Summer in Paris

Summer in Paris hits the city hard and swift. Our move to Cite U at the start of July coincided with the first heatwave of summer, so the air-conditioned luxury of our former hotel was sorely missed. It was a challenge to dress presentably for work in 36-degree heat, but as some coworkers showed up in shorts on these days, that was our cue to follow suit! Unfortunately the typical, century-old Haussmannian buildings that house most offices in the central districts are not equipped with modern conveniences like air-conditioning.

One of our favourite Sciences Po lectures to-date has been one on ‘The History of France through Paris landmarks’. Here we learnt how the city was first founded over 2,000 years ago in an area presently known as the Latin Quarter, the significance of the Louvre, Tuileries and Versailles as palaces, the relationship between the taxation system and socio-economic situation of its various residents, and present day renewal plans to expand beyond its borders in the ‘Le Grand Paris’ urban project.

Equally as interesting were a series of lectures on European identity issues, both past and present. Topics such as migration, security, solidarity and leadership opened our eyes to the multilayered complexities of the evolving European identity and its implications for existing and future member states.

So after all of this cultural education, some of us decided to kick off the weekend by watching a show at the Moulin Rouge. It was a spectacular performance filled with breathtaking acrobatics and the compact, big-top setting made the experience all the more intimate as we sat around dinner tables and mingled with people from all over the world. It reminded me of our lecture on identity issues and what it means to the French people, since this show clearly capitalised on its unique place in Parisian history. Photos were not allowed during the show for copyright reasons, but I can tell you there was a huge pool of water, python snakes and rollerskates!

Last weekend saw our entire class being treated to a day off work to attend a study trip to Brussels to learn about the EU Parliament. Coincidentally, Friday marked the start of the Bastille Day long weekend, so excitement levels were high as we would head off to other destinations (Amsterdam, Bruges and Aix-en-Provence) following the class trip. The EU institution buildings were quiet that day as EU officials and heads of state were scheduled to meet in Strasbourg instead - we were devastated about our missed opportunity to see Merkel, Tsipras, Hollande etc.! The parliamentarian role play game was interesting as was Brussels as a tourist destination. Thinking it would be a ‘European’ Canberra, the city surprised us with its fair share of tourist drawcards, from its official buildings, historic architecture, public parks, to a bustling town square serving up the must-try diet of Belgian fries, waffles and beer (though not all at once).

Finally, Bastille Day arrived. Being the conscientious students that we are, the morning was spent completing as much of our upcoming assessments as possible before heading to the supermarket to shop for our picnic on the Champ des Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower. We successfully secured a prime spot and spent almost 7 hours entertaining ourselves before the fireworks started at 11pm. Surprisingly, the crowds were not as severe as those during New Year’s Eve in Sydney, but perhaps it was an indication of how much larger Paris is as a city.

With just over two more weeks of the IPP left, it's time to power through all the touristy things on our to-do list!

Farah Tan
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France 

Our adventures in Paris begin

I write this blog post on the Eurostar as it zooms to London after surviving my first week of the Paris International Placement Program (IPP). Last weekend, twenty undergrads and postgrads from the Business School descended upon Paris, some even managing to squeeze in trips to Lisbon and Barcelona enroute. Travel is an obvious perk of the program and we intended to make the most of it!

Seine River, 9:30pm

But it’s not all play without hard work. The first days were long with work placements from 9am to 5pm and after that, French language classes and European Union studies lectures at Sciences Po until 9pm. Thankfully, summer is Paris means sunset at 10:30pm, so you’d hardly notice that you’ve just survived an intellectually stimulating and physical (walking, hopping on-off the Metro) 12-hour day. After class, we could still go for a wander to take photos, have dinner at a cafe (cheese and wine, if you prefer) and pick up groceries on the way back to our hotel. Unfortunately, shopping the mid-year sales is only possible on weekends. There’s only so much you can fit into a day in Paris!

Sciences Po

The first week of working aboard was eventful. My supervisor turned out be based in Berlin, which although unexpected, is beginning to teach me skills on remote working relationships. All my colleagues are French and speak only French during lunchtimes, which is good incentive to work harder on my French!

Sciences Po Courtyard

I get to walk past the Louvre every day (not many can say this!) enroute to classes at Sciences Po which start at 6pm. French architecture is spectacular and you have to experience the scale of the buildings, boulevards and bridges in person, as photos taken on your iPhone fail to do it justice. The city is steeped in history - my office shares the same laneway as the house where Mozart spent his last days, while famous European treaties were signed merely a few blocks away from our classroom in Sciences Po.

Lourve

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the week for all of us was the visit to the Australian Embassy where we met with Ambassador Stephen Brady, who graciously hosted us at his residence and was very generous with his time. He shared his insights on the globalisation of the workforce for our generation and candidly took us through his career path and the complexities of his role in the hopes of encouraging us to consider an intellectually rewarding career in international relations. We spent over two hours at the 800m2 residence which overlooked the Tour Eiffel and admired the stunning Aboriginal and modern Australian art and interior design which was truly representative of Australian identity. A special thank you from all of us to Carson for making the meeting with Ambassador Brady possible!

Australian Embassy

Bon weekend as we venture off on our first weekend in Europe - London, Munich, Prague, Rouen and Versailles are just some of the destinations that our group will cover in the next 48 hours. Next week we will be moving from our hotel accommodation to Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (Cité U for short) to immerse ourselves in Parisian student life. A bientot!

Farah Tan
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France

The Top Five Benefits of International Internships

Choosing to intern globally is a big decision to make. It’s not only a choice to commit yourself to a new professional atmosphere, but to change entirely your daily habits of food, culture and social life for a time.  It’s like going hiking in high altitudes – your body needs time to acclimatize and it may be difficult initially, but you are no doubt going to emerge a better hiker when you’re finished.

The rewards of training in new environments are plentiful, but what are the top five rewards of global internships?

It grows the initiative muscle
Initiative is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger and more efficient it becomes. It’s a big step to jump on a plane and voluntarily shift your time zone, let alone commit to an internship in a new and exotic land. When interning overseas, you no longer have your deeply knit friends or family watching over your shoulder. You are in charge of yourself and all things get done only if you proactively choose to do them.

Living in a new culture
The great thing about travelling overseas is how much it allows us to learn about the world beyond the society we happened to be born into. In an even more profound way, international work experience is a chance to not only learn about a foreign culture, but to live in the heart of it. Have you ever thought about who you would be if the dice roll of nature had been different? What if you were born into an entirely different culture? This question can’t actually be answered, but global internships provide a nice experimental gaze into other cultural realities.

A CV more interesting than your average bear
Take two candidates for a graduate engineering position, Bob and Bill. They have roughly similar grades and extra-curriculars. The only difference is that Bob interned in Australia whilst Bill worked for a company in Vietnam. Before the filtering process of an interview, Bill is a little more intriguing – he stands out. He signals a more interesting candidate, one who takes initiative and is curious about self-development.

New friends, new ideas
Making friends overseas is fun because every conversation is potentially a challenge to your entire way of viewing the world. New jokes, food and dance are all great benefits – but even more profound is the exciting novelty of a new climate of friendship.

Coming back a superhero
Returning from their internships, participants often say that they feel like new people – like their dreams and visions for the world are somehow so much closer than they’ve ever been. This sense of agency and courage is nothing short of super hero status – you feel like a new person because you are a new person.

 

AIESEC’s Global Talent

AIESEC is a student run institution that organizes international internships and volunteering opportunities. Operating in over 125 different countries, Global Talent offers internships in young and gunning startups, all the way to big game multinationals. Internships can range from six weeks to two years, depending on what a candidate is looking for in their placement. AIESEC Sydney operates from campus and exists to facilitate the wonderful experience of global internships for University of Sydney students.

We live in the best time to be alive. The world has always been large and endless, and yet today it is firmly in the palm of our hands, if that’s how we want it to be. In the old days, if you were born a cultured German, you remained a cultured German – and might not have even acknowledged that something outside of your part of Germany existed. Today, not only can we skype anyone from anywhere – we can travel abroad to live, work, eat and laugh amongst them.

Ninos Mansor
Current student at the University of Sydney and PR Manager, AIESEC Sydney

Just need to take the first step

Nine months ago, I stepped off the plane in Sydney after many hours in flight. It was an early chilly morning. Looking at the newly risen sun, I took a deep breath of the cold air, full of unfamiliar smells, telling myself that I could fulfil my goals.

However, to achieve these goals was anything but easy. I thought I had learned English well enough, but then I found myself barely understanding the conversations around me. I thought I was good at studying, but then I found myself having difficulties applying my knowledge to real cases. I thought I could find an internship at a local firm in the same way I did in China, but then I found myself limited in many aspects as an international student. There were so many challenges and much competition. I was scared. I began to lose confidence.

It was at this point that I decided to go for a consultation at the Business School career kiosk. Through the consultation, I realised that since the possibility for an international student to enter a local firm would be relatively slim unless haivng a high English level and necessary working skills that could match native students, what I needed to do was take a step forward, leaving my comfort zone to enhance my capabilities.

The first step I took was taking part in Neuroblastoma Australia – a charity activity – as a volunteer. At the beginning, I was too shy to speak and was afraid of doing things wrong. But as soon as I finally took the first step to start chatting with Shirley, a friendly girl who was working next to me, I immediately knew that I had worried too much. Actually, we had many things in common, and we might have kept talking forever if time permitted.

Later she introduced me to her friends who were also working there as volunteers. Gradually, the barrier in my heart disappeared. At the end of that day, not only did I finish my job well, but I also got to meet many new friends and had fulfilling conversations.

Encouraged by this volunteer experience, I joined many other activities. At the same time, I kept gaining employment skills from the Business School's Careers and Employability Office (CEO) career workshops, where I learned how to modify my resume, enabling me to stand out in an Australian employment environment. I also embraced opportunities to network with employers and recruiters, and so on. Several months later, in the summer holiday, I was offered an internship position from a Sydney company, which although small, provided me with a great opportunity to apply what I’ve learned in a real-world setting.

A week ago, I walked into the career kiosk consultation office again. This time, I had a professional resume with two pages full of my extra-curricular activity and internship experiences in hand, and talked in much more fluent English with a confident tone. I was going there for Industry Placement Program (IPP) application advice.

Another winter is coming now. Looking at the newly risen sun, I take a deep breath of the cold air, and smile. It is never easy to go uphill, but it may not be as hard as we think as well. All we need to do is take the first step, and have the initiative to be fully prepared for future opportunities, so that when we look back, we will be proud of how far we have walked.

Brenda Zeng
Brenda is an international student and current student at the University of Sydney Business School.

The city that became home

Doris Xu is an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney Business School. She is currently in the United States as part of the Washington DC Placement Program, offered by the Business School in partnership with the United States Studies Centre.  

I closed my eyes.

Next to me, my roommate’s speaker was playing the acoustic album from her favourite artist, Above and Beyond. A door away, one of my flatmates was finishing her House of Cards Season 3 binge on Netflix. In the kitchen, the other was cooking her dinner, the aroma of food filling the room through the half-opened door.

When I first arrived at Room 803, it was empty. I could hear my heavy breathing from dragging my luggage from the taxi to the lobby, and my footsteps wading across in my wet UGG boots. But not anymore.

Over the past nine weeks, we have filled in the blank space of eerie silence. Our wardrobes became full, our beds made (at least in the first week) and class notes piled up on the table. We no longer kept to our own desks or rooms. We popped around wondering what each other was doing. We shared food and desserts and complained to each other about how fat they were making us, while scraping the bottom of the pan for the brownie crumbs. We planned trips, to Philly or to the zoo, or when we felt like we really needed that dress down the road.

At work, I learnt the doorman’s name, although still having trouble pronouncing it properly. Our workstations, once clean and tidy and bland, now decorated with sticky notes of reminders arranged by colour, on the drawers, on the boards, next to the computer. Research and meeting papers lied on the desk, ruffled as often used. We eyed the kitchen or front desk for new treats, be it greentea chocolate from Tokyo or sheep cupcakes in celebration of Chinese New Year. We gathered around the conference room to have lunch, where stories from all over the world came: from midnight taxi rides in South Korea to Spanish wine festivals.

Over the past nine weeks, I saw snow for the first time, then had my first snow day. Cheers had erupted from room to room on the 8th floor, as we consecutively found out about the office closure due to the snow storm. The next morning we headed to Dupont Circle, making and throwing well-formed snowballs. We attempted at building our first snowman, before giving up after making the lower body, realising we couldn’t put the upper body on and ended up building a snow penguin.

 It’s A Snow Day!

Over the past nine weeks, I squealed at my first glance of a baby panda, who was clearly having a Monday morning; yawning, covering its eyes and turning on its face back to dreamland. Over the past nine weeks, I laughed as my colleague and I shared stories about our childhood, our embarrassing moments and silly promises. Over the past nine weeks, I learnt the difference between a motive and a theme in music, and watched a play about Mary the Queen of Scotland in the Shakespearean theatre.

Some time over the past nine weeks, I started calling Room 803 home.

Some time over the past nine weeks, I broke out of my shell and started to be myself again.

On Friday I took one last look at my room, my side completely empty and clean, just like the first day when I first arrived.

I closed my eyes.

Because I didn’t want to cry. But tears fell anyway. Through tears conjured from moments shaped by laughter and delirious happiness, I knew.

All those memories, captured in the snow flakes and the -10 temperature, would stay with me forever.

The Big Red Button

Doris Xu is an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney Business School. She is currently in the United States as part of the Washington DC Placement Program, offered by the Business School in partnership with the United States Studies Centre.  

I used to get really drunk on jealousy when I scrolled down Facebook and saw my friends posting holiday photos in different parts of the world. I used to think- well, lucky them; I am just stuck at home being bored out of my skull.

Recently, as the uni holidays started to draw to an end, photos from Singapore theme park, a Canadian ski trip and Chinese festivals piled up in my newsfeed. I looked through them and caught myself thinking, ‘geez, that looks fun - better add them to my list’.

I remarked to a friend the other day that my world felt so much bigger now. I could hardly remember the person I was, falling into the routine of uni-work-study-society, and hanging out with the same group of people; too scared and too comfortable to reach out.

But the Industry Placement Program (IPP) has forced me to reach out, to break through my comfortable routine and to meet other people outside of those I already know.

It was horrible.

The loneliness of not knowing any of the people in my apartment, in my classes; not having the best friends on call when I felt down; not having the ready-cooked meal when I arrived back home; or the familiarity of transport and environment.

I had the biggest homesickness for days, and my extroversion took a huge hit.

But when you are on the edge of a cliff you have to take chances. I chose to not stand there and decided to simply jump into the unknown. I decided to get to know my roommate better by sitting next to her during her binge of ‘Jane the Virgin’. When Jane eventually shared a kiss with the dashing Rafael, and we cheered spontaneously - a knowing glance told me that we would be best buddies soon.

And I was right. What followed was girls nights in, shouting at each other while playing catchphrase and monopoly with new friends, sharing cooking tips, a trip to Philly and lots of late night shopping.

Then there was the corridor encounter; a friend of a friend opening a door and the smell of chicken curry escaping their apartment. We invited ourselves in, and spent the night playing cards against humanity and trash talking the other teams. It would soon become our Friday traditions that go into the late nights/early mornings.

It was moments like this, the beginning of something new and magical, that became really precious to me.

When I learnt the rules of American football on the night of the Superbowl. When I winced at the loss of the home team at my first Ice Hockey game. When I managed to work a laundry machine and befriended a girl who came to pick up her clothes. When I met Erin Gurwell, the teacher behind the Freedom Writers.

There is something magical about watching a game with a room full of people.

My classes made me forget how tedious studying used to be. Foresight made me choose two arts subjects - Arts in Our Capitol, and DC film and Theatre - and the subject choices were amongst the best decisions I have made in this program. I spent my night classes discussing museums and artworks, and how music is produced and experienced. I toured the largest library in the world and watched world-class concerts in the first row. I attended a play about President Lincoln’s widow, Mary, at the Ford Theatre where he was assassinated. I learnt about the film history of the depictions of Washington DC.

Front row seats at the Library of Congress Performance!

At the East-West Centre in Washington where I intern, I wrote articles on US-Asia Pacific relations; on topics of trade, politics and cultural exchanges. I worked on my project on the Centre’s connections with Australia and social network marketing strategies. Sometimes I attended events around DC, and listened to top experts talk about the region. The latest talk I attended was by Jang Jin-Sung, a North-Korean defector who was once the country’s top propagandist.

I missed home terribly for two weeks, and now I don’t anymore. I used to think it’s because I am having such a blast here- which is true, but now I know.

It’s because DC is home now. Like a typical DC-er, I complain when we are only getting 1 inch of snow when we are expecting 5. I consider 4 degrees beach weather. I think going to museums on weekends is extremely cool and free entries are a must.

Sometimes, it really does take one thing, one program, one experience, to open your eyes up and see the world differently for the first time. And I guess that is why I no longer feel jealous seeing other people’s travels, because I know now that they can be my adventures too.

The Places Etched in My Memory

In the beginning, it felt as though all the forces were preventing me from entering the United States.

Yes, I am serious.

My flight was booked for the 21st of December. Less than 24 hours before my departure, in the middle of my farewell party, I received a text telling me that my flight was cancelled. The link to reschedule showed no available flights in the next couple of days.

After a massive panic attack, I submitted a request for refund and booked my ticket with another airline. The next day when I arrived at the airport, I was told that because I bought my ticket at the last minute, I was put on standby and she wasn’t sure if I could board the flight.

I googled several breathing exercises while she connected me to the seating officer.

So there I was, waiting and wondering whether I should take this as Australia loving me too much that it doesn’t want me to leave, or America simply doesn’t want me in the country.

Having been here for more than a month now, I can safely say it’s probably not the latter.

I quickly forgot about my struggles when I landed. Since I had arrived in the US two weeks before my program started, I had the perfect opportunity to travel around and immerse myself in the culture I have only previously seen on a screen.

In Santa Monica I fell in love with the city with a beautiful name and an even more gorgeous sunset. In Los Angeles I found out my hand was the exact same size as Emma Watson’s, and was so disappointed when I didn’t spot Ryan Gosling at Hollywood.

Sunset at Santa Monica

In New York I watched my first ever Broadway show, and had the song Phantom of the Opera stuck in my head for the remainder of my trip. I traced the steps of Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams in Enchanted at the famous Central Park, and tried - without success - to find the hill where BBC shot my favourite episode of Doctor Who. I spent a day going through the massive collection at the Met, and braved the cold atop the Empire State Building just to catch a glimpse of the entirety of the famous city.

It was so cold I have developed my own face warm-up routine.

I saw snow for the first time in DC. It was the third day of my placement - and I almost wished I didn’t have work so I could go catch a snowflake or build a tiny snowman or whatever people do with snow. I say ‘almost’ because the place I am interning at - the East-West Centre in Washington - is a lot of fun too.

On the first weekend I went down to Orlando and had the chance to wear a t-shirt again. There I spent two days chatting to Stan, the Knight Bus driver, trying on my new Hogwarts ropes and sipping hot Butterbeer in Hogsmead. I came back from my trip refreshed and ready to start the second week of my internship.
Those are the places etched in my memory. So far.

Diagon Alley

Doris Xu is an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney Business School. She is currently in the United States as part of the Washington DC Placement Program, offered by the Business School in partnership with the United States Studies Centre.  

Exploring the Big Apple and getting lost in Capitol Hill

Jenny Chen is an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney Business School. She is currently in the United States as part of the Washington DC Placement Program, offered by the Business School in partnership with the United States Studies Centre. 

Ah, New York. The city that never sleeps. An appropriate nickname seeing as that's exactly what we did. We didn't sleep. Our 12 days in New York were jam packed with tourist destinations, shopping, food, shopping, food, and did I mention shopping?

For a city known for its hustle and bustle, lines never seemed to move fast in New York. 70% of the trip comprised of waiting around, whether for an attraction, restroom, traffic light or food. It was a test of my patience to say the very least. However, for all waiting, it was worth it. We experienced several breathtaking moments, including:

New York Sunset

View from the Empire State Building

The pond in Central Park

Frozen pond in Central Park

The Statue of Liberty

Times Square

The buzz of the Big Apple prepared me for the crazy work and study schedule that awaited in DC.

On our first day interning at Capitol Hill, my roommate, Ari, and I were thrown into the deep end. We got swamped by phone calls from passionate constituents who were eager to give their views and grilled us about who the Congressman was going to vote for in the Speaker Election, which was being held the following day. The rest of the week was just as intense but still a lot of fun.

Everyone in our office has been incredibly friendly and helpful. They love asking us questions about Australia and I have taken it upon myself to educate them on all things Australian. I will not stop until Australian phrases have slipped into their vocabulary. When I first met Congressman Peter Roskam, his wife and two sons, Mrs Roskam even attempted the Australian accent.

In order to make us feel more at home, the legislative correspondent printed out a picture of the Australian flag and taped it onto our wall. Much to our delight, he is also a fan of the Australian comedic genius himself, Chris Lilley. Now I'm not one to play favourites, but I think I found a strong contender for the coolest staffer.

I’ve also had heaps of fun getting to know the American interns in our office. It's extremely interesting discussing different aspects of life with them and comparing how growing up here is different from growing up in Australia. Despite cultural differences (we constantly bicker because supposedly I say funny phrases and pronounce words weirdly), it's nice to know we can still engage in some classic office banter!

You may remember that in my last blog I mentioned my struggles with geography. Well just my luck, Capitol Hill is a gigantic labyrinth. Every corridor looks the same; the buildings were designed to be symmetrical.
To help us find our way, we were sent on a scavenger hunt around Capitol Hill, where we wandered the underground tunnels and rode the Capitol subway back and forth between the office buildings and the House and Senate. The subway rides always remind me of a mini rollercoaster ride.

Since we have class after work, it is an absolute struggle when we have 9am - 9:30pm days. I'm a huge fan of coffee and I'm all for downing cups and cups of it to ward off sleep. However, the coffee here just isn't as good as it is back home. The search for good coffee in DC is on. At least the classes that I take, 'The History of the Central Intelligence Agency' and 'Energy – Powering the Economy in an Era of Climate Change/Political Instability', are interesting, making the eternal fatigue worth it.

I'm sure you're all wondering how we're dealing domestically. I'm happy to report that we are all alive and there has not been a case of food poisoning or scurvy. Yet.

After my first day of work, my friend offered to order me pizza so I had food when I got back. In my state of extreme hunger, I decided that I should have an entire pizza to myself. He failed to mention that each slice was bigger than my face. Many dinners later, a lonely slice of pizza still lies in our fridge.

As I document my culinary struggles on Snapchat, several friends have criticised me for not eating properly. Our American flatmates however, have got this down. Their stocks of spices, fresh produce and meat make my microwave meals, instant noodles and Reese's Peanut Buttercups look absolutely pathetic.

One week in and we’ve already witnessed our first culinary disaster. A friend forgot to fill up his instant noodles with water and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Their flat smelt like burnt food for the rest of the week. His excuse? "I was hungry."

Having survived the first week, I’m surprised that so much has happened already. I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks have in store. Check this space again to follow my journey!

Pre-Departure Musings, Domestic Struggles & Exciting Times Ahead

Jenny Chen is an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney Business School. She is currently in the United States as part of the Washington DC Placement Program, offered by the Business School in partnership with the United States Studies Centre.

I'm the type of person who likes being prepared and planning ahead. I constantly make lists and jot down reminders for myself. A few of us going on the Washington D.C. Program have already gotten together and planned out where we want to travel on our weekends. I've even packed my suitcases in my mind.

(Note to self – make sure to pack my passport and I-20 forms in my carry on baggage and leave plenty of room in my suitcase for the ridiculous amount of shopping that I will inevitably indulge in.)

However, no amount of reminders, lists or mental planning can prepare us for the excitement that is bound to ensue within the next few months.

While in DC, I'll be interning for Congressman Roskam. I am extremely excited to work in a proper, professional environment and get a taste of what can be expected in the future. Wow. Capitol Hill, the political powerhouse of the USA, and arguably the world. Just being at the frontline, seeing where law is being made and how it impacts society will be an unparalleled and eye-opening experience.

Despite all the glitz and the glamour, I'm not going to lie, the thought of interning for a Congressman is quite intimidating. However, I am going to harness these nerves and use them to motivate me to achieve my greatest potential. I will no doubt acquire plenty of knowledge during the 9 weeks of studies and internship. This is going to be an extraordinary learning experience that will allow me to develop my understanding of American politics and hone my skills in working in a professional environment.

Issues arise when you're in a foreign country, especially if you're geographically challenged like myself. Usually, I would either follow my friends to our destination or spend a solid hour on Google Maps planning out and memorising my journey. Something tells me the GPS on my phone will soon become my best friend. Issues also arise when you're no longer living in the oblivious comfort of your family home. I will not even try to pretend to be a culinary expert. I can probably count the number of dishes in my cooking repertoire on one hand. Also, my roommate, despite living in college, has never done her own laundry (her dad takes her laundry back home every weekend). Together, we make quite the dismal pair. How we are to survive 9 weeks, even I'm not too sure.

However, this aspect of the program is one of the many reasons why I find it so exciting. We're left to fend for ourselves and despite the several mishaps that are bound to happen, I know that this shared experience of suffering will only bring us closer. We shall brave the laundromats together. We shall scrape burnt food off pots and pans together. Or if that doesn't work out, we shall cut our losses, go to the nearest restaurant and eat together.

With just a few weeks until the program starts, I can't contain my excitement. I have never been to America before and, despite sounding incredibly cliché, it's honestly a dream come true. I will be spending 2 weeks before the program commences in New York with three good friends who are fellow DCers. We will also be traveling to Boston, Chicago and Orlando on the weekends.

I'm ready. Ready for my small bubble to be burst by the glitz and glamour of Christmas and New Years in New York and the political prowess of Capitol Hill. Ready for the internship and exchange experience of a lifetime.

Watch out Washington D.C. We're coming.

This blog was originally published on the United States Studies Centre blog. 

The city of big shoulders and the deep dish pizza

Eric Xu is an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney Business School. He is currently in the United States as part of the Los Angeles Placement Program, offered by the Business School in partnership with the United States Studies Centre.

The last few days before my departure were hectic, but sitting here at 4am in a hotel room in Chicago, listening to the city starting to sputter to life makes it all worth it - in a weird jetlagged way.

Here’s the first of Eric’s not so wise words: Get started early. I literally booked my flights a week before I left and it was a frantic scrabble right up to the flight. In the week before I left, there were three days of training which went over the essentials that we needed to know. First, we were shown some excel wizardry, and then we went over the more manageable stuff, like setting goals and getting motivated to give a killer presentation.

I’m travelling for a bit before the program starts, so my first stop was Shanghai. It was actually the first time travelling by myself - normally I go with friends or family, but I feel like I took a big step of independence this time. Actually, I took a lot of them at a run because I almost missed my flight and I did that half run/half jog thing that you do when you have to go places fast but you want to look cool at the same time. I eventually started running in earnest because they were asking for an “Eric Zooo” to hurry up and get on the plane. That was the first time that happened to me too - a day for firsts it seems. Remember that first piece of advice? Yeah.

I don’t have all too much to say about Shanghai, but it was mainly eating and being sick. I’ve got this great ability to get a cold, start to get over it, then get a fever instead. So I had to change my Chicago flight to a day after my intended one, but I got to the airport early this time. Remember advice numero uno.

As soon as I got out of Chicago’s airport, I headed out to get a deep dish pizza with one of my roommates in LA, Dan. It was so good, oh so cheesy, but so very filling. The best way to describe it is like a big pizza pie, and then more. We’re still trying to get used to the tipping and tax being separate things to the price, and I’m pretty sure we’ve offended a couple of waiters already.

Dan and I getting overly excited by the deep dish pizza goodness

Chicago has this cold and serene beauty that is occasionally hard to remember whilst you’re being buffeted down the street, but look up once in a while and take in the amazing architecture that dominates the skyline. A girl told us it was so cloudy because vampires lived here, but then again we convinced that same girl that drop bears existed, so…

The John Hancock building

Starting to work and study here this month is a really exciting and unnerving prospect. I guess it hasn’t really sunk in properly yet, as there’s so much to see and do before we even get to LA. At the moment all I can think of is where to get a Pizookie and Chicago hotdog. You can see we have our priorities sorted.

This blog was originally published on the United States Studies Centre blog.