Washington DC Welcomes GPMBA Class of 2012

This past week, the GPMBA class of 2012 hit Washington DC by storm. Literally! Snow was on the forecast as we left DC!!!

Aside from the weather, the trip proved to be extremely informative and eye-opening. Let me explain…

From the beginning of the trip, it was hard to grapple with the fact that our days began before the sun could brightly say hello. Mentally, I rebelled against the 5:45am meet up time that our itinerary annoyingly proclaimed. Of course, I didn’t want to miss the trip, so I followed suit and arrive at the airport at 5:58am (Ok I had to rebel a little).

We arrived in Washington DC met by our golden chariot, also known as Go Airport Shuttle. All 19 of us crammed in to the two vehicles and immediately they whisked us away to our first destination: the hotel. On the way, we passed by a sea of tents that congregated in the public plaza near the White House. Confused, I asked my classmates “What the heck are these people doing!” My classmates retorted “Occupy DC.” I soon realized that these were the peaceful protesters proclaiming to be the “99 percent” who are fighting corporate greed, ineffective political leadership and the growing inequity between the rich and poor (99% refers to how 1 percent of Americans earn a quarter of the country’s income). What better way to be welcomed in to the nation’s capital than to see protesters fighting to be heard by Congress!

The next few days were filled with lots of walking, great information and tons of QT with my classmates. Not only did we get to see the trade aspect of government but we also met with businesses that have government dealings. We learned about foreign direct investment from Select USA; Spoke with an economist who was president of a trade NGO (GSP Coalition); Broke bread with the public affair executives at UPS; Met with the president of the Finance Committee; Gained insight into the inner workings of the World Bank; And sat down with several high level attorneys to discuss trade relations. All in all, each piece of the trip helped to make the US trade story more clear. Professor Bruce managed to delicately weave together how each government entity and business work in unison (for lack of a better word) to achieve international trade.

More importantly, I was able to see the true personalities of the people I will be spending time with for the duration of the program. This was the eye-opening aspect of the trip. Many of my classmates let their hair down and allowed their inner self to shine. I can’t wait to see how all this will play out overseas when we are in Brazil and France….

As for now, econ and accounting occupy my brain. Just like the “99 percent,” I’m protesting…but only mentally. You ask, protesting against what, eh? Well…I’m protesting against losing my social life during Halloween weekend because an economic exam/paper and an accounting quiz waited for me to return from DC. Somehow, while in DC, I convinced myself that these exams and paper would magically disappear upon my return. Who was I fooling?!

Oh well, this is the life of a student. Until next time….

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