yesterday we had a company visit to BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany. it was simply awesome. we went through their entire factory and saw how they made their 3-series cars. robots EVERYWHERE!!! they have replaced humans, and it's quite scary to watch them work with SUCH amazing precision and accuracy. they were also very large robots, so it kind of made you think of what it would be like if they jumped out of the factory and decided to kill us all (i heard from numerous students yesterday that they had thought of it).
we saw the metal of the cars being pressed into the various types of parts that are eventually used in making the car, then we saw those pieces go through a spot welding procedure where they are put together (this was all done by robots), and then we saw the metal all put together to make the cage of the car. then we saw the car go through painting, which was very cool (also all done by robots), and then we saw the cars get their seats (that's where the "new car smell" was abundant). then we saw the cars get their underparts put in (everything from the engine to the brakes and axles; the entire undercarriage). at the end we saw the engine's being produced, and then also got to watch the finished product go through testing.
it was an experience i'll never forget and it was truly great.
the bus ride to the factory was 3hrs each way.
all else is well, and i'm getting really good at making indian curry chicken. today i added an extra flair to it that made sunil really love it. he was surprised.
our new roommate, cam, has settled in and is having a great time himself. he loves our kitchen (as do i) and has already cooked his first meal in it.
will update soon...
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
new roommate?!
interesting story...
i was in the housing office at school last week to sign my housing contract (i thought they had forgotten about me...too bad) and as i'm talking to the housing lady, this guy looks at me and say in a total american (more specifically, californian) accent, "where are you from?". i answered "Los Angeles" and he told me he was from san francisco. he was there to find a place to live. he's been here in st. gallen for a few days already and has nowhere to live (he's been living with a friend's family). he's a 24year old master's of international business student and oddly enough is half persian, half swiss. w got to talking and i mentioned sunil (my indian flatmate) was still looking for a roommate, as his originaly roommate is still in india (couldn't attend the program due to visa issues in his country). our convo slowly turned from small talk about living situations into him seriously considering moving into our place.
he told me he was staying here for 2 years. so i told him he's probably not find a place as good as ours with other flatmate's that share his sense of quiet living and graduate studies as ours. and also told him that if he was staying here as long as we were that it wouldn't be too tempting to share a room for his entire stay here. however, when he said he's going to be here for 2 years, i told him that it would be really good for him, because he could take one of our rooms for himself once we leave switzerland (in a couple months).
so, it turns out we're getting another flatmate. i really don't mind since he's a cool, fun guy (any time someone's presence can add extra comedy in my life, they are welcome to come by). pics will be posted soon.
keep in touch...
i was in the housing office at school last week to sign my housing contract (i thought they had forgotten about me...too bad) and as i'm talking to the housing lady, this guy looks at me and say in a total american (more specifically, californian) accent, "where are you from?". i answered "Los Angeles" and he told me he was from san francisco. he was there to find a place to live. he's been here in st. gallen for a few days already and has nowhere to live (he's been living with a friend's family). he's a 24year old master's of international business student and oddly enough is half persian, half swiss. w got to talking and i mentioned sunil (my indian flatmate) was still looking for a roommate, as his originaly roommate is still in india (couldn't attend the program due to visa issues in his country). our convo slowly turned from small talk about living situations into him seriously considering moving into our place.
he told me he was staying here for 2 years. so i told him he's probably not find a place as good as ours with other flatmate's that share his sense of quiet living and graduate studies as ours. and also told him that if he was staying here as long as we were that it wouldn't be too tempting to share a room for his entire stay here. however, when he said he's going to be here for 2 years, i told him that it would be really good for him, because he could take one of our rooms for himself once we leave switzerland (in a couple months).
so, it turns out we're getting another flatmate. i really don't mind since he's a cool, fun guy (any time someone's presence can add extra comedy in my life, they are welcome to come by). pics will be posted soon.
keep in touch...
leadership and team building competencies
yesterday we had a special one-day class called "team building: leadership and team competencies". it was one of those day-long management/team building workshops full of trust games and group discussions, etc...
first we had the trust games, where 4 groups of 6 students each were picked out. 2 of the groups were leaders and 2 were followers, then we switched after 30min. the purpose of the lesson was to lead your group member through a list of 6 different tasks (from pouring a glass of juice to lighting a candle) without talking to them, while they are blindfolded. take a moment to think about this; imagine having to explain to a person (who is completely blind) to pour a glass of orange juice and walk it to you 10 feet away and hand it to you for you to drink, WITHOUT TALKING TO THAT PERSON or making any sounds with your mouth. it's really not as easy as it sounds.
in the first round i was a leader and my partner was a blind follower. first i had to have him pour the glass of juice and hand it to me to drink. then i had to have him light 3 candles with match sticks (BLINDFOLDED). then i had to have him touch and feel a flower/rose and then have him draw that rose on a piece of paper. then i had to have him run (while holding my hand) across a field. then i had to have him jump a rope 3 times, and finally have him run around a tree 3 times in each direction.
well, first came the glass of orange juice. i found the best way to communicate with my partner (armond, fom usc) was to play out what he was supposed to do with his own hands so that he would understand. i couldn't very well show him with my hands because he was blind, and i couldn't talk to him, so what i would do is act out what he has to do, using his own body. i would put the glass in his hand, then remove it and put the bottle of juice in his other hand hand and act out the process of pouring juice into the glass with his two hands (this was the only way to have his brain register everything, as if it was happening internally within himself). then i had him put back the bottle and while holding the glass of juice, walk over to where i would be and reach his hand that had the glass in it out toward me at which time i would take it from him. that's all he had to do. so after i used his body to act it out, i then tapped on his back and he understood this meant "start". he did it without a hitch and we completed the first task without a hitch.
next came the lighting of the candles. when the prof. was telling us about this one, we were all confused how we would stop people from burning themselves. i have to say that this particular task was not well thought out by the profs. not only that but it was obvious that lawsuits were not part of the culture here. i thought to myself if this was in america, it would have just been a lawsuit waiting to happen. think about it; a blindfolded person who is supposed to trust the school and his partner is burned without even knowing he was in danger of burning himself. that's bad shit. so again, i acted everything out with his own hands so he would understand what he had to do. i let him touch the candles; when he touched the wax and wick he knew it was a candle. i put all 3 candles in his hand, and then shook a box of matches so he would hear the sound, and then put it in his other hand. i opened the matches and took one out and acted out lighting the candles using his hands. he got the idea. the poor guy spent more than 10min (literally) just trying to light these damn candles in the wind. the profs. told us that we weren't supposed to help them during the lighting so i couldn't do anything but laugh (which i did repeatedly). he ended up burning his finger. i showed my disappointment with this task to the prof. it was obvious it shouldn't have been part of the activity.
next i had to have armond draw a rose on a piece of paper. so i gave him the rose, had him smell it and touch it and then gave him a pen and let him feel the paper. he wrote "flower". to tell him that's now what i wanted him to do i took his own hand and i made a "thumbs down" signal. this told him he was wrong. i gave the rose back to him to inspect and then gave him back the pen. this time he wrote "smell, rose, flower". first i laughed, and then i again made the "thumbs down" signal on his own hand. next o put the pen in his hand and holding his hand i moved the pen in little circles (to replicate the rose's pedals). this time he got it and was successful.
next i had him run across a field holding my hand. except he thought we were supposed to skip, so he ended up skipping the whole way, while i was laughing my ass off running with him. i really wish i had gotten that on video.
next i had him jump over the rope attached to a couple trees. this was easy, i just took his leg and i put it on the other side of the rope, and made the #3 on his hand. he got the idea.
i did the same thing with the running around the tree and he got it without a hitch.
NEXT came my turn to be blindfolded, with a completely different set of tasks. we walked to the other site and i put my blindfold on. first he hands me an object. without a doubt i could tell this object was a rubber ducky. he then handed me a pen and let me touch paper, so i knew it was similar to him and the rose. so i drew a rubber ducky. he put my hand in a "thumbs down" position so i knew i was wrong. he handed me the duck again and then gave me the pen again. this time i wrote "rubber duck" and he put my hand in a "thumbs up" position.
next he gives me an orange (i was able to tell by the texture and the smell). he held my hand with the orange and used my other hand to act out peeling it and then reaching my hand outward as if feeding him. so i went ahead and peeled the orange and then took a piece and reached it out. he took it and put my hand in a "thumbs up" position.
next he gives me what feels undoubtedly like a hammer and puts my other hand on 3 nails in a piece of wood. so i slammed the nails into the wood. no problem.
next he lets me touch a piece of paper and then takes my two hands and puts them in the position of a flying bird. this made me understand that i had to make a paper airplane. i made it and then he made me act out throwing it, so i did and he put my hand in the "thumbs up" position.
next he gives me what feels like clothes. a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. i put them on over my clothes and he gives me the "thumbs up" signal. all fairly easy. i'm glad i didn't have to light anything with matches, blindfolded.
in other news...a group of us went to Zurich on tue, we had lunch there and we went to a church and an art museum. then 3 of the guys and i just hung out in a restaurant/bar while some of the girls went shopping. we then came back to st. gallen. it was fun. however, it was raining and that was a bit of a downer, but nothing we couldn't handle or get over. on our trip to zurich, we spotted the endangered armenian night owl.
.JPG)
in yet other news, my indian flatmate has two of his indian friends in town to visit him and the first thing they did after they put their bags down was raid the kitchen. i swear it looks like an indian food manufacturer that's been breaking the laws of good food sanitation and production in my kitchen.
.JPG)
first we had the trust games, where 4 groups of 6 students each were picked out. 2 of the groups were leaders and 2 were followers, then we switched after 30min. the purpose of the lesson was to lead your group member through a list of 6 different tasks (from pouring a glass of juice to lighting a candle) without talking to them, while they are blindfolded. take a moment to think about this; imagine having to explain to a person (who is completely blind) to pour a glass of orange juice and walk it to you 10 feet away and hand it to you for you to drink, WITHOUT TALKING TO THAT PERSON or making any sounds with your mouth. it's really not as easy as it sounds.
in the first round i was a leader and my partner was a blind follower. first i had to have him pour the glass of juice and hand it to me to drink. then i had to have him light 3 candles with match sticks (BLINDFOLDED). then i had to have him touch and feel a flower/rose and then have him draw that rose on a piece of paper. then i had to have him run (while holding my hand) across a field. then i had to have him jump a rope 3 times, and finally have him run around a tree 3 times in each direction.
well, first came the glass of orange juice. i found the best way to communicate with my partner (armond, fom usc) was to play out what he was supposed to do with his own hands so that he would understand. i couldn't very well show him with my hands because he was blind, and i couldn't talk to him, so what i would do is act out what he has to do, using his own body. i would put the glass in his hand, then remove it and put the bottle of juice in his other hand hand and act out the process of pouring juice into the glass with his two hands (this was the only way to have his brain register everything, as if it was happening internally within himself). then i had him put back the bottle and while holding the glass of juice, walk over to where i would be and reach his hand that had the glass in it out toward me at which time i would take it from him. that's all he had to do. so after i used his body to act it out, i then tapped on his back and he understood this meant "start". he did it without a hitch and we completed the first task without a hitch.
next came the lighting of the candles. when the prof. was telling us about this one, we were all confused how we would stop people from burning themselves. i have to say that this particular task was not well thought out by the profs. not only that but it was obvious that lawsuits were not part of the culture here. i thought to myself if this was in america, it would have just been a lawsuit waiting to happen. think about it; a blindfolded person who is supposed to trust the school and his partner is burned without even knowing he was in danger of burning himself. that's bad shit. so again, i acted everything out with his own hands so he would understand what he had to do. i let him touch the candles; when he touched the wax and wick he knew it was a candle. i put all 3 candles in his hand, and then shook a box of matches so he would hear the sound, and then put it in his other hand. i opened the matches and took one out and acted out lighting the candles using his hands. he got the idea. the poor guy spent more than 10min (literally) just trying to light these damn candles in the wind. the profs. told us that we weren't supposed to help them during the lighting so i couldn't do anything but laugh (which i did repeatedly). he ended up burning his finger. i showed my disappointment with this task to the prof. it was obvious it shouldn't have been part of the activity.
next i had to have armond draw a rose on a piece of paper. so i gave him the rose, had him smell it and touch it and then gave him a pen and let him feel the paper. he wrote "flower". to tell him that's now what i wanted him to do i took his own hand and i made a "thumbs down" signal. this told him he was wrong. i gave the rose back to him to inspect and then gave him back the pen. this time he wrote "smell, rose, flower". first i laughed, and then i again made the "thumbs down" signal on his own hand. next o put the pen in his hand and holding his hand i moved the pen in little circles (to replicate the rose's pedals). this time he got it and was successful.
next i had him run across a field holding my hand. except he thought we were supposed to skip, so he ended up skipping the whole way, while i was laughing my ass off running with him. i really wish i had gotten that on video.
next i had him jump over the rope attached to a couple trees. this was easy, i just took his leg and i put it on the other side of the rope, and made the #3 on his hand. he got the idea.
i did the same thing with the running around the tree and he got it without a hitch.
NEXT came my turn to be blindfolded, with a completely different set of tasks. we walked to the other site and i put my blindfold on. first he hands me an object. without a doubt i could tell this object was a rubber ducky. he then handed me a pen and let me touch paper, so i knew it was similar to him and the rose. so i drew a rubber ducky. he put my hand in a "thumbs down" position so i knew i was wrong. he handed me the duck again and then gave me the pen again. this time i wrote "rubber duck" and he put my hand in a "thumbs up" position.
next he gives me an orange (i was able to tell by the texture and the smell). he held my hand with the orange and used my other hand to act out peeling it and then reaching my hand outward as if feeding him. so i went ahead and peeled the orange and then took a piece and reached it out. he took it and put my hand in a "thumbs up" position.
next he gives me what feels undoubtedly like a hammer and puts my other hand on 3 nails in a piece of wood. so i slammed the nails into the wood. no problem.
next he lets me touch a piece of paper and then takes my two hands and puts them in the position of a flying bird. this made me understand that i had to make a paper airplane. i made it and then he made me act out throwing it, so i did and he put my hand in the "thumbs up" position.
next he gives me what feels like clothes. a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. i put them on over my clothes and he gives me the "thumbs up" signal. all fairly easy. i'm glad i didn't have to light anything with matches, blindfolded.
in other news...a group of us went to Zurich on tue, we had lunch there and we went to a church and an art museum. then 3 of the guys and i just hung out in a restaurant/bar while some of the girls went shopping. we then came back to st. gallen. it was fun. however, it was raining and that was a bit of a downer, but nothing we couldn't handle or get over. on our trip to zurich, we spotted the endangered armenian night owl.
.JPG)
in yet other news, my indian flatmate has two of his indian friends in town to visit him and the first thing they did after they put their bags down was raid the kitchen. i swear it looks like an indian food manufacturer that's been breaking the laws of good food sanitation and production in my kitchen.
.JPG)
Friday, September 14, 2007
topron and the chocolate factory
yesterday we went to an authentic swiss chocolate factory that goes by the name of Maestrani (website here). it was really great; we actually got to see how the chocolate is made, as it is first taken out of the shell that holds all the cocoa beans (we didn't see that part), then crushed and stirred (we saw the machines that do that, and they were churning), then added to milk powder, cocoa paste and cocoa butter (they explained all the different combinations in order to get dark/milk/white chocolate), poured into molds and cooled down. then they are taken to another part of the factory where they are wrapped. it was really an amazing experience. i had never been to a factory before this. we also got to taste some samples...it was tasty, but honestly i can't say that it beats all chocolates just because it's swiss. i mean it was really good and they are famous for it here, but it wasn't like..."omg, i've never tasted anything like this before". chocolate is chocolate; some girls (ok most girls) will disagree. i also bought some goodies from their store for some of you back in LA. going there made me want to start growing cocoa beans (slowly but surely turning into my dad). it's a really cool plant but will obviously take great care and maintenance as far as its environment goes. in nature it only grows in tropical environments so that has to somehow be replicated (greenhouse, temperature control, lights, etc...). so that was a really cool experience.
that same day we arranged to have a poker night at my place for a bunch of students in the group. those that made it really had a great time. we taught some people how to play and ended up putting 5 franc in the pot for each tournament (we played two tournaments). the first one was won by one of the girls that we taught how to play for her first time (that shit always happens), and the second tournament was one by ANOTHER girl that we taught how to play that same night. i came in second so i got my money back for the second tournament. i have to say it was really fun. we laughed a lot and learned a lot about each other. the get together definitely gained enough popularity to happen again very soon. poker can be very funny with the right people.
.JPG)
anyway, today i wanted to see if i could make something a little more "interesting" as far as food goes, and i wanted to take a day's break in eating super conservatively healthy...so, i made tuna casserole. right now it's sitting in the fridge awaiting going into the oven (i want to put it in the oven just before i'm ready to eat it), and it looks MIGHTY GOOD!!! it's two layers of penne pasta, tuna with onions and mushrooms in a creamy sauce (a little like alfredo, but slightly different taste), topped with mozzarella cheese and a few slices of tomatoes. i'm excited to taste it. i've never made anything like that before, so i'll keep my fingers crossed.
other than that..everything is going GREAT, i'm having a better time here than i ever thought i'd have.
that same day we arranged to have a poker night at my place for a bunch of students in the group. those that made it really had a great time. we taught some people how to play and ended up putting 5 franc in the pot for each tournament (we played two tournaments). the first one was won by one of the girls that we taught how to play for her first time (that shit always happens), and the second tournament was one by ANOTHER girl that we taught how to play that same night. i came in second so i got my money back for the second tournament. i have to say it was really fun. we laughed a lot and learned a lot about each other. the get together definitely gained enough popularity to happen again very soon. poker can be very funny with the right people.
.JPG)
anyway, today i wanted to see if i could make something a little more "interesting" as far as food goes, and i wanted to take a day's break in eating super conservatively healthy...so, i made tuna casserole. right now it's sitting in the fridge awaiting going into the oven (i want to put it in the oven just before i'm ready to eat it), and it looks MIGHTY GOOD!!! it's two layers of penne pasta, tuna with onions and mushrooms in a creamy sauce (a little like alfredo, but slightly different taste), topped with mozzarella cheese and a few slices of tomatoes. i'm excited to taste it. i've never made anything like that before, so i'll keep my fingers crossed.
other than that..everything is going GREAT, i'm having a better time here than i ever thought i'd have.
Friday, September 7, 2007
appenzeller alpenbitter!!!
yesterday was our first outing as a class. with our program coordinator, jennifer (new yorker), we went to the EXTREMELY TINY town of Appenzell. we took the train there, which took about 45min. we got a city tour while there, then had lunch. during lunch a group of us were together at a restaurant; me, lannette (my roommate), maureen (from UCLA anderson), all three SC trojans (armond, katy and arthur chief dawg), martin (from austria), john (from houston), jaakko (from finland), marie carmen (from mexico) and marie-astrid (from belgium). i seriously hope i named everyone correctly. i think i got all the names down, usually pretty good with that after a bunch of embarrassing encounters of forgetfulness in the past. so we had lunch and chit chatted for a couple hours (laughed a lot), and then met with the rest of the group at the train station where we walked to the Appenzeller Alpenbitter brewery/factory. alpenbitter is the name of this all-healing (so they say) alcoholic concoction made of 42 natural herbs and some strong-ass alcohol; its website is found here
from left to right: john (houston), sunil (my roomie, india), jaakko (finland), me, arthur (trojan), armond (sherv look-alike, trojan), martin (austria), andreas (switzerland)
imagine jagermeister, except this drink tasted a little less like black liquorish than Jager does and is not as sweet or as tasty as jager. we watched a video about the drink before heading onto the tour of the factory. the video was a huge advertisement for the drink, and was a lot less informative than i had hoped. as far as business management goes, it makes sense to advertise the drink as much as possible in the intro video, considering that your subjects will end up in the tourist shop, drinking samples of the drink, various other drinks manufactured by the company and have visible and very close access to the factory store that sells their products.
left to right: lannette (my roomie, minnesota), armond, me, sunil
after the video we went on the tour and got to see samples of all the herbs found in the drink (not all ingredients, as the drink has many secrets that can't be dispelled, which is also the reason the company cannot import to the US since the FDA requires them to disclose all ingredients in the drink and they refuse to).
our program coordinator (new york), buying the drink.
after the tour of the herbs, tanks, condensers, warehouse where they keep the rest of their products, etc... we got to their sampling room and store. this drink is STRONG. in the video it said that many doctors recommend it to heal many ailments (bullshit in my book), and we all found it ironic that the english speaking tour guide that works at the company was out sick.
after the tasting was over, we went back to the train and came back to st. gallen. when we arrived many of us went home, but a small few of us (me, my roomies and the trojans) went to the local Orange (that's the name of the cell carrier) mobile store so that they can also get cell phones while here.
after that we lost one trojan, and the rest of us went to the main and largest grocery store by the train station to get some food. we met about 5 more international exchange students in the grocery store (of which 3 were in the ISP). after shopping we came home (long long walk, first to the bus, then from the bus stop to out house, carrying many pounds of groceries and bottled water). we were dead tired when we got home; i even accidentally fell asleep in my room in a weird fetal position, sideways on the bed. nevertheless i did get up at around 9pm to make myself and lannette dinner (i make her food, which is always the same as my own food, and she does the dishes; great deal, as all i have to do is add exgtra ingredients to whatever i'm cooking in the first place).
i have to say, i'm really glad school has started...i was beginning to get bored during the days. now i've made some new friends and we're having lots of fun hanging out, at school, on tours and soon on company visits, etc...
these "company visits" i speak of are basically visits to various companies in and out of switzerland for tours and insight into the companies strategic and managerial ways. we are all very excited for these company visits. each company's location we go to is considered that company's main headquarters, or at least the company's main european headquarters (most of the companies are european. for a list of the companies and locations we go to, please see below:
BMW (main corporate headquarters in munich, germany)
IBM (european headquarters in zurich, switzerland)
IWC (very famous watch company in switzerland: website)
European court of justice (luxembourg, with our european business law prof. who is also a famous judge in switzerland.)
ICRC (international committee of the red cross, geneva, switzerland: website)
UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency, geneva, switzerland: website)
and either one or two other companies that have yet to be announced.
for anyone that hasn't heard of IWC, it is a very famous watch company in switzerland. we had a whole lecture on the importance of time here by the head of the school (the director, if i'm not mistaken, but i very well could be). it is really a big deal here. people are very punctual, and 7 o'clock means 7 o'clock, damnit! even when the trains leave the station here, if it is scheduled to leave at 9:07, then you can be 100% sure that that train will leave at exactly 9:07, and at 9:06:59, the clock will wait a tiny bit just so that it can click to 9:07 exactly as the train starts moving, it is that much in synchronization here. so it's no wonder it's become known that the swiss are famous for their watches. this is a reason that i am VERY excited to go on the IWC company visit. i love watches, and these guys are the sheiks of the trade. i'm really excited for the rest of the companies as well (just like everyone else in the program), except i just have a personal affinity to nicely made, technically produced and meticulously managed, criticized and scrutinized watches. hopefully one day i'll even own some of my own.
so, things are finally rolling here, and it's a very good time.
will update soon...
from left to right: john (houston), sunil (my roomie, india), jaakko (finland), me, arthur (trojan), armond (sherv look-alike, trojan), martin (austria), andreas (switzerland)
imagine jagermeister, except this drink tasted a little less like black liquorish than Jager does and is not as sweet or as tasty as jager. we watched a video about the drink before heading onto the tour of the factory. the video was a huge advertisement for the drink, and was a lot less informative than i had hoped. as far as business management goes, it makes sense to advertise the drink as much as possible in the intro video, considering that your subjects will end up in the tourist shop, drinking samples of the drink, various other drinks manufactured by the company and have visible and very close access to the factory store that sells their products.
left to right: lannette (my roomie, minnesota), armond, me, sunil
after the video we went on the tour and got to see samples of all the herbs found in the drink (not all ingredients, as the drink has many secrets that can't be dispelled, which is also the reason the company cannot import to the US since the FDA requires them to disclose all ingredients in the drink and they refuse to).
our program coordinator (new york), buying the drink.
after the tour of the herbs, tanks, condensers, warehouse where they keep the rest of their products, etc... we got to their sampling room and store. this drink is STRONG. in the video it said that many doctors recommend it to heal many ailments (bullshit in my book), and we all found it ironic that the english speaking tour guide that works at the company was out sick.
after the tasting was over, we went back to the train and came back to st. gallen. when we arrived many of us went home, but a small few of us (me, my roomies and the trojans) went to the local Orange (that's the name of the cell carrier) mobile store so that they can also get cell phones while here.
after that we lost one trojan, and the rest of us went to the main and largest grocery store by the train station to get some food. we met about 5 more international exchange students in the grocery store (of which 3 were in the ISP). after shopping we came home (long long walk, first to the bus, then from the bus stop to out house, carrying many pounds of groceries and bottled water). we were dead tired when we got home; i even accidentally fell asleep in my room in a weird fetal position, sideways on the bed. nevertheless i did get up at around 9pm to make myself and lannette dinner (i make her food, which is always the same as my own food, and she does the dishes; great deal, as all i have to do is add exgtra ingredients to whatever i'm cooking in the first place).
i have to say, i'm really glad school has started...i was beginning to get bored during the days. now i've made some new friends and we're having lots of fun hanging out, at school, on tours and soon on company visits, etc...
these "company visits" i speak of are basically visits to various companies in and out of switzerland for tours and insight into the companies strategic and managerial ways. we are all very excited for these company visits. each company's location we go to is considered that company's main headquarters, or at least the company's main european headquarters (most of the companies are european. for a list of the companies and locations we go to, please see below:
BMW (main corporate headquarters in munich, germany)
IBM (european headquarters in zurich, switzerland)
IWC (very famous watch company in switzerland: website)
European court of justice (luxembourg, with our european business law prof. who is also a famous judge in switzerland.)
ICRC (international committee of the red cross, geneva, switzerland: website)
UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency, geneva, switzerland: website)
and either one or two other companies that have yet to be announced.
for anyone that hasn't heard of IWC, it is a very famous watch company in switzerland. we had a whole lecture on the importance of time here by the head of the school (the director, if i'm not mistaken, but i very well could be). it is really a big deal here. people are very punctual, and 7 o'clock means 7 o'clock, damnit! even when the trains leave the station here, if it is scheduled to leave at 9:07, then you can be 100% sure that that train will leave at exactly 9:07, and at 9:06:59, the clock will wait a tiny bit just so that it can click to 9:07 exactly as the train starts moving, it is that much in synchronization here. so it's no wonder it's become known that the swiss are famous for their watches. this is a reason that i am VERY excited to go on the IWC company visit. i love watches, and these guys are the sheiks of the trade. i'm really excited for the rest of the companies as well (just like everyone else in the program), except i just have a personal affinity to nicely made, technically produced and meticulously managed, criticized and scrutinized watches. hopefully one day i'll even own some of my own.
so, things are finally rolling here, and it's a very good time.
will update soon...
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
great times...
today was the first day of school (orientation, at least) and it was great. th ISP program is only one of several international exchange programs hosted by the university. all together (including all BA, MA, MAB & PhD students there are 200 of us international exchange students. 25 of us are in the ISP, that means we are studying to get our MBA and we are international guests at the university here. 5 other students in the ISP are from LA (3 from USC Marshall and 2 from claremont grad. in addition to those 5 (6 if you include me) there are 3 other students from the US (1 from texas, 1 from omaha, 1 from minnesota). there are a couple students from india, one from belgium, a few from china and others from all around the globe).
funny thing...the coordinator of our program--the lady in charge, the one to go to with any problems, course requests, itinerary Qs, anything and everything, the one that is with us the whole time--she's a new yorker. she came here in '97 and married a swiss man, and hasn't gone back since.
today really was a good day. tonight we all go to a local bar/restaurant and socialize, compliments of the university. also, there's an armenian guy in the program--he's one of the USC Marshall students--who looks 100% EXACTLY like Shervin. i'll post some pics up later, but the resemblance is really uncanny.
the 3 trojans (from left to right), katy, arthur (chief dawg), armond (sherv)
today i moved the house's access point closer to my room and now i have great internet connection (signal and very fast speed...consistently just under 4mb/s). so go ahead and check out the new pics that are up.
funny thing...the coordinator of our program--the lady in charge, the one to go to with any problems, course requests, itinerary Qs, anything and everything, the one that is with us the whole time--she's a new yorker. she came here in '97 and married a swiss man, and hasn't gone back since.
today really was a good day. tonight we all go to a local bar/restaurant and socialize, compliments of the university. also, there's an armenian guy in the program--he's one of the USC Marshall students--who looks 100% EXACTLY like Shervin. i'll post some pics up later, but the resemblance is really uncanny.
the 3 trojans (from left to right), katy, arthur (chief dawg), armond (sherv)
today i moved the house's access point closer to my room and now i have great internet connection (signal and very fast speed...consistently just under 4mb/s). so go ahead and check out the new pics that are up.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
first day jitters
ten minutes ago i was lying in my bed, tossing and turning. tomorrow is the first day of school (no classes yet, but orientation). the problem is that we have to wake up at 7am, and anytime i know i have to wake up early in the morning it's always hard to fall asleep the night before. it's now 3:50 am and if i'm lucky i'll get maybe 3 hours of sleep tonight.
i found out today that one of our roommates will not be showing up at all, due to VISA problems in his country. so it'll just be me, sunil (guy from india) and lannette (girl from minnesota). today i hung out with sunil; he came with me to school so that i can use the gym (he wanted to take some time for himself in the library). after the gym i found a couple really good ping pong players and played with them for a little while before i met up with sunil in the library. afterwards we went together to the city center and an Indian grocery store caught his eye so we went in and looked around.
he bought some rice and i don't remember what else. i bought some tandoori chicken spice, onions, kari leaves (curry leaves) and some other tandoori chicken flavorings of which their names i forget (can u forget something u never knew?). so i had my own version of tandoori chicken for dinner earlier tonight, along with a salad and a hefty portion of US Open footage.
let's give sleeping another chance, it really deserves its moment of success.
will update soon...
i found out today that one of our roommates will not be showing up at all, due to VISA problems in his country. so it'll just be me, sunil (guy from india) and lannette (girl from minnesota). today i hung out with sunil; he came with me to school so that i can use the gym (he wanted to take some time for himself in the library). after the gym i found a couple really good ping pong players and played with them for a little while before i met up with sunil in the library. afterwards we went together to the city center and an Indian grocery store caught his eye so we went in and looked around.
he bought some rice and i don't remember what else. i bought some tandoori chicken spice, onions, kari leaves (curry leaves) and some other tandoori chicken flavorings of which their names i forget (can u forget something u never knew?). so i had my own version of tandoori chicken for dinner earlier tonight, along with a salad and a hefty portion of US Open footage.
let's give sleeping another chance, it really deserves its moment of success.
will update soon...
Monday, September 3, 2007
my bad
i made a mistake...
i am going to be living with two other guys, and one girl. lool, oops! my bad.
school orientation is on wed (the 5th), and classes start on the 10th. for now i'm just living life like normal (except without some of the conveniences i'm normally used to, like a car). i go to the gym, the grocery store, watch tv, hang out with friends, cook dinner, etc...
today it rained, and it was pretty cold, but i had my trusty north face jacket, which was amazingly warm (actually hot). i'm glad i bought that jacket...if you're actually curious to know what this jacket looks like and how truly cool it really is, click here.
I have to find a place to get a haircut now. This is a sensitive subject; i've never had to get a haircut outside of supercuts in LA (angie there knows what she's doing, and gets it right every time). so this is going to be a first. my sideburns are already growing into crazy Larry David sideburns that are ALL over the place, making it seem like my sideburns are trying to fill my ears and cheeckbones with hair. so the search begins for a person who can cut hair and can speak english (these two by themselves are rare, let alone someone that won't charge me an arm and a leg as well).
will update soon...
i am going to be living with two other guys, and one girl. lool, oops! my bad.
school orientation is on wed (the 5th), and classes start on the 10th. for now i'm just living life like normal (except without some of the conveniences i'm normally used to, like a car). i go to the gym, the grocery store, watch tv, hang out with friends, cook dinner, etc...
today it rained, and it was pretty cold, but i had my trusty north face jacket, which was amazingly warm (actually hot). i'm glad i bought that jacket...if you're actually curious to know what this jacket looks like and how truly cool it really is, click here.
I have to find a place to get a haircut now. This is a sensitive subject; i've never had to get a haircut outside of supercuts in LA (angie there knows what she's doing, and gets it right every time). so this is going to be a first. my sideburns are already growing into crazy Larry David sideburns that are ALL over the place, making it seem like my sideburns are trying to fill my ears and cheeckbones with hair. so the search begins for a person who can cut hair and can speak english (these two by themselves are rare, let alone someone that won't charge me an arm and a leg as well).
will update soon...
Saturday, September 1, 2007
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