Speyer Tour

May 25

A classmate Marc is from Speyer and gave us a tour of his home town. Speyer is near the river Rhine and is about 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Speyer is lovely town, and is known for its Cathedral where tombs of German emperors and kings are buried underneath the high altar.

Photos:
1 - Omo (Nigeria) and I in Speyer
2 & 3 - Sights from Speyer
4 - Just part of the group that enjoyed the trip to Speyer
5 - Valmiki (India), me and Jake (India)

Road Trip Week

Week of May 18

I did not have class this week and we were planning to maybe travel around Europe. We decided to spend some time travelling around Germany and ended up visiting France as well. We went to Strasbourg, France; Tubingen and Metzingen, Germany; Weinheim, Germany; Ladenburg, Germany; and Dilsberg, Germany.

Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg is located in the Alsace region in France, close to the German border and less than 2 hours one way from Heidelberg. It was once part of Germany, but was returned to France after WWI. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, although sessions are only held once a month here. We sporadically decided to drive to Strasbourg, thus were not prepared for the rainstorm that was happening when we arrived. Nevertheless, we took a boat tour around the city and got to see its lovely sites between the smear of rain drops. We had an interesting dinner before we left at this charming little restaurant. They were serving what we thought were pastries with different fillings - cheeses, or meant and cheese combination. What turns out is that they were essentially toast pieces of small bread with these toppings. While the meal was scrumptious, we were wondering what happened to the rest of the meal...you would have to eat about five of these to curb your hunger. Maybe this is the secret behind the book, why French women don't get fat. Anyways, the best part of the trip besides the lovely scenery was our desert at this restaurant...pear and chocolate chip pie. It was indescribable!

Photos:
1 - On our rainy drive in
2 - Florian and I on the boat tour
3 - Sights of the city







Tubigen and Metzingen, Germany
I had been hearing about this amazing outlet center in Metzingen, Germany about 1.5 hours away from the Mannheim-Heidelberg area. Of course, with my love of outlets especially in Florida, I had to check it out. I was particularly interested in the BOSS outlet, which later turned out to be a bit disappointing as they didn't have a large selection for women. The outlet center was okay, not as many deep discounts as those in the U.S. If your a guy, the BOSS outlet is golden. After Metzingen, we headed to nearby Tubigen for dinner before we drove back to the Mannheim-Heidelberg area. The area is known for its universities and was very lovely. We found a great mexican restaurant that was really yummy - if we see Mexican the dinner choice is automatic!!

Photos:
1 - In Tubigen at Florian's namesake, a flower store



Weinheim, Germany
To get up to Frankfurt from where I live, I could go to Weinheim...thus I have only seen it from a tram perspective. However, it is a lovely little German town with a cute center. We took a hike up the mountain...it was quite strenuous. I don't know how I made it up and down!!



Ladenburg, Germany
I also pass through Ladenburg on my daily commute to Mannheim, but of course only get the view from my bus window. It is a small, charming German town as well. However, it still has the ancient ruins of the cities fortifications.



Dilsberg, Germany
Dilsberg is close to Heidelberg, and is not the typical German town set down in a valley, but the old part of the city is built on top of a little mountain and is still surrounded by its old town wall. The old part of the city is really tiny and the paths are narrow and wind around the old town. It wasn't very touristy when we went and had some nice crepes on our stop there.

Photos:
1 & 2 - Views of Dilsberg

Where I Live - Mannheim Term

April - July

During my third term in Mannheim, I decided that I was done with the community living lifestyle and lived in Schriesheim, which is just north of the Heidelberg city center. This was Florian's old apartment when he was in college, so after some fixing up, the apartment became quite homey! The area is quite charming, one of those small German towns, but is also a weinstadt (a city that produces its own wine). It was definitely a cozy home to come back to after spending the day in bustling Mannheim.

Out of the three schools that I have been to this year, I noticed quite a difference in academic living style and there has definitely been advantages and disadvantages of all three living set ups.

Warwick dorm style living
Advantages:
-Having friends close
-Fully equipped for student life (i.e. comfortable desk and desk chair)

Disadvantages:
-Sharing kitchen facilities with up to 10 others
-Located in the middle of nowhere
-Lack of character (like living in a box) can be rather depressing
-Noise

Copenhagen shared apartment style living
Advantages:
-Having friends close (roomies)
-Only sharing a kitchen with two others
-Great location

Disadvantages:
-Not fully equipped for student life (i.e. barely had desks and no desk chair)
-Noise
-No community vibe as students commute to school and live all over the city

Mannheim off campus
Advantages:
-Quite
-Homey
-Great atmosphere
-Own kitchen, bathroom, etc.

Disadvantages:
-Not having friends close by
-Lack of community feeling
-Having to commute

I cannot say which set up I liked the best, but all were memorable and great experiences.

Photos:
1 - My castle that I could see from my bed (the vineyards are being redone, but there is normally grape vines growing on the mountain below the castle)
2 - Front view of the apartment
3 - Bedroom
4 - Kitchen
5- Living room

Salon Treatment

May 6

In preparing to leave the U.S. I wanted to keep my hair hassle free i.e. limit the amount of styling and coloring needed. So in anticipation of leaving, I grew out all of my highlights so I wouldn't have to worry about the up keep. At my Aveda salon, I asked for an easy cut that will look good as it grows out and loses its shape!

However, usually I get a haircut/style change every couple of months or so and the lack of change has been driving me crazy.

In England, it was way to expensive and didn't really see any good places, so I kept growing it.

Then in Copenhagen, I planned to get a haircut for my birthday and thought it would be a good salon experience as with their great English, I could explain exactly what I wanted and have some salon chit chat. However, I think I had the only stylist in CPH who didn't speak English. So I ended up with a half way cute cut, but with straw thin hair. She had thinned it way too much.

Now in Berlin, Florian had went to a place that he thought I would like. So I decided to give a try, because the summer is coming up and I miss my shorter, hassle free style. When he made the appointment he was sure to convey that I don't speak much German and that I would need someone who spoke English. However, when I got there and into the chair of my stylist, the first thing she says is that sorry, her English isn't that great. At that moment, I had a sinking feeling and knew that a nice salon experience this time was out of the question. Through the experience I was quite tense, unsure of how the cut was going to turn out given our limited ability to understand each other. So again, like in CPH, I tried to explain what I wanted/didn't want through the assistance of many to my stylist. Words like layers, blended and bangs didn't seem to easily translate and I didn't know them in German. But I think my stylist did a very nice job!

Hence, I think in these experiences I learned that you sure can convey a lot of information without understanding and usage of actual words! But I will say that it is irritating when businesses say they can accommodate an English speaker and in reality they cannot!!

Photos:
1 - Before: long, lifeless, all black (too stark I think, especially for the summer) and grown out bangs
2 - 3 - After: sassy hair is back!! I think this is the most bangage that I have had since I was a teen!

Week Two - International Management

Week of April 21

The second week of class Yuko (WBS, Japan) stayed with me.

In this class we talked more about global relations and international joint ventures/M&A. We had the delightful Professor Perlitz, who was full of interesting stories from his career and company. I think there is a facebook group that voted Perlitz's classes as the most un-PC classes at Mannheim. He is retiring this summer and it was a pleasure to be in one of his last classes.

Photos:
1 - Yuko and I in Heidelberg
2 - We randomly met up with more WBSers in HD. Irina (MBS, Russia), Olivia, Ele, Me, Yuko and Mery in front of the HD gate
3 - Group case work
4 - Yuko, Viktoria (MBS, Belarus) and Boris (MBS, Germany) at a nice bier garden along the Rhine River
5 - Marc (MBS, Germany) and I at the bier garden

Night at the Museum

April 19

A few of us went up to Frankfurt for Night at the Museum, where the museums are open from 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. and one entry fee gets you into all of them. There are also big parties when it gets late in the museum and in the backyards, reminded me of house fraternity parties. We didn't have the chance to hit all museums but I did get to see a few. It was quite crowded and a bit chaos to meet up with friends. But all in all, it was a fun event.

Photos:
1 - Me, Ele, Mercy, Dee (MBS, British) and Irina against the river
2 - Me in front of the Frankfurt skyline
3 - Museum advertising on the bridges
4 - Group of friends that stayed for the late-night museum experience

Week One - Cross Cultural Managment

Week of April 14

It was our very first week of class after two weeks of workshops and seminars.

Tara, a friend from Warwick, came in for the class and stayed with me off-campus. The great thing about these courses is that students from the schools that the Mannheimers studied at for the first two terms have the chance to come take a course at Mannheim. Therefore, I'll get to see and hang out with many friends from Warwick and Copenhagen again!

The class was about learning and realizing cultural differences. We had presentations on the British, French and Japanese cultures. Since being in this multicultural environment, it was the first time we had an open forum to discuss our beliefs and stereotypes about other cultures. Lesson learned: understand the culture people come from and don't take yourself/national culture too seriously.

The one-week courses I've discovered can be very tricky....its about balancing company presentations, class group work, entertaining guests and showing them around town, oh yes and studying for the class. With each course we can choose to take an exam at the end or white a paper (3,000 words). For this class, I decided to write the paper (which I am avoiding doing at the moment as I work on this blog entry)!

Photos:
1 - Tara (WBS, British/American) Tatiana (MBS, Ukraine) and me at lunch
2 - Tara, Allen (MBS, China) and myself at the pianist concert in Heidelberg
3 - Tara, Aila (MBS, Germany), Linda (CBS) and me at lunch
4 - Ricardo (WBS, Portugal), Tara and myself again at lunch on our last day of class
5 - The WBS girls in Mannheim: Mercy (WBS, Nigeria), Ele (WBS, Ghana), Tara and myself
6 - Ele and I at dinner
7 - Tara, Josep (WBS, Spain) and Olivia (MBS, Mexico) at dinner
8 - Tara and I as the fun week comes to an end

Berlin Career Fair

April 7

The first weekend we went to a career fair in Berlin organized by the leading MBA schools in Germany. My first thoughts of having a career fair so soon after we arrived was that I am not ready to get full swing on the job hunt!

The fair was interesting, as I haven't been to a job fair in over five years. It was much smaller and more intimate than the ones that I have been to in the U.S. However, it was basically the same spiel as those in the U.S. Are you in the OK CV pile or the REJECT CV pile?? The main difference was that although this was an international career fair with many international MBA candidates, many of the companies/positions offered required German language skills. Also, I did like the mini-company presentations that were given every hour, which gave you a chance to learn more about the companies and the opportunities that they have available.

Personally, I have never been a fan of career fairs and in my career history have never had good / fruitful experiences in attending them...I am a firm believer of the network. On the contrary, the career fair has provided a catalyst to jump start the process i.e. the realization that the MBA program will be over soon and the real-world is lurking just around the corner.

Photos:
1 - Night before dinner at a very nice restaurant near the Brandenburg Gate
2 - At the career fair: me, Allen (China), Sekou (Ivory Coast), Biju (India/Germany) and Alexander (Germany)
3 - Tuan (Canada), Sujay (India) and Sekou relaxing on the couch with some Sekt and pretzels after a long day of networking

Wilkommen en Deutscheland

April 7

I am now officially in Germany for my last two terms!

I will take 6 one-week courses at Mannheim from April until June. Here is what I am taking: cross cultural management, international management, international marketing, supply chain, HRM and information systems.

After I am done taking classes, I will work on a group project dissertation for my final term. Mannheim usually finds the projects for us and we apply to work on them in teams. However, thinking that I want to work in Berlin afterward I have been working to find my own! So if all goes well I will be in Berlin July 1st!

I am looking forward to cheap food here, after living for 6 months in the most expensive countries for food!!


Photos:
1 - Sign made by Florian's family to welcome me to the apartment in Schriesheim.

CPH...The Last Days

April 3

Our ending of Copenhagen was also quite an adventure. We had to move out of our apartment on April 1st as that was the end of the contract. However, we still had finals to take, thus we had to stay in Copenhagen for a few more days. So, we had to pack up and clean the apartment in the middle of finals week and move to a hostel.

We took the train to Germany directly after our finance final on Thursday. I was nervous that the oral finance exams would run late and they did! I was the last one of the day and not only did I get to hear how the earlier exams went (benefit but also negative) they ran an hour late. I was so drained and literally had to run to the train station!! But alas, this was the end of the term at CBS.

In retrospect the three months in Copenhagen seemed like a vacation after Warwick: we didn't have regular classes, the workload wasn't as demanding, we didn't really have graded teamwork/team projects (now against the law in Denmark), I got to travel extensively (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, around Denmark and Germany three times, and I lived off campus in Frederiksberg, a very hip area of Copenhagen!

But time has come to say Farvel and Hej to Copenhagen.


Photos:
1 - Last roommate photo in our apartment
2 - 3 - The chaos of moving, I think it took us over an hour to get a taxi. This is after we had pre-ordered one as well.
4 - A note in our hostel room, very interesting.
5 - The MBS gang at CBS (missing Jalal) at the train station...the five of us took the train from Copenhagen to Germany