Ruby’s Blog

Hi,

So I just realized that on the Purdue blog website it says that I’m a sophomore. That was actually 2 years ago!! As you know by now, I graduated in May 2008 with my Bachelors degree.
At first I wanted to find a full-time job and think about Graduate school later on. But I decided to go to Graduate school in the fall instead. I had several interviews but nothing worked out because of my lack of work experience. I was upset most of the time because I wanted to finally have a real job!! But it also helped me see that it’s better for me to go to Graduate school now and get it over with. During my graduate studies, I’ll make sure I gain experience through internships!! I guess that will help me a lot more when I graduate with my Masters degree.

I’m all set for the fall now. I registered for my classes and am looking forward to start again. My mom was here for about 2 months so that was fun. I got to spend some time with her but now I think I had more than enough time to just sit around and need to start working again!!
I hope to start working soon on campus, I’m just not sure when. For now I’m just trying to enjoy the nice weather because before you know it will be cold again.

So that’s a bit of an update for now. I’ll write more soon!!

Take care,

Ruby

Hi All,

It’s been a while since i wrote the last blog because I couldn’t log into the system. But now I’m back and a whole lot is happening. I actually got done with my finals today and it didn’t hit me yet that I’ll be graduating this month.
This semester went super fast and sometimes I wish it hadn’t because now I’m faced with the reality that I don’t have a job yet. I’ve been applying since January and had a few interviews but nothing definite so far. I still have high hopes of finding a job, but if not I’ll have to go back to graduate school. I do want to go to graduate school but not so quick, I thought about going back in one year after gaining some experience in my field of major. I’m not sure what I want to do for graduate school so that’s one thing I have to figure out as well.
Graduation Ceremony is on May 18th and my mom arrived on Sunday to celebrate my graduation here with me. It’s exciting graduating but at the same time nerve racking. I’m not sure what will happen after this month is over and I don’t like not knowing what will happen. I like to plan things ahead and right now I’m not able to do that because I have no clue what is going to happen.
For now I’ll just enjoy my mom’s visit here with me and apply for more jobs. I’ll also apply for graduate school as a plan B. We always need a plan B.
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll let you know how it goes with my job hunt.

Take care,

Ruby

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since my last post… A lot happened since then…. I went back home for the winter break…That was the greatest part, I got to see my family and spent some time in the nice weather we have in Suriname…

Now a new semester started and this will be my last one :(… I’m graduating in May and just thinking about it, makes me nervous… I’m actually on the job hunt now and it’s very nerve racking because I don’t know what’s going to happen after May… I don’t even know if I’ll stay here or go somewhere else…. So far I had one interview, so I’m hoping I’ll have some more coming…

I’m actually hoping to get into a Management Training program and applied for several such as: MGM Grand Casino, Hilton, Starwood, WLS, etc… so let’s see how that goes… it’s actually a program, usually it takes around 6 months, were you work in several departments and then you can also choose your area of interest were you will spent more time… it’s a great opportunity because you get to learn a lot and it’s a great foundation for the future…

It’s harder for me as an International Student to find a job because a lot of companies don’t offer sponsorship for an H1B visa (work visa). (I’m currently on an F1 visa which is just a student visa)… After graduation I can work for 1 year on Optional Practical Training (OPT) but after that 1 year is over, I would need a work visa to stay here… Hopefully I’ll work hard enough to get one…

But you always have to think about plan B in case plan A doesn’t work… If not, I’ll just go to Graduate school..I’m not sure what I want to do, maybe something with marketing… so let’s see… and if that doesn’t work out neither, I’m willing to go somewhere else, maybe Australia???… :D… that would be great! Australia was actually my first option but my dad thought it was too far away so he said no… so than I came to the US…
I’m taking 6 classes this semester and It’s been so far the easiest one … Out of the 6, 4 are Spanish classes because I’m also minoring in Spanish so I want to finish up with that at the same time I’m done with my major… although I speak Spanish fluently, it’s always good to practice it and you always learn something new you didn’t know before…

Well that’s about it for now… hopefully I’ll have time and write again soon…

Good bye for now….

Ruby

So it’s that time of the semester… FINALS WEEK… not the most excited part but what comes after, makes it all up… I’ve only one final on Monday so that’s not too bad…After that, I’m done… finally… this semester was super long but at the same time it went fast, if this makes any sense to you… It’s been a really hard semester with a lot of tough classes and I’m glad it’s almost over… Especially because after finals, I’m going back home to Suriname… I’m leaving on the 17th to Florida and from there I leave the 18th to my country… It’s always exciting to go home because I get to see my family and really enjoy a nice vacation…

Thanksgiving break just passed but it didn’t feel like i got a break in between classes… I had my lab the wednesday right after thanksgiving so I had to prepare for that…I did go shopping at the Lighthouse Mall at midnight and it was a lot of fun… it was also freezing… that’s the part I don’t like about Indiana, THE WEATHER!… it’s way tooo cold for me… I’m glad i get about 3 weeks off the cold weather when I’m back home…we don’t have such thing as winter, which is great!!… It’s been getting colder and colder and even after almost 3 years here I still can’t get used to it…every year it’s the same complaint…

I haven’t seen my family for about 1 year so I’m anxious to see them again… it’s always nice to be home… all year long it’s just work and school so when I get to go home, I really have a vacation… I’ll be back on the 9th for my last semester…I’ll be graduating in May with a Bachelors of Science in Hospitality & Tourism Management… this actually went pretty fast, I’ll be completing my bachelors degree in 3 1/2 years instead of the usual 4 years… I made this possible by taking a lot of classes during the summer as well… it’s been really hard and stressful but I’m glad I can say that it’ll be my last semester…

After my finals, I’ll start applying for jobs in my field and hopefully I’ll find something… I really hope to get a job before graduating so I don’t have to worry about that part once I’m done… It’s very important for me to start on time with my job search so that I can find something I would like to do…

This semester was exciting as well because of my HTM 492 labs… we had a lot of guests coming to our labs and I’ve learned a lot…  the lab hours are very long (about 10 hours) and I’m very glad those Wednesdays are over but I’m glad i got the chance to go through it and experience it…

Well that’s about it for now… hopefully next time I’ll write, I’ll be back home and share my experience with you…

Take care

So i know it has been a while since I wrote my last blog but I’ve been so busy with school that I didn’t get to it till today… what’s keeping me the busiest is my HTM 492 class.. those who are in the HTM program know what that means… A LOT OF WORK!!… This class is actually a class were you put everything you’ve learned in practice… We are a class of 11 students and run a restaurant every Wednesday night on campus… Our class is divided in 3 groups of 4 members each and we have to create 3 labs… so each group gets 3 Wednesday’s to run the restaurant…

My first one was last week, and it wasn’t so bad for the first one… it ended up good… The theme was “By the time I get to Phoenix”… We had about 58 guests… We had to create a menu, come up with the decoration, market our lab, etc. etc. etc… after our lab is over, we need to cost out all of our recipes and create a profit statement.. so pretty much we have to do it like a real restaurant… once we’re done with the first one, we have to start working on the second lab already, which will be on October 31st and the theme is “Rocky Mountain High” … So if you would like to attend to one of our labs, just call the Behavioral Science department at the number (219) 989-2710… Every Wednesday we have a lab with a different theme so, just mark your calendar for the date you can make it… We are doing 3 different settings this semester… The first 3 labs will be a fine-dining setting, the labs 4 - 6 will be a buffet setting, and the last 3 labs will be a banquet setting… If you’re wondering where on campus, it’s every Wednesday in the Room with a view, SUL 150 @ 6:30 pm.
So as you can tell, my labs require a lot of time and taking 4 classes besides my lab is a challenge but till now it’s working out…

That’s it for now, I hope to see you at one of our labs… I know you’ll enjoy it!!

Take care,

Ruby

Hey everyone,

so there are only a few more weeks left before the summer is over and the fall semester starts… i’m so not ready for classes but it’s better to come fast and get over with it…right? … This summer i was busy with my internship and summer classes…i’m glad all that is over… I did actually pretty good in all 3 classes, i got straight A’s… makes me sound smart, huh? but it was tough… working full time with classes especially when you have homework and projects due every day… but i like to say that i survived…

I’m just enjoying my actual vacation.. well half vacation cuz i’m back working on campus in the office for international students… it’s fun so i don’t complain…. also trying to sleep enough before the semester starts again… i’m taking 5 classes in the fall semester and it’s gonna be really hard but hopefully i’ll survive again… and after the fall semester, i just have one more to go..so that keeps me motivated….

I haven’t done many things this summer, just a few… such as going to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois… it was great…we spend their the whole day and it was Purdue Day so admission was free.. it was really nice… besides that i’ve been to Michigan City to do some shopping… but i think that’s about it… hopefully i’ll get to do more stuff the few weeks…

well, that’s it for now… ill write more soon…

Take care,

Ruby

Hi everyone,

So it has been a while you’ve heard from me… I’ve been pretty busy, actually more than i want to be at this time of the year with the nice weather outside… I’m doing my internship at the Hilton Chicago, which is very interesting and I’m learning a lot… But it’s also very tiring because at the same time I’m taking 2 online courses… and both require a lot of work…

I work full-time at my internship and I like it so far… They put me on different shifts so I can see the difference… this week I’ll be working all overnights from 11pm - 7.30 am which I wasn’t so excited about but I can’t do much about it… This will be my 6th week and I’ll be working untill August 2nd…I need to complete 300 hrs to receive credits for my internship and I will probably complete them by the end of June but just for the fun and experience I’ll continue on up until the beginning of August. Then, I’ll take a break from school and work, well work not really because i’ll be back in the office on campus but that’s fine…atleast I will not have any classes for 3 weeks… yay!!…

Even though i’m working a lot, I’m trying to enjoy the summer… so far I’ve been once to Indiana Dunes and I actually went to the Formula 1 race in Indianapolis, which was awesome!!… I’m for sure going to another one… I guess those are the 2 major outings for me so far… I hope for a lot more this summer..For now looking forward to the Taste of Chicago which will start on Friday…

Thats about it…

Will write more soon….

Take care,

Ruby

So the spring semester ended a couple of weeks ago… I’m glad that it’s over, it was a tough semester… now the Maymester started, so not even a little break for me :(…but yeah… and next week I’ll start with my internship at the Hilton in downtown chicago… I’m so excited but at the same time nervous… It’s going to be whole new experience for me…

I’m taking one course in Maymester which is more than enough for me right now and then in the summer I’ll be taking 2 more with my internship… Most of my friends tell me that I’m nuts, but I’m up for the challenge… It’s my goal to graduate next spring, so I have to work hard right now towards it…

Besides school, I’ve been working a lot but I’m also trying to enjoy a little…I’ve been going to the mall and Michigan City… I went to watch a few movies, like Spiderman 3… It was alright…I still think that the first one is the best… I also watched “Kickin it old school”… I don’t know if it was a waste to go and watch it, but me and my friends still had fun, so it was all good…

I didn’t have any finals but I was still working on one of my projects, due in October…I will be presenting together with another student from South America, a project about Brazilian Culture; how Globalization had/has an impact on the Brazilian Culture…It is kind of complicated but at the same time really interesting… So i’m keeping myself really busy these weeks….

I hope I will have some more time later on to write another blog, but for now that’s it…

Take care,

Ruby

So now there are only 4 more weeks left before this semester is over… I can’t believe it, It went so fast… but the great thing is summer is coming as well… I hate the cold weather, so I’m all excited about it… The summer will be tough for me, i’ll be taking 1 maymester class and 3 summer classes but it will be all good… I’m also having interviews for an summer internship, so hopefully I’ll get one soon!!…

It’s so good because now I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel…with that I mean, I can finally see the day coming when I’ll graduate… After the summer, comes the fall semester and after the fall semester comes the spring sememster and than I’m graduating!! How excited!!… I know it’s still far away, 1 year, but it’s much better than when i started off and had 4 years to go…

These weeks I’ve so been busy with school and work… Since the semester is ending, there’s always a lot of work to do… All the presentations and projects are coming up, so it’s tough but it’s the end of a semester so i’m not complaining… I’m just working hard to finish this semester with good grades…

Well that’s all i have for now….Take care,

 Ruby

So i’m finally back with a new post… It took me a while because even though i had springbreak, i had to work and then right after I had the research day coming up… I was really nervous and anxious for my research presentation but thank god everything went fine… I had to present the research I did in the fall of 2006 about convention and visitors bureau’s… I’ll be presenting it again in a poster session on April 27th for the 2007 Spotlight on Scholarship and Applied Student Research… so that’s something else again…

But going back to Springbreak, the one thing I wanted to do for so long and I finally did, was to go to a Chicago Bulls game…. Yay!!… I went on March 13 when they were playing Boston Celtics… it was an awesome game and I’ll for sure go to another one soon….

Coming back to reality, it’s time for registration again… I registered today for the summer and fall and I’m so excited because I just found out I’ll be graduating in Spring of 2008 instead of Fall of 2008!! That’s just great because i’ll be finishing up in 3 1/2 years instead of 4 years…. It took me a lot to get to this point and it will be tough next semester with 6 classes but I’ll manage it and it’s worth it… The sooner i’m done, the better!…

But that’s all I have to tell you for now…

Take care,

Ruby