In the hot seat

“Winnie, I remember looking at you and seeing how terrified you look. Ha ha ha!” That’s what my professor told me after I expressed how intense the Q+A sessions were following our group presentations. What should have been 30 minute presentations followed by 15 minutes of questions turned into a 4-hour meeting with no breaks. [...]

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I’m on a boat!

For our farewell dinner, we boarded a private yacht and went on a tour of the Bosphorus. Majority of the group sat on the upper level to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the scenery. Since I am actually afraid of water, I sat huddled in a corner downstairs near the life jackets. In [...]

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It’s the Final Countdown

Lauren and I just climbed three flights of stairs. By the time we reached our room, it felt like we had just reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Though I was panting heavily and trying to avoid an asthma attack, I was still able to gasp, “Why is it so hard to walk?” “Because we’re [...]

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We just dined in a palace.

True story. According to reliable sources (Wikipedia), the Adile Sultan Palace “was built for the Ottoman princess Adile Sultan.”* We walked through the palace on our way to Borsa Restaurant and stopped for a moment to take in the views. The palace is built on a hill and presents a breathtaking panorama of the Bosphorus Sea. [...]

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Follow the Leader

Our leader on this adventure to Istanbul, Turkey, is Mr. Abdullah Akyuz. Mr. Akyuz is the President of TUSIAD-US, the U.S. Representative Office of Turkish Business Federation. Much like the US Business Roundtable, TUSIAD is comprised of the CEOs of the major industrial, financial and service companies in Turkey. Between 1983-1990, Abdullah Akyuz served on the [...]

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Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

I thought I was going to be the first writer to post on this blog and reveal myself as the overachieving (ha!) nerd that I am. Thankfully, my dear colleague Miss Nowack has taken that honor. Rio sounds like it’s going to be a great experience, and I can’t wait to read the updates! When [...]

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