Back to School (Kind of)

I spent the morning in Johannesburg waiting for my classmates to arrive. I flew in last night from Cape Town; the end to a fantastic two weeks vacation in South Africa. About 25 IMD students chose to come to South Africa early, extending our plane ticket for some extra vacation in the bush or near the shore. I have now been in the country for almost two weeks- the first week I spent on safari near Kruger Park in the north east part of the country. During the second week a large group of classmates met to enjoy the great life in Cape Town.

The native South African in the class, Lisa Bridgett, orchestrated the itinerary for our time in Cape Town. She made sure that we saw everything that the Cape has to offer- we hiked Table Mountain, explored the vineyards, went shark diving, saw the penguins, and ate our fill at amazing local restaurants. We also had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sun, catching up with classmates with some fantastic South African wines. Big thanks to Lisa for arranging such an amazing week for us!

The rest of the class started arriving about an hour ago. We officially kick off the program this afternoon with an orientation session and some introductions to the key people that will be guiding our activities in South Africa. During this session we will learn more about the companies that we will be spending the next two weeks with, and our own goals and focus. But right now it is a huge reunion in the hotel lobby; hugs and greetings and questions about holidays- everyone looks rested and tan. Although its tough to shift out of vacation mode, I'm excited to learn more about our plans for the next two weeks and catch up with all my classmates.

Kristin

In Transit

I am back on the balcony, back in Lausanne. Thinking, thinking, thinking. I feel much better than when I left Lausanne three weeks ago. The batteries are recharged and the connection to the outside world has been reestablished. At the same time it is also clear that mentally I never managed to leave Lausanne and IMD behind. Questions about what actually happened during the first half of the year kept swirling in my mind. The feedback from peers and professors - received the day before we went on vacation - kept popping up. Some of it was encouraging, some of it was not. And why was that? What situation was behind each message. Are there any regrets? Yes, definitely! It is clear that I have missed out on some obvious opportunities. That cannot be redone - that time will not come back - but I can make sure that I find a better path for the second half. I have boiled it all down to a few points that I want to improve on. A few goals that I want to reach.

I arrived in Lausanne yesterday after a week on Malta with my family. It was very hot and humid on this little island in the Mediterranean, so I have enjoyed the chill of Switzerland for a change. The last 24 hours have been spent unpacking, doing laundry and catching up on emails, so I am ready for the next trip. We are leaving for South Africa in a couple of hours.

In Johannesburg I will be working with Eric, Shibu and Stone in a small company (10 employees) that produces hydraulic hose fittings!!!! I wonder how a trader of financial derivatives (Eric), a sales guy from Procter & Gamble (Shibu) and a shipping guy (myself) will get our hands around that subject. We will probably be relying quite a bit on our only engineer (Stone).

This complete lack of knowledge of what awaits us is also what thrills me. We will just go and see what hits us and then take it as it comes. This is an experiment, a first ever for a business school as far as we know. I hope it becomes a huge success and one that can be developed further in the years to come. I can not wait to take the plunge!

I better start packing.

Thorsten