One day this will be funny...right?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We're officially celebrating on Saturday because of an exam scheduled for tomorrow. I'll post pics of our celebration later this weekend. Needless to say, I'm extremely thankful to be here having this amazing opportunity this year. Here are some of the latest things I've been up to...

I've had a bit of spare time, so I've been focused on trying to figure out my career path. You should see the master Excel sheet I have going tracking all the organizations I'm interested in. I know, so type A. But I've met some great people. Geneva reminds me a lot of Austin - a small community where everyone knows each other and is willing to help connect you. I actually found a group that reminds me a lot of AWC, the group I worked with in Austin. And I've gotten plugged into the Georgetown alumni group. UT hasn't had much in the area - you can't even search for alumni by country in the directory. I guess they haven't gone global.

The running program is coming along. We're up to 8 miles for the long run this week. Still 23 weeks to go of training...It's pretty tough to do in the cold, especially with the wind. At times you feel like you're running in slow motion. But it's better than training in TX during the summer for sure!

We've had a couple of little school outings -one to see a hockey game. Evidently, the Geneva team is quite good. But it took me until half time to even figure out which team they were. A bit slow on the uptake that day.

And only 4 short weeks until I'm home for the holidays! I'm looking forward to seeing the family - especially all the kiddos! And my friend Lindsey will be having her little boy right around the time I get in. I can't wait to meet Baby T and spoil him with some Euro fashion! Kelly has promised to run with me while I'm back and I'm going to get Miss Ellie, even though she has moved on and quite fancies Kel. Oh well, it makes the stress of having to leave her for a year much easier.

I'll be in Austin Dec. 23rd and again around New Years. The rest of the time will be in Port O and Houston. Hope to see you all!

The view from the sidelines

Sometimes in life you have to sit out the game and just watch from the sidelines. Looking back on last year, that's just what I did. I just watched how the game was played. At times I wasn't even on the sidelines - it was more in the stands at the very top of the bleachers trying to figure out what the heck everyone was doing chasing a little ball around. I learned a lot.

My year in DC was a year of observations and learning. This year is more engaging. I'm starting to know the rules of the game and see where I fit in. My ideas of what I thought I was going to do post graduation have changed and build more on what I was doing before grad school, but with a twist.

All of this sports analogy is really just to tell you my most treasured accomplishment for the year. I am in first place this week in a pro football "pickem." Anyone who knows me knows I don't know an ounce about football. The irony. It all goes to show that sometimes the person with a fresh perspective that can utilize resources can beat the experts. We'll see how I do for the season.

Switzerland and Italy Trip

Sorry for the long delay in posting about the Switzerland/Italy trip. I had over 1000 photos to go through, and I'm not a genius when it comes to the blog technology, hence the delay. All of you with your baby blogs are way ahead of me. I have no idea how you do it and chase around little ones. In any case...

We made it to Zermatt, home to the Matterhorn. It was breath taking. One of my Georgetown professors had recommended we go, as well as the hotel (Coeur Des Alpes) where we stayed. We had a view of the Matterhorn from the hotel. The service was impeccable and the design was modern but so warm. The best was the floor of the lobby - all glass looking down to the pool/hot tub. Can you imagine how great it is during ski season? Here is one of many shots with the Matterhorn. We did the obligatory ride up Europe's highest mountain lift, made it to the "Glacier Paradise" and had fondue and raclette.

Then we headed to Florence where our Italian adventure began. I think I had more pasta, pizza, risotto and wine in one week than I've had years. Incredible. We stayed at a quaint little pension (B&B). The owner, a 80 year old former doctor, collects 15th century art and his wife tends to the place. She was lovely and took to calling my dad Arturo, which we called him the rest of the trip. The art was amazing. This little statue was a bit creepy until Mom had a sweet photo with him.

Actually, Mom really grew as a person in Florence. She overcame her fear of heights by climbing to the top (well, almost) of the Duomo and the tower. No small feat for this little lady. But she also learned a valuable lesson on tourism in Italy. She made reservations for us at the Boboli Gardens and to see The David. As it turns out, you don't need those pricey reservations when it's the low season. As mom said, "We could have bought two VERY nice Italian purses for what we paid for the reservations." You can see where her priorities were. I still don't think Dad knows how much was spent on these reservations, but that's probably for the best. His low point of the trip is probably just now hitting - the credit card bill...

We also made it to Pisa for a day trip. Mom and dad had fun holding up the tower. Then we headed to Siena, which was lovely. We stayed at another local joint where the owner was convinced I understood and spoke Italian - at one point asking me to translate for him. As my Italian roommate can attest, neither are true. But my Italian may be better than my French still...And I learned on this trip that I got my language skills from my mother - we both have mastered the English language, but tend to butcher all other languages. It even hurts my ears.

We also made it to a San Gimignano, a beautiful old midieval town with towers guarding it's treasures - namely more amazing Tuscan food and wine. Dad made friends with a stranger on the bus who happened to know one of my friends from school. Such a small world.

Throughout our time in Tuscany, we found a new appreciation for wine and food. We fell in love with Chiantis from the region and discovered that risotto really varies - it's the style of cooking rice, not necessarily the type of rice as we had previously thought. We also tried osso buco, tripe, rustic cantucci with sweet wine, and traditional Tuscany white bean soup. Dad indulged in comparing stuffed pastas along the trip, while I became quite the connoisseur of Italian pizza.

After Italy, we headed back to Geneva where Mom and Dad got to experience the wind. 20 mph. did an over night trip to Montreaux, known as the Swiss Riviera. The Chateau de Chillon is worth the visit. It's a 12th century castle where Bonivard was imprisoned for 6 years and the inspiration for the famous poem "The Prisoner of Chillon" by Lord Byron.

All in all it was such a great trip with the parental unit. They're planning to come back in February to celebrate Mom's 60th and their 40th anniversary. They both deserve a nice treat! I hope to one day celebrate the same.

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...