A.C. Nielsen Presentation

HAYDEN'S CUP OF TEA

June 30 , 2009

After a wonderful weekend in Ireland we all knew to be prepared to work hard when we cameback from our weekend excursion. The Oxfam group had to present their final results and presentation to the company Monday morning and my group, A.C. Nielsen, followed the next day on Tuesday. Over the past two and a half weeks our A.C. Nielsen project group has been collecting data. Within our group we were split into three smaller groups to researchchocolate bars, soft drinks, and gum/mints. I was placed in Group I that was assignedchocolate bars.

At the beginning of the month the A.C. Nielsen project group toured Nielsen and had a meeting with Mark Gillespie, Vice President of BRIEF (another marketing company within Nielsen that specializes in the marketing of new goods.) Within our meeting we were given the task of analyzing the consumer behavior of the purchasing of chocolate bars, soft drinks, and gum/mints. Nielsen proposed to us a theory that had been given to them by a chocolate bar manufacturer and our assignment was to prove if this theory held true or not:

One-Third Theory

• 1/3^rd – of consumers know exactly what they want to buy-type of product and brand (for example Snickers).
• 1/3^rd - of consumers know what type of product they want to buy, but were not sure about the brand.
• 1/3^rd – of consumer were not consciously planning to buy a product at all, but still end up choosing one.

After receiving the project and proposed theory our group returned to the classrooms in our homes and started composing surveys among the three groups. Our surveys all targeted and took into consideration the following guidelines:

–Age

–Gender

–Profession

–Education

–Marital Status

–Place of purchase

–Brand / Non-brand buyer

–Frequent / Infrequent buyer

After each of our groups compiled our own surveys to address the needs of specific individual products we hit the streets of Oxford and surveyed 600 people all together. Each group surveyed 200 people and tried to keep the male/female ratio the exact same. After interviewing consumers in Oxford for about a week our next tasks was to compile our data into a power point presentation and reveal our results.

My group that researched the behavior of consumers buying chocolate found that almost 50% of people buy chocolate simply on impulse and the other 50% plan on buying chocolate when they enter a store. We further more broke down the percentages for A.C. Nielsen in our presentation.

In our presentation we went beyond explaining our results compared to the 1/3^rd Theory. We also analyzed the shopping locations of different age groups, buying behavior of married vs. single persons, and the clientele of consumers (who they are buying the chocolate for). We concluded the power point with suggestions of filling white spaces for chocolate bars for the elderly along with more vending machines since only 3% of the consumers surveyed purchased a chocolate bar at a vending machine.

Before arriving to A.C. Nielsen in the taxis all of us were quite nervous to present our results to A.C. Nielsen.. naturally. We were all thinking oh my goodness they already know all that we are going to tell them (being one of the largest marketing research companies in the world) and only a few people will show up. However, we were pleasantly proven wrong. Upon entering the presentation room and after hooking up our computers, many employees of A.C. Nielsen started to fill the room. There were at least 20 staff members there that work under Mark Gillespie. Personally I am not the biggest fan of public speaking and I just happened to be the one presenting our chocolate research, but I was really surprised how easy it was to talk to them. The staff was very interested, nodding their heads agreeing, following along in our booklets we provided for them, and just very relaxed. The presentation went very well and we felt very confident about what we had to offer and present to them.

I cannot begin to tell you how awesome of an opportunity this was to enter a successful marketing company and do hands on research, especially abroad. You just cannot get that kind of practice anywhere and I was quite nervous about presenting but now that I think back…. it was the best kind of practice I could have asked for. I can now put this presentation and research in my portfolio along with studying abroad on my resume. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to study abroad and I know for a fact that this will not only be a once in a lifetime experience but also an experience that will benefit my career and knowledge of international business in years to come.

tales of IRELAND

HAYDEN'S CUP OF TEA

June 26-28, 2009

Cork

Cork is an amazing city in Ireland just on the coast that is filled with history and a wonderful atmosphere. Just as our group arrived to Cork we went straight to the hostel to see if we could get an early check in, but once again no one would let us check in before twelve. So instead we went across the street to a little restaurant. Here we had the most amazing Irish breakfast! Three layers of toast, bacon, sausage, fried eggs, and lots of Irish butter! It was the most filling breakfast sandwich, but quite delicious! The poor man that owned the restaurant was the only one working and had to make thirteen of those sandwiches (we left him a good tip).

Our hostel turned out to be pretty nice, they provided breakfast in the kitchen and a common room with computers and Internet! The only place we have been to far that had free Wi-Fi!

Cork also had some amazing food! One night the group decided to split up for dinner since its hard for little restaurants to sit and serve thirteen, so a few of the girls went to Luigi’s. It was a great Italian restaurant that seemed to be very popular and was recommended to us by locals. Sarah Prowell and I split the fettuccini pesto pasta entrée that was delicious with garlic bread! Afterwards we went to our favorite ice cream place of all time, GiGi’s Pizzeria. They offer homemade ice cream. Just a side note… this ice cream beat everything we have gotten on this entire trip including ice cream in London, Oxford, Paris and even gelato in Italy! We all had strawberry cheesecake (my much loved flavor.)

Blarney Castle

We took the bus from Cork to Blarney.. what a wonderful way to see the countryside of Ireland! Blarney is a MUST. Cork is very fun and pretty but Blarney is true Ireland. Here we toured the castle and KISSED the Blarney stone.

Afterwards we walked all around the grounds of Blarney. You can really spend an entire day there just walking around the stables, lake, mansion, and many fields. We took a picnic lunch and ate it just off the lake. It was a gorgeous day and we could not of asked for better

weather. Just on the other side of a little barbed wire fence was a magnificent HILL. We all just could not resist, so we all hopped the fence. Except for poor Sarah she lost her balance on John’s knee and fell to the other side but she was a trooper! The first to go up was none other than Shadow (Michael). He sprinted up the hill all by himself and we were quite impressed it was a steep hill! Soon after he and John decided to roll about halfway down the hill (it wasn’t as easy as it looked).

Next was our turn we also walked up the hill (didn’t choose to run like the boys) and one we got to the top it was the most beautiful view. Below as was the lake and to the right Blarney Castle and Mansion. To the left was another little village and other than that were lush rolling green hills and lots of black and white cows. It was so nice we could have just sat there all day.

Kinsale

On our last day we left early that morning and took a bus to Kinsale, a little port town about forty-five minutes from Cork and had a wonderful afternoon there. Since our plane did not leave until six o’clock that night we had almost a full day to spend in Kinsale.

First we went to a coffee/pastry shop called Jo’s, famous for their hot chocolate and for good reason. They literally take these wonderful chocolate chips and melt them right into your mug with steamed milk. YUM. Kylah loved it so much that we went back later that day just before our bus left for seconds!

After our superb hot chocolate and scones we headed to the port that was filled with so many sail boats! We walked along the docks and even saw a seal! We were just looking our over the water and taking pictures and all the sudden a little seal just popped up out of nowhere and just looked at us for about ten seconds and then went back down. There were also lots of tiny little jellyfish in the water too! As we walked further down there was a place that many had washed up and this is when Lacy reached down to touch one! She figured if they did it on Finding Nemo then it would be okay. After walking up and down the port we

decided to head back toward the side of town we had first stopped in. The lady at Jo’s had recommended we go to a restaurant called Fishy Fishy if we really wanted to experience Kinsale’s well known gourmet seafood.

Here we all had seafood chowder and it was wonderful! Very filling and great flavor (twice as good as Copper Creek’s chowder and that is saying a lot!) They also served sourdough bread and whole wheat bread with the chowder that just topped it off.

As we left Fishy Fishy it started to rain so we went in search for souvenir stores and boutiques! We found a great linen store and gift shop that happened to be right by Jo’s so Kylah managed to get her second cup of hot chocolate before heading back towards the bus.

The dreaded night train….to beautiful Venice.

HAYDEN'S CUP OF TEA

June 21-22, 2009

This entry entails our never to forget seven hour night train experience and our lovely time in none other than Venice. Hold onto your seats through the train and gondola stories!

Our group had the brilliant idea of taking a seven-hour night train to Venice to save money on a hostel and to save money by not buying a plane ticket. At the time it sounded like a great idea. We met at the train station in Rome that Saturday night. Our train was scheduled to leave at 10:30. It arrived late at 11:00 and was not like the other double decker trains that we had seen with the nice seats and headrests. No this train was covered in graffiti, all the windows were down, there were random people sticking there heads out of the window, each carriage had about six cabins, and you could here it roaring from a mile away. We entered open minded but anxious. Once we found our carriage, then our cabin, we thought we were set…. but no. We entered our cabin that was reserved for six of us and there were exactly six seats, however, there were only four seats open. There sat a man and his wife from Napal. Our first thought was oh they are just resting and didn’t realize that this is their stop. Wrong. We open the door and we show them our tickets and they refused to budge. The man was huge and quite intimidating especially when he was mad. He said quote (in a Nepal accent if you know what that sounds like) “We come from NAPAL these are our seats! WE ARE NOT going to move! Find your own!” Followed by Cara Fullerton chewing them back out and saying along the lines of “Well we bought these seats yesterday and they are reserved. We have our tickets right here, we paid for these seats and you don’t even have a ticket so you need to move!” So, as you can imagine the night did not start off so well. After making the Nepal people mad none of us could sit in the carriage because we were scared they would do something to us. Instead we had to stand in the tiny two feet wide walking hall that goes throughout the train.

Before departing Lacy leapt out of the carriage and ran down to the head of the train to catch a conductor for help, but there was a slight problem. No one on the train spoke English… just pure Italian. Luckily we found a guy about our age waiting for the next train that could translate but he said we would have to wait till the conductors came down to check everyone’s tickets. We had no idea how long that would be anywhere from ten minutes to a couple of hours. Luckily we only had to wait about thirty minutes but it still felt like a horribly long time because we were all standing with our backpacks still on. Finally all three of the conductors came down and kicked them out of there seats. I had to slip into the next cabin because they were so mad when walking by, but we were just happy to have a place to sit after that. We entered the cabin and it smelled awful but we all had good attitudes about it and tried really hard not to complain. Luckily I cam prepared I had my neck pillow, sleeping mask, and earplugs. I even had a couple extra pairs of earplugs that I gave to Kylah and Sarah because they were closest to the window. We all sat facing each other, three on one side and three on the other. The seats slid out kind of like recliners do but not near as comfortable. I somehow managed to fall asleep even with the loud roaring noise and no air conditioning. The conductor awakened us again at 2:00 a.m. She checked and tore our tickets once more. It was an unpleasant surprise we all thought the ride was over, but we still had three whole more hours to go! I was able to fall asleep again thanks to my earplugs and woke up just as we were coming into Venice. We arrived around 5:00 a.m. and had many stories to tell each other since the entire group wasn’t in one carriage. Being so early we knew we had no chance of checking into our hotel so we opted for a park just across the bridge by the station.

The park was very nice and had a play area at the front, but most importantly several benches. Everyone collapsed one the benches as you can see in the picture. We were there for a LONG time and I started to feel a little sorry for myself considering the train night the night before and then being homeless in Venice for six hours, but I had to remind myself that it would be a memory that I could back on and laugh about.

Around nine in the morning we headed for the McDonald’s to eat something for breakfast and to stall until we could check into the hotel. We walked up and down the main street that lead to Saint Mark’s Square and went into many different shops that ranged from Italian leather purses and cases, to famous Venetian glass and masks. We finally got to check into the hotel by noon and the rooms were amazing! We all showered and rested after our long day and previous night.

The rest of our fun and relaxing trip to Venice was filled with:

Saint Mark’s Square

Here we ran into the Stewart family! Crazy and small world that we would run into our Finance Professor! In the square there are a million pigeons.. they are literally everywhere! There are also some amazing glass galleries and great restaurants that are set in the middle of the square so you can enjoy the magnificent view of St. Mark’s and the rest of the square.

Gondola Ride

Even though it is a pretty steep price to go on this boat ride it is SO worth it. (Well maybe not to the guys… All the girls accidently hopped in a gondola all together and left the five guys to all ride in a gondola by themselves. So basically they went to Venice with eight girls and ended

up having a romantic ride with just guys.) But as I was saying it is a great great way to see Venice and all the canals. They even let you get up and steer! If you don't take a gondola ride its pretty much the same as going to Paris and not going to the Eiffel Tower. Its a must!

Gelato!

No matter where you are in Italy you must always find a way to eat gelato! While in Venice we had it at least twice a day! I suggest Raspberry Yogurt (my all time favorite!)

Group Devotional

On Sunday night we all decided it would be a good idea to have a devotional just outside of the park. It was a great time to reflect on our trip, and thank God for our safety and to give thanks to Him for such an awesome opportunity.

Overall Venice was a great way to end our trip to Italy. After the lively and busy Rome, Venice was quaint and much more relaxing. We definitely left with some stories and memories that I will never forget!

"THIS IS....Athens?"

-Where In The World Is Shay?-

Music becomes a comforting thing while traveling, especially abroad. It seems that whatever you have on your iPod is some of the only english you will hear for a long time. As I was drifting in and out of sleep on our late flight to Italy yesterday, I woke up to the song "Home" by Michael Buble. Its opening words are "Another summer day, has come and gone away, in Paris and Rome, and I want to go home". After being through Paris and Rome, this song hit me hard. Its been almost a month and a half and so much of that has been traveling, studying, and trying to find someone who speaks english. I'm ready to be back where I can drive, sleep as late as I want, have free refills and talk in my native tongue. Ok, enough complaining. As I type these words, I'm in my hotel in Italy. This is simpy a rest stop before we head out to Spain tomorrow. Since Thursday, I have been in Greece. I must say, the Greeks caught me off guard. Although this will be no 300 tale, let me share my thoughts of my own Greek Odyssey...

After problems with baggage in the London airport, a delayed flight and problems in the Athens airport, we were able to communicate with a cab driver and got to our hotel in downtown Athens. The next morning, we went and visited the famous Acropolis. Atop the Acropolis is the Parthenon, Propylaea, Temple of Athena Nike, Erechtheion as well as other temples. The view from the Parthenon was mind blowing. This temple was dedicated to the goddess Athena and was built in the second half of the 5th century BC. I have personally always been a fan of ancient greek history and coming to Greece was the one place I have wanted to travel more than anything.
Atop this hill and next to the Parthenon was all I could ask for. After seeing movies like 300, The Odyssey and many other Greek history films, it was so incredible to see the ancient structures that have been talked about for centuries. The Greeks are a proud race and an incredible past. Seeing and reading about things like the Parthenon gave me a taste of their life. After we made our down from the hill, we went to the old Olympic Stadium from 2004. It was eerie as we walked through the Stadium because it was bare. It was as if we were the only people on the planet at the time. Everything was forgotten about and you could tell by the way things were kept. Although it was empty, you could picture how impressive the stadium was and feel the history in the place, being that the Olympics originated in Greece.
We were able to see the pool where the swimming happened as well as the indoor track for biking. Shortly after, it started raining and we gladly took the metro back to our hotel and had an early night. We had an olympic mount of Greek history swirling around in our heads and it made me want to crash. The next morning was July 4 and we had a little celebration in mind...

Sunglasses, suits and bags in hand, we boarded a ferry for the Greek island of Aegina.
It took about an hour and we were able to view other islands along the way as well as water that rivals the blue of Hawaii. For most of the day, we walked around the town and went to a secluded beach with incredible views of distant islands and water so clear you could see many feet down. Although there were no fireworks and nobody else around to celebrate the U.S.'s independence, myself, Michael, Lacy and Megan were able to relish the fact that we were on a beach in Greece and celebrating our own way.
Once again, another incredible experience to chalk up and another place to view God's beauty.

The next day, I awoke early and had a plan in mind. Being that it was a Sunday, I decided to venture out by myself and find Mars Hill, which is where the apostle Paul converted many Athenians. After 2 hours of walking around aimlessly, hiking up the wrong hill, getting chewed out by an elderly greek and sweating buckets, it ended up being a five minute walk from my original point of starting. Why does it seem that when you are looking for something, it always seems to be in plain sight? After a stressful morning of walking around lost, being atop this hill with a view of Athens put me in the right mindset to thank God once again for my life and this experience.

I must say, it was pretty cool being on the Aeropagus (what the Greeks call it) knowing that Paul himself was there. After reflecting back on some scripture and one last look at the ancient city of Athens, I made my way back to the hotel and packed up with Michael and made our way to the airport for Italy.

Greece has been the number one place on my map of places I have wanted to go in the world. It was so amazing being able to be there, however I underestimated the communication barrier.
Not only do they use Greek and hardly NO english, their language consist of symbols as well as letters which makes it even harder. The island was incredible and the Acropolis and famous monuments were such a blessing, but I must say I was somewhat relieved to leave.

Our stay in Italy is nothing more than a day trip. We had planned on venturing down to Florence for the day, but it is too far out of the way and will save us some money of course by not going. Tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM, we depart for Barcelona, Spain. We will have all of Tuesday and Wednesday to be in the city and hit up the beach. Late Wednesday, we make our way by train to Pamplona and enjoy the festival that goes on all night. We have a hotel, but I've been told that you won't get any sleep due to the constant partying. The plan is to be in the street where the bulls run by 6:30 AM and wait and watch everything until the first bull slams into the corner at 8:00 AM. It's nothing but a dead sprint for half a mile where you then run into a stadium packed full of people cheering and the bull fights start. It's 3 days and counting. Agility and swiftness have been the main points of thought. We are about to watch a 007 movie here in our hotel room, so I'm going to end it here. As always, for the few of you that are left, I thank you for tuning in. We are coming to a close here and once I get to Spain, it is going to be rapid. A dear friend of mine used to make fun of the Dodge commercials while he would grab a steer by the horns at a camp we used to go to. Well my friend, I am literally going to be running from those horns in a short while, but still grabbing life to the fullest. Hang in there guys. The night is always darkest just before the dawn, and the dawn of going home quickly approaches.

And so hobey ho, and off we go
-Shay

the one & only ROME.

HAYDEN'S CUP OF TEA

June 19, 2009

This tale of Rome involves an impressively packed full two days of site seeing and memories that will last a lifetime. Sorry for the delay of posting but there was no room in my backpack for my computer. Hang tight this was an amazing weekend...

After impressively packing my slim backpack for four days we were off to Venice and Rome. In the middle of the night we set off from House #9 on Canterbury Road and headed for the bus station in Oxford. We departed at 1:00 a.m. on our charter that was lit by blue neon lights and surprisingly really nice. I quickly fell asleep after my earplugs were in and woke up four hours later at the London Stansted Airport. Our group had already completed our online check-in boarding passes for Ryan Air, so we proceeded through security. However, Ryder had unfortunately forgotten to take his pocketknife out of his pocket and was searched and questioned by two police. Luckily they let it pass and let him through.

Just outside of security we stopped in the food court to grab muffins and coffee. Even though it was still a quite early (5:30 in the morning) we had to head for Gate 14. Our plane left Stansted around 6:40 and we were off to Rome. I wasn’t expecting the plane to be very nice considering the cheap rates, however, I was pleasantly surprised. The Ryan Air planes are very similar to Southwest Airlines in the States. Once again, I dozed off and woke just in time to see the Coliseum from the air. After landing we took a bus and then the nearest metro to our hotel. We walked and circled a few blocks for a bit and finally found the hotel. We climbed four flights of stairs to find that the hotel office was closed from 10:00 to 3:00.

We were determined not to hall our backpacks all around Rome, so we found the little Italian maid. Unfortunately this turned out to be a very difficult task considering the language barrier. After the maid chewed out Jenni for her Passport in Italian we were let into our rooms. Our rooms were very impressive though… marble walls, a rain showerhead in the bathroom, and a even flat screen TV. The only negatives were very little floor space and no air conditioning! (Keep in mind it was well in the 80’s that day.) There was a catch to the AC though… you could turn it on but it cost 10.00. The guys didn’t hesitate; they

were so hot they turned it as low as it could go. After showering we went to a Pizzeria for lunch and then headed back to the train station and purchased our night train tickets to Venice for Saturday. By that time we were all anxious to see Rome. Our first stop were the Spanish Steps, famously known by numerous films, but by especially one of my all time favorites Roman Holidaywith Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. It was so fun to take pictures on the steps, but with my luck my memory card was full after taking lots of pictures and I accidently erased all of my photos from the day. Thank goodness for Facebook or I would have been really upset.

Next, we headed towards the Trevi Fountain and threw in our coins and made wishes to come back. Italy is known very well for its Gelato and for good reason. A gelateria was right near the fountain and we just could not resist. I had a two delicious scoops of vanilla and banana, and the little Italian man working made fun of the way I said “banana.” After our satisfying Gelato we went to the Pantheon, one of the world’s oldest temples still intact. It is well known for its fifteen-meter circular opening in the ceiling that serves as the buildings only form of light. It is also built on a slant so that when it rains the water that comes in and drains straight out. After seeing the Pantheon we made our way towards the ruins of Rome and the Coliseum. As we were walking we also passed the main Senate building in Rome… it was HUGE! At the time there was a lot of construction going on around it so we couldn’t go in.

We made our way down the road and took a look at the famous ruins that are near the Coliseum. The ruins were incredible and sat about twenty-five or so feet below us. Next, was our last stop for the night (the best for last) the Coliseum. As we walked closer the sun was starting to set and we couldn’t have timed it more perfectly. We snapped some pictures before it got too dark and

walked all around it. Once we had made our way around the Coliseum the sun had set and each archway was lit. It was absolutely beautiful! By that time it was pretty late and we had been on the go all day so we went in search for yes another pizzeria. Just couldn’t get enough of the great Italian food. There was one close by and the little Italian man that owned the restaurant was eager for us to come in and even convinced us by showing the massive brick ovens that were used to bake the pizzas. After our long busy day we got on the metro one last time and took it back to the closest stop by our hotel.

June 20, 2009

Our second day in Rome was an early start. We woke up around 7:30 in hopes of arriving to the Vatican early and checking out of our hotel. Our stop for breakfast was a convenient and cheap McDonald’s that was in the metro station. I have a much greater appreciation for McDonald’s after studying abroad because for one thing its cheap when you are traveling a lot, another there is always one nearby, and its really familiar food like the Dollar Menu! We took the metro to the Vatican stop and were greeted by numerous people in hopes of giving tours of the Vatican. We decided to go on our own and walked into the courtyard of St. Andrews and then headed for the entrance to the Sistine Chapel.

The line into the Sistine Chapel was much shorter than St. Andrews and we got a great student discount that we weren’t expecting so that was a really nice surprise! Once we went through security we were relieved! There was a bag check were you could drop off backpacks and purses. Since we had checked out of the hotel we were so happy we didn’t have to carry our big backpacks through the Sistine. As we made our way to the Sistine Chapel there were numerous chapels and hallways that we had to walk through that were absolutely breathe taking. Every inch of the walls, ceilings, and floors were painted or tiled with mosaics in some way or form. Once we got to the chapel it was the most amazing work of art I have ever seen. Pictures of how big it is just don’t do it justice. I am so glad that I took Art History freshman year at ACU, because we learned a lot about Michael Angelo and the Sistine Chapel and all the painted scenes so it was amazing to be able to actually see it in person. Pictures were not allowed but I was able to snap a few without a flash and the room was filled with tourist that kept being “shhhed” by the security guards… once you enter the chapel guests are not allowed to talk so everyone can take in the room and also out of respect but its almost impossible to tell about two hundred people they cannot whisper or talk. After making our way through we made our way out and picked up our bags and by that time it was about 12:00. Just across from the entrance to the chapel was a gilateria and restaurant. Kylah and I split a pizza Panini that was delicious and decided to get it “to go.” In Europe, especially in the big cities, there are outrageous fees for “dine in” or take away.” Because we were right next to the Vatican this restaurant charged double the price to “dine in” so we just decided to eat outside on the curb. Once we finished eating we headed back to the Coliseum and took the metro. We took the stop for the Coliseum and made our way towards the line to get in. Once we were in line Lacy realized she couldn’t find her wallet. So we all frantically tried to help her look through her bag but it was nowhere. So she and John ran back to the metro to see if by luck anyone had turned it in, but as we had guessed someone had pick pocketed her while we were on the metro. Luckily Kylah had her iPhone so she was able to call her grandmother and cancel the cards. Once we sorted out the stolen wallet we made our way into the Coliseum. It was mind-blowing to be actually standing in one of the most famous Seven Wonders of the World.

We were in the Coliseum for about two hours just casually walking around and taking so many pictures! We walked around the first and second level, on the second level Shay was dared to yell “Maximus” as loud as possible. I actually caught is on film on my camera and hopefully I can figure out how to post it onto here. It was hilarious though, Shay was wearing a bright red polo and once he yelled it everyone that was in the Coliseum looked directly at him. We thought it was pretty funny considering that the movie Gladiator is pretty universal. I was standing looking out by a rail and there were two people from another country that couldn’t

speak English standing next to me. One came up to the rail with a smile on his face and said “Maximus” and tilted his thumb sideways.. waited a few seconds and then gave the thumbs up and just turned and laughed at me. It was pretty funny considering that we couldn’t talk to each other but we both knew exactly what he was reenacting. The Coliseum was one of my favorite parts of my whole trip so far. The rest of the day we toured another famous chapel that held the chains of Peter and the statue of Moses by Michael Angelo. After we made another stop for yes MORE GILATO. (There is just no such thing a too much gilato!)

Our big group of thirteen decided to split up for the rest of the afternoon, a few of us decided to go back to the Spanish Steps and just walk around that area some more and grab some dinner and I was so glad that we did! Once we made our way back to the steps a concert band just happened to be performing on the steps. They played instrumental songs such as the Italian national anthem and I’m guessing other famous songs. It was great we got some food to go and just sat and listened. After the band was done playing we walked up and down the streets surrounding the steps. Here were all the designer shops such as Dior, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Fendi so we had a lot of fun just window-shopping. As the night was coming to an end we headed for the train station at 9:30 to meet up with the rest of the group to travel on a night train to Venice… we had no idea what was going to be in store…

End of a Canterbury Tale

-Where In The World Is Shay?-

You know that feeling you get as a roller coaster comes to an end, or when a crepe is nearing its last bite, or even when you turn to the last page of a book, that feeling of finality, sadness, yet gratefulness fill you? As I type these words in my hotel in Athens, Greece and while my ears are pleased with the sound of "Billy Jean" by the late M.J., I must say I am experiencing all of those feelings at the same time. COBA in Oxford is officially over. The past month of learning, traveling and fellowship with my group has ended for the time being. I am sad that it went so quickly. However, I am grateful for the experience OF A LIFETIME. I am grateful for the opportunity to blog so that I have stories to read later and I am especially grateful for you, the reader (the few that there are!). The sites I have seen will forever be with me and I hope that I was able to give your mind's eye that same gift. Before we call it, bare with me and let me delve into the details of our last few days, including the final presentation with Oxfam. (In deep theatric voice) And now, the season finale of Where In The World Is Shay?

Last time I left you, we had just arrived back to Oxford after one of my favorite weekends in Ireland. Coming back, we knew what the week entailed: Final exam and presentations for our Apprenticeship. Although we were in the mindset of cramming, our minds couldn't but help wander to it being our last few days in Oxford. As we studied and worked on our presentation Monday-Wednesday, we made time to go out and eat at our favorite dinner places, do some last minute site-seeing and scramble our brains to make sure there wasn't anything of significance we had forgotten...such as souveniers. It would be a shame to have been there 5 weeks and forget tiny pieces of memory. As we slowly checked everything off of our list, the actual list of checking our bags approached.
Both groups, Oxfam and A.C. Nielsen, presented their data and both received great compliments back. Being a part of Oxfam, our presentation included a 40 minute power-point walk through of our findings including graphs, web-links and even a training video. Our final recommendation was that in order for their technological communication to further with their current employees (women 60+), a training video and simple website were needed. Oxfam welcomed our findings and suggestions with open arms and thanked us for all the work we had done. They realized that we only had a few short weeks to find this data, collect it and present it and were impressed with everything overall. My mock website received great feedback, as well as the training video Jon Davis and I did. Doing this global internship with Oxfam was incredible. For 4 weeks, I was given the project by a massive company that works in over 70 countries helping people in poverty, and was asked to help them for a change. During my time working on the project, it was easy to lose sight of the main goal. It would get frustrating, demanding and stressful. As we came to a close and as my website was presented, it all came into perspective and I realized it was an honor to help Oxfam, a company who constantly puts others first. Talk about a blessing in disguise?!

With the project being over, the only worry in our heads was that of the final exam for either Financial Management or Business Statistics. I was taking Business Statistics with Dr. Pope and had files upon files of Excel to look over. Although I must admit, I didn't do much studying because of lack of sleep and starting to pack things up, I feel as I did pretty well and will hopefully find out in a few days (Dr. Pope, be kind!).
With a house party of cleaning and packing, Wednesday was full of non-stop running, yelling (nicely) and sweating. As the night fell upon us and we slowly and reluctantly crawled into our beds for the last time, my brain paused for but a moment to thank God for my blessed life, and was then unconcious...and rudely rewarded by the alarm clock at 6:45 AM. Bags were checked one last time, pictures were taken and tears flowed like milk and honey from the promised land. The airport was the last chapter in this Canterbury Tale, and it was bittersweet. Goodbyes were made as students deviated from the program and chose to do more traveling as the others boarded the plane for the states. I was one of the few who stayed back and had to change airports in London to get my flight to Greece. Seeing my group all together for the last time made me a bit jealous knowing they were going back to the states and not having to worry about money, finding a place to sleep, walking ALL DAY, paying for refills and having all the Pei Wei they want (Dear Mom and Dad, have a Honey Seared Chicken and fried rice waiting for me at the gate please). With 7 days left, I am having to push the thought of home out of my mind and live in the now, which is currently enjoying Greece. In James 4: 14-15 it says "You don't know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a fog. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that." For the next week, and hopefully the rest of my life, this verse will keep my life in perspective. I am going to enjoy the beautiful island of Aegina tomorrow and soak up the rays of the sun on the beach. I have been provided with so much this past month especially, I have faith the Lord will provide the rest (especially with money running short!).

So with this, another finality comes to an end, and another tale begins. COBA in Oxford 2009. One of the best months of my entire life. From Oxford in England, to the Eiffel Tower in France, to the Colosseum in Rome and the Blarney Castle in Ireland, it has been a ride of a lifetime. Once again, thank you for letting me throw my thoughts onto paper. It has kept me sane these past weeks because without a place to capture my memories, they would all be jumbled up and lost in order in my head. If any of you have any more questions about the trip, please comment on here and I would love to answer them.
-Dr. Pope and Dr. Stewart, it was an honor to work with yall and spend time traveling the world.
-Fellow Group, as long as I shall live, I will look back on this month with fond memories and remember what an incredible time we had! Thanks for putting up with my impressions, at times my tiredness and my playful banter with Michael. *Insert metro doors opening* -Please mind the gap as you step off...

For those of you sticking around and following me on my last leg home from Greece, to Italy to Spain where I run with the bulls, tune back in a few days.

And never more true are the words I have been using from the beginning from my favorite book series....

And so hobey ho, and off we go! -Shay

Lucky Charms are deceitful

Where In The World Is Shay?-


Dear Earth, STOP FREAKING OUT ON ME!
I'm supposed to be the one providing all of you with something new, not the other way around! It seems as though when I leave the country, the world doesn't know how to cope? How so? The King of Pop, one of Charlies Angels, Mr. Oxy Clean and Ed McMahon all left their identities behind as well as this world. On a happier note, my cousin is pregnant...again, and one of my best friends got engaged. Oh what a tangled web we weave. I can't promise I will provide death, new life and happy engagements in this tale, but I can promise you that it was quite...magical? This past 3 day was Ireland's turn to be raided by my group. From late nights in Cork, to kissing the Blarney Stone, this voyage was hands down my favorite so far. Sit back, strap in...well, you know the routine.

Once again, I was deprived of my precious sleep as my group left Oxford at 1:00 AM early Friday morning to take the bus to the airport. I don't know if I have mentioned, but this bus ride is 3.5 hours long. You know traveling has gone too far when you don't mind a 3.5 hour bus ride before your flight. Before I knew it, we were landing in the land of Lucky Charms. We boarded the metro bus that took us to our hostel, and I must say, as much as I love traveling and seeing the sites, I decided to be nice to my body and take a 3 hour nap. I know your thinking, "Oh no! He's not going to take advantage of his time in Ireland!". I appreciate the concern, but don't you worry. We were staying in downtown Cork, which is a pretty industrialized city and had no famous sites to visit. It reminded me alot of a mini-Manhattan. Around dinner time, our group rounded up and went our for dinner and a night on the town. I'm a big fan of just hanging out and being with others and thats why I enjoyed this trip so much. We didn't have to worry about making the rounds to all the famous monuments, we were able to relax and enjoy each others company. After we walked around a bit, a nice native couple told us about a band playing and so we decided to go check it out for ourselves. Let me just say, it was one of the greatest nights I have had over here so far, due to this band. They played songs by Kings of Leon, Green Day and even played "Sweet Home Alabama". The place was packed and it was like a concert, just extremely confined. We stayed for a few hours and just let the music surround us and enhance our Ireland experience. A memorable first night in Ireland.





At the top of the next morning, we got on a bus and headed to Blarney to see the castle, and of course, kiss the stone. The town of Blarney was smaller and quaint, and extremely green. When you picture Ireland and all the green rolling hills and cows, this place defines it. The castle itself is surrounded by a forest and park of its own. Rivers, bridges, lakes, forest and so much green engulfed this beauty. We all lined up and took our turns laying down on our backs, arching backwards and down to kiss the stone upside down. This stone is supposed to give luck and eloquence to whoever kisses it. As great as that would be, it was just another incredible experience I was blessed to be a part of. So many monumental things have been checked off my list, its hard to not take them for granted. I stared out over the castle and was hit with the reality check of, "you are in Ireland, with a group of friends and you have absolutely nothing to do but enjoy yourself". From the top of this castle, I saw some of the most incredible views of my life. It was a 360 degree view of pure green pastures, cows, gardens and a beautiful mansion. From here, we climbed down and went through the gardens and down by the lake. As we walked through the forest, we found some big logs under a shaded tree by the lake and sat down and ate our sack lunches and just laid back and watched the clouds move. When I think of peace and quietness from now on, my mind will bring me back to that image. I hope images of this, and everything else fill my thoughts and dreams so that I can reflect back on them and thank God for his beauty.

Before we left, we found a massive hill and Jon and Michael ran up to the top and rolled down. Us spectators as the bottom got a good laugh but were then told that the top of the hill gives a breathtaking view. Our group willingly hiked to the top and were once again rewarded for our efforts. From the top, we could see the lake, the mansion, the gardens and the castle. My eyes felt like they turned green from everything I was looking at! So incredible. We headed back to Cork later on in the day and just had a relaxing time....until sleep fell upon us. My room was woken up around 4:30 AM to some native Irish women being...well, stereotypical Irish and enjoying the "honey of the land". Although the morning seemed to rush at us, we didn't mind as we headed to a small town called Kinsale, which is on the coast. Our time here was short, but much enjoyed. It drizzled a bit on us, but it seemed to make the town picturesque. If you have ever been to the coast of Maine, it was much like that. Sailboats and fishing boats in the harbor, small and colorful eateries around and the sound of the boats in the distance made this town a possibility for my future retirement home. Just walking through the streets here and seeing tons of jellyfish in the harbor put an exclamation point at the end of this already incredible trip.

Although I saw no pots of gold or fields of clover and was fed this lie from the age of 5 when I called Lucky Charms, "Larky Chams", Ireland was the cream of the crop. From kissing stones, rolling down hills, waking up mid-sleep to native Irish enjoying themselves, rocking out to a band and walking through one of the most beautiful towns I have ever laid eyes upon, every minute was cherished, shared, and experienced to the fullest. As I type this, the window at the top of Canterbury House 9 is wide open and letting the Oxford sun kiss the bedroom as it is the last day. Before I let the emotions and memories run over me, I'm going to call it here. Later on, I will recap the finality of Oxfam, our presentation and my gratefulness of these past 5 weeks and my appreciation to you, the reader. Don't you worry, Where In The World Is Shay? is far from the blue screen of death/hiatus. Tune back in around 3 PM Central, 10 PM Oxford time for the season finale of Where In The World Is Shay?- Canterbury Tales Edition (with all due respect to Chaucer).

And so hobey ho, and off we go
-Shay