Have been occupied by all the preparation work prior to departure to France.
To be a R3 admit means I have few weeks to arrange for financing before the deposit deadline, ie. bank loans, personal loan, lottery (in my dream...), and to arrange for housing at Fonty etc.
will write more on financing later.
by the way, a small observation. From INSEAD's student portal, we are able to view the profile of each future classmate and their choice of campus to start the programme. There seems to be a trend for European to prefer the Singapore campus and for Asian to choose the France campus.
I presume the reasons are:
- to convince the Adcom of our 'internationalism', an important aspect highly valued by INSEAD's diverse community, and our enthusiasm to adventure into the less familiar zone, we strategically opt for the campus at the other continent from where we currently base :)
- the grass opposite is always greener. Or, after too many years of living in a familiar culture, we see more of the imperfections of an area, and tend to fantasize about the others, like in a relationship.
The choice of campus will be determined by our targeted geographical location for future career.
After the first 2 terms (INSEAD requires us to spend at least 2 periods at the campus where we start), what would be our preferences? to be observed.. :)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
INSEAD - Admitted !
I was on my mp3 when my phone rang at 5:30pm (France time 11:30am). On the screen it showed an overseas number +33...it was from France !
On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my great pleasure to offer you a place in the INSEAD MBA Class of December 2008, starting in Fontainebleau on January 7th. Congratulations and welcome to the worldwide INSEAD community.
It's 2 days earlier than expected ! I'm not sure if all B-school adcom calls to personally congratulate the admitted applicant, but I am certainly moved and thrilled to receive the call from France !
At last, I feel so settled and relieved. It's great to receive the news earlier, if not a few hundred dollars of other schools' application fee will fly away without a purpose :p
I have around 2 months to arrange for financing (ie. bank loan), VISA, housing, driving lesson, pre-MBA reading, relocation, gathering with friends etc etc etc
Probably won't need to attend the optional 'Business Foundation' course. Attended a lecture on Financial Market & Valuation before, and found it manageable. To be confirmed after more research.
The only thing I can confirm is the date of my flight to Paris, which I have been dreaming about for months :p
And if time permits, would like to travel to Italy before school term starts. Hmm...how should I spend my Christmas and New Year Count-down? :)
On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my great pleasure to offer you a place in the INSEAD MBA Class of December 2008, starting in Fontainebleau on January 7th. Congratulations and welcome to the worldwide INSEAD community.
It's 2 days earlier than expected ! I'm not sure if all B-school adcom calls to personally congratulate the admitted applicant, but I am certainly moved and thrilled to receive the call from France !
At last, I feel so settled and relieved. It's great to receive the news earlier, if not a few hundred dollars of other schools' application fee will fly away without a purpose :p
I have around 2 months to arrange for financing (ie. bank loan), VISA, housing, driving lesson, pre-MBA reading, relocation, gathering with friends etc etc etc
Probably won't need to attend the optional 'Business Foundation' course. Attended a lecture on Financial Market & Valuation before, and found it manageable. To be confirmed after more research.
The only thing I can confirm is the date of my flight to Paris, which I have been dreaming about for months :p
And if time permits, would like to travel to Italy before school term starts. Hmm...how should I spend my Christmas and New Year Count-down? :)
Monday, October 1, 2007
stretching to reach the finishing line
I'm so grateful to my friends who have been listening to my never-ending MBA -related stories all these while...
It's the way of my species to release emotions and distress :) without us, telecommunication business' profit will suffer, pubs and cafes would not flourish as well ...
I'm so thankful that I met this nice friend at one of the information sessions. we have been encouraging each other, keeping ourselves sane admist this application craze, and of course complaining about those essay topics that could paralyse some of us within 5 seconds of reading it...it does take someone who has gone through / is going through the same stamina-testing process to comprehend the stress, pain and joy...
(do you really have NO such moment of feeling some blood gushing out from your chest??? come on...)
Best wishes ! For it is worthwhile !
It's the way of my species to release emotions and distress :) without us, telecommunication business' profit will suffer, pubs and cafes would not flourish as well ...
I'm so thankful that I met this nice friend at one of the information sessions. we have been encouraging each other, keeping ourselves sane admist this application craze, and of course complaining about those essay topics that could paralyse some of us within 5 seconds of reading it...it does take someone who has gone through / is going through the same stamina-testing process to comprehend the stress, pain and joy...
(do you really have NO such moment of feeling some blood gushing out from your chest??? come on...)
Best wishes ! For it is worthwhile !
The Clock Is Ticking
it's really weird. I have not been able to access Tuck's admission webpage since last week. Tried to use yahoo and google to link to the webpage too, but it did not work. Have emailed Tuck for help last week but have yet received any reply.
will learn INSEAD's admission decision next friday. I'm getting more and more restless. The decision will be so important, as I desperately need to have an idea of where and how my life will be for the next few years, and to work on a new trajectory instead of waiting for the news. Every decision is made with a consideration of a pivotal change in the very near future.
all other school application deadlines are so near now, yet I find myself inefficient in getting all essays well done. there are 1001 tasks to be completed, and to be prioritized.
I wish I have more time to efficiently complete all tasks, yet can't wait for the important day to come !
will learn INSEAD's admission decision next friday. I'm getting more and more restless. The decision will be so important, as I desperately need to have an idea of where and how my life will be for the next few years, and to work on a new trajectory instead of waiting for the news. Every decision is made with a consideration of a pivotal change in the very near future.
all other school application deadlines are so near now, yet I find myself inefficient in getting all essays well done. there are 1001 tasks to be completed, and to be prioritized.
I wish I have more time to efficiently complete all tasks, yet can't wait for the important day to come !
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
speechless...
Incident 1:
Met a neighbor. Her first greeting to me, a stranger, was ‘ Are you from China or --- (my present residential country)’
‘None of the above. I’m from ----’ My reply.
‘Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m just friendly. You know, there are people of many different nationalities here now. Maybe you should travel overseas more to learn this… blah blah blah (continue for about 5 minutes….)’
Incident 2:
Our French teacher shared that in history, New Orlene was sold by Napoleon to USA for a sum of money and feels that it is a pity (jokingly).
Immediately we had a protest from our super patriotic American, ‘ Don’t ever talk bad about American ! blah blah blah...’.
But… He was talking about Napoleon !!
And this beautiful lady whose rich husband is a French, would never degrade herself by associating with fellow classmates even of the same ethnic as hers.
Incident 3:
We had the pleasure of an economist to teach basic economics to my fellow colleagues who lacked such background training.
A casual remark blurted out from this economist, ‘It’s simply an inescapable trend. The employment of -------people is so cheap and good,’
Room of laughter. The new associate from the country mentioned, a recently graduated scholar, kept silent.
Interestingly, all of our forefathers, who in fact immigrated from the same mentioned country just 2-3 generations ago, were also ‘cheap and good labors’ in the eyes of the British.
Hopefully I will get much less of such experience in my future MBA community.
Met a neighbor. Her first greeting to me, a stranger, was ‘ Are you from China or --- (my present residential country)’
‘None of the above. I’m from ----’ My reply.
‘Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m just friendly. You know, there are people of many different nationalities here now. Maybe you should travel overseas more to learn this… blah blah blah (continue for about 5 minutes….)’
Incident 2:
Our French teacher shared that in history, New Orlene was sold by Napoleon to USA for a sum of money and feels that it is a pity (jokingly).
Immediately we had a protest from our super patriotic American, ‘ Don’t ever talk bad about American ! blah blah blah...’.
But… He was talking about Napoleon !!
And this beautiful lady whose rich husband is a French, would never degrade herself by associating with fellow classmates even of the same ethnic as hers.
Incident 3:
We had the pleasure of an economist to teach basic economics to my fellow colleagues who lacked such background training.
A casual remark blurted out from this economist, ‘It’s simply an inescapable trend. The employment of -------people is so cheap and good,’
Room of laughter. The new associate from the country mentioned, a recently graduated scholar, kept silent.
Interestingly, all of our forefathers, who in fact immigrated from the same mentioned country just 2-3 generations ago, were also ‘cheap and good labors’ in the eyes of the British.
Hopefully I will get much less of such experience in my future MBA community.
Services
The service at Dome Café at Alliance Francaise is impressive.
Example 1:
I arrived earlier than usual to revise for my first French test. The café was not ready for business yet but the kind waiter let me order a cappuccino anyway. My hot cappuccino was served ten minutes later, on the house ! The waiter even apologized for making me wait even though I was the one troubling him…I insisted on paying but eventually accepted his generosity.
Normal practice in this city:
Will be told to return later by a staff because the official business hour has yet to begin. Attitude of the staff varies at different places.
Example 2:
The filling of the chicken pie was cold obviously because of insufficient heating-up. The waiter took back the partially eaten pie, and served me a new one with additional salad.
Normal practice in this city:
Waiter may apologize, sincerely or not. Serve the re-heated chicken pie later.
My classmates, who come from different parts of the world, often lament the service standard here. There is room for improvement for sure. Here’s my attempt, after some mid-night chit-chatting and discussions with my night-owl friends, to explain such general situation in the country. Of course, it is possible to find great services here, but they usually demand a higher outflow of thy purse.
Perhaps this little illustration of a local phenomenon will help.
Long queues are generally perceived as a direct result of a demand for highly appealing product or service with limited supply. Thus, to avoid disappointment, some people develop the instinct to join the queue whenever there is one, or follow the majority to test the truth. It’s a common scene even at the key commercial district, where people typically have only an hour to grab lunch at those super-crowded eateries.
Yours truly here, sometimes unable to suppress curiosity, will ask those people in the queue if they know the prize for their suffering. Voila ! many of them have no idea at all. It’s akin to Forrest Gum’s box of chocolate, you never know what surprise awaits you! It might be a bottle of mineral water so promptly quenches one’s thirst after 45 minutes of queuing. Sometimes, it is a complimentary bottle of travel size shampoo, for one to look forward to the next trip.
Perhaps hours of queuing under the scorching tropical sun and in such high humidity is a great way to train one’s patience, and can produce similar effects of practicing calligraphy to calm one’s senses.
Imagine some of the service industry practices are brought here. Free food if you are not satisfied. Total refund, no question asked, within 30 days of purchase if you are unhappy with your purchase, never mind if it has been used once or twice. Complimentary free item if the service is not unsatisfactory.
In the name of exercising the right to receive great services, consumers can do many things… I can imagine queues and queues of people…
Example 1:
I arrived earlier than usual to revise for my first French test. The café was not ready for business yet but the kind waiter let me order a cappuccino anyway. My hot cappuccino was served ten minutes later, on the house ! The waiter even apologized for making me wait even though I was the one troubling him…I insisted on paying but eventually accepted his generosity.
Normal practice in this city:
Will be told to return later by a staff because the official business hour has yet to begin. Attitude of the staff varies at different places.
Example 2:
The filling of the chicken pie was cold obviously because of insufficient heating-up. The waiter took back the partially eaten pie, and served me a new one with additional salad.
Normal practice in this city:
Waiter may apologize, sincerely or not. Serve the re-heated chicken pie later.
My classmates, who come from different parts of the world, often lament the service standard here. There is room for improvement for sure. Here’s my attempt, after some mid-night chit-chatting and discussions with my night-owl friends, to explain such general situation in the country. Of course, it is possible to find great services here, but they usually demand a higher outflow of thy purse.
Perhaps this little illustration of a local phenomenon will help.
Long queues are generally perceived as a direct result of a demand for highly appealing product or service with limited supply. Thus, to avoid disappointment, some people develop the instinct to join the queue whenever there is one, or follow the majority to test the truth. It’s a common scene even at the key commercial district, where people typically have only an hour to grab lunch at those super-crowded eateries.
Yours truly here, sometimes unable to suppress curiosity, will ask those people in the queue if they know the prize for their suffering. Voila ! many of them have no idea at all. It’s akin to Forrest Gum’s box of chocolate, you never know what surprise awaits you! It might be a bottle of mineral water so promptly quenches one’s thirst after 45 minutes of queuing. Sometimes, it is a complimentary bottle of travel size shampoo, for one to look forward to the next trip.
Perhaps hours of queuing under the scorching tropical sun and in such high humidity is a great way to train one’s patience, and can produce similar effects of practicing calligraphy to calm one’s senses.
Imagine some of the service industry practices are brought here. Free food if you are not satisfied. Total refund, no question asked, within 30 days of purchase if you are unhappy with your purchase, never mind if it has been used once or twice. Complimentary free item if the service is not unsatisfactory.
In the name of exercising the right to receive great services, consumers can do many things… I can imagine queues and queues of people…
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
INSEAD Interview
Have completed the interview requirement. It's now back to the waiting game, and I should duely refocus back to my preparation work for other B-Schools, my work and French lessons.
Realize that I may need to force myself to do something I really drag to - driving. It has not been abolutely necessary but it may well be for survivalship in the near future. I need to tune my mind to believe that it can be enjoyable from now on... believe ...believe...
:)
Realize that I may need to force myself to do something I really drag to - driving. It has not been abolutely necessary but it may well be for survivalship in the near future. I need to tune my mind to believe that it can be enjoyable from now on... believe ...believe...
:)
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