It is almost time to say Goodbye!

Today I turned in my portfolio and had my last meeting with my advisor. It is completely insane that these four months are over!! My roommates and I are filling our week full of fun activities with friends. We are all done working at our internships so we have started to pack up our apartment. On Thursday a bunch of us are going to the Phillies game! Livy arrives Friday and then we both fly home Sunday. I really still cannot believe I am done here. I am on summer break already...holy cow!!!

Thank you all for reading my blog and I hope you enjoyed it!

Just a Week Left!!!

This is my last work week! I can hardly believe it! It feels like just yesterday I wrote my first blog entry. I am working on finishing up my projects for my portfolio this week while juggling all my other work. We have to turn in this huge portfolio next week that describes what we have been doing for the past 4 months at our internship. I have gotten a good start on it all so hopefully it will be set for Monday.

Since I am done with work after Friday I am going to be enjoying my last few days here next week. I need to start packing all my clothes up and shipping some of it home!!

This past weekend I went to DC with three of my roommates and my friend from Alma and Kala's friend from Alma.
We visited all the monuments and did some shopping in Georgetown. We also went to the Natural History Museum and the American History Museum. There was a Climate Rally going on too when we were there and we stopped by for a bit to listen to it! Below are pictures....

We made it to the mall:)

The Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

The Climate Rally on Saturday


The Climate Rally on Sunday. (That is Aaron Piersol Olympic Swimmer speaking by the way;)

Heather and I love the EARTH!


The classic Philly pic had to be taken!

So I will be home a week from Sunday! I am excited to see everyone and be home. Although saying goodbye to people here will be sad. I'll just have to live up my last week in Philly!
I can't wait for the summer to start! It is only days away:)

Sunny Days and a Family Visit!

I know that I am a few weeks behind on my blog...oops. I guess I have just been so busy.

At work over the last few weeks I have been working a bunch of different projects and I have had the opportunity to attend a few meetings at other hotels. It has all been so interesting and I am learning different things everyday.

One Saturday a friend and I planned a scavenger hunt for a bunch of friends around the city. We even made it a bit like the show The Amazing Race where they had to go to specific places to receive their next clues. 14 people came and participated! Below is a picture of everyone in front of the North American Building where we have class!

For Easter my roommate and I went to the Easter Parade that was taking place a block from our apartment. It was a very short parade but we took a few pictures.

Gretchen and I at the Easter Parade!

The past few weekends I have been enjoying the sun and hanging out outside!

This turtle was walking past when we were reading at the park. He is the FASTEST moving turtle I have ever seen!

This past weekend my parents visited with Brian and we had a great time! We went to a Philadelphia Union Soccer Game on Saturday night. The Philadelphia Union is a new team to Philadelphia. We went to their first home game that was held at the Philadelphia Eagles Football Stadium. Below are a few pictures!

Oh and Joe Biden was there!!!

The Weeks Fly By!

This Week Flew By!!

I had class on Monday and we visited the Eastern State Penitentiary! It is an old prison that has inspired the designs of prisons all over the world! It was a bit creepy and we went on a rainy day so it made it even creepier but still pretty cool. The prison is set up like a sun so that one guard can sit in the middle and see all the hallways that stick off the center. The prison was closed down in the early 1970s.

Tuesday I went running! It was perfect weather after work, not too warm and not too cold!

On Wednesday my roommate Kala and I went to watch a public television movie on Dirt. It was very informative and well done! We had a good time!

Thursday I went out to dinner for a friend's birthday!

This weekend I worked on a lot of homework, ran and hung out with my roommates. We all tried to get a head start on our portfolio projects that are due at the end of the semester which is right around the corner! Today I went to church again and the sermon was on Love and Marriage. My roommate Kala went with me and we really enjoy the songs!!

This week at work I.....

-Attended a Sales Meeting
-Created menu labels
-Labeled envelopes for a group of guests
-Created sales packets for Formals to mailed out to nearby college organizations
-Started researching ways to implement Recycling bins all over the hotel

Next week I should be able to run some more to prepare for a 5K that I am planning on running! Also my parents and Brian will be here in a little over a week and Easter is on Sunday! There is a parade that is supposed to take place Sunday right outside my apartment!!

I hope everyone is well:)

It's Sunny in Philly!!!

74 Degrees...74 DEGREES!!!! IN MARCH!!!

The end of this week was absolutely beautiful. I still can't even believe how lucky we are!!!

Monday I had my evening class at my teacher's house in New Jersey! We took the PATCO which is the train service that goes to New Jersey. It was fun to take the train and really nice to eat dinner outside the city at a real home. We discussed class over pizza!

Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day and the weather was so nice! Everyone seemed to be wearing green! We also had a Supervisor's Reception at the Center for all students and their Supervisors to attend. One of the women that I work with in the office went with me and it was nice for her to have the opportunity to meet everyone at the Center and learn more about the program. After work I went for a run around the neighborhood just because it was nice outside! Later that night, we invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! We had a green food theme consisting of green grapes, cucumbers, celery and guacamole!! It was a lot of fun! A bunch of friends stopped by!!

This past weekend was beautiful so on Saturday with a high of 74 degrees my roommates and I headed to the park! We went to Fairmount Park behind the Art museum and soaked up the sun!

On the way to the Park!!

Kala and Gretchen

Lisa and I!


To the right of the Art Museum!


The back of the Art Museum!


Gretchen, Eric and Kala


Tom and Lisa!

The city!

After we sat around enjoying the day, we went to dinner and a play at the Wilma Theater called Language Rooms. It was really interesting! After the show our roommate who was back at our apartment called to tell us that there were a ton of people on south street and police out and that we should be cautious. My roommate Kala and I walked back and approached South Street to see the street packed with high school students. Supposedly there was a facebook group or event of kids planning to steal from the stores on South Street. There have been a few similar attempts in other places around the city. It was all a bit crazy to walk through especially with all the people on the sidewalks and the roads blocked off by police. There were even helicopters flying around!

I had been searching the web this week and found out that there is a Unitarian Universalist Church in Philadelphia! My roommate Kala and I went to a service on Sunday morning! It really enjoyed the service! It brought back memories of church when I was younger, the service was very familiar!

Outside the 1st Unitarian Universalist Church


Outside the Church!


Inside the Church!

So it was a big week! I also entered my bracket to find out shortly after I am pretty much done for in the tournament because Villanova is out!! And Obama picked them too!!

I hope everyone is enjoying the end of March! April is just around the corner!!

St. Patrick's Day and Visitors:)

Last week I had two visitors!!

Katherine visited from Sunday to Wednesday and Livy was here Thursday through Sunday! It was so nice to see people from home!

Katherine and I walked all over Philly on Tuesday! The weather was PERFECT! 60 and Sunny! I could not have asked for a better day to walk around! We walked almost 6 miles all over! We went to the top of city hall, to the liberty bell, Independence Hall, to all 4 squares in the city (big parks), and the Italian Market. I had such a great time showing Katherine the city and she said she loved it! Below are a few pictures from the day..

Katherine and I in the oldest continually lived on Alley in the USA (Alfred's Alley)


Katherine and I at a Jazz Show Tuesday night!

Livy visited Thursday night and on Friday we walked around and shopped after I got out of work. Unfortunately it rained a WHOLE lot but we still had a great time. On Saturday we trudged through the rain to the Franklin Institute, the science museum in the city. It was really cool and there were representatives there from the Phillies, the Philadelphia baseball team giving away free stuff!! Later that night my roommates had some friends over and we played Wii Just Dance! It is an awesome game that I highly recommend. Below are some pictures from Liv's visit!

Liv and I saw a 3D movie at the Institute!

We tried out this pulley chair thing! Our hands really hurt after!


The sports section was pretty cool.


Liv in the Heath exhibit!


Liv on top of a domino!


At Love Park!

After livy left, I went to the St. Patrick's Day parade which was still going on despite the constant rain. I watched the parade from inside a cafe and my roommates joined me! Below are some pictures...

The parade went to the Museum!

Irish Dancers!

The weather is supposed to get nicer later this week and I am so excited! I can't wait to check out Fairmount Park! Work tomorrow through Friday!

I hope everyone is well:)

Another Week!

This week was a good one!

Tuesday my roommates and I went to IHOP for free pancakes! You donate to their charity in exchange for paying for the pancakes. It was so crowded...but we waited in line..in the rain anyway. It was a lot of fun!

On Wednesday night I went to see Romeo and Juliet at The Arden Theater with a bunch of friends. They were having a "pay what you want" night because it was their dress rehearsal. It was such an awesome play! It was actually really funny! They did a really good job and I am so glad I went!

At work this week, I...

-Worked with the director of Human Resources.

-Worked with the women who creates resumes which are documents that contain information about all groups that come to the hotel to inform all departments of the hotel what to expect.

-Created a mass email advertising and promoting weddings at the Radisson.

-Went on two site Inspections.

This week Philly was hit with more snow but it didn't really last. It was too warm for the snow to stick or at least to stick longer than a few hours.

This weekend my roommates and I hung out and relaxed! I had a lot of reading to do for class so I did that on Saturday and Sunday. Also I set up our Wii so we had a good time playing that too!

Next weekend I am working a wedding at the hotel and my friend Katherine is vising! I am very excited to have a visitor!!

I hope everyone is well:)

Just a Workin' Girl!

This week was my first experience of a full week of work!

Holy cow am I tired! It was a huge week!

First of all, last weekend I went to China Town and witnessed New Year celebrations! It was awesome! We hung out at some friend's house in China Town for a while and then at 12:00 we all went outside an saw a bunch of people dressed up as dragons and they were moving from Chinese restaurant to Chinese restaurant doing a dance around the firecrackers that were being set off! It was really exciting and there were tons of people in the streets. People were standing on the snow mounds along the streets. Below are a few pictures.

On Sunday I went to a church nearby and after there was dinner for the homeless and anyone who attended. It was neat because we were able to meet a lot of new people. AND Sunday was Valentines day so in honor I will add the below picture.

Just the typical Philly picture;)

Monday felt long because of my classes, then Tuesday through Friday I was at work from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. This week, I did various different tasks at work. Some include..

-Attending 2 sales tours of the hotel for representatives of competing hotels.

-Attended the business meeting every morning that included all the sales women.

-Attended the "stand-up" meeting every morning which included managers in charge of events, The Coffee Bar (the cafe in the hotel), Tavern 17 (the restaurant in the hotel), housekeeping, maintenance, sales, reservations and front desk.

-Went through a computer training program for Delphi which creates BEOs which are Banquet Event Orders. This program is used by all departments in the office I work in.

-Attended a sales meeting with a bride and her wedding planner.

-Designed the screen shots that appear on the TVs outside event space.

-Created labels for brochures and stapled sales packets.

-Set up and preformed a Site Inspection.

Tonight one of my roommates and I went to a really delicious Crepe restaurant a block away! We split a berry crepe with vanilla ice cream! It was so tasty! After dessert we went to a friend's house to hang out with other people from the Center.

Tomorrow I need to go and buy some more vegetables at the Italian Market and finish up my homework. Then Monday starts another week:)

First Day on the Job!

Today was my first day at the Radisson Warwick Hotel.

I started my day at 8:30 AM. I attended a morning meeting with my supervisor and other hotel staff. After that I was given a tour of the hotel. The top 8 floors are condominiums and I work on the 3rd floor. The middle 12 floors are for hotel guests. I was able to see all of the conference rooms and large spaces that are rented out for events. The decorations are beautiful and all look very beautiful. On my tour I was introduced to many of the hotel staff. It is nice to start meeting everyone and learning their names! I have my own desk and computer, which once my email is set up I will be able to log onto.

After lunch I worked on a Valentine's Day chocolate gifts to be given out to hotel guests. After that I filled some papers and sat in on a meeting between the weddings coordinator and the hotel chef. Next week I was told that there is a lunch meeting that a couple of the women in the office are going to with an event planner! I am really excited!

This weekend is the Chinese New Year and a few girls from the Center live in China Town so I think some friends and I are going to join in the festivities! Next week I will have a real schedule to follow! Class on Monday and work Tuesday thru Friday:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Internship Search is Over!

So...the search is over!

I had an interview yesterday at the Radisson Plaza Warwick Hotel and after being given an offer, I decided I wanted to intern there! I will be able to help and learn about all the steps that go into planning the events that occur at the hotel. The hotel hosts conferences, social events and weddings. The hotel is gorgeous!

I am most excited to intern at the Radisson because I have been told and was told during my interview that they do an amazing job targeting your internship experience towards what your interests are. They told me that if I am doing something and I feel that I would like to work more hands on or try something different that they will move me onto another project or area within the office.

I start working on Friday at 8:30 AM! I am so excited to start having a regular schedule and gaining working experience. It has been difficult waiting around trying to figure out my placement.

Currently we are in the middle of a record setting snow storm....it's kind of a big deal. We are basically stuck in our apartment unless we want to walk against wind and snow. They are even saying that we may get more snow on Monday too! I wouldn't mind a snow day in a few weeks when I am exhausted from working but right now I am eager to start my internship!

I hope everyone in Michigan is enjoying the snow:)

Philly vs. Mother Nature

This was such a busy week!

Some of the highlights include;

Classes on Monday! I really enjoy my classes:)

I had an interview at the Independence Hall Visitor's Center for event planning but it sounds like it will involve more sales than actual event planning so I have a few more interviews next week.

The Center put on an activity on Identity on Thursday night. A group of actors came in and we ran through some activities and discussed different cultures and our identities. It was fun and they gave us some delicious soft pretzels.

On Friday a group of friends and I visited art galleries in Old City. Every first Friday of the month there are free activities going on in the city. So on Friday all the galleries were open for people to walk in. It was interesting because each art gallery had different types of art; sculpture, paintings, and art made out of random objects. The most interesting gallery we went to was the our last stop. It was Jewish and had art made out of pressed flowers! They were absolutely beautiful flowers. We stayed there for a bit and they announced that they would be having a dinner for anyone who wanted to attend. We decided to stay and they taught us how to wash our hands and say their prayer before dinner. We ate some delicious bread, salad, and chicken while listening to loud songs and pounding on the tables. It was all very amusing and eye opening to learn about another religion and culture.

Friday night was when the snow started to fall...and it didn't stop. Our walk back to our apartment from Old City had us walking through at least a foot of snow!!
We woke up on Saturday morning to over two feet of snow. The news referred to the snow as a war that Philly was up against. The city has no real way to remove the snow because of the number of streets and how close they are to each other. The city isn't the best at snow removal but they sure know how to salt the sidewalks!! We were hit by some salt a few times when walking the streets!

Saturday night Lisa and I went to visit some friends from the Center and the walk involved sliding on slushy, icy sidewalks, climbing mounds of snow and walking through a few streets due to the lack of a path on the sidewalks. It was a real adventure but somehow snow here in the city is a whole lot more fun than snow at home!

Tomorrow we are meeting up with a large group of people from the Center to visit the Art Museum because the first Sunday of every month the art museum is pay what you want. Then in the evening we are going to watch the Super Bowl at a house of friends that live in Old City.

Next week I have two interviews, one on Monday and one on Tuesday! I am hoping to have my internship all figured out very soon!

I hope everyone is doing well:)

STEP 1: Get out the door!

South Street with a layer of snow!

My roommate Lisa

Whole Foods is Closed!

Another view of South Street

CITY HALL!

I've Only Been Here TWO Weeks??

WEEK 2!!

It seems incredibly hard to believe that only a short two weeks ago I got out of the Taxi in front of the Holiday Inn Express. Now I have been living in my apartment IN THE CITY for a whole week. Two weeks doesn't seem like a very long time and yet so much has happened! This past week I spent a lot of time walking to and from The Philadelphia Center.

Monday I had my Power and Authority class that met at 30th Street Station. It was POURING outside. My roommate and I trudged our way through the rain to the closest subway station and took the subway to 30th Street Station. It was beautiful and the architecture was impressive. We did an activity at the station and then finished class back at the Center. Later that night I had my first marketing class.

Tuesday I was able to sleep in until I made a trip to the Center to turn in my internship preferences. Before heading to the Center, my friend and I checked out this really neat thrift shop behind our apartment.

Wednesday was the first day of what they call "Caucus". The instructors at the Center meet to discuss our internship preferences and start to set up interviews. In the morning my roommate Gretchen and few of our friends from the Center walked to the Italian Market a few blocks away to pick up some tasty and fresh fruits and vegetables. We also went into a cheese shop and tasted some of the most delicious cheese I have ever tasted. Later that day, we all met at the Center at 2:30 to check and see if any of us had interviews. I called to set one up at the Independence Hall Visitor's Center and was told to wait for more information on my other choices. Later that day I found out that I had an interview set up for Thursday morning. This interview was at Domus Inc., a small advertising and PR firm right next door to the Center. I spent the night preparing for my interview and reading up on Domus Inc.

Thursday I had my interview at 10:30 am. I rode the elevator to the 19th floor and waited for my interview. It went very well! The people I interviewed with made me feel very comfortable and it helped me to feel more confident about future interviews. I spent the rest of the day at the Center waiting to check the caucus list again at 2:30 and sat around until 5:00 when the Homelessness Colloquium was to begin. The Center ordered us pizza and invited in a man who works with the homeless in the city to speak. He spoke to us about why people are homeless, how to help the homeless and some of the efforts being made to assist the homeless in Philadelphia. It was helpful to have his perspective and he was a great speaker.

Friday my roommates and I walked to the center twice to check the caucus list which would put our walking mileage at just about 5 miles for the day!! Later that night we made delicious spaghetti and watched a movie.

Saturday a large group of students from the Center visited some of the "touristy" spots in the city. We all visited the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It was a lot of fun to hang out with different people and learn more about the historic landmarks that we have been walking past everyday.

Sunday my roommate Kala and I visited the Central Library near Logan Square. We both signed up for library cards and took pictures with large game pieces in a park across from City Hall.

This next week I have two interviews, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. The Center hopes to have everyone placed by the end of the week so we can start working next Monday or even earlier.

Below are some pictures from the last few weeks!

Hope everyone is enjoying winter!! It is hard to believe it is FEBRUARY!

This is a picture from the Italian Market

This is a picture from the Subway after walking through the rain!

Me in front of City Hall!

Of course the famous Liberty Bell!!

Nothing is cooler than a GIANT Domino!