Group Project Issues

I am starting to have a few problems with my group in my class managing for change. We all had agreed to exchange papers last Thursday. Not to surprisingly, three out of five members did not show up with their paper. I agreed to have them do it for this weekend instead but so far they have not sent me anything. It will be interesting to talk to them on Tuesday to hear what they have to say.

I am done with my part and if they would be too, we would pretty much be done with the whole project, which is not due until week nine. It would feel terrific to have it done as early as possible, especially since it is so hard to work in groups when members do not seem to care about the outcome.

I feel very rested there days. I have a two-week break from my internship and the school projects so far have not been overwhelming. I have a test on Tuesday in small business management that I think I will have no problem doing. It is a very interesting class and the professor is very knowledgeable.

It is getting really cold in New York. The temperature is almost hitting the freezing point and I have had to wear a hat this weekend, which I by the way do not mind. Fall and winter is definitely my favorite times of the year.

My girlfriend had a cold a few days ago so I bought her Nyquil, which is a liquid cold remedy. It is interesting how powerful American drugs are compared to European ones. Both my girlfriend and I drank one dose each and briefly afterwards we fell asleep. We woke up at around 11 AM the next morning feeling good. This remedy is available without a prescription and I love it.

I need to plan my schedule for next quarter tomorrow. I am not sure which classes I have to take but I have a lot of electives to choose from. I hope that marketing logistics is offered because that is one of my last required classes. I also believe I need to take business strategy and development.

I am planning to go out with a friend to take some fall pictures in New York. We want to go to a place located in Upper Harlem, which is said to be a safe neighborhood. The view from there is supposed to be fantastic so I am excited to check it out. I also want to go to Central Park because the colors are beautiful at this time of the year.

I went out to eat at Chinatown in Manhattan with my girlfriend this weekend. The food is much more expensive than in the Chinatowns in Brooklyn and Queens because of the tourism and the food is not as “authentic” as there. I was quite disappointed by it and they were not generous in regards to the portions either. Luckily, there was a Burger King nearby.

Two Weeks Break

I have not written my blog for a long time now so I thought I should do it now. I have been very busy since I came back from Sweden but it will be a little calmer for me in the next two weeks.

I have two weeks of from my internship so I can focus on studying for a while now. I felt that I needed to relax for a while because I have had a lot to do lately. This weekend was wonderful and I have been taking it easy for most of the time.

I went to a Chinese restaurant in Flushing with my fiancée and a friend two days ago. My fiancée had read about it online and it had gotten great reviews. My first impression of the restaurant was a disappointment. The place looked pretty torn down and it did not smell too good.

We decided to give it a try anyway and the food turned out to be excellent. It was a pure Sichuan restaurant so the food was spicy and not greasy at all compared to all the Chinese-American restaurants around New York. I do not think I will go there again though because the environment was terrible.

My class in managing for change had to do an in-class case last Thursday. We had to use a model for change and try to find where certain activities should take place. I was the only one in my group with the book so everyone had to take turns reading it. This really frustrated me and I find it inexcusable.

We really did not have much time to understand and finish the material and I believe my group did really badly this time. We are going to talk about it tomorrow and since the case was worth 20 points, I really hope we will get an okay score on it. This really just strengthens my suspicions about group work.

I also read the syllabus for my online class in group dynamics. It looks like we will have a group work in that class too. This will be extremely difficult since I have no idea how to communicate successfully with people in my group. I really hope I will not have to do this.

It is getting really cold in New York now. I actually like it since the summer heat in New York is awful. I hope my landlord will turn on the heat soon and I do not think it will be a problem since he is a very good guy.

I have been thinking about going to restaurant Aquavit here in New York. It is a Swedish guy who owns it and the food looks terrific based on what I have seen on their menu online. I believe it is a pretty pricy restaurant but I want to try it since I am curious about how he has implemented Scandinavian food in the culture of New York.

Korean Food

This weekend, my fiancée and I celebrated our two-year anniversary. We decided to go out to eat Korean in Korean Town in Midtown Manhattan. There is a fabulous restaurant there called “Shilla,” which basically is a Korean Barbeque restaurant. I had been there ones before and so had my fiancée but we had never gone there together.

At first, I wanted to eat barbeque. I like the fact that they cook it on the middle of the table right in front of people. However, my fiancée wanted to eat something else and I found a few dishes that looked delicious so we decided to go for them instead.

I specifically wanted Job Chae, which is a certain kind of noodles that is served as an appetizer. I had it the last time I was there and I absolutely loved it. It was delicious this time also and the entrees we ordered were absolutely stunning.

They were served in some kind of hot stone bowls. I ordered beef with rice, which included all kinds of vegetables. We also ordered two other dishes that I forgot the name of. What I love about Korean food is that they give you several side dishes that are included in every meal.

I tried to replicate the Job Chae yesterday but it was not a hundred percent successful. It tasted great but I made it a little bit too spicy and I guess I used the wrong sauces. However, I will try again soon because it would be terrific if I could learn how to cook it since I like it so much.

I am still waiting for a book that I ordered from half.com two weeks ago. The seller does not respond to my emails, which is extremely frustrating. If he does not respond within a week, I am going to cancel the order and get a new book. Fortunately, I can borrow the book from our school library and do the assignments from there. However, I would prefer doing it from home.

I have also been unsuccessful in contacting one of my professor’s in an online class that I currently take. I have contacted the helpdesk and they were not able to contact him either. I talked to them again today and they provided me with the phone number to dean, which I will try to contact either today or tomorrow.

This has never happened to me before at Berkeley College and unless that professor’s email is not working, I will get extremely upset especially since it is an online class the only way of communication is through email or blackboard.

There is one question that, especially, Swedish people ask me regarding studying abroad. It is: “Is it hard to get over the language barriers?” The answer to this question is a big NO! Especially Swedish students have nothing to worry about and I have seen students that barely speak English do okay in class because they use some kind of translators.

First Week of School

My first week of school is finally over. I must admit that this probably felt like one of the longest weeks of my life. I came back from Sweden in the evening last Sunday and had to go to work the following morning. I was quickly assigned new work tasks so it was busy at work.

On Tuesday I had to go to my first classes, which was managing for change and small business management. I was very skeptical about managing for change since I had read we had to do a group work lasting for nine weeks. Now afterwards, I am somewhat more optimistic.

My group seems to be better than the one I was assigned last quarter. I am going to try to organize the work better too and I told everyone to bring back his or her part in two weeks so that we can put everything together in time. We are going to work with Boeing, which is a company that I find very interesting. It is definitely a plus that we were assigned that company.

The professor has a doctor’s degree and apparently very smart. I have not gotten to know her very well yet but I hope she will bring great knowledge to the class. However, we had to do something I thought was a very stupid exercise the first class. Everyone had to introduce him or her to each person in the class and write down something he or she found he or she had in common with that person.

This took maybe 20 to 25 minutes and after the exercise nothing was asked and the notes we had taken about common characteristics could be tossed away. This is something I will never understand. I understand that it is important to network and communicate with people but at this stage in college, I find it extremely ridiculous and unnecessary.

My professor in small business management is very interesting and entertaining. He is very smart and I definitely believe this class will help me get a deeper understanding of how to start a business, which is something I can think myself doing someday.

I also have two online classes this quarter. They are group dynamics and market research. Group dynamics is a class I had rather skipped because I do not think it will bring anything new to the table but I have to take it as a requirement. I should have taken it much earlier in my education but I never found it convenient.

Market research will probably be very interesting. I hope to learn a lot from it and I am looking forward to working with students and the professor to find new innovative ways of doing and analyzing research.

The weekend is finally here and I will try to enjoy it as best I can. I am planning to go out to eat a nice dinner with my fiancée to celebrate our two-year anniversary, which I am really looking forward to. Tonight, I will probably drink a glass of white wine, watch something on TV and just relax.

Back in New York

I came back from Sweden yesterday. Like I expected, I did not suffer much from jet lag, which was well appreciated. However, I had to go to work today so I had basically no time to relax after my short visit in Sweden. I have been given new assignments at my internship and it feels refreshing to start with something new even though it is connected to what I did before in a few ways.

The flight was great and I felt very happy with my seats. On my way to Sweden I sat at the emergency exit, which meant a lot of space. On my way back to New York I sat right behind the economy extra section, which gave me an advantage in getting off the plane faster than most other people in the economy class. I usually prioritize that since the line often is huge at the customs in the United States.

Tomorrow will be my first day in school since last quarter. I am looking forward to meet my new professors but I am skeptical about one of my classes. I read the syllabus online a few days ago and it explained that there would be a group project that will last for nine weeks.

Based on my experiences from last quarter, I am not optimistic at all about it. Last quarter I ended up having to do the whole project by myself since my two other teammates were too lazy to do it. I was really hoping that I would not have a group project for this quarter so I will see what I can do. I might drop the class and take another one to replace it.

I got straight A’s again last quarter. That means my GPA remains at 4.0, which makes me feel extremely happy about myself. It takes a lot of effort to get straight A’s especially since some classes people have to take do not interest them. I always try to make the class as interesting as possible by asking questions and looking things up. This is one way of guaranteeing a good grade.

I went to Chinatown in Brooklyn yesterday to buy some groceries with my fiancée. We went there right after I had arrived from the airport. I took a shower first though and realized I did not have anything nice to wear. I put on a shirt and some trashy pants and when we went out I had a feeling of freedom. Since it is New York, no one cares what people wear or what they look like. In Sweden, people are very judgmental and it is a very different environment.

That is the biggest reason of why I love New York. People can be themselves and no one has to worry about being judged or stared upon. It is also getting colder in New York, which makes it much more comfortable to walk in the city. I am really looking forward to Christmas and walking late at night and contemplate decorations.

Five Days in Sweden

I have been in Sweden now for five days. I have met some friends and been with my family and it has been really great. However, I actually miss New York now and I am looking forward to come back.

I am going to my mom’s place tomorrow but I will enjoy a nice dinner before going there. My dad will cook something, which I am really looking forward to since he is a great chef.

My dad got a dog a few months ago and it has been fun to play with it. It is still young though so it has lots to learn. It is very cute and playful but I wish it could be a little calmer sometimes.

I went to meet a few good friends today. I have not seen them for years and it was good to finally meet them again. I must say they have not changed much but I really do not mind. I like to see them being themselves. That is one thing that makes it worth to come back because it makes you feel like you are home in a way.

I bought some books online yesterday. Two professors have already posted the syllabuses for those classes, which is great because then I do not risk of falling behind the first week when waiting for the books. I am still waiting for two syllabuses though so I hope the professors will post them soon.

I think it will be very easy for me to adjust to New York time again. The last few days I have not been able to sleep at night so I have fallen asleep at around 2 AM. This is actually pretty good because that means I will not suffer from severe jet lag when arriving to New York.

My blog will also be found on GoStudy’s website in the future. It is a Swedish organization that helps students apply to college abroad. I hope to be of help to the ones who need it and I urge everyone who has questions to contact me. I know that applying to college abroad can be tricky but I also know how to do it in an easy way.

My mom will celebrate her birthday party on Saturday. The guests who are invited to not know I am here so they will probably be very surprised to see me. I am really looking forward to meet all of them because it has been more than two years since last time. It is family events like that I really miss when I am in New York.

It has been pretty difficult to write my blog lately mainly because I do not feel I do many things here in Sweden. Being with friends and family is mainly why I came back. I went to a laser shooting game last weekend with my family, which was very fun. We also went bowling like I said before. Other than that, just being with family members is a great thing and it is something you learn to appreciate when you are away from them over long periods.

Sweden

I am in Sweden right now. The flight was great because I sat at the emergency exit so I had a lot of space. The person next to me was interesting and nice to talk to. Also, he did not talk too much so he was not annoying. He was from Germany and he also lived in Brooklyn and it is always nice to meet someone with common characteristics.

I felt extremely weird when arriving to Sweden. To me, everything felt regulated in a way that is difficult to describe. I guess New York has made me felt freer. In Sweden, everyone dresses the same and there are barely any overweight people. It feels life everyone aims for perfection, which I personally do not like.

It has been great to see my family. My mom has taken me too the Swedish version of Friday’s and it was really fun to try their food. They had to ask us to cut our steaks to see if they were broiled in a satisfying way, which made me feel doubtful about their food. My steak was great but it was bloody and not medium like I ordered. Luckily, I do not mind eating bloody steak.

Other than that, their food tasted great. I had fried potato skin for starter and I really liked it. Their mashed potatoes were very similar to the American version with cheddar cheese and everything in it. I would go there again if I would not live in New York, but they have to practice on how to broil the steaks.

I have also played a lot of Wii with my brothers. They really liked it and I must say I enjoyed it too. It is really fun to play golf, baseball, and boxing games because you have to really move your arms and play in an authentic way. It has become quite a challenge to play with my brothers because they are really good at it and I am not. It is fun to try to beat them though.

We also went bowling the first day I arrived. I was pretty tired that day because of the jet lag, but the bowling made me very energetic. I believe I won the last round and I ended up at third place the first round. I was impressed with my game actually since it has been so long since I played last time and because I played pretty well.

I have also been driving a lot. I have borrowed my mom’s, my dad’s, and my grand parent’s car since I came here and I really enjoy driving. I have done some shopping for my girlfriend and I really hope the shirts I bought her will fit. I am thinking about going there again to get a bigger size just in case they do not fit. I guess it is better to buy a bigger size than a size that is too small.

I am going to take a lot of pictures but so far I have not taken a single one. I have been quite busy with socializing with my family. Tomorrow might actually be a good day to take picture so I will try to do so.

I have also met my dad’s dog. He just got it actually so I have been excited to meet it. It is really energetic and it loves new people. It is hard to cuddle it because it is so excited all the time but I still think it is cute. I am going to try to meet a few friends while I am here so I really hope they are available.

Niagara Falls

I am on the bus to New York, on my way home from Niagara Falls right now. The trip has been very exciting and seeing the falls was a wonderful experience. The tour has been quite stressful because the schedule has been pretty packed. Sitting on the bus for a total of 13 hours has also been quite agonizing.

On our first day, the bus took us to Thousand Islands. The bus left at 8 AM in the morning and we arrived well in time for the departure. The bus stopped a couple of times so that people could go to the restroom and also so they could get something to eat.

We arrived to Thousand Islands at 4 PM after seven hours of driving. I did not really know what to expect before arriving there but now afterwards, I must say that I feel quite disappointed. Thousand Islands really is not much more than a small town with a few islands and with a lot of wasps.

I paid for a boat tour that lasted for about one hour. It was fun to travel by sea for about thirty minutes and then it got quite boring. I would rather stay in the small town and have a drink than taking the tour.

After the tour, the bus headed for a Chinese buffet restaurant. For $14 people could eat as much as they wanted until the bus left an hour later. The buffet included everything from salmon to Korean. I had a lot to eat including fried fish, potatoes, noodles, fried rice, Chinese chicken, biscuits and ice cream for dessert.

After dinner, we headed towards Niagara Falls. We arrived at around 10.30 PM and I was looking forward to see the falls at night. With Canada in the background, the view was absolutely fantastic. The falls were lit up with huge spotlights, which made everything look beautiful.

I was surprised of how wet I got. It literally feels like being in the middle of a storm when you are close to the falls. It gets both windy and wet. The tour guide stressed us a little and wanted to leave after only 30 minutes, which was a little frustrating. However, I felt a little tired too and I knew we would come back the next day.

I thought the hotel, which was included in the package, was going to be pretty poor. I expected pink walls and flower patterned sheets but I turned out to be wrong. The hotel was absolutely terrific and had actually just been built. Everything was very clean, the room was big, and it was very quiet.

We got up early the next day. The falls definitely looked different in the day and it was obviously much easier to see the falls. I took some great pictures there that I am really happy with. We also took the “Maid of the Mist” boat tour, which takes people extremely close to the falls. That was a fantastic experience and extremely fun. Everyone who goes to Niagara Falls should take that tour.

This trip has been exceedingly fun and exiting. It was definitely worth taking the bus even though I have spent so many hours on it. Right now, I am looking forward to come home and sleep in my own bed.