Weekend Retreat (Free Writing)

This weekend was amazing! I went to a retreat with some friends, south to Tucson, for two and half days. The whole retreat was a surprise to me. At first, my friend just asked me "do you want to go camping with me this weekend", and I said yes though I had no idea where we were going, who we were going with, and what we were going to do.

The whole retreat feels like unplugging from the world. We were at the small wood by the Parker Lake, living in cabinet and without Internet and mobile phone signal. There was not phone calls, no text messages, no emails, no video games, no Facebook and no TV. I did not know everything before I went there, or I would refuse my friend and lose a chance to enjoy purely friendship, myself and the nature. Disconnecting with the rest of the world feels like flying in the sky like a bird, seeing what I have done before and cannot help laughing, but knowing I need to go back to the earth eventually.

On the first I got up around 8am, so I got a chance to walk around and explore the place before breakfast at 9:30. When I walked around, I could see clearly how grasshopper jumped around, how breezed moved the cloud and grasses, and how the sunshine brightened the trees and left shadows behind. In the afternoon, things became even more cheerful. My two great friends and I sat on the bench under a tree and sang songs or melodies we have remembered since we were young, carefree and joyous.

It is sometimes good just to be alone and focus freely and innocently on simple things, I think.

Chinese Mid Autumn Day! (Free writing)

 As a student coming from China, I am always glad to introduce my American folks some thing we do in Chinese culture!

Last Thursday was Mid Autumn Day (中秋节), a major festival is in China besides the Spring Featival. In lunar calendar, this date was August 15th, which changes every year in solar calendar but usually happens in late September. It is said that on this day the moon is with its perfect roundness and brightness in the year. All family members should get together no matter where you are. However, this is my second Mid Autumn Day when I was not with my family, so I felt a little bit homesick and sad.

In the picture below is a poem written by one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, Su Shi (苏轼) who lived one thousand years ago. This poem was always remembered by Chinese people not only because it is beautiful words but also it expresses exactly what we think when we are not with family.

Here is an English translation of this poem I found on Wikipedia:

Title: 水调歌头 明月几时有 When will the moon be clear and bright? When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky what season it would be up the heaven for tonight. Oh Moon, how I wish to get closer By riding on the breeze. Yet I fear your crystal and jade chateau, Are much too high and cold. So, let me just dance here with my moonlight shadow. Rounds and rounds, my red mansion, till you shine on my silk pillow, Sleepless, but bearing no regrets Blame not the full moon when people has to apart Sorrow or joy, be near or far, Things happen like that, and we still believe in fate. Toast to you, we are all be blessed Though distant away, we look at the same moon And in that way, we have never been apart.

Su Shi (translated by Charles Hartman)

Excited October is on the way! (Free Writing)

My October is going to be crazy, excited, and a lot of new things is waiting me to explore!

On the first weekend, South Mountain.       
This is be my officially first hiking trip to South Mountain and see sunset!  I have been to the top of South Mountain once last semester but we drove up there, so this time I decided to hike up and see what I can encounter!

On the second weekend, OktoberFest, Tempe Town Lake.
I have never been or heard about this event before so it is a totally new thing for me. It is originally a 16-day festival celebrating beer held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It think all this is about is to hangout with friends and get beer!

On the second weekend, Grand Canyon and Vegas.
Fall break begins at this weekend. I will enjoy a road trip to Grand Canyon and Vegas with friends! Go, go, go! Though I have been to these two places before, I definitely would like to see the beauty of Grand Canyon one more time. And, what can you expect more about Vegas, let's get wasted!

On the third weekend, let me have a rest！

On the fourth weekend, Lion King, Gammage.
When I was in NYC, I did not have a chance to watch this broadway show. Now I definitely need to catch the chance to watch it here!! I am a broadway show fan!!

How about your October? Any exciting things?

Career Service: International Student Career Conference

     As an international student, I always feel hard and pressure to find a job in USA. No matter this is because language barriers, culture difference, or Visa issue, the fact is that when domestic students have a higher chance to get a job than international students. Therefore, thank for Coalition of International Students, a career advising conference,  International Student Career Conference, specifically aimed at international student took place last Friday!

    The conference started with an amazing speech of Kevin Burns, a professor from W.P. Carey School of Business. He introduced some key concept in career market of USA that might be unfamiliar with international students, which was really helpful! USA job market emphasize communication, giving out your direct feeling, and do not hide anything. Be honest, and admit something you do not know. This is different from how we Chinese do. Chinese tend to hide their true feelings if they think their thoughts might harm their future or their job.

    Kevin also said networking was a critical way to build professional connections. The more you go out to know people, the more chance you might get. 80% jobs are not publicized and only spread in professional network. These ideas are important in a way that they ask international students to overcome their shyness and comfort zone to meet more domestic Americans.

    Following Kevin's speech, it was a speech by Gunhee Park. He is a Korean students who came to USA in high school. One of his idea was really inspiring that as an international student, we already have some competitive qualities that domestic may not have, such as courage to leave your home country and start a complete new life alone in a foreign country.

   It has been a rewarding experience to attend this conference, to meet people, to learn new ideas, and to gain courage that I can do better!

One day working as a intern

My internship may be a little bit different from my classmates, because it is remote. That means I do not need to go to an office everyday and it is more task-orientated. This is actually my first time to do a remote internship so I just feel "Wow, the world is so small."

On my first day, another intern and I needed to receive training in order to start our data analysis project. The whole training process demonstrated how telecommunication hi-tech enabled people to meet virtually online even though they were geographically distant. There were in total four people participating in the training: one training staff member, our supervisor, and two interns. The person who was going to train us was at the headquarter located in North Carolina, and my supervisor was at her home in Mesa, AZ, and I was at home in Phoenix, though not sure where the other intern was but surely somewhere by his computer. We were connected by conference call using our cellphone, and thanks to a software, everyone was able to see the trainer's screen and how she was operating. This was really helpful because we were more focused on the training content without distractions. However, the disadvantage was that we cannot see each other.

As an international student, the most interesting thing is about the time difference here. The scheduled training time was 1 to 2 at east coast time, which was 11 to 12 in Arizona time. I did not realize this at first. When I received the calendar saying it was from 1 to 2, I did not notice this was east coast time. Luckily, my supervisor clarified this to me or I might miss the training.

Being a remote intern has a lot of flexibility and fun. This is a typical day showing how everyone is connected to each other through the online planform.

Picture from http://blog.ringcentral.com/2013/02/you-can-ignore-the-brouhaha-over-remote-work/

   

Trip to AZ Human Society (free writing)

As a nonprofit concentration MPA, I always find that it is rewarding and interesting to visiting local nonprofit organization. Upon a request for one of my nonprofit course, my friend and I went to AZ Human Society this Saturday and attended the foster orientation for people who would like to volunteer to foster puppies at their homes. 

The adoption center is located in the Sunnyslope Shelter, 1311 W Hatcher Road. The volunteer manager, Sharon, presented all the information we need to know, like organization mission, vision, history, and how to foster a puppy. In total, 7 people went there and it was interesting to see only one of us was male. Hope he did not feel too lonely in the orientation. :)

One of the highlights during the 3 hour orientation was the shelter tour and everyone got a chance to see closely all the animals. In AZ Humane, most of them were injured and abandoned cats and dogs with some little critters. I had a hard time to walk through the shelter where we saw all the adoptable cats and dogs. No one can stay calming down when you see all those cute and poor animals waiting for a home. Especially we were a group of girls and basically every one came back with tears in eyes. 

However, I think too much visiting may make these animals nervous and freighted, especially for those injured and mental-ill ones. They probably prefer a quite place to recovery and wait for a new family and parents. 

See this little cut puppy! I am sure you will like it!

What is my internship about (Introduction of internship and organization)

I am going to work as a market research intern for FGI research. In this internship, I have the opportunity to apply data analysis, quality control and other analytic skills. The best thing about this intern is that I can work remotely so I do not need to go to the office everyday!

A little bit about FGI Research: http://www.fgiresearch.com/the-team/about-fgi-research/

At FGI Research, we specialize in serving you, a research or marketing professional, who relies heavily on serious market research for your personal and organizational success. Unlike many of today’s tool-based, do-it-yourself companies who create more work and uncertain outcomes, FGI Research is accountable for your research deliverables.

With our full service market research, marketing science, and products like online surveys, custom-built consumer panels, and online communities, we use quality data to solve your “right now” problems or to assist in your long-term goals.

Gain market share, monitor satisfaction, test new products and services, collect data, get better business ideas, maneuver around your competitors, or launch a targeted marketing campaign. We’ll put our more than 30 years of market research experience to good use.

I have a potential group of clients from both private and public sectors, which makes my internship a combination of opportunities to see detail market data of both sectors. I believe for my future career,  I can transfer the analytic skill set to nonprofit sector. Marketing is also a big part of nonprofit besides its mission and managerial skills has common characteristics among different sectors.

Picture from http://www.greenbookblog.org/2011/01/18/market-research-and-the-innovation-space/

Think about tradition (Free Writing)

Yesterday was Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). To be honest, as a Chinese I have no idea what it is about and what it represents. However, two different cases happened, making me thinking about traditional holidays in contemporary life.

In the morning of yesterday, one of my Jewish friends said his mother asked him to go back home for Jewish New Year but he had classes so he could not make it. At that night, in a class instructor said one of classmates was absent because of religious observation which was Jewish New Year. Interestingly, my friend and my classmate chose different approaches in case of their traditional new year.

I am not sure if this is a sign that tradition holiday is fading away or not, but it is true that less and less people care about old traditions. Though I cannot say that everything about tradition is good, I just feel that we cannot let old ways disappear. At least we need to leave something to the future generation even though it is just a matter of form.