Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Staley Havili - Azul Airlines Internship, Brazil

Staley Havili graduated with a B.A. in Finance from the University of Utah in December 2009 and interned with Azul Linhas Aéreas in the summer of 2010, through the Hinckley Institute of Politics. 


Azul Linhas Aéreas (Azul Airlines) Intern-Summer 2010

This summer I had the opportunity to go to South America and intern with Azul Airlines.  Azul Airlines is a domestic airline company in Brazil and its headquarters are located in Baruerí, São Paulo (in the bairro of Alphaville).  The company was founded by David Neeleman in 2008 and operated its first flights on December 15, 2008.  David Neeleman was raised in Utah and previously founded two American airline companies (Morris Air and JetBlue) before starting Azul.




I chose to intern in Brazil because I was already familiar with it, I speak the language fluently, and it is a beautiful country.  Before my internship, I spent New Year’s in Brazil in 2007 and 2010.  Each time I stayed almost a month.  I also lived there previously for two years.  The people there are nice and the food is amazing.

Because I was already acquainted with Brazil and its culture, I chose to do my internship there.  I absolutely loved my internship.  At Azul, I interned with the public relations section in the marketing department.  Within this section, we dealt with many aspects of marketing for the company.  The company is relatively new and Brazilian aviation is growing exponentially.  The majority of the Brazilians travel by bus instead of airplanes, so the market is expanding fast.  Azul, as well as several other Brazilian airline companies are trying to change the culture and get my people to travel by plane instead of bus.




Each month, Azul opens several new destinations each month.  In our department, we would have to go these new destinations and try to get the word out that Azul had arrived in that particular city.  As an intern, I would lay the groundwork before arriving in the city by contacting shopping malls, nightclubs, restaurants, radio stations, etc. to see if Azul could do an event there.  We would then fly to these cities and do events, like giving away free airline tickets at these different places.  We would also go around with promoters to give away discounts on tickets.  Besides this, we also received many proposals to sponsor certain types of events (i.e. concerts, sporting events, plays).  If required, I would travel to these events to raise awareness among those that attended these events.




Due to this internship, I was able to travel around the entire country to places I had not been to previously. That was awesome because Brazil is a very beautiful country.  On days off, you could travel as well, which meant a lot of time at the beaches.  This also meant that it got a little expensive at times.  But it was worth it.  The experience was wonderful and something I will always remember.  I am grateful for the Study Abroad Office at the University of Utah for awarding me a scholarship and helping me finance my internship this past summer.  If you have the chance to go abroad anywhere, do it because you will not regret it. 

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Sarah Howard - Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Sarah Howard is a Sophomore majoring in Russian at the University of Utah. She traveled to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, during the summer of 2010 with the Russian Language study abroad program.

If you had the chance to spend you summer in Siberia, would you do it? To some it may sound crazy, but I did it anyway. When one hears the word Siberia, all that comes to mind is cold and snow. However, I found out that Siberia has a lot more to offer than what the typical stereotype calls for. 

My study abroad was spent in the summer months of 2010 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. My decision came because of great friends, a desire for adventure, and my love for the Russian language and culture. What I found in the end was an even greater abundance of all of that! Lucky for us, the summer months were nice and warm. To start off, we all separately flew into Moscow and it was more than warm there! There, we met up with everyone attending, including our coordinator/professor and a few students that came from the University of Toronto. While we were in Moscow we took some time to tour the amazing city and architecture. There is a lot of history located in this city, as well as many others in Russia, that fascinates me non-stop. We got to see Red Square, the Kremlin, and much more that constantly had my attention. Although the Soviet Union is no longer existent, it wasn't too long ago that it was and the history of this time is visible all around you. 

 St. Basil's Church
Red Square

From Moscow we then took a plane to Krasnoyarsk (about a 5 hour flight). Krasnoyarsk is one of the most beautiful and green cities that I have ever been to. There is so much to see and I feel like I got a good taste of Russian life there. We went to school every morning where our professors helped us get to know the city, language, and culture a lot better. They introduced us to other students (Russians) that could help us out as well as our host families. Getting to know other students around our age added life to our outings. The host family that I lived with lived right next to the Yenisey river and one of my favorite things was looking out at that view. During our stay, we got to know that river very well. Along the bank of the river they have a walkway where there are lots of little patio tent cafes. It became a daily ritual to go and sit there after class to do our homework while drinking Kvas or whatever you prefer. A lot of our free time was spent around the Yenisey. We fed ducks there, rode peddle boats, had picnics, or even just walked for fun. 

 Yenisey from window
Yenisey from outlook point

My host family would spend time speaking with me in the language as well as teaching me about my surroundings. They would drive me around to see "dostoprimechatelstva" (sights worth seeing such as fountains and statues) and they even drove me to see "taiga". Taiga is also known as boreal forest. Another place that they took me to see was a reservoir where we got to swim and relax. The reservoir is created by a large dam which is located in the Yenisey river and supplies factories with power. There are green trees and hills surrounding the place that make your summer swim even more enjoyable. I heard from them that in the winter it gets so cold that it freezes over and people go cross country skiing there. Fun! Although I'm not sure if I could endure the cold! They get down to -40 degrees in the winter, ouch.

a dostoprimechatelstva

It's hard not to be addicted to nature in Krasnoyarsk. One of favorite parts of the study abroad was when we took an 18 hour train ride to Lake Baikal through Irkutsk. If you are anything like I was and don't know about this amazing lake, get to know it! It's the worlds oldest, deepest, and clearest lake. Also, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world. Something I found really interesting is that there are over 1,700 species of plants and animals found at Lake Baikal, 2/3 of which can ONLY be found there. It truly is a one of a kind place! While there, I could not convince myself to get in the water, way too cold. However, other students did just to do it and agreed afterward that it is indeed very cold!





Looking back, I realize how great my summer was, how much I saw, experienced, and learned. I feel like my language skills improved, my vocabulary grew, as well as culture and world experience. It is something that I will never forget and wish that everyone could experience. Everyday was an adventure and pushed me to grow. Traveling in general opens up your mind to the world, and seeing a world that was once the Soviet Union for people expands your thinking even more. Krasnoyarsk was the perfect place for my summer study abroad and I'd do it again in a heart beat! Пока пока!



Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Elli Legerski - Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France

Elli is a junior majoring in Film Studies and French at the University of Utah. She is currently on a fall semester ISEP Exchange program at Université de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France.
Spending a Thanksgiving away from home this year had the potential to be heartbreaking. Luckily, I found my home away from home in Paris this year at the amazing Joe Allen restaurant. A group of my American friends, in addition to our wonderful/hilarious Scottish friend, Sarah, all found our Parisian paradise online a few weeks ago. We were hesitant to reserve our spots at a restaurant that claimed to duplicate a traditional Thanksgiving feast, but we figured we had nothing to lose—how could a festive evening in Paris go to waste?
As soon as we arrived in the restaurant, it was like a giant hug. All the staff spoke English, there were American flags on every inch of wall space, autumn leaves were strewn about the dining area’s floors, and American football on the televisions illuminated the sports bar. It was so wonderfully decorated; I almost forgot that I was in France!
Our meal was insanely delicious. Corn chowder, turkey, stuffing, roasted butternut squash, mashed potatoes, apple cranberry crumble and vanilla ice cream, pumpkin pie…everything we homesick Americans could have hoped for. It was perfect! Just to put the icing on the cake, the entire city of Paris is all dolled up and decorated for Christmas, which makes the city even more magical and beautiful. The Champs-Elysees (like the Sunset Boulevard of Paris) has lights strung on every branch of every tree, making the avenue look like a twinkling winter wonderland. Vendors have set up their booths of food, toys, and specialty items along the boulevard as well, to make Christmas shopping easy. Did you know the French call cotton candy Barbe a Papa – which literally translates to “Dad’s beard”? I love it! Galleries Lafayette, Paris’ largest department store, has the most elaborate store window displays you’ve ever seen: each window has teddy bears, dolls, and pairs of shoes dancing to choreographed routines.
It is crazy to think my time here in France is coming to such an abrupt ending. Three weeks from today, I will be headed home. I am torn between wanting to stay in Europe forever and wanting so badly to see my family and friends just in time for Christmas. It is hard to describe the feeling; it’s like a tug-of-war.  I have made such incredible memories here and have met awesome people, but nothing compares to the people I know and love back at home. I am so grateful to have had this experience. Every moment glitters, especially during the holiday season.

Stephen Skokos - Shanghai, China

Stephen Skokos is a junior in Economics at the U of U. He participated in a Hinckley Institute of Politics internship in Shanghai, China during the summer of 2010.

Huangshan (Yellow Mountains)
Huangshan was amazing. Pictures can not even touch how incredible it was!
We climbed well over 6,000 stairs, got up super early, ate PB J's for practically every meal and stood in lines (yes stood in line to continue hiking) hehe! It truly was a unique and marvelous adventure.The best part was that we were in good company.. Taylor and Jodi came, along with some lone rangers.. Tim and Frank from Taylor's internship.We were quite the sight, we definitely had many stares and smiles.


We got up at 4:30 am to see the sun rise. We were afraid that we would not be able to see it because of the clouds..However, the wind was on our side and blew the clouds giving us enough time to enjoy the incredible view.



We were amongst the clouds for most of the trip which just made everything more mysterious and fabulous. The white line on the side of the mountain is a mass of hikers. There was no escaping them...I do not know what I was expecting, I mean we were still in China. :)



Hands down my favorite thing that I have seen in China. It was mind blowing, majestic, incredibly beautiful and exhausting in every way... I couldn't ask for anything more.


This past Saturday we decided to go to Century park. A cool public park over on the Pudong side of Shanghai (all that really means is that its on the East side of the river that runs through Shanghai....)


Any who, now that I got that out... We went there and rented these interesting bikes... The guys saw the awesome 3 man tandem bike and got excited and of course the girls wanted something high tech and fancy so we ended up getting them this ghetto buggy...


So we headed off on our adventure... I was manning the steering wheel and what a ride... I had my two co- pilots leaning the opposite direction of me the whole time trying to make us crash... what do they care they're not at the front so they wont hit the tree, bush, or small Chinese child... From the very beginning though, we had a bad feeling about the mechanical integrity of the bike...




So after leaving the girls behind in our dust we rounded a corner and heard a loud pop and quickly came to a stop... apparently this bike wasn'tdesigned with the weight of threeAmerican males in mind... So we had to hijack the girls ghetto buggy and drive back with the bike on the luggage rack... funny thing the lady running the shop wasn't even phased by it... I'm guessing she has had this happen before...


After we returned to our women triumphantly with a brand new bike they told us they wanted to switch and of course being the gentlemen we are we told them that would be fine... that's when we realized we had been tricked... The ghetto buggy was not as fun as the bike... it was actually a lot harder to peddle... The girls shot off not to be seen again. ( we found out later they made sure to stay far enough away so that we couldn't ask them to switch back... good thing Deborah is so cute! ) Even though the ghetto buggy wasn't as fast or nimble as the bike it was sturdy... so we decided to see if it could handle stairs... it did, quite well in fact! So we played chicken with a couple of people, road down some stairs, chased some bubbles, and even stopped for a few pictures on what developed to be a very romantic man date...


So after we returned the ghetto buggy and the girls finally showed up from theiradventure we decided to share with them a little oasis we had discovered while cruising through the park... It was an awesome water fountain thing that was blasting water just like ol' faithful! It had everything we could ask for! Water, slippery tile that we could run and slide on your stomach like a penguin, little naked Chinese kids running around! What a great find! One of the best parts was watching a old man take his little grandson who had just destroyed his diaper and he decided that the fountains would make a great bidet! It looked more like a super enema but either way I think that kid was clean when it was all said and done... gotta love China :)


We felt like the day was a complete success! Now of course when you have three adult men acting like 5 year olds something is bound to happen... the secret was staying on the black tile... they were slippery... the concrete next to it... not slippery... So we all ended with a few cuts and scrapes... Taylor Sparks the hairy Yettie on the left took one for the team... I suggested that he slide through my legs like a penguin and between focusing on not hitting a kid, water blasting him in the face, and trying to knock me down once he was through my legs he forgot one thing... focusing on his landing...


Taylor took one on the chin... it was a pretty deep cut... It was all fun and games until someone had to get hurt... It was deep! I think you could have fit a quarter inside it! OK... itwasn't that deep but it was intense nonetheless. So we ended up walking to a Chinese grocery store and buying super glue... We went to the nasty bathroom inside the store and played operation on Taylor's face. It went well until Taylor pressed a paper towel to his face that got stuck and then couldn't pull it off...


Long story short the next 3 hours were dedicated to carefully shaving his mangy beard, using tweezers to pull out the hardened glue and flesh, and checking wikipedia on how to perform surgery with super glue... the second attempt was much better!


After that intense surgery we ordered munchies again and watched a movie... This truly was a great Saturday in Shanghai. Only three more weeks and then we are back in the good ol' US of A!


A day in Shanghai



Bikes are just about everywhere here. Most have a basket for food, purses, sometimes even toddlers.. Really!!. They do not need to be fancy, just functional..


Deborah and I were searching for some ground beef.. They did not have ground beef.. however, they did have a different "luxury". (pig feet, nails and all)




The building on the right, floor 6, is our place of residence. I am snapping the shot on the overpass bridge on my way to the super market.
This is our local super market, there is a magazine stand in front of it and lucky for you guys... you also get to see the delivery truck!. This market is about a block from our house. It does not have everything we need but it does have the essentials (such as peanut butter and rice).


I hear that if you are a good photographer, people should be able to smell and feel the atmosphere from your photo. Be glad that I am not.. it did not smell so pleasant. :) That being said, it was a really great atmosphere.


In the same alley, were these 3 men reading and kicking the breeze. I absolutely loved it and had to document it. :)


Beijing

Tuesday night we took the night train to Beijing. That was quite the experience, we slept on bunk beds and shared the room with two other people. We got the top bunks, not because we called dibs on them or that we got there first.. we paid less money for our tickets so we therefore got the "lower class" top bunk beds.

We basically saw everything that could be seen in a 4 day period, we saw the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven and went down the street with the random skewed meats.





The weather worked out perfect for us, it was raining the day we went to the Forbidden City so we actually walked around rather than being herded around like sheep. :) We later learned that there are 9,999 and half rooms in the Forbidden City!. I think that Deborah and I went into 5 of them... In our defense, it is a huge city and all the rooms look a lot a like.



 


The Great Wall was amazing! It was an overcast day, so it was mysterious and a even more majestic. It was quite the climb, I don't really know what I was expecting but Deb and I got quite the work out for our glute's, calves and quads. We had a beautiful view and once again it was not crowded so it was a special experience for us.


One of our favorite parts was the luge ride on the way down! haha truly though, it was pretty fun :)


Deborah and I might come back a little more conceited.. We seem to be quite the popular ones here. We have become a new, must see, tourist spot. We get a lot of stares and sometimes even get stopped for a quick photo op. We have become good at striking our poises, putting our arms around someone and the other hand up with fingers doing the peace sign... gets em every time :)
 


We really enjoyed our Beijing adventure, however, we are both so happy to be back "home" in Shanghai!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Ashley Bitner - Oviedo, Spain

Ashley Bitner is a Junior at the U of U. She participated in the Intensive Spanish language program in Oviedo, Spain in the summer of 2010.

¡Hola! I attended the Spanish language program in Oviedo, Spain this past summer.  Before I left I was nervous to be headed to a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language very well. It ended up a being blast, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.  Being immersed in the Spanish culture through living with a Spanish family was something that was irreplaceable. I learned more in the home than anywhere else about the food, culture, and language.

One of the first things I did when I got to Oviedo was visit the Cristo statue on the top the biggest mountain around.  We got a group together and walked to the outskirts of the city until we reached the bottom of the mountain, which was where we began our hike.  The hike was fairly short and went through the trees. The pathway went straight up the mountain, but was beautiful all along the way.  When we reached the top it was incredible because the statue towered many feet above us, and we could also see out over the entire city.   The hike was so much fun and unique, because we were able to explore the scenery as we saw the sites. 

One of my favorite things we did in Spain was the weekly excursion with everyone in the program.  A place that really stood out to me was called Covadonga.  It was high in the mountains, with a waterfall, cathedral, and an old fountain. The fountain had seven spouts we could all drink out of.  We spent the afternoon up there and we were able to explore, and also take some awesome photos. 

Another excursion that I loved was to Barcelona.  I was able to see that city because for one weekend we were given the opportunity to choose a city in Spain that we wanted to visit.  Some class members chose to rent a car and drive along the coast, others to the beach, some to Madrid. Our choice was Barcelona, and we caught a flight there. We spent a few days exploring the city.  My favorite experience was when we were walking at night and found the Font Mágica.  It was an enormous colorful fountain that was accompanied with music by a local band.  Incredible! Barcelona was fun because we were able to see other cultural aspects of Spain and visit another region of the country.  




With just a few short days left in Oviedo we were getting sad to leave, but we were able to participate in one last festival.  The festivals were a very big deal in Oviedo, and the whole town would participate.  The people gathered together outside the Cathedral and made an enormous bonfire.  Thousands of people were given a piece of paper to write their sins on, and then they would be thrown in the fire.  It was so fun because there was traditional music and dancing, and we were able to watch and participate in the annual ceremony with the town of Oviedo.  

I loved being able to go to Oviedo and experience a different country and culture.  There is nothing like it and I would have no hesitation going again!!!