The End-of-Semester Scurry

I am sitting in the Union computer lab right now, trying to work up the courage to complete my research paper for my International Business class. I find the topic incredibly interesting, yet it is getting late and my attention span has reduced significantly from a non-stop day.

For this paper, my team and I are analyzing a documentary created about Wal-Mart and its effects as a multinational. Specifically, our Professor is asking us to focus on cultural comparisons between China and the US.

While I was abroad, I took a class called International Human Resources Management, where I learned about several cultural philosophers. The most famous, Geert Hofstede, uses five dimensions for cultural comparisons. These five dimensions are widely analyzed internationally when a multinational corporation is considering opening an operation (subsidiary/joint venture) in a foreign country. Because I enjoy learning about culture and psychology, I think these cultural comparison theories are fascinating. I only wish I was not so sleepy!

When I drove back to Bloomington from Chicago on Sunday, it took nearly eight hours to complete the journey instead of the usual four. I feel that every year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving it inevitably rains, which causes long backups on a road that has more cars on it than usual anyway. Since I-65 has students travelling from/through Chicago on their way to Purdue, Ball State, IU, Miami of Ohio, and Butler all on the same stretch of road, the Sunday after Thanksgiving I easily consider the busiest travelling day of my year. It's almost comical how slow it takes to get from point A to point B on that day.

A happy thing that happened to me today was that my friend Heather and I went to dinner at Cracker Barrel off of highway 37. She is in my last class of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and neither of us had plans for dinner so we decided to accompany each other and catch up. She and I were on the same Honors I-Core team last fall, and we talked about how busy the Honors I-Core students are right now as they finish up their last 36 hours before their final business plan reports and presentations are due. I hope it is going well for all of them! I know one of my sorority sisters has already asked me several questions about how my team completed certain tasks last year. I am glad I have been able to help.

I should get back to my report. Don't be too jealous, but I have a light at the end of my tunnel. Two weeks from tomorrow I will be in Tucson, Arizona escaping the cold!