Scribbles

In my quest for future housing at INSEAD, I stumbled across the chateau option.  One of the current students in charge sent me some information about Chateau de Tavers.  Technically speaking, it is not in Fontainebleau, where the campus is located.  Most students live in the surrounding villages (of which Tavers is one) and small towns of Fontainebleau.  In these locations, housing options comprise apartments, larger country houses, and finally the grand prize – le chateau.

Chateau translates literally to castle in English, but we’re not talking about those ancient castles you see in movies, complete with moats, defensive walls, draw bridges, and arrow slits.  These chateaux were built for the noblemen to live in, probably circa 17th century (I’m just guessing here).

So for INSEAD students, this option means you live with a buncha (10+) other students and share some pretty fun experiences together – the closest thing I can think of at Fonty to a college dorm.  In addition, this particular one in Tavers has the theme of socializing, meaning weekly dinner and cocktail parties.  In fact, the owner insists on these events.  He is in the process of adding an indoor pool, sauna, and gym slated for completion this summer.  And one of the commonly cited factoids is their arsenal of 300+ champagne glasses.  Naturally, it means a lot of drinking and most likely not too much studying.  Hey, I ain’t complaining.

Two other huge drawbacks: it’s about a 25 minute drive from campus during rush hour, and due to wacky French municipal laws, no Internet access.  The latter is gonna hurt big time for me, being the online addict that I am.  But hey, I’ll have connection on campus, and how often do I get to live in a chateau near Fonty anyways?

I’m going for it.  I contacted the guy in charge of finding fresh fish, er, I mean, new occupants.  Understandably they want to keep a diverse group of interesting folks living there.  So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my number will be drawn.  Should I get lucky enough to get in, my friends will have no excuse not to visit.