Of cats, Skype and timezones

I say hi from my sofa in Brussels. My name is Peter, and my girlfriend Kamini is a member of the 2011 MBA class. I was born and raised in Germany (Bavaria, to be precise) and have lived in Brussels (Belgium) for the last 10 years. I work in a Public Affairs consultancy where I advise clients how to best defend their interests in the political decision-making processes of the European Union - just like about 10.000 other lobbyists in the capital of Europe.

Did the apartment feel empty when I returned from Lausanne, having left Kamini behind for a one-year MBA? Yes, very much so. Am I thinking of getting a cat, as another partner - half serious, half joking - was considering? No, and be it only because I am allergic to cat hair. But having lived together before, it is indeed a challenge to live at separate places again. And the fact that the IMD MBA programme is so very intense does not help to find a lot of time to skype, chat or talk on the phone. But I will be in Lausanne more or less every other weekend and have already booked several flights till April (easyjet helps keeping prices down). Comparing myself to the situation of other couples, I realise I am actually very privileged: People living in Singapore or Mexico will not see their partner until April. Oh, how lucky I am...

Several partners and students asked me whether my girlfriend's decision to do an MBA made me think about my own personal development during this year. The answer is a clear yes. Will I be another Nicole (who lived in Lausanne last year as a partner and is doing the MBA this year)? Who knows, but I don't think so. Rather, I'm trying to put together a personal programme in parallel to the job. One component will be a seminar at Georgetown in Washington DC in March, and I will certainly write about this at a later point.

So what can one do to support one's partner by distance? As we all know, time is a scarce good during the programme. So I'm trying to support with little text messages, emails, ecards, and obviously try to speak as often as possible (any more original ideas always welcome!). This is by the way an issue where different couples seem to have very different standards: Does one speak every day, at least to say goodnight? Or can one do with speaking once a week only? We shall find out in the months to come what is possible and what is necessary.

One thing struck me last week, my first week back in the office after the holiday break: It is rather trivial, but whenever I decided to sleep another ten minutes in the morning, or felt tired in the evening after a day at work, I realised that Kamini and all the other MBAs were already or still working. As if they were living in several time zones at the same time: early morning class in Asia, lunchtime breakout in Europe, and midnight assignment with the study group in the States - West Coast probably... Could I physically cope with this workload? I don't know. But I do know it requires lots of motivation, persistence, discipline, curiosity, positive group dynamics and mutual support. Let's try to contribute our share!