Picture #1:

I thought that a 13 hour flight wouldn’t be too big of a deal because flying to Taipei usually isn’t too bad for me. But I guess having to transfer flights really made a difference. It was exhausting. Regardless, it was worth the travel exhaustion because Argentina is absolutely beautiful. 

Picture #2: 

So basically, I had pizza for both dunch (lunch+semi-dinner) and and legitimate welcome dinner. The cheese is just toppled on layer after layer, melting in your mouth and filling you up like no other. I also had the opportunity to try empanadas as well as delicious deserts. Yum! The weight I’m going to put on during this trip will be worth it. 

Picture #3: 

The two girls on my left and right, Natasha and Cindy, and the guy on my right, Matt, are absolutely the most fun and amazing people to hang out with. I’m definitely looking forward to hanging out with them and getting to know the rest of the group as well. I feel like we all have such great chemistry. Things will be great. We’ll be great. 

Picture #4:

And of course, we have to leave our mark wherever we go. Professor Voigt presented the pizza parlor where we celebrated our welcome dinner with a USC Trojan Banner. Fight on! <3

Even though its only 5:30 PM back in LA, it’s definitely my bedtime now. 

Good night,

Tina Tzeng

There’s literally less than 12 hours until our plane will take off from LAX and into the unknown — well, at least to me. This is my first time ever going to Southern America, and I’m really excited to cross it off my extremely long bucket list of places to go and countries to visit. Up until this moment (or the past few hours when I began packing), it didn’t really feel real to me yet. Everything we learned in class felt like preparation for a trip I would never embark on, but now it’s finally hit me. I’m about to travel “alone” without my family for the first time. Ever. And it’s a bit scary, but it’s also extremely liberating. 

Business clothes, casual clothes, underwear, etc. All these are obvious things to pack, but here’s a few things that are a little less useful:
-My trusty MacBook Air: I’ll need to blog while I’m over there, so this is definitely a must!
-My DSLR: I don’t want all my posts to be aesthetically nonpleasing, right?
-A book or two to keep me company (This Side of Paradise and 1Q84): Fitzgerald and Murakami — what could be better?
-My iPhone & headphones: I need music. And I need Candy Crush. 
-Carmex: Your lips will get chapped on the plane. Don’t be a noob and just make room for your chapstick. Your moisturized lips will thank you.
-Chargers for all electronics: You’d be surprised how often I forget these when I travel. When I went to Florida with my family over spring break, I forgot my camera charger. It was horrible, since I’d just lugged an oversized camera across the country without being able to use it for longer than a day. 
-Girl Scout Cookies: Chocolate. And chocolate. Need I say more?

Well, I have to finish last minute packing and run a few errands before I head off to LAX. See you on the other side of the world! 

Sincerely,
Natasha Lioe

Just a few of the many things I packed:

1. 3 Suit Jackets
2. 4 Pairs of Formal Pants
3. 3 Pairs of Leggings to wear under formal pants (I heard its super cold this week </3 )
4. 3 Pairs of Socks
5. 2 Casual Outfits
6. Enough Under Garments for seven days
7. Toiletries: make- up, brush, face wash, etc.
8. 1 Pair of flats
9. 1 Pair of Heels
10. 1 Kimchi Flavored Cup of Noodle
11. 6 Different Snacks: Snow Pea Snaps, Shrimp Crisps, Strawberry Power Bars, etc.
12. Lots of band aids, Neosporin, Tylenol, Claritin, Benadryl, the whole sha-bang
13. 1 Full Sized Pillow (I can’t sleep without it! )
14. 12 Warming Packs (If you go to Mitsuwa, you can find warming packs that you can stick onto your clothes that will last for 24 hours. It’s a life saver. I promise. )

                Conveniently, I live pretty close to USC. So the moment I moved out of my dorm, I began packing. It’s definitely been a rush since I gave up my room to a visitor from Taiwan which means I didn’t have constant access to my personal belongings at all times. As you can see, I have my first aid kit ready to go and I made sure I have what I need to stay nice and warm. Even though I’ve been quadruple checking to make sure I have everything packed, I still feel like I’m missing something. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see when I get to Argentina!

                I think the worst part about leaving so soon is that I don’t get a chance to really see any of my friends that go to different schools. For the most part, they still have a month to go. Luckily Boston University got out a week earlier than USC so I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with my best friend. Actually, he’s taking me to the airport tomorrow morning. I’m dragging him out of bed bright and early so I can get to LAX by 9:30 AM! Shout out to Jack Hou for doing this for me.  

                On the other hand, I’m excited to see what this trip has in store for me. My friends always get a kick out of teasing me about how my name is in the word ArgenTINA. Maybe this was meant to be! I heard the food there is great—especially the meat. And the sights are unbelievable. The people are beautiful. The country itself is so rich with history. There’s so much I want to learn and so little time to take everything in…I mean, we only have a week there. But hey, I have to make the best out of it. I will make the best out of it.

Argentina, I can’t wait to meet you <3

     I could not be more excited to head off to Buenos Aires, but at the same time, it’s a little sad. Freshmen year was by far one of the best years of my life, and I know that nothing will ever compare to it. I remember walking around EVK on the last day of finals and just seeing how empty it was made me think about how ridiculously fast this year flew by.Coming back to a hallway filled with boxes and trash that was accumulated throughout the entire year was when it really started to hit home. I was fortunate enough to live with some of the greatest people that I could have asked for, and when I finally realized that we were actually leaving, it was tough. However, I know that we were probably the closest freshman floor in all of USC and I’m not too worried about us not seeing each other any more. And even though leaving my freshman year behind sucks, I am really excited for the future, and especially Buenos Aires. I finally was able to cram everything left in my room into my suitcases (I’m praying they’re both under fifty pounds, even though I’m almost positive they’re not) and all I have left to do is type this blog as I attempt to put into words everything that I am feeling right now. I look around my room and see what a mess it is. There were a lot of good times in here and that mess just helps me remember that. This is my apology to the USC housing staff-sorry I didn’t have a vacuum to clean up everything, but sometimes I enjoy a little mess.

But, in almost exactly twelve hours, I will be leaving USC and not coming back for another three months. I cannot wait to share this unforgettable trip to Buenos Aires with thirty-one of my classmates. I can honestly say I am looking forward to everything that this trip has to offer, with the obvious exception of spending over ten hours on a plane (I get bored easily).

I’ll see you guys in a few days to let you know how awesome the trip is going so far. Until then, Fight On from the best university in the world, on my last night as a Trojan freshman. 

-Zach Findling

And so… here we are…

With studies finally being over, finals finished, and graduation of another class of Trojans, awe fills the air and marks another academic year (and my freshman year) coming to a conclusion. But for us who are participating in LINC, the journey is not over yet! There’s still one more thing to check off our list of things to do during freshman year and that is… in about T-14 hours, I (along with 30 or so of my peers) will be on our way to LAX and off for a weeklong adventure in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Having lived in Los Angeles all my life and having limited experiences with traveling (I haven’t been out of the country since 7^th grade)… It goes without saying that I’m excited definitely for this trip that has been long anticipated for.

I can’t wait to finally be on my way visiting multinational companies (i.e. Bimbo Bakeries, Sony, CISCO, and etc), learning more about global business, but also really immersing myself and reveling in the dynamic culture of the portenos (term for citizens of Bueno Aires) as well as Argentina.

Of course, I’m also quite anxious since I don’t speak ANY Spanish at all and have a tendency to get lost a lot… but I won’t let that stop me from having fun. :)

Some things I’m most excited for…

• Marvelous Argentine BBQ — the Argentines really take their BBQ seriously! 

• Indulging in some Dulce De Leche — a sort of delicious caramel sauce
  (pronounced “DOOL-se de LE-che”) 

• Horseback riding and meeting gauchos!

• In general — being amazed by the nightlife and really being mesmerized in the cosmopolitan nature of the city.

Can’t wait to see you Buenos Aires!


- Cindy Lum

Now that it has been a full two weeks since we have been back, the jet lag has finally gone away. Thinking back on this amazing trip it’s hard to believe how far we actually were. We hopped on a plane and 10 hours later we were on a new continent, immersed in a new culture, and in a land where English was the second language. To put it simply, it was crazily amazing.

Thinking about the things we learned, the people we met, and the friends we made during this quick week was unheard of. Our days were jam packed and our sleep was almost non existent, but it was all worth it. LINC is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we as freshman were lucky to be able to participate in. Although there were groups all over the world, I wouldn’t have changed my location if I had to do it again. Argentina is a unique country and economically one of the few encountering inflation. This was a great learning opportunity for us due to the scarcity of inflation. We got to see first hand the effects of inflation and how businesses must alter their strategies to fit these hard circumstances. Buenos Aires offered my group an rare look at global business and I know we all learned a lot while being there. 

Reminiscing on all the beautiful places we saw and people we met makes me want to be back their now. Walking along the ocean seeing Uruguay on the distant horizon, walking through the town of tomb stones in a cemetery that is one of a kind, eating pizza with the intelligent and kind students of Universidad Austral, dancing with friends, eating more meat than ever thought possible, taking small cabs to every destination, eating more Italian food than I ever expected there to be in Buenos Aires, and sharing a wonderful and enriching experience with amazing people. My trip to Buenos Aires will always have a special place in my heart and I highly recommend this trip to anyone who has the chance to take it! You won’t be sorry! 

And as Carl always says, “we come from USC, the BEST university in the world!”-Fight On!

So here I am one week out of our Argentina trip, this week flew by just like the week before did, I hope this isn’t how the summer is going to be, I feel like time is just moving so fast which is freaking me out. But when summer is over I get to go back to school and that’s also very exciting!

So now that I’ve been back and had a chance to recoup and start my job, it makes me appreciate the Argentina way of life. As we learned when we were there, America has the longest work day. In other countries, like Argentina for example, they start their day later and end earlier than we do. Then they rest and go out to dinner or a movie or whatever. Sounds nice to me. Dont get me wrong, I love my job, but 8 hours is a long time. There’s something to be said though for loving your job, as my dad said to me the other day “I hope when you’re older you love what you do as much as I do”. I can confidently say that I could tell every individual truly loved what they were doing. They exuded passion and love for their jobs and that’s what kept us all so engaged in meetings, and I dream that even after I’ve worked somewhere for that many years and had to deal with so much that I still love my job and could talk about it all day.

Something really interesting I learned on the trip when we drove in and saw all the graffiti on the buildings and trash on the street, our tour guide told us that because Argentina has free health care and free education, they have to cut down costs in other places, one of the other places being street beautification. This is a huge contrast to America where cities are spotless with no graffiti and no trash. It definitely made me wonder that if America implemented this tactic how it would work. Sure our cities wouldn’t look as nice but in a country with so many discrepancies with health care and public education would this new plan help? I’m not sure what the answer is, but I thought about it for a little. 

I’m so lucky that I had the opportunity to go on LINC, it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity that taught me so much about global business. I had always heard that conducting business in another country was very important and almost vital to a company’s success and that there were many challenges that come along with moving to another country, but I never understood truly how hard it would be until learning in another country. Sometimes we put blinders on and either believe that America is the ruler of the world, or that every country works like America. That’s definitely not the case, as I learned more about Argentina’s government and economy. I can’t wait to use these lessons and apply them as I continue on my Marshall path! Like Lindy mentioned, I can’t believe this is all over! I kept saying to everyone, “I’m going to Buenos Aires in May, I can’t wait!” and I always thought we’d never make it there especially when finals rolled around. But, we made it, we had a great time, and we did our absolute best in representing our university. I hope everyone gets the opportunity to go on one of these trips!

-Nicole Jamgotchian

The very colorful La Boca

-Lindy

Horseback riding!

-Lindy

Gaucho games

-Lindy