#2: Back to school eah! (September 15 - 25 2011)

E tipu e rea mo nga ra o tou ao
Ko tō ringa ki ngā rākau a te Pāhekā, hei ara mō tō tinana,
Ko tō ngākau ki ngā taonga a ā tīpuna Māori, hei tikitiki mō tō māhuna,
Ā, ko tō wairua ki tō Atua, Nāna nei ngā mea katoa.

Grow up and thrive for the days destined to you.
Your hands to the tools of the Pakeha [the Western world] to provide physical sustenance.
Your heart to the treasures of your ancestors as a diadem for your brow.
Your spirit to your God to whom all things belong.



Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena ano tatou katoa. Greetings to friends and family all.

This blog is about my first experiences of being a student at Portland State University, which will be my occupation, my home base, my life, my bane, for the next 18 months.

Portland State University (PSU)

The PSU campus is located in downtown Porltand, at the southern end. One of the huge benefits of this is that it sits right on the free zone for the trains, so you can get to your favorite lunch spot (or your favorite publican) pretty easy. 

The newer buildings are pretty flash, I like the Urban Center with its rooftop garden. And the basketball courts look out from the third floor of the rec center. The Park Blocks, this strip of trees and outdoor seating that stretches for five blocks through the campus, are beautiful; a bit of nature and peace in the heart of the city - except for those leaf blowers. There are trees, they have leaves, which fall. Deal with it people.  

PSU is located in the southern part of the Portland CBD

The South Park Blocks is 5 blocks of green through the PSU campus

Another huge benefit is that there are plenty of opportunities to interact with people who work in downtown businesses and organizations. An example of the benefits of a downtown campus is last weekend - PSU's Hatfield School of Government hosted the Second Annual  International Conference on Government Performance and Leadership. Over 100 international guests  attended. 

The proximity of the University to hotels with both accommodation and conference facilities, restaurants and entertainment makes that possible. I helped out at the conference as a student volunteer, and got to meet the Mayor of Portland City.

Sam Adams, Mayor of the City of Portland, speaking at PSU Oct 1, 2011

Business School orientation 

Before classes began I got to meet my classmates for the next 18 months: we are the full-time MBA 'cohort' (that word gets used a lot here) for 2013, which is when we will graduate. We will work, study, play, laugh (and probably cry a little) together for the next couple years. 

We are a diverse bunch. Around 50% come from a non-business backgrounds; 30% are international students. We are going to have a lot of fun bouncing ideas around and bringing a diverse range of experiences, knowledge and interests to bear upon our coursework.

On Your Feet

At our orientation we got to participate in a workshop delivered by a company called On Your Feet. OYF was set up in part by a graduate of the PSU MBA program. They have worked with top level executives, sales teams and whole organizations, including Nike, Disney and GE.

What they do is utilize improv to stimulate creative energy in businesses. For example, we played this game where in pairs one person had to just make up a story on the spot, and the other person would blurt out a word every now and then, and you had to incorporate that thing into your story. We also mimicked the contrast in body language between a doubtful and a confident person.

There was a lot of laughter and some lessons too. I learned about what it means to tap into one's creative energies. Here is the crux of the improv ethos they showed us - I think they are really relevant to both personal and organizational development:

• Nothing creative will emerge if people don't feel its ok to make a mistake 
• Notice more and do less
• Build on offers. Integrate whats just been said into your own idea. See where it takes you

International Student Orientation

This two day orientation was a mixed bag. The great part was meeting our international student mentors, who had a lot of insights and good tricks for getting free stuff, yeyah! It was also a great source of new friends.Last weekend I introduced a few to the Warriors. Next year boys!

Nik (Germany), Rebecka (Sweden), Amaya (Ecuador), Johannis (Germany)

Public Radio appearance

Last Monday afternoon, I'm eating my apple during the break of my first class, and I get a call: 'Hey Simon, want to go on the radio tomorrow and tell people why you chose to study in Portland?' Heck yeah. The Oregan Public Broadcasting (OPB) morning show Think Out Loud ran a story on the record levels of international students studying in Oregon. Click here to listen.

Exploring Portland

The other weekend, a few of us international's along with one of our student mentors took a ride out to the Oregon coastline. It was a real treat to see and feel the ocean again. This is the coast featured in one of my favorite childhood films, The Goonies. 

Cannon Beach, Oregon coastline

Key observations
Is that rain? Nah its more of a mist that moves downwards
Oregon has no sales tax, so no surprises when you get to the counter to pay!


Nga mihi nunui ki a tatou katoa
Kia ora tonu mai,


Simon

PLEASE NOTE:

This is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views expressed in this blog are mine alone and do not represent the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or the New Zealand government.