Arizona International Student Research Project (NHTV & NAU)

For the next 2 weeks 6 students from our NHTV (Mona, Claudia, Desirée, Lara, Jenny and Maaike) will be joining me in Arizona to participate in the Arizona International Student Research Project in which they will learn, work and socialize with students from NAU in Flagstaff.

Goal of this project/field-trip is to work on research skills (gather and analyze data at the OrigiNation festival in Scottsdale – in extended Phoenix) and participate in intercultural exchanges by attending classes at NAU and spending leisure time with NAU students. The data they’ll be gathering will be used for my PhD since part of the survey the students will be administering are questions that I designed for the “Events Experience Survey” that need to be validated. This project is part of the NHTV honors program and the students will get 2 ects in return for their efforts and a certificate from NAU/NHTV.

I’m very excited about this project -worked very hard to make it possible- and hope that we can offer this every year as an alternative field-trip for NHTV students!

Our program and experiences:

Saturday March 30

• NHTV students arrive in Phoenix at 18.05, are picked up from the airport by Sjanett and driven to their accommodation in Flagstaff

Students arrived at Phoenix airport (pic by Claudia) and were immediately spoiled with an awesome sunset. They didn’t   see much of the ride to Flagstaff, even if it hadn’t been dark, their eyes were closed after that long trip 🙂

The students’ hotel in Flagstaff

My hotel, right across the street in Flagstaff, along the famous Route 66

Sunday March 31

• Breakfast in Flagstaff
• Free time to see Flagstaff
• 17.00 BBQ on campus with NAU students for introduction and tour of the campus

Time for a real american breakfast in Flagtaff

Wandering around town, enjoying the scenery and the characteristic railway track in Flagstaff

So much diversity in Flagstaff: students, locals (both native and american), low-rent, high-rent, some wandering hippies, and tourists

Car/truck galore and an abundance of churches

In the evening we were invited for a BBQ with Dr. Paul Wiener on the NAU campus for a very warm welcome

The campus of NAU (Northern Arizona University) is fantastic! It’s large (20,000 students living on campus), fully equipped with great facilities and very diverse.  Personally I found it very cool to see en emphasis on outdoor activities such as backpacking, camping and wilderness courses for course credits! And all of this under the watchful eye of a snowy mountaintop (the San Fransisco Peaks) and the Grand Canyon just around the corner and with super friendly, helpful and welcoming people.

Looking over the campus in the sunset from the parking garage

Enjoying the first Flagstaff sunset

Monday April 1

• 8.30 Breakfast at campus
• 9.00-17.00 Attend four classes at NAU
• 18.00 Meeting with NHTV exchange student (Charlotte) at Lumberyard (5 s. San Francisco street) for diner and drinks

My students attended classes at HRM like:

• Guest Service Management
• Hospitality Marketing
• Sales and Operations
• International Business

And wrote about the differences they encountered between the Dutch and the American way of teaching.

Tuesday April 2

• 8.30 Breakfast at campus
• 9.00-15.00 Attend four classes at NAU
• 16.00 Hiking trail Buffalo Park Loop in Flagstaff, during which we will have the AISP discussion session about Expectancies and First impressions

My students attended classes at HRM like:

• Beverage and Service
• Meetings and Events
• Global Issues
• Property Management

On our way to Buffalo Park

Dear Buffalo, meet the NHTV girls 🙂

I’ll show them how to work these monkey bars!

Wednesday April 3 

• 9.00 Breakfast at campus
• 10.00 Survey training / Internship at Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center
• 12.30-13.00 lunch at Health and Learning Center
• 13.15 Tour of Health and Learning Center
• 13.30-15.30 Introduction to climbing lesson under supervision of NAU outdoors (own expense $10)

Melinda and Tom from the Arizona Hospitality Research and Resource Center walk through the survey with us and help us with the final version

Next is the survey training and after Tom’s instructions the students go and practice

After hard work, it’s time to relax and work on that tan!

For most this was the first time climbing, and after a fun instruction by Ron from NAU Outdoor they all gave it a go

Fun times!

Thursday April 4

• 9.00 Breakfast
• 9.30 Excursion to the Grand Canyon

After a beautiful ride through the Arizona countryside we arrived, so exciting!

Of course we all needed our photo taken here 😉

That first sight, was just amazing!!

What a great day this was!

Meet the star of the day

Paparazzi

Dr. Paul Wiener suggested we walk a short piece of the Bright Angel Trail to get the whole Grand Canyon experience

And so we did

Strike a pose! (pic by Mona)

The Bright Angel Trail

Next stop: the Desert View Watchtower

Again, amazing views… more shadows than earlier this day, with gives a totally different scenery

Soaking up the views…

Colorado River

The drive back to Flagstaff leads us through again a whole new landscape

Almost back in Flagstaff with the San Fransisco Peaks in the background

Friday April 5

• Check out hotels in Flagstaff
• 9.00 Breakfast
• 9.30 Excursion to Sedona
• Drive to Phoenix/Tempé, stop by the Anthem outlet center
• Check in accommodation: Super 8 Motel, Tempé
• Free time in Tempé

Slide Rock National Park on the scenic drive from Flagstaff to Sedona

Sedona main street, great for souvenir shopping! (pic by Jenny)

Beautiful Sedona

Closer to Phoenix the cacti are enormous! (pic by Jenny)

Passing a pro-jesus demonstration on our way to the restaurant in downtown Tempé

Saturday April 6

• NAU students Travel to Phoenix, using own transportation and check in accommodation: Super 8 Motel, Tempé
• Noon Meeting with OrigiNation to introduce the festival
• Prepare for survey: discuss professional surveying skills
• Joint time at Mill av / Mill mall in Tempé
• Attend show Chitresh Das Dance Company: Sita Haran at Scottsdale center for performing arts

“I’m so happy, I could almost cry”. Shopping experience in Arizona Mills in Tempé; the state’s largest indoor, climate controlled outlet, value and entertainment mall! With over 185 stores to choose from.

I had my own personal shopping agenda in Phoenix 😉

Time for some more cultural experiences: Chitresh Das Dance Company performing Sita Haran at Scottsdale center for performing arts

Sunday April 7

• NHTV and NAU students Joint breakfast at hotel in Tempé
• 12.00-16.30 Survey Origination in Scottsdale
• Travel back to Flagstaff, Sjanett drives the NHTV students, NAU students use own transportation

The OrigiNation Festival in Scottsdale

NHTV students hard at work

Together with our colleagues from NAU

Travel light we told them…

What better way to travel in Arizona…

“I see a moose!!”

Monday April 8

• 8.30 Breakfast at campus
• 10.00 Scan surveys / input data at Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center
• 17.00 Bowling and diner

The weather in Flagstaff changed unfortunately…

Getting our collected data into the computer at the Arizona Hospitality Research and Resource Center with help of Melinda

Tuesday April 9

• 9.00 joint breakfast at campus
• 9.45 Work on data-analyses and research report, under supervision of Sjanett (at HRM)
• 19.00 AISP discussion session (hosted by Sjanett) about Experiences, location not yet picked

Working on the report for OrigiNation together with Arlene

Wednesday April 10

• 9.00 joint breakfast at campus
• 9.45 Work on data-analyses and research report, under supervision of Sjanett (at HRM)
• Mail research report to Origination
• 13.30-16.30 Challenge course Teambuilding program under supervision of NAU outdoors (own expense $18)
• 18.00 Diner with Dr. Paul Wiener and Arlene at the Brewery in Flagstaff

Teambuilding activity!

And the challenge-course!

Learning the techniques

On the way up. Yes, that was quite high!

🙂 smile

For some the course a bit more challenging than others…

But I was having a blast and the view was amazing!

Jenny was the most enthusiastic of all

Thursday April 11

• Check out hotels in Flagstaff
• 7.00 joint breakfast
• 7.45 drive to Las Vegas
• Check in Las Vegas hotel
• Free time in Vegas

Short stop at Hoover Dam on our way to Las Vegas

Our hotel: the 4 queens right on the Freemont Street Experience

Friday April 12

• Joint breakfast
• Free time

And for the rest: what happens in Vegas… Stays in Vegas 😉

Saturday April 13

• 6.30 check out and joint breakfast
• 7.00 drive to airport
• 9.45 students depart from McCarran int airport Vegas