Inside the London MBA

Goodbye Berkeley

How to describe my exchange experience in a phrase? I would say 'life changing'. I've been here in Berkeley since the end of August and this place has blown me away. The students and people in general are friendly, helpful and collaborative not competitive. The school has welcomed us like we are their own students. We have had full access to the careers service, get a permanent email address and now qualify to join the Haas alumni network. The policies of the school are symptomatic of the attitude of openness and inclusion that permeates this whole area.

Berkeley has been a refreshing change after a number of years spent in London. Usually, if somebody smiles at you or tries to talk to you in London they are completely crazy, or drunk. Yet here people literally walk down the street smiling all the time. Just happy to be living in such a great place.

The focus of the business school is management of technology and entrepreneurship. They have branded the school a centre for innovation, attempting to combine the massive volume of research conducted on the campus with entrepreneurs from the MBA class. I have taken classes such as Innovation in Services and Future of IT. Imagine a school where (almost) nobody wants to work for an Investment Bank or Hedge Fund! 

I have tried hard to find a job here and have turned down 1 offer. If I can find the right job I would move here permanently after the MBA.   

My previous blogs have focused on sports, so what have I been doing in Berkeley? Well I've been busy. The University sits on the edge of a large mountainous park. I have been running in the hills (<- see view from top of hill) training for the Las Vegas marathon. The hard training paid off when I managed a PB 03:11:42 on a freezing day in the Nevada desert. I went with many of my new friends on the international exchange from IESE & Columbia business schools. See pictures below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/fouad.jaidi/LasVegasExchangeStudents?authkey=i0m3aiXOwhg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21498601@N05/

Then there is the sailing. The San Francisco Bay is great for learning how to sail. I've taken some courses with a club called OCSC at Berkeley marina. I highly recommend the professional sailing instruction at this club. I have passed the US sailing certification at Basic Keelboat and Basic Cruising, training in J24s.

Overall, I have learnt a lot here at Berkeley. Some practical skills but also a different attitude towards business. An attitude of entrepreneurship, innovation and social responsibility. I recommend any 1st years considering exchange to come here and to experience a different perspective on business and life.      

This blog is dedicated to my close friend Fouad Jaidi MBA 2008 at ESSEC. 

San Francisco Exchange

Its been awhile since I last wrote a blog entry, so what have I been doing? Of course there was the internship. But the less said about that the better. Now I'm in San Francisco on exchange at UC Berkeley. I have much more positive things to say about the Bay area, so I think I should focus there.

But first I feel like providing some advice if you are currently thinking about internships for next year. Firstly,  do your homework and research exactly where you are going, what you will be doing and who you will be working with \ for, before you commit. My other top tip is that if you aren't sure exactly what you want to do then do something really different, what do you have to lose?

Berkeley is amazing. I came here 2 days after finishing my internship and classes have been running for nearly 3 weeks. Yes their term starts early! My first purchase was a mountain bike, renting an apartment came third on the list, after getting a phone.

I have been training on the Olympic athletics track, running in the hills behind Berkeley and mountain biking around Mt Diablo. I have a weekend of sailing in the bay this weekend and some golf lined up for next week. If you like the outdoors lifestyle then this is the place to be.

I also met a lot of other students and we have been having a great time exploring the area. Last week we went to San Francisco and checked out the 'summer of love 40th anniversary concert'. See pictures.

I spent the weekend in Mexico for my study group mates wedding. CONGRATULATIONS Poncho! There were lots of LBS students attending. The wedding started at 9pm and the party went on until the next morning. By the end it was only the Bride & Groom, some teenagers, the MBAs and very tired looking sets of the wedding couples parents. The Mexicans certainly know how to party. Hopefully, I will be able to post some pictures when I get them.

   

The Race to the Finish

Where did the year go? It only seems like 5 minutes ago, when we were sat in Lords Cricket ground during the course orientation and now we are within sight of the end of the first year. I'm just relieved that I listened to the people who advised me that a 2 year MBA was the only option. I have so much more I want to do next year.  Including, the exchange to San Francisco, some great elective courses and perfecting my French.

The first year has been extremely hectic at times, but every part of it has been enjoyable. I now have hundreds of new friends, new skills and have tried new sports. It has been a productive time and I really feel that I have moved into the fast lane.

All that is left are lots of end of year parties, including several BBQs, dinner at Cafe de Paris and a talent show. Oh yes, and then there are the exams. I have Finance, Accounting, French, Operational Mgmt and Economics next week. These exams can sometimes get in the way of your social life and it always seems to be the case that the parties and the exams come together, at the end of semesters. 

There won't be much time for me to reflect on the past year. I will be starting my internship at Barclays Wealth Management 2 days after the last exam. A large portion of the students will be missing the last week of term as they have been sent abroad by their employers for training. The best advice I can give regarding the summer internship is to make sure you build as many contacts with your current employer as possible. It is infinitely easier to secure employment somewhere you have a proven record.

The day after my internship finishes I will be flying to San Francisco to start the autumn semester at Berkeley. If you are starting the MBA this year, make sure you make the most of any summer holidays you have before the course starts. You don't know when you will have another.

Congratulations to fellow blogger Sean who is the new SA President. Another fellow blogger, Martha and I will be in charge of the running club next year with help from Joe and Karen. We are planning to participate in some marathons and other races.   

Mighty Mighty London!!! MBAT Champions 2007...

It is official, London Business School are the greatest athletes in the MBA world!

The London squad spent the weekend battling against the best the other business schools around Europe could muster and destroyed them in almost every sport. London Business School won rugby (men’s and woman’s), cross country, tug of war, swimming, volleyball, salsa, woman’s football, cricket, partying, drum playing and many more.

MBAT took place at the HEC campus just outside Paris. The squad travelled together on the Eurostar on Thursday and returned victorious on Sunday night. Other schools involved included Oxford, Cambridge, CASS, MBS, IESE, IE, HEC, Rotterdam and Bocconi.

With a squad of around 250, London Business School was the best represented of any school at MBAT. We also had the distinct advantage of having a big red bus full of beer. This kept the athletes and supporters refreshed for the many battles that took place on the field and provided a base for post competition parties.

I was involved in some of the running events. The standard was extremely high. For example the 1500m was won by a guy from IESE in 4:21. The same guy thrashed me in the cross country by 5 minutes. However, Cross Country was a team competition and because London had 5 people in the top ten we won. Overall, in athletics London came a close second.

Thanks to the SA and in particular Martyn Buttenshaw for organising the London team this year. We will be back stronger than ever next year.

Pictures from the weekend. Thanks Brendon -

http://picasaweb.google.com/brendon.moss/MBAT2007?authkey=_qfo5eCM6so

Marathon Mishap

Last Sunday was London Marathon day. I set off on the familiar route to the start line at Greenwich and I thought I was set for a good finish time. The training had been injury free and smoother than any previous year I have competed.

Then the ultra reliable London Transport system failed and I was stuck 3 miles from the start line. The only alternative rail route would have guaranteed getting to the start late. So, together with hunders of other runners, I walked the last few miles in a desperate bid to get to the start. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at the start area the place was a ghost town. Still cursing the docklands railway I started the marathon.

I spent the next 2 hours weaving between people dressed in Rhino suits or as Rupert the Bear in a deperate bid to get ahead. It got me nowhere. I did 5 miles at 12 minute mile pace. This was very frustrating and by now I was cursing the DLR and the London Marathon organisers. Eventually, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to break away from the crowds and tried to enjoy the festivities that surround the marathon. The support from the crowds was phenomenal. I finished eventually in 3.56.

I was cheered on Monday by being accepted on the international exchange programme. I managed to secure a place at Berkeley HAAS for one semester next year. Since the start of the MBA, I have realised that my lack of international experience really stands out amongst my peers. This made me quite concerned when my first round exchange application was rejected. Berkeley was not my original first choice, however I have a growing interest in entrepreneurship and getting Berkeley must be fate giving me some kind of sign. I'm definitely looking forward to spring in California. 

Sailing the Caribbean

We have just returned from the spring break sailing trip to the Caribbean. We spent the last 10 days sailing around the Windward Islands. The conditions were great for sailing, although the first couple of days felt more like the Solent rather than the Caribbean. With 30 knot winds and a 9ft swell the sailing was good fun but bad for sea sickness.

After starting the trip in St Lucia, we spent the first night in Wallilabou, St Vincent. This small cove was where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. The set from the film is still on the beach. After an uncomfortable night moored next to rocks and being buffeted by big waves we left for Admiralty Bay, Bequia. This was an interesting port with a few more shops and facilities than our first stop. There was even a cruise ship in the harbour.

The next day we travelled to Canouan island. The journey between the islands was quite rough and the harbour proved less than sheltered. One of our dinghys was flipped upside down twice whilst trying to get to the hotel on shore.

By this point we were quite tired from bad weather and lack of sleep. Luckily the next day the weather improved as we headed for Union Island. At the half way point we found a deserted beach and dropped anchor for some lunch and snorkelling. We arrived in Union just before sunset and moored on a jetty. That night we joined the Easter celebrations in some local bars. Unfortunately, one of the other boats had engine problems and had to stay on Canuoan for an extra night.

The next day we made the short trip to Tobago Keys. This is a group of reefs and small islands close to Union island. We anchored in the middle of the keys and spent the day snorkelling and sunbathing. That night we went ashore to a deserted island and had a fancy dress beach party. We hired a local guy called 'Mr Fantastic' to barbeque fresh lobster for the whole group and my boat made lots of rum punch.

The next day we started to head north back towards St Lucia. We stopped at Mustique for lunch and made it as far as Blue Lagoon, St Vincent by nightfall. The next night was spent in another small cover on the West coast of St Vincent called Cumberland Bay. We had no food on the boat so we bought fresh fish from Jo the Fisherman and barbequed them off the back of the boat. As the holiday was close to the end we tried to finish all the drink supplies by playing drinking games until the early hours.

The next day we sailed to Marigold Bay, St Lucia. Most of the group decided to spend the last night in the Discovery hotel in the bay. This was a very pleasant change after being on the boat for so long.

Thanks to Bruce and Brendon for organising a great trip. Back to school tomorrow.

      

Into the final week

The last week of term is shaping up to be the busiest week so far. I have 5 exams this week, 2 of them on Saturday. But rather than spending the whole weekend revising I headed down to Silverstone with some of the running club to compete in a half marathon.

The weather was horrendous. During the race it switched from hail stones & high winds to sunshine several times. I was freezing cold by the end of the race. I managed to finish in 1:30 which was a good as I could hope for given the conditions.

To give you an idea how  much we have been training for the marathon here is the 22 mile route we have completed twice in the last 3 weeks -

http://www.runlondon.com/routefinder/routefinder.aspx?quickCode=RL050054

Don't forget, donations to my charity sponsorship webpage are much appreciated. Thanks.

http://www.justgiving.com/showmethemoney2007

Start of the sailing season

The sailing season started last weekend in Portsmouth. The sailing club came third in a sunsail regatta at the end of last year and consequently we were invited to participate in this opening regatta of the new season.

We travelled down to Portsmouth on Friday morning. By lunchtime we were out on the water and practicing for the following days race. After some good practice we headed for our overnight berth in Hamble. We had a close call when we grounded the yacht on one of the many sandbanks that the Solent is renowned for.

Hamble is a quaint English village on the South coast between Portsmouth and Southampton. We explored several of the old pubs and drank some of the local beers such as Bishops Tipple and Gay Rum. After a well deserved meal in a local pub we headed to the hottest nightspot in the village.

I think we may have drunk too much because we were 7 minutes late for the first race the next day. However, we still did not finish last. We overtook 1 boat. The second race didn’t go much better. We finished 12th. Then things seemed to click into place and we managed a 2nd place in the third race. Overall, we finished 9th out of 16. It was good experience and a reasonable start to the season. Maybe next time we will stay away from the local brew and focus on winning.      

 

Dublin

Last week was probably the busiest week of my life. This was partly self-inflicted. I chose to take 2 electives this semester, in addition to finding a summer internship.

The week culminated in 2 exams on Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon. Straight after Fridays Finance exam, we jumped into a cab and headed to the airport for a relaxing weekend in Dublin.

At Heathrow we got into holiday mode by drinking pints of Guinness. We continued on the plane and then at the hotel bar and then at another bar in Dublin city centre. In fact the whole weekend involved a substantial amount of drink and some good food.

On Saturday, we took the obligatory tour of the Guinness brewery. Obviously, we had to sample some more Guinness from the source. Then on Saturday night we went for a meal in Temple bar and then onto a nightclub.

We got back to London on Sunday night. Refreshed and ready for another busy week at school. Well not exactly, but we had certainly de-stressed.

These are a few snapshots. Warning - photo quality may be degraded due to excess alcohol -

London Business School Runs The London Marathon

The London Business School running club has joined forces with a charity called Sense to run the London Marathon on April 22nd. The marathon is one of the largest in the world (around 36,000 runners) and brings a great carnival atmosphere to the city.

The team needs your help! I'm sure that using my blog to ask for sponsorship breaks all the rules of blogging but it is all in a good cause. Sense provide a wide range of support for people of all ages who are deaf, blind or have other sensory impairments. See their website for more information about the charity - www.sense.org.uk.

We are also looking for a corporate sponsor who will benefit from media coverage and have their logos printed on our Sense running shirts. Please send any enquiries to me.   

If you would like to support the running club and Sense please visit one of the websites below. Here are all the London Business School marathon runners -

Sebastian Cataldo (IMP06)

Laurence Cook (MIF07) -  http://www.justgiving.com/laurencecook

Lukas Gresnigt (MIF07)

Sony Joseph (MBA07) - http://www.justgiving.com/sonyjoseph

Matt Judkins (MBA07) - http://www.justgiving.com/mattjudkins

Mehul Khimasia (SLN07)

Vincent Littke (MBA08) - http://www.justgiving.com/vlittke

Simon Loughnane (SEMBA08)

Stephen McCurry (MBA08) - http://www.justgiving.com/showmethemoney2007

James Schappelle (MIF07) - http://www.justgiving.com/runninglondon2007

Martha Vásquez (MBA08) - http://www.justgiving.com/marthita

Thanks for your support!

Happy New Year!!

It has been an interesting break but its now time to get back to work. What better way to start the year than by making your debut on national TV? I recently watched a report on Channel 4 News that talked about students overpaying to the Student Loan Company. This issue affects a large number of undergraduate students (not MBAs) in the UK. I have had major problems myself with SLC, overpaying my loan by around £5,000.

I sent the reporter an email explaining that his report had not hit the main issue, which is the lack of communication between the Inland Revenue and the SLC. Next thing I know I am in the green room at the Channel 4 news studio having my make-up applied and being introduced to the presenters! Later, I was taken into the news studio for a sound check and recording. Luckily, they decided not to do the interview Live as they had first planned.

I have sent this kind of email before but I have a feeling that my London Business School email address added credibility. The reporter mentioned it a few times.

If you are interested, the report can be viewed online by clicking on the 'Watch the interviews' link on this page - http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=4277#start

Next week we have 5 days of company presentations and informal drinks sessions with all the major banks and consultancies. After that we have a period of interviews for the summer internships. I think the milkround period is going to be a stressful time. Not only are you looking for the 'right' job but you are also blatantly competing against your friends for those jobs. I guess if it all goes wrong I can always focus on my TV career.

Christmas Crazy

We made it! Term is over and we spent most of the final week celebrating.

It started with an extremely civilised evening with the sailing club at their annual dinner. This was an opportunity for the sailors to get dressed up and to reflect on a great season of events. The event took place at the Royal Ocean Racing Club in St James with both students and alumni attending.

The next event was somewhat different. Imagine 300 students dressed as Santa, bringing chaos to central London. This was an evening of serious drinking and carol singing. We started drinking on campus before making our way to Leicester Square via the tube. We then entertained people on the tube with Christmas carols (they were very happy) and then proceeded on a pub crawl around Leicester Square. Pausing temporarily to sing more carols to the tourists in Leicester Square and to drive bumper cars. See pictures below for a better idea of what this looked like.

Then it was our stream Christmas party, organised in part by me. We booked an area of a local pub and took lots of cakes and champagne. At some point the drink turned into tequila and we were only saved by the antiquated British closing time - 11.00pm.

And all this a week before Christmas and New Year has even begun.         

A tough week

It felt like last week was never going to end. It started the previous weekend with a Finance case study that we needed to complete in our study groups. Our group has divided the work and I was the lucky person assigned to this case. It turned out to be quite tough and we spent most of the weekend working on it. You realise that you are spending too much time at school when you start ordering Indian takeaway food and eating dinner in the study rooms!

Anyway we completed this assignment by Tuesday and then it was time to prepare for my French exam on Thursday. Luckily, I have studied some French before the MBA so this wasn't too traumatic. Par le grand probleme. 

As soon as the French exam was over it was time to get ready for the big one - the Finance exam. Not really how you would choose to spend Saturday morning, but the exam turned out to be ok. I have to be careful here because I don't have the results yet.

It seemed to me that after the exam the guys at the Windsor pub didn't know what had hit them. By the time I arrived there the place was full to capacity. There was plenty of singing and general partying going on and it looked like some people had been there for some time. The party continued on into Saturday night at a central London nightclub.  Sorry, no photos this time.

I wonder if it will be like this after every exam? We have Financial Accounting next week.

The Alumni Sailing Challenge

We went back to Sunsail in Portsmouth last weekend to compete with the school's Alumni in the traditional Alumni sailing challenge. This year was the biggest event ever, involving 5 boats, with 40 students and alumni.

The weather on the first day was typical of the UK in November - cold and windy. I was sailing with a fairly inexperienced crew and we had a few interesting moments when things went wrong. By the end of the day, the gusts were 30mph and our objective was survival rather than winning the race.

We did survive, albeit with a few bumps and bruises from the first day. On Saturday evening, we went to a restaurant called Rosies for the traditional dinner and several glasses of wine.

The weather on the second day was more conducive to sailing, with lighter winds and sunshine. Our team was more competitive on the second day because of the weather and also our sailing team captain Christophe coming onto our boat to help us out. We actually managed to beat one of the other London Business School boats, despite the fact that they used a spinnaker when we didn't.

Overall, the student boat skippered by Bruce beat the two alumni boats and managed an impressive 3rd in the regatta. I believe that this is the first time the students have ever beaten the alumni and is a sign of the strength of the sailing club this year.

So that is it for sailing this year, the club will return next spring. I will certainly be looking forward to the Caribbean trip in spring break. Hopefully, this will be easier sailing than the Solent in Winter.

See here for all the pictures -   

http://picasaweb.google.com/brendon.moss/LBSAlumniChallenge?authkey=ueI3VQTq3Z4J0EWCy7yDEA_fWlU

Rock Climbing for Beginners

I think it was the MBA offsite day that gave us the taste for rock climbing. The offsite took place during the orientation and involved quite a lot of climbing, designed to test your nerves and push yourself. But it was only last week that we were able to find time to complete a beginners rock climbing course.

We went to a place called Westway in west London, a mere 4/5 stops from the school on the tube. The centre at Westway provides indoor rock climbing facilities and tuition, as well as lots of other sports facilities. They have around 350 different routes up climbing walls of every difficulty level.

http://www.westway.org/sports/wsc/climbing

We spent most of the weekend learning about climbing technique and the safety issues involved. It is a really cool sport and now that we have completed the course I'm sure we will be regulars at Westway for some more climbing. Hopefully, we can also get involved in some of the activities organised by the rock and mountain club, including some real climbing outside!

      

Sailing in the Solent

Last weekend was my first yacht racing experience with the Sailing Club. We headed down to Portsmouth on the south coast on Friday. The regatta we were participating in didn't start until the next day, but as we were mostly inexperienced sailors we felt it prudent to have a practice before the other boats arrived.

In terms of the weather, it probably wasn't an ideal weekend to be learning how to sail. We were facing force 5 winds for much of the time and lots of rain. However, with a very experienced skipper, who also proved to be an extremely effective teacher, we soon got the hang of it.

The regatta consisted of around 30 boats with 2 races on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. The races took place in the sea between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight and involved sailing around a set course.

To our amazement we were actually in the lead of the final race on Sunday, that was until the race was cancelled when somebody went overboard on one of the other boats. Anyway, this experience has definitely given me the taste for sailing and I am planning to go again with the club in a couple of weeks. 

Racing was a great experience and a real physical challenge. It is a very strange feeling to be clinging onto the boat with the driving wind and rain in your face. You certainly don't have chance to feel cold when you are racing. Especially, with the skipper shouting orders every minute! 

Follow this link for all the photos -

http://picasaweb.google.com/brendon.moss/SailingPortSolent191006?authkey=YR452Kx7YGbpln-PSD78-kOGKEU

Citigroup Valuation Weekend

Sorry fellow bloggers, I'm getting a bit blog happy this week. The problem is that there is too much going on to talk about.

Last weekend mainly consisted of a company valuation workshop. This training was organised by the school's finance club and was available to 100 students, for a very small cost. The training took place on Saturday and Sunday between 09.00 and 16.00, at Citigroup's offices in Canary Wharf. We covered various company valuation techniques such as DCF and comparable company analysis. It sounds quite technical, and it was.

I found the training really useful and interesting. It has certainly opened my eyes to the world of Investment Banking. I was also happy to get back to the real world and to get a feeling for how all the academic knowledge is actually applied. 

 

Tattooed

Last night was one of the biggest events in the school calendar - Tattoo. The main feature is that every country represented by the student population puts together a stall providing food and drink typical of the country.

As the name of the event suggests, there are also lots of London Business School tattoos being applied on various body parts. If you can't make the connection between these 2 features, don't worry neither can I.

All I will say is that this was the best event that I've been to so far at the school. Thanks to the student association organisers and all the stalls who provided me with food and drink!

Here are the pictures. You know who you are!

It's Not a Sprint

Today, I took part in a half marathon organised by the Henley-on-Thames rugby club . It was a bright autumn day, perfect for running. The only problem was that my training regime was disrupted by Sundowners drinks on Friday night and my friends birthday last night. We spent Saturday night celebrating at a local pub called 'Filthy Mcnastys'. Luckily, I had the sense not to continue drinking at a late night bar afterwards, instead opting for a relatively early night. So after getting up what seemed like only about 2 hours after going to sleep, we drove out of London for the start of the race.

By the time we arrived I wasn't feeling 100%, but I soon warmed up. The race went through some very picturesque English countryside, including a stretch down the Thames and another section through the centre of Henley-on-Thames.

I finished the course in just under 1:37. Considering, the training regime this was slightly surprising. The race was very well organised and the setting was great. Sometimes, it's a nice change to get out of London for a day out. I also have to mention my fiancee who drove us there and generally acted as my support team. Thanks Eimear!

It's now Sunday evening and time for some MBA homework. The past week has seen a change in pace of the course and it now seems to be a 7 day a week effort to keep things under control. The content of the course is not difficult, but the volume is fairly high and I expect it to rise next week. Time management and discipline are required to keep on top of things.

Although I have started working 7 days a week, I still have time to do things like the half marathon. Also, I haven't yet reverted to working late at night like some of my colleagues. Perhaps, I value my sleep more than others, or perhaps its because I avoid most of the 'optional reading'. Or maybe its because like long distance running - the MBA is not a sprint and you don't want to peak or burnout too fast.

One tip I will give for prospective MBA students. It would definitely be an idea to start reading some business books to get a head start on the optional reading. Things like Enron, Liars Poker, Barbarians at the Gate. These are very interesting books and highly applicable to the course material.

A Walk in the Park

This is the bit they don't mention in the glossy brochures, at least the brochures that I read.

The volunteer day happens at the end of orientation week. It is an opportunity for teams of MBAs to be let loose in  the local community, to provide a service that will benefit the local people or environment.

My group travelled to Bushy Park, which is one of London's numerous Royal Parks and forms part of the Hampton Court estate. It was a great opportunity to get to know some new classmates, whilst doing some manual labour.

Our task was to clear a section of river and as you can see I wasted no time in getting stuck into the task in-hand. Thankfully, I had a supervisor (Peter) and a lifeguard (Christophe) on the river bank to ensure my safety and generally watch over proceedings.

I was also grateful that the park manager (Mark) recognised that we were not used to physical labour and didn't push us too hard. Afterwards, we all went for a well deserved drink in the local pub.

Obviously, not all the teams had such a tough job. When I was standing in the river, I would have given anything to swap with the team mucking out the pig pen at the city farm. But I did get to see a new part of London and it was a great day out.

The alternative London guide

As I have lived in London for the past 5 years I feel that I should show my new friends some of the sights of London. But I don't mean the Tower of London or Madam Tussauds, rather the best places to party!

Last Wednesday we took a trip down to Brick Lane for an evening of curry and beer. The venue was actually recommended by Dan (thanks Dan), who is one of my study group colleagues. I highly recommend trying it out - http://www.tayyabs.co.uk/about_us.htm

After the curry we went to a couple of student style bars on Brick Lane. You can see from the Vibe Bars website that it isn't a run of the mill kind of place. I think they were having a 1920s night when we arrived including people in 20s dress, music and dancing. It is also the only place I've heard the theme to Happy Days played by a DJ - http://www.vibe-bar.co.uk/index.flashed.html

Last night we went on a tour of Angel. This area is full of great bars and restaurants. We started at a Japanese noodle bar called Wagamamas for some food and Japanese beer - http://www.wagamama.com/food.php

Then we went to one of my favorite bars in Angel called the Angelic. This place is great for lazy Sunday afternoons, reading the newspaper and eating a Sunday dinner. I also love the fact that they play audio of classic English comedy like Fawlty Towers in the bathrooms.

After the Angelic it was time for a real student night at the Elbow Rooms. Quite a few people from our year turned up and we had a great time. The place is a bar, disco and pool lounge. So whether you want to drink, dance or play pool this is the place to go -  http://www.theelbowroom.co.uk/

And how bad do I feel after all this?

Oh, we also did some work this week. More about that next time.

It beats work

The week started with an away day at a purpose built site in the countryside just outside London. There were plenty of challenges designed to test the nerve and provoke insights into yourself and the dynamics of the team. I'm not sure whether it changed me spiritually, but climbing around on the telegraph poles and climbing walls was great fun.

  The rest of the week involved the start of some core courses, such as Understanding General Management and CV writing. However, we did have plenty of free time, which I used to go jogging in Regents Park and working out in the school gym. I also found time to go out for a meal with my study group on Tuesday and did some serious networking at the Windsor Castle pub on Friday afternoon \ evening.

Here is a picture of the dream team. From left to right we have Eduardo, me, Diana, Priya, Gil, Poncho & Dan.

Orientation Programme

The 2 day orientation programme takes place at the home of cricket - Lords. Not particularly exciting for a soccer fan but still an interesting venue.

On day 1 the evangelistic Mr Mohan Mohan was preaching motivation, enthusiasm and positive attitude. The speech was certainly effective but when we were all told to stand up and kiss our neighbour I remember thinking that Mohan’s approach was somewhat unconventional.

The strange quickly changed to the surreal as groups of students from around the world demonstrated quintessential national or regional characteristics in hurriedly assembled skits on the stage. The German students stole the show, demonstrating their renowned sense of humour, with a rapidly improvised dating game.

The first day was wrapped up in style by a member of the faculty called Costas Markides who proceeded to make me doubt everything I know by using multiple psychological tricks and riddles to question my assumptions. This speech culminated in a motivational message expressed in a clip from the movie ‘The Dead Poets’ Society‘.

On day 2 the highlight was the speech by David Lightbody, an alumni of the school. David manages theatrical productions and so it should have come as no surprise to find that his speech was part poem, part musical, part fairytale and part song. This was surely the most imaginative speech of the programme. If only he had included a dance whilst delivering the speech, I would have been really impressed.

So that was orientation. Eclectic, bizarre, frenetic, humorous, informative and thought provoking. We even found some time for some socialising and drinking. Certainly, an experience that should be lived rather than read about and if this is a real flavour of the school the next 2 years are going to be very interesting.

British Bank Holidays

British bank holidays are guaranteed to be wet. So what better time to pack a rucksack and head out of London for a walking weekend in Wales.

My friend had suggested that we attempt the Welsh 3000s challenge last year whilst walking in the Brecon Beacons. The challenge consists of climbing the 15 Welsh peaks over 3000ft. We read that somebody had completed this course in 17hrs. If this was possible in 17 hrs then surely we could complete the challenge in a whole weekend (or so we thought). The challenge takes place in and around Snowdonia which is a mountainous national park in the North of Wales and is about a 4 hr train \ taxi journey from central London.

How wrong could we have been? I knew that we had vastly overestimated our abilities when I was crawling along the knife edge arete of our first peak (Crib Goch). The rain was coming horizontally across us in strong winds and the clouds made visibility very poor. The rocky ridge that we were crawling along had sheer drops on both sides and the rain had made everything soaking wet.

Somehow, we managed to survive this terrifying experience but the rain and fear had broken our resolve to complete the challenge and so we retired to the safety of the pub. In the end we completed 5 of the 15 peaks over 2 days. We left the last hill at 16.00 and we were back in central London by 21.00. We will be back for the rest next year.