Paris in April?

At one moment today, I was discussing an 8K fun run. The next minute, I was convinced to do the Paris Marathon and I said, "SOLD!" Actually, while that was what I said, I'll admit there was very little selling (or thinking for that matter). I wanted to do a race in Europe and when Ivy mentioned Paris the deal was done.

Since that precious moment, I have convinced my roommate, Kirstin, and two neighbors, Jon and Giovanni, to join us and that I will help train them. Because really, doing an MBA in a year AND a marathon sounds like the right thing to do. And we don't really spend much time together. But in all honesty, it was really quite logical. A five-step process actually:

1) It will be a great stress reliever
2) I'm already running a lot because the scenery is so gorgeous
3) I can eat 2x MORE cheese and chocolate! Just doing my part to fit in with the Swiss...
4) Rocco, the Italian roommate, will have to cook more pasta - It is incredible.
5) And lastly, what a great race to do for my 30th year!

It's a perfect plan. And one that will ensure I am not an umpa-lumpa in 9 short months given that my priorities seem to be on cheese, chocolate and pasta...

So come cheer us on April 6th in Paris!!!

ESFJ

Here is what I have learned in b-school: I am an ESFJ and I am yellow. I also can likely tell you what color you are and what your Myers-Briggs indicator is -- remember people, it is not a test, just an indicator (a point ingrained in us after 3 days of training).

The program hired consultants to help us understand our types and learn to work together in our assigned "high-performance" teams. Now, by defining people as mere colors and categories, I know why I enjoyed my previous job and what works in my new team - both truly high performance teams.

Despite my cynicism about it at times, it actually has been very insightful. My current team is top notch. We have three reds, a blue and a yellow - I suppose brown is the group color though... In any case, here's what that means: we have three who execute to results, one who likes compliance and one (me) who harmonizes the bunch. But beyond colors and indicators, we really have:

• An amazingly humble former U.S. pediatrician who has taught us to love someone idea for at least 5 minutes - to at least be open to hearing the other side.
• A former Israeli lawyer and NGO worker who is so creative and passionate about building a team, you can't help but "love her idea for at least 5 minutes"
• An Australian renaissance man who seems to make sense of it all by explaining in English what we've all been saying...in English (I swear he is a yellow)
• A brilliant young introvert that has taught us "E" types to ask more questions and talk a little less.
• and me.

It's an amazing team that I'm looking forward to working with for the rest of the semester, hopefully year. But again, what I really take from all of this is how I can psycho-analyze each one of you to explain away any behavior in my effort to harmonize the world, as yellows do.

And all of this, I learned in b-school.

Welcome to the new blog

So I've been convinced. A blog is the best way to keep you all up to date on my little Swiss adventure. I hope you enjoy it!

To catch you all up (pardon the bore...), I arrived in Geneva on September 1st and it's been quite a little whirlwind. I love the city. I have found my running route along the lake and the river, and even the UN. When the weather is clear, you can see Mt. Blanc - stunning. I got my first hiking trip in this last weekend - such a treat. Natalie (from the program) invited us (me and Kirstin, my roommate) for a day hike in France. The group we went with spoke primarily French, but we ended up with a 360 view of mountains. You don't have to know a word of French to appreciate amazing scenery like that.

As for the program, I couldn't be happier. It's a great fit for my background in the private sector, the policy work at Georgetown and my interests. So far we have had a class on corporate social responsibility (CSR), international relations and global political economy. My papers/presentations so far have been on: the analysis of the CSR programs for Ford and Exxon; the foreign policy analysis of Iran's threat of nuclear weapons and Egypt's predicted/prescribed response; China's ability to use environmental policies as a power play to protect/build its economy; analysis of capital controls vs. liberalization in Chile and Malaysia; and how Microsoft can address piracy issues in China. So as you can see, it's been a full month of school work!

I am also taking French - a MUCH more enjoyable experience than the one at GU for those who know that story... I still usually have no idea what someone is saying unless they speak r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y, but I'll get there. I'm also taking salsa dancing lessons - evidently that's what you have to do if you want to go out in Geneva. Everyone salsa dances. The classes are taught by a guy who calls himself Gatto Salsero and they're in French . I definitely know how to say "left" and "right" now and "like that", but I can't say much for my dancing skills...

My roommates and classmates are fantastic and we're all enjoying the experience together. We've had a chance to relax a bit, do a little bit of celebrating in Geneva. My roommates, Kirstin, from NY/Boston, and Rocco, from Italy have been great - both amazing cooks, funny and very interesting. I'm sure you'll hear more about them as the year goes on.

And the really good news is that I'm enjoying a little bit of a break for the next couple of weeks. I don't have classes again until Oct. 23. So my parents are coming to visit and we're going to Zermatt, Florence, Siena, Pisa and then Geneva and Montreaux. My mom has been hard at work on our itinerary and we're all so excited about it. Stay tuned for pictures in the coming weeks... For any of you planning a trip to Europe, let me know. I would love to see you or meet up during your travels.

Look forward to sharing more details on my little Swiss adventure...