Baby, when the lights go out...

So, when we moved to Lausanne apart from the many adjustments we had to make, power outage was one of them. And its quite possible you might face them too. Many of us were rather surprised by the fuse burning out so frequently in the beginning and had no idea what to do because explaining the emergency to your immigrant concierge/ watchman/ landlord who speaks minimal French can be quite a task.

So if you don't have a Georgie or an Alison in your group and are unable to get hold of Marcella (which never usually happens but still) in such a situation, here is what you can do. 

First, make sure its only your apartment and not the entire building. Unlike some people (clears throat, smiles sheepishly) before you panic yourself into changing fuse after fuse and end up confusing the faulty ones with the ones that work only to realize that your entire building is suffering from a power outage and its not just your apartment, open the door and take a look outside. If the entire floor is nicely lit up and no one's pounding the elevator, here's what you can do in a building like Avenue d'Ouchy 58... 

If the fuse box in your apartment looks like this (keep looking for the fuse/switch box, you'll find it; check behind doors, just above the entrance; perhaps even outside the apartment) :

all you need is something like this:

Unscrew that round eye-shaped thing in the middle of the fuse box and you'll see a fuse in the center. Just need to replace that and life will be beautiful again.

This is easily available in Migros or Coop. It would be wise to stock up on them before hand. Remember to read the label on the fuse; replace with the same power voltage. 

Also, keep some spare bulbs in stock always. We've had ours go 'poof!' a couple of times. 

Another tip: Try not to give your electrical circuit a heart attack. If you're using the hoover (vacuum cleaner) try not to use something as power hungry- such as the washing machine- simultaneously.

When we came back from our summer vacation, the stove wasn't working. I thought the fuse burned out again, but everything else was working just fine. Turns out, the stove (even the refrigerator) has its own fuse box. So all we really needed was to switch the dead one with a healthy one in this case too. 

Sometimes, you may need to change the main fuse (main fuse box of your floor or building) corresponding to your appliance/ apartment. But hopefully, the landlord/ concierge should be able to indicate that.

In other news, most of us are getting increasingly horrified with how the bank accounts are drying up with no jobs in the horizon (the assessments are on-going). Apparently this is normal. Also, our lovely Amelie gave birth to an adorable little Lou. I think the temperature touched 3 degrees today. So cold after so long; I am definitely going to miss the warm sunny days. 

Until then, Au revoir... 

Grocery shopping in Lausanne

It's been a while since I last dropped by. Lausanne is cold again- somewhat reminiscent of the start of the year which seems both so far away now and yet not far at all.

 We've almost come to the end of our MBA journey. So much has happened in these few months it is impossible to compile it in a blog. Many partners are on their way to motherhood, some for the first time.

We are now in the toughest phase of the MBA: The emotionally daunting 'job search'. I knew it was doing to be rather stressful but I was naive to declare the first and more studious bit of the year "tough".  

Anyway, I thought I might share some handy tips before we make our imminent exodus from this time warp we are in, to reality. I drafted a document a while back on grocery shopping in Lausanne and availability of Halaal food. I'm copy-pasting it here; hopefully the future partners will benefit from this.

I am not joking; with the right attitude, grocery shopping can be a true sport! ;)

- Names you should familiarize yourself with: Migros, Coop, Denner

These are the more popular supermarket chains and have outlets all over Lausanne.

- There is also ALDI known for its cheaper variety of products but the store is at a distance; so rent out a car or hitch a ride with someone who has a car or you'll have to swap two metros with lots of shopping bags which can be rather cumbersome.

- Denner is also quite friendly on the budget but often lacks in quality. You may purchase a pack of cheap onions and have half of them rotting already. So be careful.

- Watch out for “ACTION” marked on various items; these indicate discounted products.

- Often on Saturday afternoons, meat is sold at half price at local grocery stores.

TIMINGS:

- When you arrive in Dec/Jan up until Mar/Apr all stores close at around 5-6 in the evening.

- During the summer, shops are opened for longer; The Migros on Ouchy staying opened till 9:45 pm.

- A “quick-store” like the Coop Pronto might be open until 10 but those are very few- and to my knowledge- only one on Avenue D’Ouchy. Also, they compensate for their "accessibility" by charging higher rates on just about every product.

- Apart from some exceptions, stores are closed on Sundays (Dimanche)

ASIAN FOOD

There is a nice, cosy Asian shop located on Avenue des Jordil for almost all kinds of Chinese/ Thai/ Japanese and Indian ingredients.

Another Asian store is Tan Tan, opposite to the Gare station.

Indian themed Asian stores are also located at Rue du Simplon and Avenue du France.

Timings of Asian stores vary; some opening after 11am. They put up notices on the main door and you may have to jot them down somewhere.

HALAAL FOOD

Halaal meat stores can be found in Lausanne Flon, Lausanne Gare & Rue du Simplon.

The nearest one is located just beside the Gare station opposite to Tan Tan  i.e. where Rue du Simplon meets Avenue William Fraisse.

Halaal stores usually open around 10am.

More variety of halaal meat is available at Grand Atlas just across Lausanne Gare on Avenue Louis-Ruchonnet 3. 

You can find halaal frozen burgers and pizza’s at Asian stores on Avenue de France close to Maharaja restaurant.

Note: The variety of foodstuff (and more) is also dependent on the size of the outlet. You might want to visit Coop City and Migros Triple M in case you’re looking for more specific items.

All Asian stores sell almost all kinds of Asian products (Chinese/ Indian/ Japanese/ Thai). Sea food is definitely cheaper here.

Also, Annecy (France) is only an hour's drive by car; the big Carrefour store there is absolute bliss!

Guest Post: Summer Break in Lausanne by Marieke van Esch

Hi! This is Marieke again, mother of Daantje (2,5 year) and Juul (10 months); the three of us support husband/papa Matthijs through his MBA experience at IMD for the year 2011
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Back after the IMD summer break, and with renewed energy, we try to benefit as much as we can from Lausanne and its direct surroundings. Since we just experience each season only once in Lausanne we try to get the most out. Besides we try again to keep the family balance and balance as partners as good as possible. The second phase of the IMD year definitely creates a different feeling: there is more flexibility in the enormous amount of work for the MBA’s, not per say more time. Still this makes a (good!) difference.

After 2 months of Swiss school holidays, several activities start again! Which is really good for us as little family. We can go again to Maison du Quartier, Vallee de la Jeunesse (ref. to  previous blog post) etc. and I discovered something new: Marché Paysan in Cugy. This is an extremely nice privately owned farm, 10 km north of Lausanne. It has horses, geese and rabbits for kids to see/touch, a big terrace with kids toys aside, GREAT COFFEE, and a little shop with local vegetables, jams, cheese, apple juice etc. A ‘must’ to check out. Most easy is to go by car, entry is free and it opens every week at Friday 16-19 PM and Saturday 8-12 AM.

Looking back to our 3 weeks of IMD Summer break in Lausanne we really enjoyed being here. We stayed in Lausanne because we enjoy having a very nice apartment with garden and balcony, we didn’t want to travel a lot and keep tranquility in the family and we hosted quite some visitors (family and friends). For you in coming years, I have some recommendations of the activities we undertook:

Parc Pré Vert: a great outdoor play area with a big variety of climbing frames including some with water. Besides, it has a little farm with many animals to see, and touch! You can nearly spend one whole day there, because it also has a big and affordable restaurant. Entry of the park and car parking are free. It’s just a 20 minutes drive from Lausanne.

Yvoire in France: a little medieval village, characteristic and very touristic. Best is when you take the boat from Nyon (a 30 minutes drive or train from Lausanne in direction of Geneva) to Yvoire, which takes you ca. 20 minutes. It is a great Lake Geneva experience too.

Hikes at Rochers de Naye, 2,042 m. altitude, nearby Montreux. For kids: they are in "Marmottes Paradis". You take the train or car to Montreux and in only 45 minutes, the train (Golden Pass) climbs 1,600 metres (!) from Montreux to Rochers de Naye. At the summit you will find wonderful panoramic views over Lake Geneva and the Alps. The train ride is a bit expensive but worth it (ca. 40 CHF depending on discount).

 Château Chillon: a castle in good shape, lots to see, but for kids you need to help them with their imagination and castle stories! The interior could have been more restored. Students entry fee is 10 CHF (use your IMD partner card!) and kids below the age of 6 have free entry.

Hikes in the French Alps just 1 hour and 15 minutes drive from Lausanne across the lake. You are in the famous winter sports area ‘Les Portes du soleil’ which features cool mountain biking and hiking, and for the extreme sporters the Fantasticable in summertime besides enjoying the extremely nice local cheeses and wines. We stayed in Hotel Esprit Montagne. The hotel distinguishes itself by a high quality restaurant and a modern interior (knowing the benchmark).

And of course we spent a lot of time in the many beautiful and scenic parks and playgrounds that Lausanne and Pully have.

Guest Post: From Belgium to Lausanne by Amélie van der Aa

Hi, I’m Amélie, mother of a lovely 21 month old daughter named Nell and mother to be of another girl in a few weeks. I’m Belgian, supporting my Belgian husband Jonathan, whom I’ve met 15 years ago (no no, I’m not that old) in Belgium. I specify this, because this makes us one of the most unique IMD couples, as most partners are from country X, have married a guy or girl from country Y, whom they’ve met in country Z.

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Believe it or not, but this blog post has been on my to-do list since February. Am I lazy, or have I been suffering from a writers block? None of the above. The truth is, this year might have been the busiest of my life. 



Let me take you back to a bit more than a year ago. The day that Jonathan came home all excited, not only because he got into IMD, but because he had spoken to an ex-IMD candidate who had told him the “exciting” truth about day-to-day (and night-to-night) life at IMD during the first 6 months. All I could hear was “military camp”, “nap room”, “night work”, “no spare time at all”, let alone “time for your kids and family”. I told Jonathan that in this case I was wondering why we would join him to Lausanne. Silence…  a shocked husband was looking at me realizing that there could have been a better way to prepare me for the IMD reality.

But in the end, we actually took the decision to cut the year in half. I would spend the first 6 months in Belgium, keep my job, leave Nell at daycare, and be surrounded by my network of friends and family who were all willing to help a single mom survive on her own. Every 2-3 weeks we flew to Lausanne to spend some time (or shall I say “hours”) with Jonathan. And apart from that, Skype became our best friend and well, we just both wrestled through these 6 months, keeping our eyes firmly on the finish line in June.

I ain’t gonna lie. It was tough. We really missed each other, we have both cursed Skype, I have literally cried carrying Nell in and out of the plane, being nauseous from my second pregnancy. I have been quite frustrated when spending weekends in Lausanne, cleaning the apartment, ironing hubby’s shirts and not seeing him as much as I’d hoped. But in the end, all this made us stronger as a couple and made the start of the second part (June-Dec) so much sweeter…

Now I am enjoying all this free time with Nell, this “normal” family time with Jonathan, our interesting discussions in the tiny kitchen and most of all, meeting all these amazing other ladies (and men), who are all so strong and trying to keep up the positive spirit throughout this strange year.

Let me conclude by giving some tips for future partners who decide to join their student later during the year:

1. I strongly advise to take one month off at the start of the year. That way you can settle in and arrange the apartment together with your partner, and most importantly, get to know the other partners. Believe me, you will feel less alone when you are in Lausanne on the weekends.

2. Try to attend at least one partner activity each time you’re visiting Lausanne. It will make it easier to integrate when you move to Lausanne in Summer.

3. Keep telling yourself that being in Lausanne with your husband would be equally or even more frustrating than being in your home country, surrounded by friends and family.

4. And this is my tip for any partner: don’t be too hard on your partner and don’t complain too much. This surely isn’t an easy year for us, but so far it has been one of the most interesting, culturally diverse and enriching of my life!

Guest Post: Trip to Iceland by Andrea Canidio

Hi! I am Andrea, Sophie Lacombe's boyfriend who is currently a student at IMD. I live between Bruxelles and Budapest and commute to Lausanne regularly
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Sophie said: "I don't have time to take care of our vacations, so you do it. I just want to be outdoor. I have been locked in the IMD dungeon for 6 months. I want to hike, to be active, to be outside.' So I went online and bought two tickets to Iceland.

Iceland is an island sitting between Europe and the American continent, touching the Arctic circle with its Northern shore. From a geological point of view, it is one of the youngest places in the world. It is located with the American plates meet the Eurasian plate and for this reason, it is full of active volcanoes, natural hot springs, geysers, mountains, glaciers. It is roughly twice the size of Switzerland, but has only 300,000 inhabitants, about 70% of which live in the capital. This means that is has some of the most amazing landscapes and scenery in the world (with the exception of some spots) which you can admire in full solitude. I've always wanted to go there and this was my chance. Sophie didn't specify that she wanted to be in a warm place!

 

The vacation was great. We hiked through the valleys fuming from the presence of hundreds of hot pools; we climed a glacier, and a volcano; we saw icebergs, seals, puffins. We rented a 4x4 pick-up truck and drove for days on uneven roads, crossing several rivers, in a surreal landscape with no trees (the winds and temperature prevent them from growing), no buildings and no people. All we could see were patches of pure colours; the black of the lava stone, the bright green of the moss, the white of the glaciers, the red and yellow of the sulfur.





The vacation was also a reminder of how powerful and extreme nature can be. The temperatures would usually be between 5 and 15 degrees, the winds were extremely strong, the weather would abruptly change every 10 minutes. The whole country is accustomed to extreme climate and extreme events. For instance, several of the glaciers sit on top of active volcanoes and sometimes some of these volcanoes heat up- without erupting- and melt some of the ice. The water eventually bursts out and violently flood the surrounding valleys. This happened when we were there: a bridge was washed away and the only paved road connecting the capital with the other coastal cities had to be closed down. However, within two weeks a temporary bridge was in place and traffic was restored to normal. Apparently, this events are so frequent that Icelandic people are very efficient in reconstruction of roads and bridges.

Finally, here is a link to all the pictures of the vacation.

Roma, non basta una vita

So the students were all gearing up for MBAT with their partners and kids and after considering it for a while, we decided a break from IMD would be more fulfilling and headed for Rome instead. 

We booked Easyjet flights- 6:20 in the morning. Only a day before did we realize that the last train to the airport was at 12:10am and the next one at 4:20am- which was cutting it too short. We arrived at the airport around 5:35am. I WAS RUNNING FOR MY LIFE. Easyjet is ALWAYS so crowded. The queues were long and it was taking us forever and then terminal D inside the airport seemed like it would never show up- Yep! They make sure you pay for having opted for a cheaper flight. 

But 2 hours later we were in Rome. Managed to get to the hotel, freshen up and made our way to the city center. 

What can I tell you about Rome that will actually justify its magnificence? Nothing. You just have to go. 

Perhaps it is possible to conquer Rome in a day- but not for history buffs. I had some help from Sharon, Marcella and Marieke that helped me chalk out a plan on what we wanted to do on our short trip there. The Vatican, The Museums, The Colosseum, The Fountains, The ruins- everything about Rome is saturated with centuries of History. As someone rightly said, the city itself is an open-air Museum. 

Yes the queues were long- but they were fast moving. 

Yes people talk rather loudly- but they are so friendly. 

Yes the traffic is crazy and even the buses and local transport are reminiscent of overloaded trains back in the South Asian sub continent. But nothing that a comfortable pair of shoes and a large appetite for history cannot solve once you set out on foot. 

All in all, with my transportation mess up (our hotel was far away from the center and the nearest Metro station no longer existed) and all-you-can-eat Gelato and delicious Italian food, the flights, stay (which was the bulk of it all) and excursions, it cost us around about 900 Euros. 

International Student Cards didn't help in the least. In fact, I should have saved the 40 francs I spent on it because wherever applicable, it also stipulates a standard requirement for (a 26 years) student/ partner age limit. 

The Italian term for greeting someone (hello or goodbye) is 'Ciao' and Thank-you is "Grazia".
And-a when-a you come-a back-a you vill-a vant-a to talk-a like-a that-a for-a while-a! 

Tip: It's better to pick up tickets for the Palatine hills and then enter the Colosseum. Saves you the madness of getting into another long (and this one not so fast moving) line. 

Another tip: Book your flights as early as possible!

So the world didn't come to an end on the 21st and I figured I couldn't squeeze out of it and had to get off my lazy derrière and do something about hubby's upcoming birthday. I was absolutely exhausted from all the labour I underwent to prepare a "nice dinner". I was up at 8 and sat down to rest ONLY at 6:30 in the evening. But I want to thank: 

Sevara & Lois for the cooking tips

Alison for the blender that made possible the Lentil soup

Sharon for the spring-form pan

Christina from Spain- for the mixer

and Fei for the grater.

and this is why you cannot NOT love the Partner community! 

This month has been busy. 

Our lovely Christina (my mixer saviour) has given birth to Nicolas. Can't wait to see them! 

There was also Iyerida's surprise birthday party that Diana organized. And little Sevinch who turned 3 earlier on during the month. Some pictures I'm sharing. 

It's getting hotter. I've been (yawn!) reading, baking and after an amazing "Positive energy" session offered to partners by IMD (which I will talk about in another blog because my blogs tend to get too lengthy then) I have gone back to some activities I had long given up. These days its puzzle solving and cracking brain teasers. Here's one I'll share with you- try not to cheat.

"Mike's birthday is today. He tells me that Tyson, his brother, has a birthday coming up in two days. They are twins. Is this possible? Or is he lying? 

Note: Mike is a twin to Tyson (so don't assume that Mike is much younger than Tyson and that Tyson has another twin brother)"

Until then, Au revoir!

My MBAT Experience

(by Maria Godsey)

As mentioned in a previous post, Noah and I decided to join the IMD class in a trip to Paris to compete in the MBA Tournament (MBAT). In total, I believe there were 88 students, 25 partners and 8 IMD babies who made the venture.

Leading up to the event, there was a lot of excitement in the air. IMD clothing was issued, posters and banners were made, class song and cheers were selected and final logistical arrangements communicated. Looking at the students, you could tell they were ready to let loose for a couple of days and the partners were ready to join them in the fun! After several months of planning and practicing for the competition, the class was ready to head to Paris!

The IMD team competed very well, especially considering there are only 90 of them to show their talents and the class curriculum doesn't offer much time for practicing. The final results…. 6 medals! A silver and two bronze in cross country running, silver and bronze in tennis and a bronze in squash. Not too bad! If I had a vote, I'd also give the team a gold for best team spirit!

Overall, the experience was nice, but not exactly what I expected. While I appreciated so much that partners were able to join, it would be hard for me to recommend the trip for future partners, especially given the expense and if you have children. Perhaps my weekend could best be summarized by borrowing Mastercard's priceless campaign. My version would go something like this:

• MBAT attendance fee (incl. transportation, hotel, food, parties)....... 500 CHF
• Additional expense for food due to late/sparse dinner offering...... 150 CHF
• Sightseeing trips around Paris..... 100 CHF
• Four days of uninterrupted family time away from IMD: .... PRICELESS!

If I had to do it over again, I would still join the class in Paris (the time with Joseph and Noah really was priceless), but would save the attendance fee expense and arrange my own travel, hotel and food. Some other lessons learned I can offer to the future partners are:

• • MBAT takes place on the HEC campus which is very widespread. Getting from one end of the campus to the other with a stroller is very difficult. If you're traveling with a child, try to bring a carrier or come by car so you can get around easier.
  • The dinners offered by HEC start at 8 PM and probably not the best if you are bring a child. We decided not to attend the dinners since they were so late and enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner at our hotel while Noah slept in our room. The feedback from other partners that went to the dinners were that the dinners were mainly finger foods, there were long lines and no tables to sit at. As well, although the dinnertime was communicated to be 8 PM, food was not served until much later.
  • The lunches provided by HEC were bag lunches and of decent quality.
  • It's about a 6 hour drive to the HEC campus, but much longer by bus due to mandated breaks for the bus driver. Depending if you are traveling with child or not, you may want to choose another method of transportation.
  • The campus is very close to Versailles. If you haven't visited this site, I would definitely recommend you reserve some time for this. Those with babies, don't forget your baby carrier as strollers are not permitted in the palace. :)
  • When we put our budget together last year, we did not budget anything for MBAT. The trip is free to the students, but the partners who wanted to join had to pay their way. Depending if next year's class participates in MBAT, raises enough sponsorship funds to cover the partners, etc, it would be wise to plan some money for MBAT, just in case. As you can see from my 'priceless' campaign, the expense is not small.

So those are my lessons learned and what I wish I knew beforehand. For the future class.. best of luck next year!! GO IMD!!