The Mark

                     (me with some other interns around the DDB office)

Elisa here! I’ve been living for the past five years in Shanghai (or on breaks, since I’ve been at boarding school and now UChicago) and this summer is no different. I’ve had two internships this summer - and still in the midst of my second one. I was at Accenture for the month of July - doing some translating, powerpoints and decided that I probably don’t want to go into computer science. I didn’t get to see much IT Consulting (or any clients at all) but did see a lot of excel, SQL and Oracle programming…

My second internship was much more exciting - and much more related to the Mark. I went to an advertising agency called DDB (Doyle Dane and Bernbach). In China, they do ads for McDonalds, Pernord Ricard (aka Absolut Vodka), Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, Shanghai Volkswagon, Porsche, etc. Originally taken in as a planning intern, I actually spent more time on the Public Relations (known here more as Knowledge and Communications). So far I’ve gotten to interview and write a press release, write entries for the company blog, write case studies, write articles for Chinese Whisper (DDB newsletter) go to meetings with clients and other small companies we work with (eg. website developers), revise company biographies, and do simple menial labor like press clippings, sending out newsletters, and organizing databases. I’ve also worked a bit on Hotpot - which is kind of like a company Facebook. As for the planning department, I’ve also made a few “insights” powerpoints for Neutrogena and C&C. Very exciting!

So it’s been a lot of writing! I’ve met a lot of super awesome, inspiring people, and I really enjoy this advertising agency feel. We also have a pool table! (And on Fridays they serve some sort of dessert - last month it was icecream, this month it’s grass jelly). 

Other than that, I went to Seoul three weeks ago as a spur of the moment thing. I can’t begin to express how much fun I had! I love all the little college environments (Hongdae, Idae, etc). This summer’s been really fun - I work 8 hours a day on the weekday (and then exercise every day too! so tiring!) but hang out with friends, shop, eat (eat, eat, and eat) on the weekend. 

See you all in the fall!

Aliza here! I’m currently enjoying the refreshing A/C of my Shanghai apartment, putting off studying for tomorrow morning, and eating surprisingly good birthday cake Oreos (do they have those in the States right now?). Besides taste-testing the wide variety of Oreo flavors China has to offer (including your usual strawberry, chocolate, and original, along with interesting combos such as green tea/mint and peach/purple-thing-that-may-or-may-not-be-a-fruit), I’m here to study Chinese with the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program. 

I’ve been in Shanghai for almost exactly a month now, and I feel like I’m just about settled into student life here. My classmates are American but come from all different parts of the country, so it’s been really fun getting to know them and swapping lost-in-translation moments. We all just got back from our mid-program trip to Henan Province, which was interesting, but exhausting (in other words, I have to keep this short so I can sleep soon!). We went hiking, stayed in a martial arts training village, visited lots of Buddhist temples, and ate so much good food. 

Anyway, save for these past few days, my normal schedule is something along the lines of this: Monday through Thursday get to class by 9am, lunch at either the cafeteria (risky because I never end up knowing what exactly I’m ordering) or a nearby restaurant, then class again in the afternoon. When school’s out, I meet with my language partner, get to take a nap (if I’m lucky), and then do homework and prepare for the next day. It’s not very glamorous, but it makes the weekends all that much better. We have a half-day on Fridays, where we take our weekly (loooonngg) test and then eat lunch with our teachers, but then the rest of the weekend is free to go out and explore the city. 

So far, that’s been the most fun. One weekend I went to Nanjing, another I hung out in Shanghai to shop and visit touristy locations. One Sunday afternoon I accidentally ended up at “English Corner” in a park downtown - swarmed by people eager to practice their English skills, I was stuck chatting for over two hours! 

All in all, it’s been a fun experience, and I can’t believe that it’s already half over! I’ve made good friends, and hopefully the Chinese I’m learning will even further prepare me for Beijing this fall (with Sherry and Terry and Christian!). 

Hope you’re enjoying your summer as well! We’d love to hear from you :)

xoxo Aliza

It’s been three weeks, and I’ve already embarked on what I can only call the most Midwestern journey of my life. Despite having lived in the northwest Chicago suburbs and of course, going to school at the University of Chicago, I was in for a treat when I arrived in Cleveland for my internship as a part of the Summer on the Cuyahoga program— a real, wholesome, Midwestern, dairy-laden treat.

I’m a marketing intern this summer for a technology company, and so far, it’s been a real learning experience. I’ve learned that having your own office comes with its own set of responsibilities, such as not jamming out too loudly to Pandora and always remembering to bring a sweater. I’ve been working closely with the directors of marketing and sales, as well as the president of the company, which is definitely a benefit of interning at a smaller company. I’ve also gotten my hands on Google Adwords, several advertising campaigns and a larger, more creative direct mailer that I’m just giddy about. Since we do business-to-business (B2B) marketing, I tailor what I do to a very specific demographic— described by many in  the company only half-jokingly as “a group of 40-50 year old golf, motorcycle and computer enthusiasts”. 

And although my motto will always be Chi-‘til-I-die, Cleveland is totally underrated. I’ve had the time of my life here as I meet students from all over the country through the program. And thanks to a heartwarming bunch of proud Clevelanders, we’ve literally been all over. I know more about this place than I ever thought was possible (like the fact that Cleveland is the world’s number one exporter of ATMs. Now you know).

As I struggle with the physical aftermath of yesterday’s session of free yoga in the city, I think back to this weekend’s rendezvous at the Summer Solstice party at the Cleveland Museum of Art (can we say glamorous), our organically delicious adventures at the West Side Market, a brief reign as corn hole champion with my friend Greg at Shooter’s on the River, gallivanting around East 4^th and West 9^th and enjoying 20 miles of beautiful Ohio scenery on the trail from Cleveland to Akron.   

And though I dislike the term foodie almost as much as I dislike cheesy flash mobs, I’m afraid I’ve turned into one. Whatever. In the immortal words of Kid Cudi, “Cleveland is the reason I’m cool”

Check me out. 

Some shrimp curry and kim chi noodle action.

 B A C O N  G U A C A M O L E. the point of the extreme spacing is to emphasize the deliciousness of it all.

And since everyone was thinking it,
http://picsofaznstakingpicsoffood.tumblr.com/

With love from the 216,

Sherry

clientsfromhell:

After starting and stopping development once already on a complex educational website, our client finally gave us the go-ahead to develop the site completely.  A month after work had begun, we received the following email:

Client: We have been reviewing our user situation and are unsure whether many of them will have internet access. Could you supply the website on a CD?