Wandering the Supply Chain
So this post is way late, I'm actually in Istanbul right now, but I figure a little pre-departure introspection is good at any time. The months and days leading up to this trip were a whirlwind of activity for me, with so many uncertainties and things to do. Passport applications, scholarship applications, plane tickets, packing, and all kinds of paperwork had to be done in an already busy semester. It didn't help that I had never met most of the people I'd be travelling with and had never been out of the country before, not to mention never taken a graduate course There were so many things I didn't know, and many times I almost gave up. As a Christian, the verse "Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding" comes to mind, because it was only in Him that I kept going and all the details came together. My alternate plan for the summer was to return to the steel mill where I had worked for 2 years as a Co-op and save up some money. It's such a blessing that I was able to come on this trip and be fully funded, because about a month before departure, I received word that the plant would be closing, and I no longer had a backup plan. Through all the confusion, the Lord made a way for me through the University of Alabama to travel the world, and learn about business with some truly awesome people.
The course for this trip is all about supply chains and how to analyze them, but travelling the way that we are and visiting the companies here away from the States makes it a unique experience. There are a lot of firsts for me here, first study abroad trip, first graduate class, first blog post... Hope you like the blog, and here is some Turkish cuisine for those of you who like that stuff. See ya on the other side!