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!!!

I Have Classes Too!

Happy Wednesday everyone,

I know there are some out there who might be wondering that with all of the traveling and sight-seeing that I have done, where's the time for school? Rest assured, I have plenty of time for school, and I am enjoying all of my classes. I only have four this semester, which I thought would give me time to travel without putting too much pressure on schoolwork. My classes are:

Administración Internacional (International Business) - This class is basically goes over the basic concepts of international trade, International Organizations and Agreement (i.e. the EU, NAFTA), and International Investment. One of the bonuses of taking this class abroad is that it is taught from Mexico's point of view, which means I get to learn about their economy and their role in international trade.

Mercadotecnia de Servicios (Services Marketing) - This class is the one taught in English. We basically go over how marketing services differ from marketing products. We have a lot of case studies and group projects, but they promise to be interesting.

Mercadotecnia Ecología (Green Marketing) - This I think promises to be my most interesting class, where we learn how to develop strategies to market environmentally conscious companies, services and products. So far, I've done a lot of reading on current environmental trends, and how sustainable development can benefit both the business and society as a whole.

Administración de Operaciones (Operations Management) - This class focuses on decision theory, how to minimize risks with investments, and quality control. So far we've gone over break-even point analysis, and different approaches to analyzing risky investments.

I know that this hasn't been the most exciting post, but I still hope you found it interesting. To reward you, I decided to post a parody of the ending to the movie "There Will Be Blood" called "There Will Be Pokemon". If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it.