Entry #1 – Paige Layton

I have been on the Europe marketing study abroad for six days now and it has been such a life changing experience already. So far we have gone to London, England and spent 5 nights there. There are so many things I have learned about European culture that I never knew before. Some of the smaller differences I have noticed would be the food, attitudes, and public rest areas. London had a pretty good bit of American fast food located around the city which was pretty surprising to me. They have way more American visitors than I knew. We got to talk to some of the locals and hear their take on American culture, and they had really sweet words to say. Next, their attitudes were really intriguing. The average person on the streets was pretty serious and could be a bit rude if they were in a bad mood. However, the waiters/waitresses were very warm and accommodating. We would come into restaurants with a large group of people, and they would somehow make space for me. Lastly, I found it interesting how public restrooms and trash really do not exist because they want to get people engaged with their stores. While England contains many English speaking people, there are still significant differences in the language. For example they say take away instead of to go box, and when I was asking the waiter for a to go box she was very confused. As the trip continues, I hope to gain a better understanding of what it means to be a European citizen, and what that means for different business companies as well. I began to realize that I really have not thought much about the politics and economics of other countries besides America. Now I’m beginning to realize that it is very important we start focusing on getting to understand other countries’ politics and economics because they impact the world which impacts us. As this trip continues and I keep traveling to more countries I’m excited to see how each of them are unique to each and how the marketing strategies differ from one another.