So trimester midterms have been and passed since I last wrote and now have the results. At least most people do - I have not actually opened mine yet. I feel it is better to savour the possibility that I actually might have done well than to know for sure that I've done dismally; it seems to put me in good (albeit slightly unreal) spirits.
As the midterms ended, so two more subjects were started - Capital Markets and "Markets & Managers". I currently sit on the back row with three others (Blaithin (Eire), Kyle (Canada) and Miguel (Spain)) and each "M & M" class hilariously starts with a ditribution of chocolatey treats of the same name (only the yellow ones with peanuts however as Miguel doesn't like the brown ones).
I noticed a strange phenomena that has been growing in class however - the human body as a musical instrument. I first became aware of it when I recieved quizzical looks from the row in front - it seems that I have been unconciously "beat-boxing" (I believe that's what they call it these days) as I try to think about anything but the Cost Accounting class in front of me. I then became aware the other day of a strange tapping coming from the other side of the room and looked over to see Gregory van Hoof (a Belgian) merrily tapping away on his desk to the strange rhythms in his head, head lolling as he imagined drumming in front of a crowd of thousands ... until he was jabbed in the ribs by Cary Spisak (US). My hope is that the musical trend continues and that soon we soon have a complete human orchestra. I want to be the tuba - parp parp !
I am starting to worry too about one of our new professors. I thought on the first day of class that, although he claimed he was Spanish, there was a certain ... I don't know ... Transylvanian tinge to this guy's accent. On the second class he claimed "I a-driiink a-sooo mach cappuchiiiino that I a-neeeverrr a-sleeeep at a-niiiight ..." and then the third class was a case about the supply and demand of a potential market in human kidneys. No joke. The firm proof however came yesterday when he turned into a bat and tried to fly out of a window that turned out to be closed - bonk !
One final note (as I have to go to a field trip to the Danone factory in half an hour - I love being back at scool sometimes!) about the "MBA Olympics". This is an event held in Paris where the top 3 business schools in Europe (yes we are one of those despite apparently vampiric professors) get together in Paris for a mini Olympics. It is a matter of great pride and IESE has won the last three years in a row. My hopes are not high for this year however because, as I was speaking to the Indians about our cricket training (or lack of) and found out that the LBS team has been practising seriously at Lords for the past few months, I looked over their shoulder to see a frisbee being thrown around the lawn by the Ultimate Frisbee team. They didn't catch it once and one guy almost fell in the turtle pond. We'll have to see ...