2011 ILSSO Buenos Aires bound!

January 4, 2011

After months of anticipation, the 2011 ILSSO group is ready to be Buenos Aires bound! The sixty-six students and four chaperones started off the experience this morning in Miami with a program orientation. We introduced ourselves to one another and spent some time answering any lingering questions about what our time abroad will look like.



Late morning, Mr. Jeremy Cheon, an Operations Manager with Bunge, joined us. Bunge North America is the title sponsor of the ILSSO program and Mr. Cheon works here in Miami managing Bunge’s export operations in Latin America. We learned more about Bunge operations across the globe and then focused in on their role in Argentina. His presentation helped prepare us for the various production industries that we’ll see during our travels. We’re excited to visit Bunge’s impressive Terminal 6 facility in San Martin in just a few days.



We spent our afternoon “adopting a global mindset” and preparing for some of the cultural differences that we’ll encounter in Argentina. As a group, we’ve made a commitment to being gracious guests of the farmers, agribusiness leaders, and locals that we’ll visit with. It will be quite an experience to be so immersed in another culture but we’re all looking forward to the challenge!



This evening, we wrapped up by collecting some of the materials and documents that we’ll use throughout our travels. Now, it’s on to last minute packing and getting some shut eye. We are leaving the hotel at 5:45 a.m. tomorrow (YIKES) for the airport. After a quick nine-hour flight south, we’ll be in Argentina.



Be sure to check out our blog daily as we share some of the experiences that we’re having along our journey.



¡Buenos noches! (Good night!)



Shane Jacques, Program Manager

International Leadership Seminar for State Officers