This week I had the opportunity to work with a creative team on the renaming of the SOH's restaurants. The location is run by a third party vendor so our marketing team has to work with that team on drafting ideas for the rename. We had a brainstorming session first thing Monday morning and it was such a surreal feeling being at a meeting with marketing managers and directors as an intern. The best part about it was the fact that they valued my input and wanted to hear my ideas and opinions on the rename. I was the only American and newbie in the meeting so I was able to give a more objective opinion.
I also went to an authentic Korean BBQ for my co-worker's birthday. Let me tell you, you've never experienced Korean food until you eat it with Koreans. I learned how to use chopsticks (kinda) and how to eat the food, what to dip in what, and even the traditions on pouring the drinks. It was a great meal with good company, and we have a date set for us to go again. Last thing about SOH for this post (can you tell I'm slightly obsessed), I got to see another show! I went to see Purity Ring with the other interns two weeks ago and this weekend I got two free tickets to see Blanc de Blanc. It was a very scantily clad but it was a fun show to go to.
This week was also exciting for my classes. I got to go on a field trip to Chinatown for my intercultural communications course. It was so cool seeing Chinatown's history and the reasoning behind the different colors and locations of certain things. Specifically, there's one tree in the center of Chinatown which is placed where wind and water will hit it at specific angles bringing good fortune. This tour really tied together my learnings from the course to reality. People from varying cultures have that barrier which separates one's beliefs from the other's and to has successful communication there needs to be a mutual understanding of differences. Being an American in Australia creates a huge cultural gap that is often overlooked simply because we all speak English. Australians have different values than most Americans. Australians value the quality of living over working for more money. They work to live rather than live to work like the American culture. I am often told by my supervisor to leave work on time rather than stay because I need to "experience Sydney". Which of course, I don't turn down.
My time adventuring and experiencing Sydney this week was successful, yet again. About 40 people from my program actually decided to rent a boat and explore the Sydney Harbour. We were given a private tour of the Harbour and the captain even anchored the boat and let us jump out for a swim. I also finally did the Coogee to Bondi Beach coastal walk. All of my coworkers were insisting I do this because "Australians love their coastal walks". This was actually incredibly beautiful. We saw 6 beaches total and climbed up countless cliffs (exaggerating?) in order to get from beach to beach. It took us about 5 hours simply because of the photo ops and swimming at every beach / body of water. This weekend was also the end of the Chinese New Year and there were dragon boat races to celebrate. My roommates and I got up early Sunday morning to watch these races and it was absolutely insane. I've never seen a boat with so many people go so fast and the synchronization was beyond impressive. Considering there is a large Chinese population in Sydney, these types of events are very popular and full of good food.Stay tuned for more updates on my Semester in Sydney!
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