Belfast

Today was a long day but it might have been one of my favorites of the trip. We finally met with the company we are working with for the class. Our group is teamed up with Explorisitics, a data analysis start up looking to break into the American market to work with pharmaceutical companies. We are going to help design a market strategy of which companies they should target in the US. I believe it will be a lot of work but also the most rewarding part of the trip. I loved meeting the team and seeing where they work. I feel like this experience will be the most applicable to my career and the part of the trip I can take back with me and use in my work life. I think this company has a lot of potential and it will be great to see where they head in the future.

In the morning we saw where the Titanic docked. Considering my love for the movie (that I recently re-watched) it was so interesting to learn about all of the history. I learned the White Star Line owned two other boats: Britannic, Titanic, and Olympic.

Apparently Britannic also sank and killed 30 people! I asked why this boat company did not rebrand after two of the three ships sank. I also learned Olympic needed repair which contributed to the destruction of Titanic because the workers did not properly work on Titanic when there was a fire on the ship. I find the Titanic history to be fascinating and this tour was a great start! Now I just need to visit the titanic museum and I will be completely satiated.

This is where the Titanic docked before it set sail!

After the tour we listened to guest speakers. We learned more about the feud between Catholics and Protestants. I found it fascinating someone could tell someone's religion just by their name. Apparently the two religions are segregated until the University when they finally have a chance to intermingle. No wonder the two communities fight! It's interesting to compare to the United States where racism is prevalent but you can't hide your race. From the outside perspective (I grew up Jewish) I can't identify if someone is Catholic or Protestant. I would categorize them under one umbrella: Christian. But the feud is not only about the religion but the feeling of loyalty to your community.

We heard some more entrepreneurs speak and learned a lot about how high risk results in high reward. I realized as an HR professional, I have no desire to start my own company but later in my career I would find it interesting to work for a smaller company and be a jack of all trades. I know being an entrepreneur is extremely hard work and I like my path of Human Resources. I would love to eventually help a company become established in their policies, compensation structure, and development plans.

On a more somber note, I am still devastated about the Ariana Grande concert. As I was reflecting on the day, my mind kept wondering back to this news. I am sure I would have felt this way in America, but maybe it feels worse since I am literally closer to the proximity of the concert venue. I found out Ariana is paying for all the funerals of the victims of her concert. I can't even imagine the guilt she must feel even though this event has nothing to do with her as a person. I am sure she feels responsible. I heard she cancelled the rest of her tour. There was more information released about some of the victims including a 15 year old girl who went for a friend's birthday. The last big international trip I took was around the time of the Aurora Shooting. I remember every day constantly thinking back to those victims and their families. I think every day I am here I will be reminded of this tragedy and my heart goes out to those poor young victims. The worst part is this attack doesn't even surprise me. It's so common these days. My heart breaks for those families who are experiencing the worst thing that could ever happen in a person's life. I wish there was something we could do.