Today was horrible. Nothing was good about today.
I woke up with the heaviest pressure to stay in bed and not go to class. My roomie Maddie wasn't feeling well and I was pretty jealous. I would have rather been sick today and stay in bed then work nonstop on the S.E.E Model (which was due today btw).
Class was fine, it always is
I think I have issues and need to work on my patience levels. It is SO hard for me to be understanding with some of my team mates. No one ever knows when to stop fooling around and concentrate for an hour straight. Everything would run much more smoothly without all the anecdotes. I get that we can have fun, but not when it is cutting this close to the wire. I have no issues being the vampire and having everyone hate me for telling people to focus, it must be done! The most important part about working with a team is to not take anything personal, the moment you do this everything becomes hostile and awkward.
Take for example me and Luke. We get into it because he always seems to think he is right, about everything. I'm always the one who has to counteract something and so he now associates me with an obstacle with everything that goes on. What helps this weird relationship is to re-start our friendship/team mate relationship every few hours or so. Forgive and forget. It's not as if we disrespect each other, but it can be hard working with each other. I have a lot of respect for luke, he's a good leading figure, especially with the UWC students.
We submitted our first model today, results pending.
Monday, June 27, 2016
6/22/16
What do you write about, when you spend the entire day on the computer? Dealing with clients? Working around the 5 different sleeping schedules of your team mates?
Well, I won't write about that, instead, I'm going talk about the things I'm going to do when I go back home (to Miami).
Well, I won't write about that, instead, I'm going talk about the things I'm going to do when I go back home (to Miami).
- Go to South Beach
- Go to North Beach
- Go to the Keys with victor
- Get a dental cleaning
- Go mattress shopping
- Work out like crazy to get these South African pounds off my body
- Spend time with my brother and see if he is doing okay
- Visit my grandfather
- Go camping!!!!!!
- Convince Victor to take me to go see Finding Dory
That's all I have for now but I'm probably going to add more as I continue writing in this diary. I hardly ever get to be in Miami and when I fly back, I'll be there for an entire month! The only downside is being roommates with my mother again (not ideal I promise). Florida is a beautiful place and I keep seeing that daily temperatures are in the 90's, I cant be more jealous.
I hate the cold. I hate the cold. I hate the cold
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
6/21/16
So last night was a different story in terms on how temperature goes, I made sure both heaters were on, and when I woke up I felt like a cinnamon bun in the oven that I didn't want to get out of bed. I'm honestly going to vent and say what the most heightening point of my day was, which was my abrasive discussion with Lenia.
This is how it went down town in the underground.
Remember all the research Lenia did on Sunday? It was Tuesday 5pm and no one else in the group has yet to see all of this prodical research since she hadnt typed it up, shared it, (did it?). So when the entire group is stressed about how much has yet to get done, we were going over what each person has already finished. I grew into a frustration and had to keeping poking at Lenia for the research. She then said, and I qoute "I havn't typed it, and yesterday I did not know what to do after you told me that I have not done anything for the group". I call bullshit.
I would never say that to someone! Why would I discourage my own team by telling them that certain people have been doing all the work and how she has been doing anything? I know this sounds sarcastic but I never said that to her. I then went onto telling her that if she has a problem, she needs to come up to me and tell me she has a problem, instead of venting and trying to buy consolence from Andrea. I felt bad that she was uncomfortable but time is time and I am not going to work around your feelings. This is business, not a reality TV show (even though I treat my diary like a gossip column).
Other than thatm we made a lot of progress in terms of work and research but there is still a lot to get done and we need everyone to pitch in, and on a timely matter.
Andrea, Anna and I work really well together and we all have interests and a sense of humor in common which makes working with them more of an activity and not a job, so thats good!
This is how it went down town in the underground.
Remember all the research Lenia did on Sunday? It was Tuesday 5pm and no one else in the group has yet to see all of this prodical research since she hadnt typed it up, shared it, (did it?). So when the entire group is stressed about how much has yet to get done, we were going over what each person has already finished. I grew into a frustration and had to keeping poking at Lenia for the research. She then said, and I qoute "I havn't typed it, and yesterday I did not know what to do after you told me that I have not done anything for the group". I call bullshit.
I would never say that to someone! Why would I discourage my own team by telling them that certain people have been doing all the work and how she has been doing anything? I know this sounds sarcastic but I never said that to her. I then went onto telling her that if she has a problem, she needs to come up to me and tell me she has a problem, instead of venting and trying to buy consolence from Andrea. I felt bad that she was uncomfortable but time is time and I am not going to work around your feelings. This is business, not a reality TV show (even though I treat my diary like a gossip column).
Other than thatm we made a lot of progress in terms of work and research but there is still a lot to get done and we need everyone to pitch in, and on a timely matter.
Andrea, Anna and I work really well together and we all have interests and a sense of humor in common which makes working with them more of an activity and not a job, so thats good!
6/20/14
Today was cold, and not in a "lets have a snow day" cold. More in a "Im depressed, everything is falling apart, my body is aching, im starving" kind of cold. You see, when youre cold all night, like I was, your body is constantly using energy to keep yourself warm instead of focusing on other areas. When this happens and you wake up, you're going to be exhausted all day long, which is what I was.
Class was interesting but I was too stressed out about my client meeting with Tshepo and the amount of work our team has to focus. I honestly think the American students are carrying a vast majority of the weight when it comes to the S.E.E model.
On Sunday, Leina spent the entire time doing research on both of our clients industries but never uploaded it, she just wrote it down in her journal, which would have been fine if she shared the information with the rest of the group the day of (which did not happen).
One fun thing I did today (and that I enjoy doing) is creating new a new font. I usually scan and upload these new fonts onto DaFont but with limited resources and internet access I took a picture of it and will do it when I get back home. Creating new fonts challenges myself both creatively and consistency. You have to have similar tails, widths, lengths, curvature in each letter both capitalized and lowercase.
Meeting with Tshepo went okay, Luke took alot of the lead and I was the only one of accompanied him so we got to know each other a bit better, which is always good for team building, right?
Class was interesting but I was too stressed out about my client meeting with Tshepo and the amount of work our team has to focus. I honestly think the American students are carrying a vast majority of the weight when it comes to the S.E.E model.
On Sunday, Leina spent the entire time doing research on both of our clients industries but never uploaded it, she just wrote it down in her journal, which would have been fine if she shared the information with the rest of the group the day of (which did not happen).
One fun thing I did today (and that I enjoy doing) is creating new a new font. I usually scan and upload these new fonts onto DaFont but with limited resources and internet access I took a picture of it and will do it when I get back home. Creating new fonts challenges myself both creatively and consistency. You have to have similar tails, widths, lengths, curvature in each letter both capitalized and lowercase.
Meeting with Tshepo went okay, Luke took alot of the lead and I was the only one of accompanied him so we got to know each other a bit better, which is always good for team building, right?
Monday, June 20, 2016
6/19/20
Worked with Andrea and Anna for 8 hours straight on the S.E.E model. Luke is handling Tshepos financials alone for now, Charlton and Lenia didn't do much work but I'm not going get upset until it becomes a constant issue.
We wrote a good amount of Layer 1 one of S.E.E model and all of Layer 1 and part of Layer 2 for another.
Today is also the first fathers day where I don't have a father. It was really hard getting through the work day not trying to think about this but Marsha came up to me and asked how I was handling it, which was so unbelievably kind of her. I told her I was expected this day for a long time and that it isn't as bad as I had expected.
I'm only upset because I didn't get the chance to talk to him, with being around people all day long it's hard to find a minute to have true privacy that isn't in the freezing cold. His birthday and 1 year death anniversary is also next week, making this entire week hell.
Love you dad
Happy Fathers Day
We wrote a good amount of Layer 1 one of S.E.E model and all of Layer 1 and part of Layer 2 for another.
Today is also the first fathers day where I don't have a father. It was really hard getting through the work day not trying to think about this but Marsha came up to me and asked how I was handling it, which was so unbelievably kind of her. I told her I was expected this day for a long time and that it isn't as bad as I had expected.
I'm only upset because I didn't get the chance to talk to him, with being around people all day long it's hard to find a minute to have true privacy that isn't in the freezing cold. His birthday and 1 year death anniversary is also next week, making this entire week hell.
Love you dad
Happy Fathers Day
06/18/16
Woke up at 10:30, hallelujah.
I had a very light breakfast that included a banana and tea and then went to get ready for the group outing to Robben island.
I honestly did not know what to expect but I dressed for the cold (I was right, yay!). We arrived back at the waterfront where Maddison and I went to do a much needed currency exchange run and we bought super cute necklaces for next to nothing. We we stood in line to board the ferry I already knew it was going to be a bumpy, queasy ride. I was right. I threw up in my mouth twice and it put me in such a bad mood that I couldn't really enjoy the experience of the tour of Robben Island. Once I saw the inside of the jail cells I got several flashbacks of the time I visited Dachau, the first concentration camp to have been built for the holocaust.
After Robben Island, I was so excited to go back to Theology until I realized that I had to get back on the f****** ferry. Anna would not stop talking to me about her boyfriend and asking me about my boyfriend that I had to tell her "I will throw up if I'm not left alone", it worked.
I love you anna, I just really hated that ferry ride.
Went home, rested, getting ready for our 8-hour work plan with the team tomorrow
I had a very light breakfast that included a banana and tea and then went to get ready for the group outing to Robben island.
I honestly did not know what to expect but I dressed for the cold (I was right, yay!). We arrived back at the waterfront where Maddison and I went to do a much needed currency exchange run and we bought super cute necklaces for next to nothing. We we stood in line to board the ferry I already knew it was going to be a bumpy, queasy ride. I was right. I threw up in my mouth twice and it put me in such a bad mood that I couldn't really enjoy the experience of the tour of Robben Island. Once I saw the inside of the jail cells I got several flashbacks of the time I visited Dachau, the first concentration camp to have been built for the holocaust.
After Robben Island, I was so excited to go back to Theology until I realized that I had to get back on the f****** ferry. Anna would not stop talking to me about her boyfriend and asking me about my boyfriend that I had to tell her "I will throw up if I'm not left alone", it worked.
I love you anna, I just really hated that ferry ride.
Went home, rested, getting ready for our 8-hour work plan with the team tomorrow
7/17/16
Today was an early day but thank god I am feeling better. My fever went down for the most part but to be safe I didn't go to class out of fear that it would come back. My team went to meet with Tshepo without me which is fine, but when I asked them for an update as to what went on, they gave me very vague responses and I had to dig each member for information.
I felt much better in the afternoon so I went to Phillipe with the group. There I saw what a container business looks like, it was worse than what I expected. Granted, I've seen the business places in Khayelishta but this location seems to be so remote that I cant imagine people travel so far to get some fish and chips.
These start-up businesses reminded me a lot of the hatcheries I've visited when I went to Ireland for a different entrepreneurship program. I enjoyed the speaker to told us about how he gives container space to promising businesses, I plan on opening a similiar business that will help woman entrepreneurs.
Then the fun started, YAY!
I went to the Waterfront for the first time and it was beautiful, it reminded she of Bayside Mall in Miami. The only part that wasn't was that I wasn't drinking because my stomach was giving me problems.
Had an amazing dinner of fish and chips, nailed it.
I felt much better in the afternoon so I went to Phillipe with the group. There I saw what a container business looks like, it was worse than what I expected. Granted, I've seen the business places in Khayelishta but this location seems to be so remote that I cant imagine people travel so far to get some fish and chips.
These start-up businesses reminded me a lot of the hatcheries I've visited when I went to Ireland for a different entrepreneurship program. I enjoyed the speaker to told us about how he gives container space to promising businesses, I plan on opening a similiar business that will help woman entrepreneurs.
Then the fun started, YAY!
I went to the Waterfront for the first time and it was beautiful, it reminded she of Bayside Mall in Miami. The only part that wasn't was that I wasn't drinking because my stomach was giving me problems.
Had an amazing dinner of fish and chips, nailed it.
Friday, June 17, 2016
7/16/16
So Im writing this diary post a day late because I had such a horrible case of food poisining, I have just been sleeping, drinking water, and resting. I'm pretty sure I got the poisining from the debonaires pizza place. What a mistake. Can you say, rotten mushrooms?
We met with our second client, Ronelle, for the first time, and she was splendid. Now I will be very honest and say that I had a high fever in that meeting and was shivering cold from the chills that I did not pay much attention. From what understood, her business is more complicated than Tshepo's.
After our client meeting, I told my group that I was going to go back to my room and take a nap and be available at 8:30 pm.
I woke up at 10:30 am.
The night was filled with shivering cold shaking, sweating from the fever, and all over body aches.
Not a win for Isabella
07/15/16
Today was our first client meeting, and unlike everyone else in the entire program I wasn't nervous. I quickly learned that many people quickly experience nervousness and stress. When I was little, my mother clearly explained to me that stress and nervousness are the most useless state of beings, and to this day I have only been nervous a handful of times in my life (like the EESA interview for one).
Anyways, our meeting with Tshepo went better than I imagined quite honestly. My group members are all very poised and patient, a quality I truly admire in them. Andrea and I took notes while the other 5 asked the questions. I asked a few follow up questions as well, just so we didn't miss any valuable information.
I went to the mall where I spent my Fall tuition at Zara, but it's okay because ill be stylish all semester long.
I then met with my group where we went over everything about Tshepo, coming up with possible deliverables, to then organizing ourselves for the rest of the week. I then got lightheaded from all the thinking that I retired and went to sleep (but actually went to write in my diary AND THEN go to sleep).
speaking of which, goodnight!
Anyways, our meeting with Tshepo went better than I imagined quite honestly. My group members are all very poised and patient, a quality I truly admire in them. Andrea and I took notes while the other 5 asked the questions. I asked a few follow up questions as well, just so we didn't miss any valuable information.
I went to the mall where I spent my Fall tuition at Zara, but it's okay because ill be stylish all semester long.
I then met with my group where we went over everything about Tshepo, coming up with possible deliverables, to then organizing ourselves for the rest of the week. I then got lightheaded from all the thinking that I retired and went to sleep (but actually went to write in my diary AND THEN go to sleep).
speaking of which, goodnight!
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
06/14/16
Today I woke up freezing with chills and knew that it was going to be a slow day for me. I get sick very easily so I have to protect myself from the cold as much as I can. In class, my coldness didn't get much better since I was freezing the entire time. I knew that we had our township tour later in the day so I asked Darin if it was okay if I stayed back and rested. I've had strep throat 7 times in my life and I recently found out that someone in our group has strep throat so I need to steer clear of that person.
I wish I had gone on the township tour but I know I made the right decision staying behind.
Luvoyo Rani came to speak and his energy and passion was inspiring. I looked around the room for the next potential Luvoyo and didn't even think of myself. Today was a day of self-actualization. I couldn't make my team meeting and felt pretty guilty about it, I know what its like to have a weak link on the team and I refuse to be that person.
Luckily my team was very understanding about needing to rest but I hope to make up for it this week.
I wish I had gone on the township tour but I know I made the right decision staying behind.
Luvoyo Rani came to speak and his energy and passion was inspiring. I looked around the room for the next potential Luvoyo and didn't even think of myself. Today was a day of self-actualization. I couldn't make my team meeting and felt pretty guilty about it, I know what its like to have a weak link on the team and I refuse to be that person.
Luckily my team was very understanding about needing to rest but I hope to make up for it this week.
Monday, June 13, 2016
06/13/2016
As excited as I am to begin my journey in the EESA program, I already know that this time is going to fly by. It is very exciting to be surrounded by intelligent and motivated people who all share a common goal and purpose. With that being said, my group has some of the most charming and intellectual people I have ever met and I am anxious to see what we come up with. Tommorow we go into the township of Khayelishta for the first time and I have to admit that I am nervous. I've seen this kind of poverty on TV but have never witnessed it in person. From what I hear it is also dangerous, which is also a bit nerve wracking.
Dr. Morris taught alot about guerilla strategies and tactics and it reminded me alot of the book 48 Laws of Power (I wonder if he's read it or not I should ask him). But I'm happy that i'm already taking away alot from the classroom and am excited about how I implement it on Wednesday when meet our clients for the first time.
I also cant believe just how cheap food is here. I was a bit upset when I discovered that food was not included in our tuition fees but I don't even mind since I had amazing sushi for about $2.50. Lunch time is great to get to know people who arent in your group. I think the entire EESA program so far has great chemistry but since it being the second day I cant help but be curious about drama that will go on.
Dr. Morris taught alot about guerilla strategies and tactics and it reminded me alot of the book 48 Laws of Power (I wonder if he's read it or not I should ask him). But I'm happy that i'm already taking away alot from the classroom and am excited about how I implement it on Wednesday when meet our clients for the first time.
I also cant believe just how cheap food is here. I was a bit upset when I discovered that food was not included in our tuition fees but I don't even mind since I had amazing sushi for about $2.50. Lunch time is great to get to know people who arent in your group. I think the entire EESA program so far has great chemistry but since it being the second day I cant help but be curious about drama that will go on.
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