Well, I finished my first assessment yesterday afternoon, which was my essay on sustainable tourism in Northern Ireland. It’s not my best piece of work by any means, but it will pass, fingers crossed. Still getting used to the difference between an English essay and a US essay, and how much more research is involved here. It was such an interesting topic, but time and word limits only allow so much detail. So, by January 9th (unless I get some extensions, which I’m actually working on), I have five more pieces of work due:
-A 3,000 word formal report on Belfast, including info on market segmentation/demand, resources, and sustainability measures, either in regards to the economy, environment, or culture.-A 15 minute formal presentation including a 1,000 word summary picking a company in the above destination that operates internationally and methods by which they do so.
-A 2,500 word essay on a theory of political/tourism policy in a specific context (doing something called pluralism and relating it to tourism policy in urban areas of the usa, using chicago as a case study by analysis of the current and past govt/majors since the 60s and showing pluralism, which basically means that everyone has a say, somewhat, in policy, is what works for Chicago, as evidenced by successful tourist attractions such as navy pier and millenium park).
-Another 2,500 word essay for the same politics & policy class on the successful methods of partneships, again related to a particular context (no research done on this one yet)-And, finally…a 5,000 word formal report for my International Marketing Strategy module on a specific company (using the Northern Ireland Tourist Board), analysing their marketing plan and evaluating models of marketing (this one is a real head-banger for me…my right brained way of thinking is very challenged).
Ok, I have quite literally just given myself a headache. Of course, that could also be due to the fact that I got in about 3am last night after going out for drinks with a group of peeps, who are actually acquaintences of the old landlady. One of them is an American who just finished up a PhD here and is going back to DC next week. She’s been wanting me to meet him and this other fella since September, so I thought, what the hell. I was wanting a night out anyway after finishing that essay and cooking myself a nice dinner of sloppy joe, boiled potatoes, salad and a kickin coleslaw. It was actually a quite nice group of people, some of whom I found out later (I stayed after Paulette went home) don’t fancy the landlady herself very much;) So, I obtained the details on one of the fellas who P wanted me to meet…as she would say, that means I “pulled”. Still sounds dodgy to me (the phrase, that is), but you know how it is when someone wants to set you up…you think, how fugly and odd is this person going to be. Was pleasantly surprised…the lad was quite easy on the eyes. Anyhoo, I hope to be able to keep in touch with a few of them, as it was a nice group of people who I could escape from the uni thing with once in a while.
"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than the next, moves slowly, over periods of years from one part of the earth to another." -Paul Bowles
1 comment:
Hi Susan,
This is much more work than similar U.S. programs would require. But, it seems like you are learning so much more!! In fact, does this type of program even exits in the U.S.? Glad to see you are having some fun (staying until until 3am with ??). Good for you. Balance is important.
We got our first snow last night & it’s still snowing. It’s very cold.
Terry
Commented by Terry on December 4, 2005 at 2:36 pm
Yes, I do feel like I am learning such a wide range of things. I do get frustrated over the amount of the work, and probably haven’t been allowing myself as much balance as I should. I think after this semester is over and I have my marks back, I’ll have a better feel for things. Really wish it was a longer program…perhaps two years, so I would have more time to learn…then again, that would be a huge debt to come home with. I do think similar programs exist in the US, although I haven’t seen anything quite so flexible; they tend towards hospitality and event/meeting planning. I’ll have to do a search to see. I never looked too thoroughly, as I knew I didn’t want to do a program in the states.
Yeah, I have ben hearing about the weather back home. It’s still very mild here…in the 40s and 50s with a bit of rain.
modified to add: Just did a general search on google for ‘MA Tourism’ and the only universities/degrees that popped up first glance were in the UK. I sometimes think it would have been more interesting to do a course on Tourism Development, as opposed to Management, but I could always do some kind of top up later in life if inclined.
Commented by Suzer on December 4, 2005 at 3:58 pm
Working on my first formal report today (the first thing listed above) and thinking to myself that the last time I remember doing a report with an actual table of contents was my Chicago report for Mrs. Murphy in the 3rd grade. Perhaps I should have expanded on that and brought in the original as my draft;)
modified to add: almost done and will be printed off tomorrow and handed in monday:)
Commented by Suzer on December 7, 2005 at 6:17 pm
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