StaceyGomm

July 22nd- It seems like the whole program has been passing around a bug. We haven’t traveled around the city much due to the heat and our sickness. We did manage to go shopping at a new mall on the other side of the city. We visited an apple store which was packed! There is shopping everywhere in Shanghai but all the clothes and shoes are too small to fit us. Sam bought me my first Frapacino at Starbucks, guess I’m city folk now. We tried to go out and hit the city but every bar we go to is filled with smoke. You’re allowed to smoke in the bars which are difficult for the group to handle. July 23rd- We visited the counter fit market again today. I picked up a lot of little trinkets ... read more

July 9th- We made it to Shanghai, China. We had breakfast at the airport and I had smoked salmon, YUM! Everyone is very tired. We took a bus to the New Harbor Apt Hotel. These apartments are spectacular, much better than Rome. Sam and I are sharing an apt together. I have two double beds to myself. We are also the only apt with a washing machine. The view outside our apt is fantastic. It reminds me of New York City only filled with Asian people. We walked to a little soup shop down the street and created our own soups. Our meal was $1 US dollar total. Everything is so cheap here. We had a walking tour of the city and visited peoples square, the subway and Nanjing Rd. Today is my father’s birthday but ... read more

June 27th- Start of week 4 Today is the start of the second half of the Rome semester. We started our new class Accounting for Reporting & Control (Professor Gingerella) and Macroeconomics & International Environment of Business (Professor Stodder). I had a great time in my Accounting class. It’s great to finally understand what mother does on a daily basis. I actually enjoy Accounting. June 28th- We finally had a half a day off. It was much needed. The second half of the day we travelled to Banca Finnat. It is a privately owned bank and we learned how Italian family businesses are run. Even these banks are located in thousand year old buildings with murals on the ceiling gold plated walls etc. I love doing site visits because they always provide wonderful food. Banca Finnat ... read more

June 17th: Today Grace, Chelsea and I all signed up for housing in Troy. It is a very similar situation to Orchard Trails in Orono only its graduate housing. We each get our own bathrooms. These girls are great and are getting excited to move to New York! Today was also the first free day we have had since we have been here. We decided to travel to Pisa. We took a 3.5 hour train there. We got scammed at the terminal. Our tickets weren’t printing and a nice man asked if he could help. We brought us to the terminal and one of the girls in the group gave him a few euros. The man replied. “This is all I get for helping 5 of you!” I couldn’t believe that he said that. We thought ... read more

Today I am writing you from Roma, Italia!!! It was a long flight and I am exhausted! We left Hartford at 1:00PM. We drove to JKF. The bus rides was interesting with multiple games of "questions," which I wrecked everyone. Just like quarters!!! Anyways, getting my tickets and going through security was no problem. Thank goddess since I had so much trouble with my passport. Some of the others students were on different planes but thank god we had Lorraine. Unfortunately they no longer have Wifi in airports so I couldn't get any of my work done. I had missed class on Monday so I was already behind. We explored the airport and had our last American meal McDonalds! We boarded our flight which took us to London. The flight took 7hrs. The did feed us ... read more