Scribbles

It finally dawned on me today that I’m a full time student again. Today was registration day and I picked up my welcome packet, replete with information and tasks. I ran around like a headless chicken throughout the various buildings today to complete those tasks, things like buying health insurance (734 euros!), getting my badge, setting up IT account, verifying completion of my language requirements, locker, signatures, and picking up a ridiculously large bag full of course material (and we still have to buy books). Class begins on Thursday and we already have reading assignments. Overall just a hectic day and a lot less organized that expected. I expected to sit down in an lecture hall and have someone hand-hold us to over what we needed instead of independently reading a ton of instructions and running around on a scavenger hunt. Regardless, it’s mostly done. The one other big nagging thing in the back of my mind is the carte de sejour application, which will require more paperwork and a trip to Paris for a physical. It would’ve helped tremendously if they could have a few doctors here perform the necessary examinations for the couple hundred non-EU students in our international program. Alas, French bureaucracy, what can you do?

I did find out who’s in my group. There are only 4 people as opposed to most groups with 5. Luckily one of my group members is a chateau mate but unluckily, we’re all men. I hear that the groups with women typically have two women, so it’s feast or famine given the ratio of approximately 4 to 1. Word is that they changed the 1 woman per group to 2 because the single woman felt alienated or uncomfortable in past male dominated situations. I don’t know if there’s any truth to that, but I know the women in our chateau can more than hold their own.

Going over my class schedule, I realized that the two month periods (the term used at INSEAD to denote the duration of classes) really resemble summer school classes, with a ton of material crammed into a short time period. The only difference is we have to juggle 5 classes (6 if you have a language course) and the necessary social stuff. I don’t feel mentally prepped for class just yet, but I better soon before it becomes insane.

Attended the first INSEAD parties this past weekend, one in Bourron Marlotte, the other at the Auberge du Vieux Moulin in Montigny Sur Loing. While they were not too wild, they were still tons of fun. The hosts are representative of the fun, outgoing, and intelligent INSEADers that you want to hang out with. Since people are still getting to know each other, naturally there were many repeated conversations about where you’re from, what you want to do, etc. Also, I’d say nobody wanted to establish a bad rep so early on, hence the slight reservations. We’ll see how things go in the future when the pressure starts to mount and people become familiar with one another.

In terms of logistics, the parties were simple and effective. Everyone bring a bottle of wine or 6-pack, and the host provides the music and location. Nothing elaborate like the huge party we’re planning here at Montmelian. I can’t divulge any details yet, but let’s just say it’s gonna be boatloads of fun. Stay tuned.

One of the adjustments I’ve had to make here in terms of living accommodation is the shower situation. No, it’s not what you think. Luckily for those around me, I didn’t reduce the frequency of it, merely the procedure. To give you some background, the main chateau has two floors of living space for students, five of us on each floor. There are two apartment/studio type rooms, one on each floor, that come with full kitchen and bathroom. For the rest, some of the rooms have private bathrooms, and others share a the bathroom and toilette (separate from the bathroom). I fall under the latter category, which really isn’t bad at all since it’s at worst two people per sharing.

Back on the concept of shower/bath, when I first saw the bathtub, I noticed the shower head connected to the faucet, but no curtain. The first time using it, I made a mess and splashed water all over the place. Not one to repeat my mistakes, I asked our chateau owner about it, and he replied, “that’s how we want it.” I didn’t get it. Why would we want a shower without a curtain? The other shower on the same floor has one.

So I asked my French neighbor next door on the proper technique of cleansing oneself, a-la old style. What he described is what I will coin here the “shower/bath.” The concept is simple, you sit down in the tub with the shower on (which happens to have very low water pressure) and lather yourself up. Proceed to clean yourself, and before getting out, take one final rinse. That made sense. But then I wondered, what about during the winter, where sitting in a frozen tub seems highly undesirable. This is where the “bath” portion of the technique comes in. You plug the tub, run hot water for a while so you accumulate like 2 cm worth of bath water, and then as you shower, the tub gradually fills up. Here my inquisitive manner got me into trouble, I blurted, “isn’t that like bathing in a pool of your own filth?” The retort, “what the hell do you do all day that you get so dirty?” Touché.

Final grade: low-medium efficiency, low water pressure, high on style points for chateau living.

In an attempt to save a few euros, I decided to buy a used car instead of the popular option of leasing a new one. This option will cost me about 1000 euros at the end of the year when I resell it, as opposed to spending 4000 in luxury. The drawbacks of course, would be driving an old car and dealing with associated paperwork and registration. Fair enough, considering I’m already over-extending my finances for this entire MBA program.

It turned out to be slightly more of an adventure that I bargained for. I bought a ten year old Citroen ZX Reflex from a student who graduated in June through the student message board, without even seeing the car or ever meeting the guy. Acting on good faith, I wired the money over in July, and when I arrived, I arranged to meet one of his friends on campus to pickup the vehicle. The car itself was ok; dents here and there, dirty interior, and the driver side door wouldn’t lock because the guy broke off half his key in it last winter. I exchanged a few emails with him about this, and he claims he could still use the half key for locking purposes, but I had no luck at all with it – just gonna get it fixed in the shop. Another kicker was that the gas tank was empty. And I’m not the only person with this problem, I found another student to bitch about this. It’s not so much about the money as it is about the sheer inconsideration for your buyer. So word of advice, if you sell a car, have the decency of leaving a quarter tank so the new owner can at least drive around a bit before scrambling for a gas station.

Next was the paper work. The INSEAD student welcome guide documents rather comprehensively the necessary paper work and process for getting a used car. I was handed the complete set of documents, so no worries there. However, when I went to the local sous-prefecture (the French administrative bureau), I couldn’t complete the ownership transfer because my landlord didn’t give me the proof of residency yet. I learned later on the importance of this little piece of paper, as other vital registrations (ie carte de sejour, getting a mobile phone) require this. So I had drive all the way back to the chateau to hassle the landlord about it. On the way, I also bought insurance. In France, it’s supposedly quite difficult for foreigners to get insurance, but INSEAD worked out some deal with AXA for us students and I was lucky to get an 11 month deal from the local AXA office in Fontainebleau.

Ah, but that’s not all. I also had to get plates! In France, you visit a local keyshop (we went to Carrefour, the French equivalent of Walmart) and have them make the plates. The standard front and back plates ran for 19 euros, and another 4 euros for mounting them. The guy made my plates in 5 minutes and we set out for the parking lot, only to discover the plate number was the same. Apparently the rules have changed, and if the car stays in the same region, the plates no longer get changed. The guy gave me back my 4 euros and now I’m the proud owner of a backup set of plates. At least they’ll make for a good souvenir.

The interesting things students go through to save some dough,

I just realized that there may be a disconnect in the housing section of this blog.  So long story short, I got very lucky and secured a spot at Monty, and didn’t pursue Tavers after that.  Look for an update for more details of this wonderful chateau soon.

That’s what it’s all about here, French cheese and wine. One of our chateau mates proposed the idea of introducing us to such French specialties over a special dinner. Who were we to disagree? So he took care of all the shopping in Paris (on a Monday no less, when many stores are closed.) Since no tasting would be complete without the proper wine pairings, our host handpicked a few selections up to par to his highest standards. And to top it off, he brought back some of the most delicious baguettes from Paris. The claim goes that French people get religious about their baguettes, and take my word for it, they really do when it comes to food. Needless to say, everything was top notch in quality and presentation – we all owe our very gracious host huge for going all out.

Although not a fan of cheese, I’m always open to trying and learning new things. The eleven select cheeses were divided into three categories: goat cheese, the creamy stuff, and the strong and slightly greasy ones, served in that order. The idea is to present them from light tasting to strong and to pair them with wines that bring out their flavors. For the goats we enjoyed a light white wine, a strong bordeau with the creamy cheeses, and finally a Sauternes-like sweet white wine with the last group. The second group reminded me too much of the Borden wedges wrapped in foil back in the States, so I was partial to the goats and one in the final group.

All of that served up with an imagination-stretching description magnificently delivered in a deliberate French accent (this guy amazingly turns it on and off at will) that I won’t even attempt to repeat. Others added in with their comments and suggestions as well. So our little soiree with the most fine company of our Montmelian gang thrown in would be grossly understated as a mere entertaining evening. Sante!

30 hours and counting… I decided to get over jet lag as soon as possible by not sleeping until night here.

Woke up at 3am (GMT-8) on Thursday to get ready for my flight to France. The layover at Boston was very pleasant, a mere 2 hours and the gate for my transferring flight was right in front of me the moment I stepped out the arrival gate in terminal B, (instead of the dreaded Logan terminal E.) On the flight from LA, I sat next to an MIT Sloan professor and his wife. His first comment upon learning my destination was, “INSEAD is one of the biggest party schools in the world. You’re going to have tons of fun.”

The flight to Charles-de-Gaulle felt like a very quick 6 hours, but the waiting after arriving was the worst. I stood in line for 30 minutes before getting to the customs counter. The officer barely glanced at my passport and let me through after asking what I was doing in France. I had arranged online for a shuttle (recommended by an INSEAD grad) to take me to my chateau for 45 euros. The driver was supposed to show up between 8-8:30am, but he didn’t show up until 8:45 while I got out of the customs by 7:30. Then it took another 2+ hours before he dropped off two other customers and then me. By the time I arrived, I was beat.

Upon arrival at Chateau de Montmelian (more descriptions to come in a future post), one of the affable owners greeted me and showed me around. One of my chateau mates who just returned from a nice jog in the forest helped me lug my baggage upstairs and soon after we went to downtown Fontainebleau for lunch. After a nice repast in a typical French brasserie, we went to INSEAD campus. I met a bunch of fellow students, including a few familiar faces from the Bay Area.

My first impression of the campus was that it’s smaller than expected, but in a good way. I like the arrangement of the buildings and it had a very cozy feel to it. Many buildings were under construction or remodeling. We’re all hoping to see the work complete soon so our promotion can enjoy the facilities.

Then I picked up my second hand car. I took it for a spin around town, to fill up the gas and get accustomed to driving here. The roundabouts are definitely fun for aggressive driving. I also experienced my most expensive full tank of gas ever, 45.65 euros at 1.22 euros per litre, ouch. That’s 5.63 per gallon for you folks in the US. I will give them that the two unleaded fuels offered were 95 and 98 octane. I opted for the cheaper one.

Earlier on campus we decided to drive up to Paris tonight after dinner for some partying, so I’m going to jump in the shower now and get ready. Let’s hope I don’t pass out later,

30.5 and counting…

Driving down from SF, through San Jose, Gilroy, and eventually down the 5 was such a surreal feeling.  Could it be true that I am really leaving the bay area after 10 years?  I remember so clearly how back in the day, I couldn’t wait to get out of here and yet during my drive, I felt more than a tinge of sadness.  The fact is, I’ve rooted here in the past decade, where most my friends and loved ones reside.  So many special memories and wonderful experiences created here… The coming year will be exhilarating and gone in a flash- I’ll be back before I know it!

What a surprise last night when I accidentally stumbled into my surprise going-away party at Dave and Busters.  I just want to say thank you to those who showed up, the instigator, my lady who did a fantastic job misleading me, and those of you who wish you could’ve attended but otherwise couldn’t.  I know many of you went out of your way to show up and stay out late on a Monday night.  Some jumped through hoops to coordinate and make it happen.  And the rest of you, well, I’m just happy to have you celebrate with me.  It’s moments like these that make me feel extremely humbled and appreciative to have friends like you.  Cheers!