Another year gone by, surpassing yet another big milestone in my 28 years on this planet. Its hard to describe the year as I feel I experienced every kind of emotion and feeling possible and that there are way too many people and experiences that are worth mentioning in my year end memoirs.
This year was my MBA year or specifically, my year at INSEAD. I initially thought that I was going there for a diploma but I returned with a lot more.
I started the year in India, packing fervently for the student life and on the 3rd, I landed at the Changi International Airport in Singapore with a large suitcase, a duffel bag and a laptop.
INSEAD Singapore seemed smaller than I had imagined and nested well inside the city, unlike other schools I had attended in the past and after a few minor hiccups, I settled in my room with a wonderful view on the 20th floor at Normanton Park with my nice apartment-mates.
At this point, I'll let you in on a secret, the Singaporeans believe they speak English but don't believe them.. they actually speak English-la.. a distinctive dialect comprising of a mixture of English and long sighs that end in la or ooh or luu.. hence to communicate effectively remember that every word needs to end with this format of 'open mouthed' expression.
Honestly, the first period at INSEAD or Jan-Feb was stressful and not as I expected. I cannot claim that I managed to balance the workload, projects, group work and the social life but I did survive and make lots of friends, those who stopped me from committing hara-kiri before the accounting exam or drowning myself in the four feet swimming pool before the corporate finance paper.
In any case, P1 was my introspective period and I spend more time knowing myself and the people around me than anything about the degree. But thanks to my wonderful study group mates, I emerged unscathed and actually did better than I expected.
And the best part of P1 was the beautiful gift my family received - my niece.. Zoya arrived in our world in February and even today, all it takes is a smile from her to make my day.
P2 (March-April) on the other hand was the travel period or my exploratory phase of the year. Indonesia was amazing and sightseeing with a local friend was even better. For five days a pack of nine 'future business leaders of the world' were let loose on the temples of Yogyakarta and Pranmanan and managed to discover their singing and dancing talents at the karaoke bars of Jakarta. Myanmar was an experience to remember, a chinese new year trip with a couple of beautiful close friends to a country full of contradictions - on one hand the beautiful pagodas of Yangoon and Bagan were reminders of the rich past while on the other hand the dilapidated, crowded, dirty and poverty stricken villages and streets forced us to see the reality of the present situation.
P3 (May-June) saw a complete change in scenario once again.. off to fabulous France for the rest of the diploma, I found myself living in a rustic but incredibly beautiful village in the middle of a forest. I fell in love immediately, with the school, the surroundings, the amazing forest, the sparkling river, the wine and cheese and of-course the cute French dames. I realized that true to the stereotype, the French really knew how to dress in style and what to drink (and with what) or smoke and discuss random subjects all day but most were also completely clueless about giving directions (try driving around in Paris), loved to pretend that they don't see you and were way more conservative than the Americans imagine.
An interesting period, I realized that I actually speak English quite well (as compared to the French) and knowing a little local language (French) can make you really popular (especially with the dames).."vous etes the mignonne"...
In any case, P3 was a healthy mix of macroeconomics and partying, and to all those who doubt if those two go along well together.. I have unquestionable evidence of individual cases where some illustrious ones among us managed to write exams even after partying till the wee hours of the morning (names not disclosed to avoid public embarrassment).
The Summer Ball was the event of the period, held at the famous Fontainebleau chateaux, it was a night long extravaganza where I was not only awestruck by the brilliant ambience and fireworks but also by how graceful my friends looked in their elegant long dresses.
I spent the first week of the summer in a small village close to Udaipur in Rajasthan as a part of a course on building social ventures and other than a eye opening experience it also forced me to witness the fallout of rapid globalization and those left behind in the emerging economies. I tried to capture some of the experience and my perspective on my other blog as the four days left me both surprised and angry.
The majority of my summer (the next seven weeks) was spent working for a large agribusiness company in Basel, Switzerland. I was working for their Bio-fuels strategy group but more than the work (I did do some!!!), I loved sitting next to the Rhine every evening or driving up to the Alps over the weekends. I took a few hang gliding lessons in Interlaken and truly, its the closest one can come to free flying. I also made trip to Strasbourg in France, Munich in Germany and Slovenia.
Slovenia turned out to be a very pleasant surprise - Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Postjana Caves were all wonderful sights and driving alone through the forests without a GPS or proper map meant that I saw much more of the country than the usual tourists.
P4 (Sept-Oct) turned out to be the period of recession, dying banks, billion dollar bailouts and the worst.. a job market crash. Most of my time was spent in writing cover letters or interviewing with interviewers who were writing cover letters for themselves. A funny exercise these interviews are.. like one act theater but without an audience and actors desperate to please each other (You know the job market is down when even companies who you didn't apply for, start sending you rejection letters..)
P5 (Nov-Dec) was my best period and like the end of a marathon, I tried to give it all I had. The realization that the year was nearly over occurred first while singing in the Cabaret. Singing the farewell song with some of my best friends or preparing slides for the 'Don't Worry- Be Happy' number hammered in the fact that this short INSEAD experience would soon be over and 2009 will be again a return to the real world.
I put my heart into organizing the 'Desi Week' (a week long crazy cultural festival of the South Asian region) and some of the most memorable experiences and friendships developed through this exercise. I realized that even though our region may be unstable and volatile, we all shared the same history, culture, dreams and aspirations.
The end came too soon and after a short trip (Burrito Grad trip) to Barcelona, it was time to graduate and bid farewell to INSEAD, all the wonderful people and the great year. I had the honor of being elected the grad speaker and as I stood by the podium to speak, I realized that this year in my life would be unique and every moment would be indelibly etched in my memory.
As I sit back today and complete my logs for the year while celebrating my new year eve with my family, I realize that this year would not have been close to what it was, had it not been for each of you, always there to support and encourage me when I needed it most.
And as I look to an uncertain future in 2009, my confidence and optimism is untarnished, and my spirits are as high as they can be.
No comments:
Post a Comment