An educational field trip to Lisbon...

This past weekend our "undefeated" rugby team (of 60+ players) were going down to Lisbon for some matches. Having never been to Portugal, I thought I'd tag along as an unofficial cheerleader... except I never made it to the games because I was busy being a tourist (sidetracked, sorry!). I know what you're thinking. "Oh, Nadia, another weekend debauchery trip. Shouldn't you be focusing on your studies?" I did. I learned a lot of business related things this weekend that are applicable to my classes. Here are a few...

Ethics:

• If the bathroom ceiling of your AirBnB property caves in on itself, it is the ethical responsibility to upgrade the guests to an even nicer apartment in an even better location. However, for these said guests to then arbitrage their trip as a "calm and quiet girls trip" when the opposite is true, might not be as ethical...

Organizational Behavior:

• Power of Influence: It only takes one person yelling "GRENADE!" to cause an effect of 90 people seeking shelter under tables in a restaurant
• Group decision making becomes easier when everyone else is in a stupor and will follow like sheep... to the next bar

Accounting:

• The total cash flow of a night in Lisbon needs to be adjusted by Capital Expenses of Alcohol, Cab Rides, Late Night Food, and depreciation of one's own body
• The Balance of your wallet from the night before and the morning after never seem to balance out perfectly. Adjust the statement by including a "Period of No Memory" clause.

Economics:

• There is a segment of people that are less price sensitive to the cost of a ride in the tuk tuks given their valuation of the experience :)
• At some point in the night, girls and boys reach a Nash Equilibrium where they have don't have a benefit by changing their strategies unilaterally... (credit goes to Caitlin for this one)
• Given unlimited Supply of good food, Demand increases until it reaches the equilibrium point of Full Stomachs and Complete Lethargy
• While the demand of Pasteis de Belem is high, it's worth the massive line
  
  

  

  
  

Statistics:

• 
  While the supposed population mean is 29, with a sample size >30, the sudden perceived age seems to be 18-22 (with a 95% confidence interval)
• There is a positive correlation between the time of the night and amount of dance-offs. However, a negative correlation between time of night and amount of cash left in your wallet (and amount of quality sleep)
• The probability of finding 90 people in striped shirts with berets and red scarves is actually quite low, once variables such as Level of Intoxication are factored in

Finance:

• The net value of Bifana at 4am is very great given the discount rate alcohol has on your body.

So there you have it. See? I'm learning.

But seriously, Lisbon was great. Lots of good sights, good food, good people, good times. Also got to hang out with Jon Lu who just happened to  be in Lisbon at the same time for a conference!

Now to start studying for finals...

The beginning of something beautiful

We started with a blank slate. I can't think of many times in life that this happens -- everyone being on the same level, all being equally vulnerable, and having all the power in your control to be the person you want to be with the future you want. I look at my calendar and count the days... Exactly 7 weeks since I walked onto INSEAD's grounds and the doors were opened to a world I had yearned for.

Backtrack to 1-2 weeks earlier. I was scrambling to get all the last minute things done and organized before leaving the wonderful city of Cincinnati, where I had built my personal empire of the life I wanted until then. In Cincinnati, I became a grown up. Here I learned to live on my own, be responsible, get up early enough to make it to work by 8 (usually...), buy my own condo and car, create a business, and proactively make the best friends one could find in this town. And with their amazing help and support, I was able to depart from Cincinnati, albeit in a somewhat disheveled form. I know what you non-Cincinnatians are thinking... "Cincinnati? Really?" Really. I fell in love with my Middle-of-Nowhere City and its people and could not imagine a better past 5 years. Thank you!

Then there was the Trip of Hell. Flying out of Chicago, 7 hour layover in London, flying to Milan, waiting at the bus station for 9 hours, a 15 hour bus ride (with many, many stops) to Paris, and finally the train ride to Fontainebleau. And this all with 100 lbs of luggage. Since joining business school, I've learned about Opportunity Costs. The savings weren't worth it. Neverdoingthatagain. #endfirstworldproblemrant

As for life in Fontainebleau, it's as idyllic as it can get. You know the opening scene to Beauty & the Beast with Belle singing "Little Town"? Sometimes I burst into those lyrics while skipping through the cobblestone streets, passing the bakeries, chocolate shops, butcher, and cheese stores. Men with baguettes, ladies in heels with babystrollers, old people walking their tiny dogs. I live a scenic 35 minute walk away from school. I had considered getting a bike (this is where my old friends will freak out and scream, "HOLY CRAP, NO, NADIA! DON'T DO IT! YOU WILL DIE!"... and you are right. So I decided not to.), but love the walk to remind myself daily of where I'm living and loving it.



School life has been intense. A whole new lifestyle that I've never experienced before. In college, I studied to get by, to pass the test, and the next day I would forget almost everything. I'm here to actually WANT to learn and retain knowledge for a job that I hope I will love. My days are filled with professors with funny accents, trying to find an available Break Out Room to do my homework in (but distracting myself with the internet instead), getting my tea fixes in little paper cups in between classes to help stay awake (I really need to get a reusable bottle...), counting the number of times the German Finance professor says "Hokay!", a spread of class notes I try to organize at my locker, fighting with the printers in the Library, eating delicious cheap cafeteria food (surprisingly, I'm not being sarcastic), becoming loopy after spending hours on homework with my work group, and unwinding at one of the many bars that INSEADers decide to take over.

And then there are the weekends. Time to catch up on work, catch up on sleep, catch up on life outside of INSEAD? Nope. We go to ridiculous parties at chateaus, we go to Oktoberfest in Munich, we go wine tasting in Bordeaux, we go champagne tasting in Champagne, we spend 48 hours at entrepreneurship bootcamps. This life is addictive and I can't stop. And in these 8 weeks, I've been lucky to have had 4 friends come visit me already :)

Only about 9 months of INSEAD are left... I'm already getting sad about that. I feel like I'm on the brink of it all... new friendships, new experiences, new life. Yesterday I committed to going to the Singapore campus for January-July. I know this is what I wanted, but as I was on the application page, I hovered over the "Submit" button for a while. Will my Singapore experience be as great as the one here? It's almost hard to imagine. I've stumbled upon something so beautiful.

Still so many things to do! Lisbon this weekend, exploring more of France, a Social Impact Trek to London, seeing the Northern Lights, maybe a trip to Morocco, Corsica, Egypt, Barcelona... And the homework and tests...

I hope I can stay afloat :)