Just some thoughts on our trip.

We owe the guys with laptops a big thanks for keeping everyone informed for us. I personally have a desktop at home and was not comfortable taking my work laptop with me, so I suppose I am a bit late getting comments in, but hope you are all still reading. Internet access in public spots was not as readily available as we thought it would be – and when it was, it was expensive. We also owe the “Drs. Peppas” a huge thanks for the preparation that they put into our trip. Everything was perfectly scheduled and arranged for us. Their connections in Europe and their expertise in organizing the Studies Abroad excursions certainly made this trip a great learning experience, and it could not have gone more smoothly!

I have been to Europe many times to visit acquired family, and I actually have to travel to France at least once a year to work with my French colleagues. This experience was very different and I am so thankful that I went. Please don’t let the fact that you have been to Europe dissuade you from signing up for the next Studies Abroad trip. This is not your vacation trip – it is about learning about business and economics in other cultures, as well as the people and the language – and it was fun!

The European Parliament visit was where we started our trip and I have to say, it is very impressive. We heard many languages spoken from the groups on the steps of the building as we stood outside. I would have to say that this is one of my favorite stops on the trip. I wish we could have stayed longer. We could have asked questions for hours.

The corporate visits were one of the most important parts of the trip for me. It was great learning about the culture and immersing ourselves in the social aspect of the cities, but hearing how European businesses were affected by 9/11 and the Enron scandal was an invaluable experience for me. I knew that the Enron scandal resulted in Sarbannes-Oxley in the US, but I just never thought much about how it would have affected European businesses. As consumption of goods changed in this country after 9/11, it also did the same in Europe so their markets were also affected by both of these occurrences. I found it interesting how many different ways that the exchange rate plays an important role in profits for businesses in Europe. Some businesses actually buy parts/raw materials in euros, but sell their product in dollars. It’s easy to see that this could have a financial impact for them.

My topic to report on for this class was the business of Champagne Production, so the visit to the Champagne Bureau was a special treat. When we guffaw at the French for their frustration with US producers calling our sparkling wine by the name “champagne”, we should stop to think. It was illustrated to me very simply - oranges from any other state should not be called Florida oranges; salmon from the rivers of New York should not be called Alaskan Salmon. I am sure there are many more examples we could think of to illustrate this point. The French are adamant that only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France should be called Champagne. This certainly gives us something to think about. I know I now agree with the French on this point. I wasn’t so sure of this when I left on the trip.

This trip also made it abundantly clear how important learning a foreign language can be. My French is barely passable, but I felt that I did not have much trouble communicating – because many people in Europe - France particularly, speak English. How many stores could visitors from Europe go to in this country where they could readily find someone who spoke French or German? Think about having to go to a pharmacy in Europe to find something you really need and simply not being able to ask for it. Thank goodness, they usually have an English speaker available in Europe. My colleagues in France often apologize for getting confused with tense of words when writing e-mails in English. I always tell them it’s a good thing they don’t have to interpret my French! They have made much more of an effort to learn our language than we have theirs. I have made it a goal to get out my Rosetta Stone CD’s and get busy on improving what little French I do know.

While I really enjoyed our travels to Europe, I have to agree with Joanna, that it was great to return to the good ‘ole US of A. This is home and where it is easiest for us to communicate and where we are the most comfortable. It was also a great experience to learn something new about traveling in other countries and rewarding to get to know my fellow travelers better. This is a trip full of memories – many of which we captured with cameras, and many that we will simply talk about for quite some time. Don’t miss your opportunity when Studies Abroad rolls around next year!