The Last Blog

     Well our trip abroad is now officially over. Myself and five others left yesterday around noon and set off for Prague while the others stayed in Vilnius and departed earlier this morning for Warsaw for a 7 hour layover, then to Amsterdam and finally back to Atlanta. When we arrived in Prague, we still had several hours of daylight since we arrived around 3:30. We set off and went and dumped our bags off at our hotels by the airport and the girls’ dropped their luggage, that was to be checked, off at our hotels before we set out to go into down town Prague. Our hotel was right by the airport so it made it very convenient for everyone to be able to get their stuff checked and ready to go on the plane in a reasonable amount of time.

     Prague was a awesome city and seemed to have more sights to see everywhere you looked. We ventured to the top of what had to be the largest flight of stairs in the entire city to get the best view possible. It was simply amazing to say the least. From there we went back down the hill side this time instead of the stairs and ventured back toward where we started after getting off the bus in down town. There was some sort of music festival going on in one of the town squares with delicious smelling food. There we met several students from North Carolina and they talked about what they had been doing in the town since their arrival a month ago. We then went and dropped the girls’ carry-on bags off at their hotel and went to find some dinner. After that we went through several of the shops close by. After getting a t-shirt or two, we went back to our hotels and called it a night. Unfortunately we were yet again encountered with a hotel that thought charging their guests for internet access was acceptable, so I had to wait until the 9 hour plane right back home to type it out for posting when we reach stateside.

     This morning everything went smoothly with getting all of our bags checked and getting through security other than the fact they decided to keep a socket (as in ratchet and socket tool) for some reason or another that was in my bag. Other than that, everything was a smooth as could be. As I’m finishing up summing our last day and a half worth of experience, we are currently about two hours outside of the US boarder and I think we’re all looking forward to getting off this plane.

      This has been an incredible experience and I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely considering it. Thanks so much to Dr. Shook because without him and his easy going personality, we would have never been able to do everything we have. I have extremely enjoyed getting to learn about the economic situation as well as the way businesses function in Eastern Europe. I would also like to thank all of our followers of the blog and twitter. All the friends and family back home keeping up with us have really motivated us into sharing our story and I hope that it has at least entertained you all if nothing else.

-Derek Godwin

What is your competitive advantage?

                Today concluded our final scheduled day of our journey through the Baltic States. It consisted of a morning company visit, and an afternoon visit to parliament that was followed by a farewell dinner hosted by Vilnius University. Half of the group will be flying to Prague tomorrow for the night and then returning back to Atlanta on Saturday. The other half of the group leaves Vilnius Saturday and has several connecting flights before their return flight home. Michael and Mary-Elyse will be staying in Europe for continued travels with their respective family members.

                With the trip coming to an end, everyone will be reflecting on the past three weeks in the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Each individual member of the group will have a different perspective on what the trip meant to them.  I personally have taken more out of the past three weeks than a blog entry can begin to describe.  When college students study abroad the first things that probably come to their minds are typically “Spain, France, Italy”; I would be lying if I said I didn’t fit that stereotype when I first considered traveling abroad this summer. When people hear the three countries “Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania” who knows what the first thought is that comes to mind.  Just a few months ago I did not have the slightest clue about those three; other than Lithuania which triggered something about basketball in the back of my mind.

                Three countries meant three unique cultures and three different currencies. I have been able to formulate a new outlook on each country. All three independent states have an incredibly interesting history and it has been a fascinating experience furthering our knowledge on the deep impact of past events first hand from citizens of each state.  It has been one of the most beneficial learning experiences I have had during my undergraduate tenure at Auburn University.  We took our knowledge from our week of “boot camp” and applied that over the past three weeks. We have been lectured on the economic status of each country and the direction each one plans to head in the near and distant future; this gave us a great foundation going into company visits. The numerous company visits have given us the opportunity to interact with all sides of what goes into the heartbeat of a business: members of sales and marketing, finance, research and development and even a CEO.

                 Thanks to everyone who kept up with our blog.  The Baltic States will not be the same without us. Signing off from Vilnius, Lithuania.

Patrick Markham

The end is near.... : (

Today we had a full day of exploring, and we got our full share of interesting sights!

We started off in a city about 30 minutes away from Vilnius called Trakai, where we got to walk around a neat old castle. Our tour guide was fantastic; She was a historian and definitely knew her stuff!!

Next we went to hear a lecture at the Faculty of Economics. We had heard about the Lithuanian economy on other economic visits, but it was nice to hear from them exactly how they handled the economic crisis. All the Baltic countries are compared to each other and usually grouped together, but after traveling to all three their differences are obvious. They like to have their independence from one another, as well.

Next the group went to a KGB Museum in Vilnius that is actually located inside an old KGB prison/office. It was definitely creepy being in an actual building where horrible events occurred, but we all enjoyed learning about Lithuania during Soviet control.

Next a bunch of us stopped at the "Pizza & Coffee" shop across from our hostel. Delicious and large... really large. The slices were basically the size of our heads!

Tomorrow we have our last company visit, and it is even some student's (those staying in Prague friday night) last full day!! We are sad it is coming to a close, but it has definitely been a fantastic experience.

- EMMA & STEVEN

Another Day in Vilnius!

Today started early with breakfast at our hotel, then we headed out for a day of company visits. Our first company visit and tour was of Arcus Novus, a satellite communications company. The bus ride was about 20 minutes but seemed odd when we started driving on dirt roads in a rural area. It was later explained that a rural location is better because there are no tall buildings and not many other obstacles that could potentially disrupt the signals given off by the satellite dishes. The tour was no too bad and kind of interesting seeing how it all works.
After our visit, we headed back towards town and took a lunch break that was finally relaxed and not rushed!! I went with the half of the group that had Italian while the other half of the group ventured off for Greek food.
After lunch, we headed to visit Fermentas, a biotechnical company that develops, manufactures and distributes products to customers such as researchers and pharmaceutical companies, just to name a few. We all agreed the presentation was quite interesting and incorporated various business components which related to us much more than a lot of scientific information.
After our visit, we chilled for a few hours then headed to dinner, which is highly regretted amongst the group and still remains a sore subject. To tell the story nutshell, waiting 2 hours (no exaggeration!!) for Chinese food makes 13 starving college students a bit upset. Despite the traumatic experience, we managed to stop by the grocery store on the way back to the hotel to get some good snacks to compensate for the tragic dinner!
- Kristen and Matt

Walking Around in Vilnius

Today marked our first full day in Vilnius. We visited a small biotechnology company called Profarma. Honestly, the science was a little over our heads. Fortunately, we did know what cells and DNA are, so we were not completely lost. However, it could have been better. Afterward, we received a tour of the university, which is fairly large and an easy place to get lost. It was very interesting, though. The university has a rich history in Vilnius, and we enjoyed the tour. The library had an excellent collection of older books, including more than 300 of the 1200 in Europe from the first 50 years of the 16th century. They also had an interesting observatory, filled with old telescopes and such. We climbed up into a tower, and the staircase was a tight fit. They also have a church with a very impressive pipe organ. Overall, we enjoyed the tour, although our feet were tired, and more walking was to come.
After lunch, we took a two hour walking tour of the city. The city is filled with architecture from various periods, including the Baroque, Classical, Gothic, and much more. There were many churches throughout the city, and they were all impressive. Vilnius, unlike Riga and Tallinn, has car traffic going through the old town, so that was something else we had to look out for. After the tour, we had dinner at 3 PM (Seriously, our welcome dinner hosted by the University was at 3 PM). Fortunately, the food was delicious. However, we were all hungry later, so went out to get a snack in old town. Now, we are tired from all the walking, and ready to go to sleep. That is all for today. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Written by Daniel McClendon and Joseph Guthrie

Welcome to Vilinius

Yesterday we visted the hill of crosses. It was extraordinary and fascinating!! There were literally millions of crosses that spanned the horizon. The bus ride was very long and bumpy. Underdeveloped roads are no fun to travel on. I slowly gained my appetite back as we drove past cows. When we finally arrived in Vilinius, we were very impressed with the hostel. Who would have known that out of all three places to stay, the hostel would be the most impressive? We all enjoy watching the world cup on flat screen T.V.s with no static, and multiple other channels. The free wifi is also very appreciated, as well as the moonlight in the bathrooms. We all hit the sack early since we had to get up early the next day, and prepare for another week of exciting company visits and tours of the city.
Sincerely, Steven Spry

From Latvia to Lithuania

Today marked the end of the week in Riga Latvia. We all kind of did our own thing today and explored the city a little more than we had previously. I started the day by going to some of the underground shops that are tucked away underneath pubs and restaurants that reside on the ground level. After that I took a walk through one of the parks that populate a large amount of space in downtown Riga. From there I walked down to one of the malls and made a lap around the very confusing mall which had three floors and it was really strange that there were only escalators that went up and none going down. After the mall, I met up with the group and we headed to a local bar around the corner from Hotel Riga to watch the US versus England match which apparently had several England fans in attendance for the event. When that was over, most of us went over to club essential to get a feel for the nightlife experience that Riga has to offer. The place was massive to say the least and was very interesting that they played mostly American music. The place consisted of several floors, and many different environments ranging from a lounge area covered in white pleather and green accent lighting to a full on techno dance room. One room had a local DJ that was apparently very popular in Riga who was the one playing all the American music and this room had several areas to sit around and hang out so this is the one we stayed in. We then went back to our hotel to pack our bags up and prepare for our noon departure to Vilnius Lithuania. I think we all had fun in Riga and the only thing I won’t miss is the internet in our hotel and my scary shower that loved to get piping hot or ice cold with no warning. Now we are all looking forward to Lithuania and one last week in Eastern Europe.

The Baltic Beaches

Today we made an adventure to the Baltic Sea for a day on the beach. We took a train to Majori, a town outside of Riga. We explored the city and took a walk down the boardwalk before going to the beach. It was a great day for the beach, but we only lasted for about an hour. The water was freezing and somebody forgot the soccer ball... patrick.

When we got back to Riga, we were all invited to a dinner hosted by the University of Latvia. This was the last time we got to see Agnese, our tour guide. She was great.

After dinner, we went to the Latvian Opera and saw a modern take on Mozart. Interesting, to say the least.

Tomorrow some of us are visiting a concentration camp. Should be a insightful experience.

-Daniel & Steven

This is the best Thursday we have had in Latvia yet!

What more can you ask of a Thursday in Latvia? Not much.

We began today bright and early. The group loaded a bus at nine and we had about an hour ride to our first destination: Latvia's Summer Bobsled track. We went down the track in the bob in groups of three, with the instructing driver in the front. It was quite a rush as the bob reached up to three 3g's.  Our team (Wilson, Jared, Patrick) backed up a victory in street hockey from the previous day by shattering the course record.

After everyone had gone we loaded up on the bus again and headed out to Ozolkalns, a recreational area that turns into Latvia's biggest ski slope in the winter. They opened during the economic crises and are still operating to this day and continue to grow. In the summer months they offer ropes courses, rafting, and canoeing.

Shortly after leaving the slope we arrived at the Cesis brewery, Latvia's second largest beverage producer. We had a brief presentation from the CEO of the company, then we were given a tour of the brewing process.

We stopped for a quick lunch at one of the local pizza joints where we were lucky enough to spot one of the rare Latvian stray cats, who graced the group with its high quality entertainment. After hanging out with this stray cat for lunch for an hour or so we could have called it quits on a high note but we decided to forge on. We made our way to an elegant river overview, but had the misfortune of being swarmed by a throng of mosquitoes. Today was a busy but successful one. The group is planning on heading over to the sandy beaches tomorrow; imagine Key West plus Destin with a splash of Gulf Shores (minus the oil). 

We send our love from Riga, Latvia.

Jared and Patrick

Happy Birthday Alexa!

FUN FILLED DAY!

Today was a lot of fun!
We started early with a company visit to Nordea Bank. We learned were able to hear people speak from two different sectors of the bank and take a tour of their brand new building in Riga. They were recently voted the twenty-first safest bank in the world and they are the largest bank in Latvia.

Next we went to Lido, an authentic Latvian restaurant chain. After our last experience at Peppersack {authentic Estonian food}, I was a little hesitant. Lido showed me. It was delicious! There is also are small amusement park rides/games outside the facilities. We all rented roller skates and skated the afternoon away!! It was such a throwback to the good old days and the guys even got in some healthy competition with a game of hockey!

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing laundry!! It was much needed for most people... stinky. haha. Some of us went to a local laundromat, while others got creative washing clothes in the bathroom! It all worked out and we are now all so fresh and so clean clean!

Tomorrow is going to be another adventurous day, and I'm excited! Riga is wonderful!

-EMMA & MATT

Rainy busy day in Latvia

After breakfast, we went to Stenders a cosmetic store in Riga.  It was a quick but rewarding visit, many of the group members (the girls) enjoyed the vast array of bath products.  Who knew there were so many different additives for a mere bath.   After getting some fresh air, we met back at the University of Latvia for a meeting with Schuco Solar, a solar power panel company.  We were informed that Schuco is currently working with the city of Riga to construct an energy efficient public library.   The majority of Shuco's clients are from residential, rather than businesses.  Overall the company is working to reduce energy consumption in Latvia.  We hoped on a tram across the river to Tele 2, the leading mobile phone provider for Latvia.  Dr. Shook was happy to find a coffee machine as we walked through the front door.  Tele 2 informed us of their guerrilla marketing campaign.  Long story short, they made world media coverage by creating a fake meteorite crash. They used the awareness to their advantage, introducing their new service plan called Meteorite.  Jared was so worried about eating chocolate that he forgot his jacket.  Thankfully, he has supernatural speed and was able to make it back in time to catch the tram.  We were able to change into some casual clothes and meet back at the University for a tour and a delightful dinner at the canteen.  We are now "Wifi"in it up at the local coffee shop.

 On top of the University of Latvia

Munchin on some bath salts...

P.S.-There were absolutely NO seagulls!

- Mary-Elsye and Jared

Riga Day 2

On day 2 of our of our excursion in Riga, we began the day with a lecture from the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, Mr. Juris Puce. He gave us some very insightful information on the current economic situation of the country of Latvia, as well as the basic economic policies they follow. After the lecture we were taken on a tour of the Old Town and the Art Nouveau buildings. Riga is a very different city from Tallinn, and it was good to see a change of scenery and some fresh views. For our first company visit of the trip, the chairman of the company Madara came and spoke to us about their business operations in Latvia and the other countries they operate in. Madara is a eco-cosmetics company, making products that are great for the skin an body as well as the environment. We were able to take a short visit to a Madara shop. The highlight of the day was the celebration of the 21st birthday of one our classmates, Daniel McClendon. For his birthday dinner he chose TGI Friday's, and we were able to provide him with the opportunity to celebrate with a cake and candles. For our nighttime activity, most of the group took a trip to the Skyline Cafe, which is on the 26th floor of a  high-rise hotel located in the middle of Riga. It was a long day, but one filled with great experiences and much learning.

I would like to give a shout out to my parents for being expert skypers, my brother Owen for not responding to my messages, my sister Sarah for responding to my messages, my girlfriend Audrey for being our most loyal Twitter follower, and everyone else who is keeping up with the blogs.

If you do not have a Twitter account, create one and follow AUCEESP, I promise you will be entertained.

-wilson

Riga!!!

Goodbye Estonia, Hello Latvia! We have conquered one country and have two to go! Today we said goodbye to our dorm at the Tallinn University around 11:00 and got to travel to Latvia in a Mercedes bus that was quite comfortable. Everyone relaxed and caught up on sleep from the late night on our four-hour bus ride. When we arrived at our hotel in Riga, we were all very impressed with how nice it looked from the outside. The rooms however are not as spacious as the dorm rooms, but they are still comfortable. We met with our tour guide for Riga, Agnese, and she showed us around the city. We quickly found that our hotel is right in the middle of the city and takes little time to walk anywhere. Dinner was the next order of business, and we decided to eat at an Asian restaurant called Dada. It was a stir-fry place where you get to pick your meat, vegetables, and sauce. After dinner the girls toured the 5-story mall, which took a very long time to explore! We had a great first day in RIga and are so excited to see what this week holds!


Kristen

Farewell, Tallinn

Today marks the last day of our visit to Tallinn Estonia.   During the course of our visit we saw and experienced many interesting things.   Among these experiences are: losing luggage,  walking around a lot (and occasionally tripping), riding buses and trams, travelling on a “ferry” (more like a cruise ship), visiting the university, eating a splendid breakfast at the hotel each morning, visiting several landmarks around town, several company visits, and going to prison.  We also ate a variety of different types of food here in Tallinn.  The first night, we ate traditional Estonian.  We have also eaten delicious Italian food at Vapiano, steak, McDonald’s, Subway, Hesburger, Lido (a Latvian restaurant), pizza, Chinese,  Turkish kebab, delicious pastries and bread, and more.
Today, a festival was beginning in Tallinn.  We went and looked at the open air market for Estonian crafts and souvenirs.  There was a small parade and music through the town.   Now, we are getting ready to go eat dinner followed by some of the Estonian night life.  Tomorrow, we leave for Riga after breakfast.  We have enjoyed our time here in Tallinn, and look forward to what the rest of our trip has to offer.  So, for the last time from Tallinn, goodbye.

-Written by Derek Godwin and Joseph Guthrie

A Day in Helsinki

This Friday, the entire AUCEESP group took a day trip to Helsinki, Finland. Transportation consisted of a 2-hour boat ride to from Tallinn at 6:30AM on the trip there, and a 3-hour boat ride from Helsinki back to Tallinn at 6:30PM. Enthusiastic about being in a fresh setting, we set out to explore a new territory in a short amount of time. The weather cooperated extremely well, most people were able to wear long sleeves and carry a light jacket and feel very comfortable for the entire day. We walked the downtown square, explored many of the narrow streets that extend from downtown, and we were also able to enjoy some time in a nearby park. The highlight of the day was the trip to the Olympic Stadium where the 1952 Summer Olympics were held. After walking for a solid 8 hours, we were ready for some quiet time on the trip back to Tallinn, only to find ourselves in the Baltic Princess's version of a disco for children under the age of 14. It was entertaining enough to keep us occupied on the grueling trip home. With a day off, the group plans to rest up for our next destination... RIga, Latvia.

Thanks for reading, Hi Mom.

Wilson

Skype

Students behind a very impressive conference table at Skype.

Week 1 from the the professor's perspective

The first week has flown by.   As you can tell from the students' posts, we have been very busy. Encouragingly, the students have not complained much and have exhibited flexibility, which is so vital to enjoying a trip abroad.   This weekend is dedicated to some much-needed free time.

Several people have asked my impressions of this group. I can honestly say this group is a joy with which to work.  I have four observations:  1) this group is typically on time; 2) this group is very cohesive; 30 this group seems to look out for each other especially well; and, 4) they are very enthusiastic about learning.

The attached picture includes the students and Taavi Roivas, a member of the Estonian Parliament and Chairman of the Finance Committee.    He met with us to tell us about politics in Estonia.  Interestingly, he has been to Auburn and studied at the Von Mises Institute.  He is the first Estonian I have met that has been to Auburn. 
. 
If you have access to Facebook, I have posted more pictures on the AU Central and Eastern European Studies Program facebook page. 

A Full Day of Entertainment!

Today we started off with a tour of Parliament! The building was beautiful and full of medieval and art-deco architectural styles. There was this neat room, the whisper room, where two people could stand in opposite corners, whisper, and hear what the other had said across the room. Parliament was in session as well, so we even got to see their governing in action!

Next we went to Olympic Group, the largest provider of casinos in Estonia and other Eastern European countries. We got to take a tour of the "largest" and first casino in Estonia, which compared to Vegas is a hole in the wall. It was definitely interesting to learn about the government regulations that they face and how they plan to increase their brand image, since most people believe gambling to be "of the devil." Some of us decided to get bonus cards for the heck of it... for free!

Lastly, we went to SKYPE! Skype was actually started in Estonia, and they are very proud to claim this accomplishment. We learned about their organizational culture, how their business model has been so successful, and that there is actually a company bigger than them in Asia, QQ, but no one had ever heard of them. He couldn't tell us anything about products to come in the future or the specifics behind their "peer to peer" technology. The visit was definitely exciting, especially since most of us are frequent users of Skype on this trip!!

Tomorrow we leave for Helsinki at 7:30 AM... toooo early! Should be a fun day trip for us all!

- Matt and Emma

Wednesday, June 2

          After starting the day with a typical Estonian breakfast, we headed to our first visit of the day with the Estonian Development Fund. This is a unique company owned by the Estonian parliament. The company is responsible for advising and researching new ways to improve the Estonian economy. One problem, which the company was trying to overcome, is that that because their country is so open and strongly connected to other countries through trade, the effects of the recent economic downturn has effected them worse than most other countries. The company is also involved in venture capital for entrepreneurs. One of the main things they are looking for are companies not only with a good business plan but also with long term goals of expanding globally.

            We left the Estonian Development Fund later than we had planned to and had to grab a quick lunch before heading to our next company visit. We split up and some of our group ate Turkish food while the others went back to a favorite Italian restaurant in the mall. We took the public bus, which is always an adventure, to our company visit .

            We arrived at ABB Estonia after a short ride and were introduced to Rainer Sternfeld who talked to us about the company. ABB Estonia is a global leader in power and automation technologies and is concerned with improving their electrical power efficiency while lowering their impact on the environment. The company has achieved success in a troubled economy and although they have been impacted by the global recession, they have still managed to achieve success and employ over 6,000 scientist and engineers.

            After the company visit, we booked our tickets to Finland for this Friday and went back to our rooms for some rest. We had a late start to dinner. Some of the group headed to a Chinese restaurant in Old Town and while the rest of the group tried a new pizza place. As a group we are not big fans of  traditional Estonian food.   

Daniel McClendon

Prison, Chocolate, and Bad Restaurants

Today turned out to be quite an interesting day. First, we toured a Soviet era prison that has been out of use since 2002. It was cold, damp, and eerie. Some interesting uses of this prison today include raves, concerts, and apparently, the occasional wedding (what a great way to start a marriage). Now, back to its Soviet history. The prison housed four types of prisoners. They could have committed a variety of crimes, from murder to speaking against the Soviet government. We saw where prisoners were initially brought, the photography room, their living quarters, the exercise area (which was very small), and the place death sentences were carried out.  The tour guide wanted to depict in vivid detail the experience of the prisoners brought to this place, and he did a very good job of doing so.  Notice the picture of Daniel being held against the wall as Soviet prisoners would have been while they were searched for weapons.  Fortunately, Daniel left his weapons at home, so we were safe.  The guide also locked some of us in various rooms around the place briefly to let us experience them as the prisoners would have.  The living quarters were cramped, and more prisoners than beds were often in each room.  The prisoners had a ranking system to determine where they slept, and believe me, you did not want to be the rooster.  In addition, the death room was quite chilling.  The preferred method of execution was having the person lie in the floor face pressed onto a wooden board and having a bullet fired through the head into the wood to prevent ricochet.  After our tour, we decided to go behind the prison by the sea to get something to drink at the cafe (Yes, there was a cafe at the prison- the art work was intriguing, to say the least).

Now, moving on to something more cheerful- the Kalev chocolate factory!! We dressed up as doctors (kind of) and toured the facility before we were able to sample some of the product and learn more about the company. Although most of the factory utilized machinery in the candy-making process, one section was devoted to handmade products.  The company was recently purchased by a larger Norwegian company known as the Orkla group.  Kalev is the most well known brand name in Estonia, so it is a BIG deal here, even if we have never heard of  it in the United States.  Our favorite sample was the  white chocolate with blueberry, and we would absolutely love to see it in the United States. We actually want some right now!

After we returned from our tour of the chocolate factory, some of us napped, some of us went to get a snack at McDonalds (as good as in the US), and some played soccer.  Later on, when dinner arrived, some of us were craving Mexican, so we went to the Texas Honky Tonk- BAD IDEA!  The restaurant itself was interesting, and it definitely reminded us of Texas as far as decor goes.  Unfortunately, the service was horrible.  As bad as the service was, the food was even worse.  One example in particular involves mozzarella sticks.  Anyone in the US or in a restaurant based on US food would assume that these delicious items are fried, and someone in the group really wanted some crispy, gooey cheese sticks.  Unfortunately, the mozzarella sticks turned out to be plain mozzarella cheese slices.  This was only one of the Honky Tonk's epic fails.  In the end, we went to McDonalds again because we were still hungry, and it was still good!!!!  Now, we are all back in the dorm, playing cards.  That is all for now!!

Events described above depict the honest-to-goodness life experiences of Mary-Elsye Winchester and Joseph Guthrie