Business Class

While studying abroad, I had made a promise to myself that I would secure a full-time job that allowed me to travel for work (and blog, duh). For this reason, I decided to work for W.W. Grainger – the leader in the MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) industry – through its Financial Development Program. My role allows me to rotate through various finance functions and exposes me to different parts of the company’s business. With a lot of persistence and even more patience, I can finally say that I have accomplished another goal that I’d set for myself. This blog post is coming to you straight from the Czech Republic! :)

But before I hopped onto a Business Class flight to Europe, I was assigned work related to our Canadian business – Acklands Grainger. These assignments took me to the cold, mining-dependent cities of Thunder Bay and Sudbury where hockey fans and Canadian accents were a dime a dozen. These trips, once again, reminded me that the American way of doing business is not the standard way of doing business in other parts of the world; and that different countries have different customer bases, needs and product preferences. Check out some photos from my two trips:



Palladium Mine - Thunder Bay, Ontario



World's Largest Nickel - Sudbury, Ontario

The European experience is no different; Grainger deploys a slightly different business model here than it does in the US or Canada. I’m currently on an assignment with Fabory – a fastener business Grainger acquired in August of 2011 – understanding the Shared Services processes.  Since I don’t come from an accounting background (let’s face it, Finance is the better major :D), my time here can be synonymous with a crash course in  “Everything You Ever Need To Know About Accounting…Yes, Taxes Included” – aka: a steep learning curve.  Despite actually having to work while here, I’m enjoying my stay! The people of Fabory are warm, welcoming and a pleasure to talk to! I’ve even learned the typical Czech greeting – Ahoi (think pirate talk). Pictures of the office and my co-workers to come soon!

But let’s get to the real exciting part – the TRAVEL! It took TWO years but I’m finally back in Europe!  Ah it feels so great, even though I’m here for a little bit and wish I were accompanied by my favorite travel buddies!   

We flew through Germany into Vienna, where we spent the weekend. So many study abroad memories came rushing back, as I walked down cobble-stoned streets, passed the grocery stores I would normally shop at and observed the exquisite European fashion the streets (more like runways) had to offer. The first day in Vienna, I took to exploring solo (my colleague wanted to catch up on some sleep), mastering the metro, asking strangers to take touristy pictures of me and of course, shopping! That night my co-worker and I had dinner on the Danube River! Beautiful! 

ST. Charles' Church - Vienna, Austria

Dinner at Marina on the Danube - Vienna, Austria

The next day, I took my co-worker to the city center and showed her Vienna’s greatest treasures (as I had been here before). We managed to hike 1000 meters (ok, exaggeration) to get to the highest view of the Schobrunn Palace.  The workout was definitely worth the view! Later that evening we had a relaxed dinner, on the Danube again, and were driven to Brno – the second largest city in the Czech Republic. 

Typical jumping picture at Schobrunn Palace - Vienna, Austria

In the two days I’ve been in Czech, I’ve managed to sight-see, eat like a local and cheer on the Chicago Bulls to a win against the Miami Heat! Enjoy the pictures below (caution: there are a lot of me eating!) and I’ll try to update this blog as often as I can! 



Hilton Danube - Vienna, Austria

Mock-up Cathedral - Vienna, Austria

EXPLOSION Sculpture - Vienna, Austria

Chai Latte & Dessert - Vienna, Austria

Eating delicious Goulash! - Brno, Czech Republic



The Bulls

With the Chicago Bulls snagging first place in the NBA, home court advantage throughout the playoffs and home to everyone’s favorite for Most Valuable Player, I thought it’d be fitting to blog about The Bulls.

Los Torros that is.

It’s about that time of year, in Sevilla, where the bulls come out to play. During la Feria de Abril, Sevilla hosts a week long marathon of bull fighting. All day, every day.

It’s such a big deal that it attracts millions of people from around the world to Sevilla. The Kennedys and Kings and Queens from the European Union are some of the famous celebrities that have strolled around the streets of my city.  

A few friends and I are looking into buying tickets for this sought after Corrida (Bull Fighting) event. To our surprise, most of the tickets are already sold out…or out of our price range. The only seats left are way up in the stadium, out in the beating midday sun of Sevilla. Doesn’t sound too bad until you check the weather around that first week of May. Temperatures will reach higher than 100F. Yikes.

I decided to talk to my host parents before purchasing my tickets, hoping to get persuaded out of buying them. But I discovered that La Corrida isn’t just a bunch of bull fights, it’s a treasured art form.  If it weren’t for La Corrida, there would be no use for bulls in the world. A sad thought.

For years the bulls are fed, developed and trained in a particular way to get ready for these fights. Their stamina is built up in such a way, that even the smallest jab, during a fight, doesn’t affect them much (sound familiar ahem*Chicago Bulls*ahem). And when they are finally killed, they feel pain…but never suffer.  Apparently Torridos (the men) train for years and years and have become experts at what they do…each fighter earning anywhere from 30,000 to 90,000 Euros per fight (and mind you, each fight last 20-30 minutes).

And you thought Derrick Rose was making bank.

I decided that I’d give this whole bull fighting deal a chance. Manolo (my host dad) said I wouldn’t be able to handle it, that it took a certain strength and tolerance to watch a Torrido struggle to prevail over this large, dangerous creature.

Little does he know, I’ve patiently watched my Bulls struggle to return to the main stage and regain the glory that once belonged to Chicago, for the past 13 years.  

It’s not a matter of having the stomach to stand the two hour show, it’s a matter of believing that the opponent with the most hunger, desire and heart will come up on top.