As of one week abroad, I have experienced learning, cultural differences, and gained many new friendships. The marketing Europe study abroad program as a whole is set up perfectly to immerse both the European culture with aspects of marketing, networking, and in general an amazing time. During the course of these next four weeks I hope to gain knowledge about how marketing works globally and how these global impacts also influence us in the U.S.. I also hope to gain more knowledge about global business and the history that influences the decisions we make as consumers.
My initial impression of Europe was definitely based on the drive we had from the airport to Oxford. We began to drive down the hill side in the most beautiful scenery, and I knew from then everything I was going to see and experience was going to be just amazing. Since we go to seven different countries on our program, there has been and will continue to be many new first impressions. That is one of the aspects that I love about this program because you really do get to see very diverse cultures as you enter each new country.
Some of the main differences I have noticed abroad have been the amazing architecture that looks like it would be part of a film, the difference in interaction between people, and what people tend to buy. At the start of our trip in London, the buildings, roads, and historical buildings amazed me as I visited each place. From the Big Ben to the London Eye and everything in between, you could tell that each piece was not only hand made but curated very carefully. Another Difference that I noticed is that the people in Europe are very straight forward, but even with the language barrier, the interactions have been enjoyable. Lastly, the everyday items that people buy are slightly different than that of the U.S.. For example our most recent day in Paris, I noticed that almost everyone had a baguette in their bags as they were headed home from work.
