IMD Partners 2011- Partner Monologues
We are IMD Partners supporting our MBA's through the 2011 year. While they are studying & working long hours, we will try to enjoy all that Lausanne has to offer. This should give you an idea of what the life of a partner is like. We are Fathers, Mothers, Wives, Husbands and Partners. Some of us are here to stay for the year while others will be in and out for visits. We look forward to 2011!
Thursday 20 October 2011
Baby, when the lights go out...
Monday 17 October 2011
Grocery shopping in Lausanne
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.
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! ;)
- 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
Also, Annecy (France) is only an hour's drive by car; the big Carrefour store there is absolute bliss!
Thursday 15 September 2011
Guest Post: Summer Break in Lausanne by Marieke van Esch
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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:
Friday 9 September 2011
Guest Post: From Belgium to Lausanne by Amélie van der Aa
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.
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Guest Post: Trip to Iceland by Andrea Canidio
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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.
Thursday 26 May 2011
Roma, non basta una vita
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.
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.
Wednesday 18 May 2011
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:
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- 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!!