Intro

After going to a Study Abroad orientation at University of South Carolina (USC) today, I was inspired to make this blog. I always knew I was interested in making a blog to record my experience with this program, but throughout the past couple weeks, I began to realize how the stage that I am in right now is an important part of the overall process as well.

So, my name is Lauren and I am from a small town outside of Washington, D.C., called Vienna, Virginia. I am currently a freshman at the USC and am also one of the first 22 students in the International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE) program. This program is to develop undergraduate students into professionals who can operate and succeed in the Chinese business environment. Two years of study, along with intensive language and cultural training, take place at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). During the course of the IBCE program, Moore School students work towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, major in a special track with the International Business concentration, and complete a second business major at the University of South Carolina. (http://mooreschool.sc.edu/undergrad/globalexperience/ibcetrack.aspx)

But that’s just all the technical stuff haha basically, I was ending my senior year of high school with absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do with my life. I have always loved writing, but being an English major did not seem too promising. Especially since teaching and law school were far off my list of desires. I applied into the business school at USC and figured that I would do international business. Problem is, you need a language to focus on and I had quit French after sophomore year because it did not seem practical. A friend’s parent suggested how Chinese is going to be useful and so I went into orientation figuring I’d ask if taking Chinese would make me a contender for the International Business program.

On orientation day, my dad’s schedule brought him to the business school first, so he asked about taking Chinese for me. This question linked him with David Hudgens, who is the IBCE program director. At that time, they did not have the 20 students that they had been aiming for in the program, so my name got written down on the list.

Trust me, I was about 95% sure I was not going to follow through with this. I was never the proactive student who seeked out opportunities. I honestly went into college with the assumption I would graduate with a typical degree and battle for internships like everyone else. After meeting with Dr. Hudgens and the group several times, I started to realize what a great opportunity I had been handed.

That brings me to where I am today. Currently, I have a plane ticket to leave Dulles International Airport at 6:00am on June 2^nd. Other than that, most other details still seem to be in the dark. We are the pioneer group and not even our program directors have every answer to our questions. It kind of adds to the excitement though; along with fear. We know that we will be staying in Shaw College (a dorm at CUHK), we know that we are going to be there from June 2010 to August 2011, we know that we are going to be attending the Shanghai World Expo…and that’s all that comes to mind right now haha

Things such as packing, money, and other preparation (mainly the little things) seem like things we will have to figure out on our own. But that’s okay. Every day I am getting more and more excited for this experience that I have fallen into. Hopefully I’ll keep up with this blog throughout the entire experience. Sorry this post is so long. Introductions normally seem to be.

I just cannot believe that in 2 and a half months from now, all of this talk and hype will be over. All the goodbyes will be done and I'll be in a whole new portion of my life.
I cannot even begin describe the millions of adjectives running through me that express excitement and curiosity and fear.
Maybe I'll be more capable in a month or two from today? I will keep you posted!