parliament, this past week!