Long Time No Post

Hi everyone!

I know it has been a long time since my last post. October was certainly a busy month work wise. My group project presentation total is now 11, with about half of them just in October. I also had three exams, two of them in one weekend (to make it even more exciting, I decided to get sick the day they began). In case anyone is interested, here is a brief review of what's going on in my classes:

• Administracion Internacional- We are continuing our reading of the book The Ascent of Money, which recounts the financial history of the world, from the origins of debit and credit to the establishment of the stock and bond market all the way up to the current financial crisis. If this sounds interesting to anyone, I highly recommend you pick it up, or feel free to drop me a line for more info. We were supposed to have our second exam based on the book, but he has decided to change it into a paper (I have no complaints!).
  
• Mercadotecnia Ambiental- Despite the fact that this class is supposed to be about marketing, it's really about approaching environmental issues as any other business problem, and business can improve both their balance sheets and the environment at the same time (impossible? I think not). We are currently working on our final project for the semester, which is to chose a company, investigate their environmental efforts, and apply it to what we have learned throughout this semester. Our group has chosen Apple, and I am responsible for investigating their manufacturing processes and supply chain relations.
  
• Mercadotecnia de Servicios- Similar to my other marketing class, we are currently working on our semester long project. In our group is my friend Sasha, and our friend Beto from Mexico. We had to come up with our own service concept and develop a full marketing plan based on what we have learned throughout the whole semester. We have decided on a newspaper in the native language Nahuatl, given that there are millions of Mexicans who still speak this language today. We feel that this would help preserve Mexico's pre-columbian heritage.
  
• Administracion de Operaciones- For the first half of October we concentrated on designing graphs to see if manufacturing processes are under statistical control, meaning that they stay within predetermined limits set my the company. It actually isn't as bad as it sounds once you get all of the formulas. Since then, we have learned how to locate the optimal location for a new facility within a distribution network, and are currently working on linear programming (despite the name, there is actually no computer programming involved). All it really is is determining the optimal solution given a certain amount of limits. For example, which combination of products A and B should be produced given a fixed amount of raw material to maximize profits?
  

Despite the work, I am still having a great time here. I haven't had a chance to do too much new sight-seeing, but that will all change this month. In addition to posts showing the places I have been, I also have some general posts just relating to life here in Mexico City. I already have several post ideas and will spread them out over the next six weeks. Stay tuned!!!