Preparing For Take-Off

大家好!

I leave for China in 30 days, on February 20th. My semester will start later than yours because classes do not resume in China until after the Chinese New Year holiday. So, bear with me as I get off to a late start.

Before I take off I want to give you all some context for my trip abroad. As a student of international business and leadership, I chose to study the Mandarin language and consequently learned about the culture surrounding it. I find that learning about other cultures, foreign and domestic, is beyond interesting and what better way to learn more than by experiencing it first-hand? Well, my majors both require that I study abroad, so the decision to travel to China was a quick and easy one.

Now I'm gearing up, literally and figuratively, to live on the other side of the globe for over three months. I can't help but think about the parallels I experienced during my trip to Beijing last summer. My goal for the trip is to immerse myself in those societal parallels so that I can build understanding of life from a new point of view in the context of business and leadership.

Ultimately, I want to continue my liberal arts application of business and leadership theories with a "boots on the ground" approach. So, ask as many questions as you'd like along the way and we can all make the most of my time abroad.

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Graham Nesselrode