During the study abroad tour we have learned a couple interesting things about ourselves. One major thing would be that in Canada we have never really considered the field of foreign affairs. After meeting the trade commissioner at the Canadian embassy in Vienna, we realized that there is a whole world out there filled with opportunities in working in the foreign affairs field. The speakers from the UN were quite passionate about the projects they were working on. This inspired us because the work they do is actually contributing and benefiting the world at large. It made us rethink what we want our impact on the world to be. Before these presentations, we had never considered foreign affairs jobs or jobs with UN. This trip will make us definitely rethink our future paths and where we want to end up working. 

A second thing we learned about ourselves after living in Vienna is that, that would be the city we would want to live in. The culture of the city, the convenience  of the transportation systems and beautiful views are a couple reason why. Learning german is for sure at the top of our lists when we go back to MacEwan in the fall!

What was your biggest takeaway from your travels?

Self reflections

Working with a new partner is rarely easy, especially when you’ve never met.  Over the last two weeks, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and each other when it comes to working in pairs.  Luckily, we both seemed to have the same rare experience of working effortlessly along side each other on the blogging assignments.

Over the last two weeks I have had the pleasure of working alongside Lindsay on our blogging assignments. Since we were on the same flights from Edmonton to Vienna, we were able to communicate about the assignment early. This helped us specifically for the first blogs, as we already had gotten to know each other a little bit. We tackled the blogs together, so we were on the same page the whole time. There are always some worries with going into a group assignment with a stranger. I think everyone on this trip can relate to that. I am glad to say I had nothing to worry about :) -Matt

One of my biggest concerns about this trip was completing an ongoing assignment with a complete stranger…  Deciding to sit down and work together on the blog posts turned out to be a great decision, usually resulting in a very short amount of time needed to reflect, write and finalize our posts.  Thankfully, Matt and I were on the same page nearly every time, and on the rare occasion that we weren’t, it was easily resolved by sharing ideas and coming up with even better ideas for the blog topics.  Being Matt’s blog partner on this trip took away all the stress related to this assignment - something I have never experienced when working with a complete stranger! -Lindsay

Working with a new partner can go one of two ways… Either challenging, frustrating and overwhelming, or easy, stress-free and seamless.  Thankfully for us, it looks like we both shared the same thoughts about this assignment; that being, a successful two weeks of stress-free blogging.  We could not be happier about how the communication, writing and blogging process has gone, and looking back on the time spent working on the assignment, we can honestly say it was a pleasure to work together! Below is a photo of us (Matt and Lindsay), along with our scavenger hunt group mates on the first day of this trip. Luckily for us, the smiles did not fade!

What were some of the highlights you guys experienced while working with your blogging partner?

Final Blog: Self-Reflection

What stands out to me the most about my study abroad experience is how to collaborate with many different personalities and how to harmonize myself with our class, as well as with different cultures. I mentioned in Assignment 1 that I had limited travel experience and that I was very happy to go to several countries that challenged my self-confidence, while still having a collaborative team that could work off of each other to get the most out of each other’s education. Group dynamics gave me the opportunity to “go with the flow” while still actively aligning myself with whichever country’s culture I was living in.

I learned that I personally don’t always have the same energy level as many other people, but that there are ways to still keep involved with the group, without necessarily doing everything that the group does. For example, I got sick during the tour, which never completely went away and lowered my energy level; however, it was my opinion that despite this weakness in energy, that persistence would be needed to keep attending outings as I did not want an excuse for not going outside of my comfort zone through attending all the activities in our itinerary and improving myself as an individual. Many people on this study tour would go out in their free time, and despite my wanting to rest, I would only take this option if I felt I genuinely couldn’t do an activity in any reasonable capacity (Ex: skipping the Vienna pools). I would make an effort to actively listen more to others rather than trying to talk a lot and I focused on being involved even minimally in activities if I couldn’t involve myself fully.

Overall, I felt that I improved as a person and was able to overcome my concern for travelling internationally on my own. I look forward to travelling to many other destinations and I feel that I have MacEwan’s Study Tour opportunity to thank for that. Did anyone else grow or learn something about themselves that they otherwise wouldn’t have found if they’d stayed in Canada?

Hope to hear from you,

David Bell

Importantance of international business

Over this trip we have learned various way in which international business differs from domestic business. The most important difference is the size of the market they are able to reach. Domestic business are only able to reach markets directly around them, there is not much room for growth unless the population grows. However, international businesses can access many more markets from all over the world and the possibilities for expansion are more attainable.

Another key difference we noticed was on the rules and regulations of how these businesses operate. Domestic business only have to follow the domestic rules and do not need to worry about jurisdiction of disputes or unfamiliar standards. International business on the other hand has a much more complex procedure when it comes to creating contracts and penetrating into new markets. International businesses must follow regulations under the United Nations & possibly other agreements such as the Canadian European trade agreement or CETA.

We believe it is important to care about international business because as business students it could help us in our near future if we decide to open up our own businesses. Understanding how international businesses work and the laws that regulate them will help us make educated decisions on how to properly operate our business. Even if we decide not to make our own business after graduation while learning about international business we learned how to communicate with people from different parts of the world. As the world is becoming more integrated, learning how to converse with those from foreign places can help you go far in your personal life & the business world. In our future there is a high possibility that we could be working for a company that is not based out of Canada, after learning how different parts of the world work & operate we will be better prepared to handle this different environment.

Why do you believe international business is important?

Below is a picture from Ottakringer brewery, they export beers to various countries all over the world.

-Erika & Chris

Personally, being questioned about my level of global citizenship before attending the International Business Study Tour the response would have been quite positive. However, during the study tour, we tangibly experienced other cultures, causing a startling realization that my internal definition of global citizenship was figuratively accurate yet substantially different than reality. The definition of global citizenship normally contains many elements including awareness of culture, language, social relationships, and politics. Further definition of global citizenship extends to elements such as different types of food, entertainment, social functions, behaviours, and conventions which are quite unfamiliar. Surprisingly, knowing about language barriers is much different than experiencing them in person especially when being placed within an unfamiliar city. Applying this logic to other circumstances serves to highlight the potential for miscommunication especially with respect to complex political topics.

Considering, the study tour is nearing completion and we have experienced three distinct countries, with three distinct national identities, histories, languages, cultures, foods, and entertainment styles, our level of global citizenship has certainly developed. Originally, in Vienna, the differences seemed substantial and somewhat overwhelming. However, entering each new country we were provided with opportunities to exercise our newly developing skill set. Slovakia was easier to navigate than Vienna, and Budapest was easier to navigate than Slovakia, which directly resulted from skills learned during this study tour. Basically, the skills learned throughout the tour have prepared us for interacting with cultures on an international basis. Knowledge of the laws, institutions, and businesses in each respective country have provided multiple perspectives on important characteristics for consideration. In summary, being a global citizen involves personal willingness to interact with new cultures, learn new languages, try new foods, develop patience and keeping an open mind. 

Thanks for following our blog, all the best!

John and Cassidy

Self Reflection

§  What did you learn about yourself personally across this experience?

I learnt several things about myself during this experience, ranging in both depth and breadth. To start, I took in that first impressions are usually incorrect. For example, impressions and opinions that were generated from the meet and greet session, or even the pre-departure classes have transitioned to a much closer relationship with several people on this trip. A take away from this learning is to be cautious and aware, as well as able to restrain the want to form impressions and biases without the full picture knowledge, understanding that this of course can change over time and additional exposure to people and experiences. Additional things that were learned included the expansion of knowledge through multiple platforms, reaching much further than I had originally anticipated. I came into this experience a few weeks ago, unsure of my future educational path (post undergrad), unclear of my career path, and overall just a bit undecided in where I wanted to go next. As we work to wrap up this course I am looking forward to exploring master’s programs at home and abroad, have decided to come back to Budapest (with better weather), and am looking forward to applying for an internship with the United Nations. This experience helped me gain perspective on the various paths that are available to myself and my peers, while grounding us in understanding how privileged we really are, as Canadian students. Lastly, I am so excited to carry on the relationships that were unexpected with my peers long after this tour comes to a close.

Friends, what are you taking away from this course that you did not originally anticipate you would?

The Final Chapter - Erik and Jenna

This trip was an absolute amazing experience for both of us, with not one day that we didn't enjoy. We were both able to learn so much from each of the visits. 

Erik - This trip has made me want to focus my goals. I was able to open my eyes so much about what OPEC and the UN does. With Vienna, it was amazingly eye opening how everything works together, and how many different international organizations operate there. It was a clean and beautiful city. Comparing it to some cities at home, it was much nicer. It almost makes other places back in Canada seem lacking and dumpy. 

Seeing how much rich history has allowed people to really have a solid identity is amazing. People here, compared to home, seem to have so much more of a solidified identity. They want to share this culture with others and are really connected to the world around them. 

Jenna - The tour of the winery really stood out to me. The amount of passion Fritz had for his company was truly inspirational. The expression of 'find something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life' truly resonates with me. I aspire to find something that I love that much. 

The trade commissioner presentation was also eye opening for me. There is so much opportunity around the world. Coming in to this, I wasn't sure what to expect with each activity. After each, I was able to stand back and appreciate the passion and deep history that made each place truly striking. 

The way this group has been able to really get along with each other. With a group this large, there is always risk that things will not go well, especially when we are forced to spend so much time with each other for so long, away from home. We both feel that we were able to have a real conversation with everyone in the group at some point. 

Overall, this experience has been the bees knees! We both feel wonderful that we got to share so many great memories with such fantastic people!

What has been your favorite part of this trip? Was there anything that you did not enjoy? What was your favorite place we have visited and why? 

XOXO 

EJ

Date Night in Budapest <3

Schonbrunn Palace

Day one - Besties

Poppin' a squat in Budapeset