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Friday, 22 October 2010
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
The Indian Experience
Hi, my name’s Laura Crimmons and I’m studying BA Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University.
When I first got an email last summer about a volunteering module with a month long volunteering trip I was quite intrigued. I’d never really done any volunteering before but had always wanted to and I really wanted to experience another country and culture so I decided to go for it and I’m really glad that I did!
I was quite nervous before I set out on the trip as I really didn’t know that much about it or what to expect; I wasn’t sure what I would be doing, where I would be staying and I didn’t even know any of the people I was going with as we were from different courses. But nonetheless I was very excited and determined to stick it out no matter what!
Before we went we were asked to choose what volunteering placement we would like to do while in India so I chose to teach English as I’d been considering doing a TEFL course, so thought it might give me some insight into whether to pursue that.
As soon as I landed in India it was clear that there were major differences between England and India just as I had expected. Leaving the airport was pretty much chaos, as all the noises and the heat hit me I really wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for.
The drive from the airport to our home-stay was a real eye-opener; the roads seem to have no rules as they do over here. Everyone just drives and overtakes wherever they want, they hardly ever use indicators and they just beep constantly to ‘let you know they’re there’. Mixed in with that is the fact that the sides of the roads look like half an English farm with cows, goats and chickens wandering around all over the place and most drivers would rather run a human over than a cow! All in all the Indian roads are a very dangerous place to be and it took me quite a while to get used to it!
While in India we were all placed with families where we stayed and they cooked for us and generally looked after us. I stayed with another student with an ex-principal of a school called Mona and her maid. Mona was a very strict Christian but had never married. We lived about a 5-10 minute walk away from our placement at the Annasawmy School.
We started at our placement the day after we arrived in Bangalore and the school looked very different to an English school. It was a school for children from very poor backgrounds and the children were given a free lunch every day which was the main reason that most of their parents sent them there. There were three of us teaching at the same school; myself, Charlotte and Christianne. For the first few days we were restricted to just watching the teachers conduct their lessons before we actually started teaching ourselves.
Their teaching style was quite different to that over here, mainly they just wrote things on the board, asked the children to repeat it 10 times then write it down in their books. They did not check that the children understood the meaning behind what they were being taught; just as long as the children could recite it they were happy. The class sizes had between 40 and 45 children in each so we decided to divide each class up between us to make it more manageable. We had three classes a day; fifth standard, sixth standard and seventh standard. At first it was quite challenging teaching the children as they were not at the standard of English that we had been led to believe they were at so we really had to start from basics but, by the end of our stay, we could see a definite improvement. I found it really rewarding when I was teaching them something and you could tell at first that they didn’t understand then you could almost see the light come on and they got it.
We worked at the school Monday – Friday from 9am to 3pm so we had evenings and weekends free to spend however we wanted. I did not expect Bangalore to have many bars or clubs since it was so conservative and restrictive in so many other ways but we soon found that there were lots of different bars throughout Bangalore. It was very strange to go out over there though, as everywhere in Bangalore shuts at 11.30pm whereas in England we wouldn’t normally go to a club until about that time.
On one of our weekends we went away to a place called Mysore which is about 150km from Bangalore. While we were there some of us went to Dubare Elephant Camp where I got to bath and ride an elephant which is something I’ve always wanted to do so I was very happy! We also visited various temples and walked down 1000 steps (there seems to be a bit of an obsession with steps leading to temples!)
We spent our last weekend in a place called Hampi which is a historic town about 360km from Bangalore. It is most famous for the ruins and temples which its home to, one of the most famous being the Virupaksha Temple. Hampi was definitely my favorite place that we visited during the trip because it was so chilled out and relaxed. We stayed at a hotel in some huts with bench swings outside which overlooked the river and rice paddies, it was picturesque. I climbed my first mountain while I was there, climbed some more steps to another temple, went on a bike ride, rode on the back of a motorbike and even rode in a coracle.
I was very upset to have to come home from India and really wished that I could have stayed longer. My trip has opened my eyes to a whole different way of life and culture and it’s something I really would like to experience again. I’m very grateful that I was given the opportunity to go on the trip and it’s an experience that I will never forget.
Laura Crimmons
Leeds Business School
BA Public Relations
When I first got an email last summer about a volunteering module with a month long volunteering trip I was quite intrigued. I’d never really done any volunteering before but had always wanted to and I really wanted to experience another country and culture so I decided to go for it and I’m really glad that I did!
I was quite nervous before I set out on the trip as I really didn’t know that much about it or what to expect; I wasn’t sure what I would be doing, where I would be staying and I didn’t even know any of the people I was going with as we were from different courses. But nonetheless I was very excited and determined to stick it out no matter what!
Before we went we were asked to choose what volunteering placement we would like to do while in India so I chose to teach English as I’d been considering doing a TEFL course, so thought it might give me some insight into whether to pursue that.
As soon as I landed in India it was clear that there were major differences between England and India just as I had expected. Leaving the airport was pretty much chaos, as all the noises and the heat hit me I really wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for.
The drive from the airport to our home-stay was a real eye-opener; the roads seem to have no rules as they do over here. Everyone just drives and overtakes wherever they want, they hardly ever use indicators and they just beep constantly to ‘let you know they’re there’. Mixed in with that is the fact that the sides of the roads look like half an English farm with cows, goats and chickens wandering around all over the place and most drivers would rather run a human over than a cow! All in all the Indian roads are a very dangerous place to be and it took me quite a while to get used to it!
While in India we were all placed with families where we stayed and they cooked for us and generally looked after us. I stayed with another student with an ex-principal of a school called Mona and her maid. Mona was a very strict Christian but had never married. We lived about a 5-10 minute walk away from our placement at the Annasawmy School.
We started at our placement the day after we arrived in Bangalore and the school looked very different to an English school. It was a school for children from very poor backgrounds and the children were given a free lunch every day which was the main reason that most of their parents sent them there. There were three of us teaching at the same school; myself, Charlotte and Christianne. For the first few days we were restricted to just watching the teachers conduct their lessons before we actually started teaching ourselves.
Their teaching style was quite different to that over here, mainly they just wrote things on the board, asked the children to repeat it 10 times then write it down in their books. They did not check that the children understood the meaning behind what they were being taught; just as long as the children could recite it they were happy. The class sizes had between 40 and 45 children in each so we decided to divide each class up between us to make it more manageable. We had three classes a day; fifth standard, sixth standard and seventh standard. At first it was quite challenging teaching the children as they were not at the standard of English that we had been led to believe they were at so we really had to start from basics but, by the end of our stay, we could see a definite improvement. I found it really rewarding when I was teaching them something and you could tell at first that they didn’t understand then you could almost see the light come on and they got it.
We worked at the school Monday – Friday from 9am to 3pm so we had evenings and weekends free to spend however we wanted. I did not expect Bangalore to have many bars or clubs since it was so conservative and restrictive in so many other ways but we soon found that there were lots of different bars throughout Bangalore. It was very strange to go out over there though, as everywhere in Bangalore shuts at 11.30pm whereas in England we wouldn’t normally go to a club until about that time.
On one of our weekends we went away to a place called Mysore which is about 150km from Bangalore. While we were there some of us went to Dubare Elephant Camp where I got to bath and ride an elephant which is something I’ve always wanted to do so I was very happy! We also visited various temples and walked down 1000 steps (there seems to be a bit of an obsession with steps leading to temples!)
We spent our last weekend in a place called Hampi which is a historic town about 360km from Bangalore. It is most famous for the ruins and temples which its home to, one of the most famous being the Virupaksha Temple. Hampi was definitely my favorite place that we visited during the trip because it was so chilled out and relaxed. We stayed at a hotel in some huts with bench swings outside which overlooked the river and rice paddies, it was picturesque. I climbed my first mountain while I was there, climbed some more steps to another temple, went on a bike ride, rode on the back of a motorbike and even rode in a coracle.
I was very upset to have to come home from India and really wished that I could have stayed longer. My trip has opened my eyes to a whole different way of life and culture and it’s something I really would like to experience again. I’m very grateful that I was given the opportunity to go on the trip and it’s an experience that I will never forget.
Laura Crimmons
Leeds Business School
BA Public Relations
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
MBA Residential in Turkey
Hi, I’m Ajay Ganesh.
I currently study a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Leeds Business School. I’m originally from Chennai, India. I have enjoyed the challenge of the MBA, so far and when the course leader Ann Michaud, told us about the MBA residential in Istanbul. I knew we were in for a completely out of this world cultural experience.
I made sure I began my journey with no expectations, but endeavoured to enjoy and cherish whatever I faced. As soon as we stepped off the plane, the cultural change was evident and it was a completely new feeling for all the students and lecturers.
After this incredible experience, I will be writing a blog, so you can relate to all my experiences in Istanbul during the four day stay.
Istanbul is a city of almost 13 million people making it the largest metropolitan area in Europe. There’s a unique trend that associates itself to the city with its locality, as it extends both on the European and Asian side of the Bosphorus Straits. This makes it the only city in the world that's situated over two continents.
Walking out into the streets and my first attempt at speaking to the locals was an unbelievable experience. Take it which ever way you want, but I felt our university hit the right note when choosing Turkey for our MBA residential; it was a real test of our personalities.
Our schedules started with early mornings and ended with a 5pm finish. This allowed us enough time to roam around the city. I chose to walk around the city and I made sure I communicated with every Turkish national to completely submerge myself in their tradition and way of communication. I noticed most of our colleagues already started to complain about the food and communication problems they encountered on their first day. Two to three days down the line it was the complete opposite, every student just loved the city and enjoyed their stay.
Istanbul has a large Muslim community and a young population. It’s wonderful to see how open minded they’re to different cultures. I found a complete transformation as we travelled from the Asian side to the European side of Istanbul. Such a change from the hustle and bustle of the Asian side to an organized European side in such a small landmass is quite spectacular. I would call it an 'imperfection' which sounds so strange, but I will cherish this stay for the rest of my life.
After all our presentations with the two family owned business giants in Turkey ' Sabanci' and 'Koc' and seminars on the Turkish economy. The boat trip was a cruise dinner across the Bosphorus Strait. It was an evening to remember, to see the sunset in the horizons of this wonderful city, was a treat to watch.
I would like to thank you to all our tutors and administrators who accompanied us. It felt more like a family atmosphere with us singing and dancing to the Turkish music on the boat and the tutors joining in and singing along with us. It was a great feeling and I think our University has got it right by making us experience a different culture, not to forget interacting with the Executive-MBA students too. They’re students of vast work experience, thus, to interact with them through out this trip and gelling as a family together, it got the thumbs up from me. I have always been a person who is always ready to adapt to any environment and have a love for learning. This experience helped me to learn so much more and I am extremely privileged to be able express my feelings through this blog and I would like to thank the University once again for the same.
Another month in China has passed by...
Time goes very quickly for my travels here at the “Yellow Sea”. The past month was an explosive mix of cultural endeavours, culinary experiences and physical exercise. One more time, I turn back the clock and dive with my readers into the depths of the “Far East”.
The last months was peppered with many notable highlights, but only a few left a lasting impression. In Asia, some say that “seeing something once, is much better than hearing it a hundred times.” Looking closely at things, paying attention to details and living every moment to the full are firmly rooted in the oriental value system.
Now, I have reached the curious conviction that urban air contains actually valuable nutrition, it is alright to chuck refrigerators out of the window on the 18th floor and repeatedly press the elevator button making it supposedly move faster. You feel cheated if you do not get a full head- and neck massage at the hairdresser, start believing local newspapers and develop an uncontrollable urge to follow people with coloured caps and little flags. It is not surprising anymore, when three electricians with a ladder enter your room only to change one light bulb. Watching CCTV 9 makes you praise the great work of the People’s Republic government and start to think that a car is not fully equipped without a tissue box on the hat rack and a feather duster in the trunk. Fireworks no longer wake me up and using a fork or knife feels weird.
You get upset, when you enter a restaurant and only three waiters/waitresses greet you. I have to think directly of salted cuttlefish and it is apparently okay to stick your head in foreign houses to see, if anyone is at home. It appears that metal scaffolding is far more dangerous than bamboo scaffolding on construction sites, motorcycles with three passengers can easily pick-up another two and somehow, my nose feels weirdly large.
The more I am abroad, the more I realise that the greatest miracles happen at home. Many new impressions hit me every day, the information overload is big and you begin to appreciate the simple things in life. A small moment of peace and quiet is difficult to get in a bustling metropolis. Thoughts are spinning around my head with ambitious plans for a creating a bright future. It is certainly written in the stars, which path lies ahead of me, but I do not regret the long and stony way I came so far.
Thank you all very much for everyone’s honest advice and personal touch during my journeys – these always gave an edge and the motivation to go the extra mile.
Constantin (Xiao Kang)
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Leeds Business School student takes on China...
Constantin Quambusch
Leeds Business School
BA (Hons) International Business
Nǐhǎo,
An eventful month in China is over! Three additional, exciting and diversified ones in the Far East are still left...
This blog gives you an impression about my first couple of weeks abroad and shows Qingdao at a glance. Some additional pictures of the trip could be found on "flickr", please click HERE. Now, enjoy the cultural discovery.
The harbour city, with around 7.6 million inhabitants, is a petrified piece of colonial history. 1897/1898, the German Empire forced China to lease “Jiaozhou Bay”, which lies at the "Tsingtao" *, including the surrounding areas to Germany. 1914, Japan conquered the colony. 1922, it returned to China. Parts of the old town and the residential area "Badaguan" are well preserved and feature many European style houses. Even nowadays, mansard roofs and timbered imitations are used very often for new buildings. Behind many corners, you can admire many German style elements from more than 100 years ago.
Today, Qingdao is one of the booming coastal cities and famous as a fishing port on the Yellow Sea. In addition, the city is regarded as one of the most popular seaside resorts in China and was co-hosting, next to Beijing, the 29th Olympic Sailing Regatta in 2008.
Slowly, but steady the summer finds its way into the city and with it many Chinese tourists too, who practice karaoke nearly every night. The cherry blossom is widespread and temperatures allow a relaxed evening walk along the beach promenade.
Foreigners can be counted on one finger of one hand. Furthermore, you get used to be called "Long Nose" and usually serve for quite a few snapshots that could potentially be found again in some family albums, later. You are constantly pursued by an Asian pair of eyes and everyone marvels about the tall stranger. Moreover, people are really friendly and open-minded. English is not very common and therefore, body language is mainly used. Mandarin is a work-in-progress approach and needs still a lot of time to learn.
Working for “OTTO International" is varied, demanding and challenging. All colleagues are very kind, courteous and helpful. Human Resources, Auditing and Shipping departments are done. It follows Quality Assurance, Product Controlling and Merchandising.
The culinary specialities are completely different to the Western food, but everything is delicious, so far. Each province has its local dishes and every time, you are newly surprised about all of them.
Weekends are usually reserved for sightseeing, as work does not let much time left during the week. "Laoshan” is a picturesque mountain region (1,133 meters) with bizarre rock formations, canyons, waterfalls and China's most famous mineral spring.
There are definitely still many secrets to discover. Now, you can easily imagine how "Marco Polo" must have felt when he travelled the Far East, once. You should not try to explain the real China or understand the Asians. A proper answer can only be found with difficulty.
Zuì hǎo de wènhòu,
P.S.: * #1 consumer product exported from China & the #1 selling Chinese beer
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
China changed my life
Hi :)
My name is Marc Cowan, I’m currently studying BA (Hons) Business Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University and originally from Manchester. I have loved coming to university and really enjoyed the opportunities it has offered me.
One day however, there was one opportunity which really did stand out.
I received an email around Christmas time mentioning about a study china trip which was for undergraduate university students. I thought I would check it out to see what it was all about.
Little did I know this was really going to change a major part of what I would be doing in the next year.
The trip was the ability to go to china and learn Chinese at a university there, while also being able to have the chance to see many historic and new modern attractions. I decided to apply and fill out the form.
A few months later I was accepted onto the trip. There were over 2000 applicants in over 90 universities around the country and only 100/200 students got the places. So I was really lucky to be able to have been picked for the chance to come on this amazing trip.
Being able to have the chance to go to china was absolutely amazing. I had such an amazing time there and really discovered so much, not only about myself and being independent but to see the culture there and the way people went around there everyday lives.
We learnt Chinese in the mornings and then had most of the afternoons doing our own thing and being able to be independent and explore around china and see everything it had to offer. There were also organized events where we saw even more of china from the country side to the great wall. As well as during the trip I met so many people who were from universities all around the country, so made some great friends who I definitely will be staying in touch with.
After the 3 week study china trip, I also got the chance to go and stay with my uncle in Taiwan as seeing how I was over there; I may as well make the most of it and visit there as well as I was not far away
The entire trip has really opened my eyes to the world and has allowed me to really see what it has to offer and how china has such a major key part within the world today. I decided to keep a blog of everything I did.
So I hope you like it! And here it is!
My name is Marc Cowan, I’m currently studying BA (Hons) Business Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University and originally from Manchester. I have loved coming to university and really enjoyed the opportunities it has offered me.
One day however, there was one opportunity which really did stand out.
I received an email around Christmas time mentioning about a study china trip which was for undergraduate university students. I thought I would check it out to see what it was all about.
Little did I know this was really going to change a major part of what I would be doing in the next year.
The trip was the ability to go to china and learn Chinese at a university there, while also being able to have the chance to see many historic and new modern attractions. I decided to apply and fill out the form.
A few months later I was accepted onto the trip. There were over 2000 applicants in over 90 universities around the country and only 100/200 students got the places. So I was really lucky to be able to have been picked for the chance to come on this amazing trip.
Being able to have the chance to go to china was absolutely amazing. I had such an amazing time there and really discovered so much, not only about myself and being independent but to see the culture there and the way people went around there everyday lives.
We learnt Chinese in the mornings and then had most of the afternoons doing our own thing and being able to be independent and explore around china and see everything it had to offer. There were also organized events where we saw even more of china from the country side to the great wall. As well as during the trip I met so many people who were from universities all around the country, so made some great friends who I definitely will be staying in touch with.
After the 3 week study china trip, I also got the chance to go and stay with my uncle in Taiwan as seeing how I was over there; I may as well make the most of it and visit there as well as I was not far away
The entire trip has really opened my eyes to the world and has allowed me to really see what it has to offer and how china has such a major key part within the world today. I decided to keep a blog of everything I did.
So I hope you like it! And here it is!
Friday, 9 April 2010
Living Life in the Fast Lane - Part deux
Here's an update from Ben Grindrod a BA(Hons) Business studies & Management student at Faculty of Business & Law students talking about his trials and tribulations at Brands Hatch.
Ok, here it is in short..
Brands Hatch for me went really well for my first proper British Championship race meeting. Having started off quite steady in opening Free Practice being 15th fastest, which wasn't a problem as I'd not rode at Brands in the dry since September 2009 so it took me the session to get back upto speed again.
Qualifying was very positive, posting the second fastest time in qualifying one, in patchy conditions was a huge confidence boost for both me and the team.
Qualifying two was more of a difficult session, as we struggled for rear end grip coming off the turns. We had the bike handling really well, but just seemed to be having issues with grip. This resulted in dropping down to 8th fastest on the timing sheets.
With there being such a large entry for Superstock 600, the two qualifying groups (A and B) were merged to form the grid for the race. I was very frustrated at being 9th fastest throughout qualifying and ending up 15th on the grid due to this system, having lapped faster than a rider who was actually on the front row of the grid! However as they say, its the same for everyone.
I managed to put this out of my head or race day, and posted the 5th fastest time in morning warm-up prior to the Easter Monday race - things were looking good again!
Leading up to the race, I don't think I've ever been that nervous! Things didn't go well at the start and I didn't get off the line very well at all. I got 'boxed' on the first lap, ending up crossing the line for the first time in 20th place. I quickly got into a rhythm and started to pick riders off one by one, getting upto 15th by lap 11 with the rider in 9th well in my sights. My plan was to continue to pick one off every lap to gain as many championship points as possible. However, on lap 14, I may have carried a little too much speed into Paddock Hill bend when the rear went light and came round on me, spitting me over the highside, and that was the end of the race for me.
Not the end to the race I hoped for, as I'm confident I would have had some good points, but there are more positives than negatives to take from the weekend. We will take all the information learned at weekend, to Thruxton Round 2 and hope for a good race!
I'd like to thank all the Seton Interceptor Yamaha team for all their efforts, the team is mega!
Roll on Thruxton Round 2!
Qualifying was very positive, posting the second fastest time in qualifying one, in patchy conditions was a huge confidence boost for both me and the team.
Qualifying two was more of a difficult session, as we struggled for rear end grip coming off the turns. We had the bike handling really well, but just seemed to be having issues with grip. This resulted in dropping down to 8th fastest on the timing sheets.
With there being such a large entry for Superstock 600, the two qualifying groups (A and B) were merged to form the grid for the race. I was very frustrated at being 9th fastest throughout qualifying and ending up 15th on the grid due to this system, having lapped faster than a rider who was actually on the front row of the grid! However as they say, its the same for everyone.
I managed to put this out of my head or race day, and posted the 5th fastest time in morning warm-up prior to the Easter Monday race - things were looking good again!
Leading up to the race, I don't think I've ever been that nervous! Things didn't go well at the start and I didn't get off the line very well at all. I got 'boxed' on the first lap, ending up crossing the line for the first time in 20th place. I quickly got into a rhythm and started to pick riders off one by one, getting upto 15th by lap 11 with the rider in 9th well in my sights. My plan was to continue to pick one off every lap to gain as many championship points as possible. However, on lap 14, I may have carried a little too much speed into Paddock Hill bend when the rear went light and came round on me, spitting me over the highside, and that was the end of the race for me.
Not the end to the race I hoped for, as I'm confident I would have had some good points, but there are more positives than negatives to take from the weekend. We will take all the information learned at weekend, to Thruxton Round 2 and hope for a good race!
I'd like to thank all the Seton Interceptor Yamaha team for all their efforts, the team is mega!
Roll on Thruxton Round 2!
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