This second week was even better than my first week, which I didn’t know was possible since last week was so fun! We had more beach days, shopped in different cities around the island, and learned more about how advertising and public relations work here.
After a relaxing day on Sunday, we got back to work in the classroom on Monday morning. We are continuing to learn more about Sprinklr and further analyzing our client, Sapphire Beach Club Resort. It has been so interesting to learn more about the hotel we are staying at and their current marketing plan to figure out what ways we can help them.
We went to Grand Case after class, which is a city I had not been to yet. The food was amazing and the beach had an amazing view of the mountains. It was a great day spent at the beach, shopping, and eating! I would love to go back to try another restaurant in the area.
On Tuesday, we went on an excursion as a whole group to Marigot and Phillipsburg, the capitals here. I loved spending more time in these cities and I’m starting to get a much better idea of what the island is really like. Everyone here is so kind and welcoming! I did so much shopping this day, which was a lot of fun. This is my first time traveling somewhere where you can negotiate prices so that has been new to me and I expected it to be scary, but the friendly people here make it easy.
Wednesday was a super fun day of class! We split up into smaller groups and went to different cities around the island to interview tourists. We asked questions about what people are looking for in a resort when they travel to Sint Maarten and what is important to them as guests. My group went to Simpson Bay and interviewed people in a few different places there. We learned that people come here for so many different reasons, including girls trips, family vacations, and work trips. Despite these different purposes, every person we interviewed said that they were looking for somewhere close to the beach, some wanted a kitchen, and others wanted to be close to lots of restaurants. It was interesting to hear people’s stories and preferences, and it is going to be so helpful for our campaign.
After class on Thursday morning, I went on a hike to the highest point on the island, called Pic Paradis. I learned about this through social media before coming here so it was exciting that others wanted to do it as well. We saw monkeys, so many iguanas, and the most beautiful views on the way up. It was so hot, but the experience was worth it. I often see travel videos on social media so it was cool to actually be able to go to one of the places!
One part I loved about this week was discovering so many great places to eat on the island. I tried more of the restaurants within walking distance from our hotel, but also ate in different cities like Grand Case and Marigot. I hope that each week continues to be better than the last as this trip continues, and I can’t believe we’re already halfway done.