study break

So the students enrolled in the pre-program were divided up into various groups. Several groups, including mine, had their pre-program courses last week (Oct. 18-22). Others only started this week (Oct.25-28). I’m really glad that mine were last week because that means this week I have had another “break” before starting the MBA! Although I have hardly taken a break…

Monday morning I was up early to join other 50 or so non-EU students at the police station to take our fingerprints for the NIE immigration card. Having the NIE number (although we still have to wait another month to get the actual card) means I could start shopping for my iPhone! I really want an iPhone! For the last 5 years in Europe, I’ve had a simple, pay as you go phone. I decided it was time to upgrade. While I’ve handed over all my data to get the long-awaited Apple merchandise, I still have to wait a week for them to switch my number and get my hands on my new iPhone! Here’s to hoping it goes smoothly…

On Monday I also attended an event at the Casa Arabe where I’m taking bi-weekly Arabic lessons. This event, called “The Tunisian Solar Plan,” was part of the Casa Arabe’s Forum on Economic Events with the Arab world. It was really interesting and motivating. As I listened to the Director of the Tunisian Society of Energy and Gas (STEG) present to potential Spanish investors, I was thinking, yes, this is what I want my transition into the private sector to be – I need to work on issues that are important to me and that stimulate me intellectually. Corporate social responsibility regarding the environment and the increasingly popular green movement are issues that businesses can no longer ignore. A man in the audience from the Spanish bank Santander asked the Tunisian businessman when they would know the outcome of the latest round of bids… probably to know if one of his clients would be getting the job, for example, of building a photovoltaic plant, and thus, his bank would be doing the financing. It’s all about money in the end, but isn’t it great that the money is trying to promote renewable energies?! I learned that between Italy and Tunisia there are underground cables that cross the Mediterranean to supply Europe with Tunisian energy. Fascinating. Tunisia wants to become a leading Arab exporter of renewable energies to Europe… I could go on and on with the interesting facts and numbers I wrote down, ask me if your interested.

On a related note, Wednesday I got my electricity bill from Iberdrola. In each bill, they include a little display of where “my” energy comes from and of how much carbon dioxide they emit. Apparently, in 2009, in the whole “Spanish Electric System” 27.9% of energy produced was from renewable energies. Seems like a rather larger percentage! In the same period (I think, I don’t quite fully understand the little info sheet yet), Iberdrola’s mix of energy included 12.5% renewables. When I have more time, or hopefully for one of my classes, I will be able to look into this further and have more accurate comments and reflections….

I spent the rest of the week going over some of the material we went over in the pre-program. Unfortunately for my studying, but fortunate for my social life, I had three visitors arrive Thursday from Italy, so I’ve been busy with them seeing the city all weekend. Updates on that Monday before school starts!

I’m a little nervous! I’m taking a break from my visitors Monday to catch up reading everything the school has posted online this weekend about our first week. I kind of wish we had all of the information sooner than 5 days before the program starts, but I will manage!

pre-program, check

The pre-program is over. What a week. I now remember what college was like... always not getting enough sleep, and I didn't even go out! And thanks to the two night classes and a study group for Financial Accounting, I missed two Arabic classes and a yoga class... But I knew that would happen when I signed up for those extracurriculars. MBA is the priority.

My first case studies have been completed. I spent at least four hours pouring over just the first one... and while I did finally manage to balance my balance sheet (and yes, I felt like a rock star), I still got a lot of numbers wrong. That's why I was so presently surprised at how easy it was to resolve my doubts and mistakes during our first work group session. We had great group dynamics. Where as I might have spent 20 minutes going over one transaction, in the group, everyone offered their ideas, we all usually liked one more than the others, chose those debits and credits and moved on. It was great! We finished all three cases in record time, albeit with some errors, but hey, this is just the pre-program and we're only just getting our feet wet! Thanks pre-program Group 1 Financial Accounting Group 5 for a great first week. 

The pre-program classes have already started to change the way I think about some of my business ideas, and about what it means to analyze business processes. Financial accounting might not be something I want to do everyday the rest of my life, but I can definitely see the value in understanding it and being able to analyze income statements and cash flows.  

Plaza del Conde del Valle de Suchil

This week I found a great new place to study or read while it's still relatively warm out... a little park not too far from my apartment - Plaza del Conde del Valle de Suchil. It's not Retiro, but it's close and has lots of benches. 

Now off to unpack my box of clothes that has arrived from Italy, clean, make dinner, and start the weekend!

a lot of firsts

So the whirlwind has started! Yesterday was the first day of the pre-program! So far, the teachers are excellent and I really think I'm going to get a lot out of the pre-program. I'm having an easier time understanding the material in Quantitative Analysis than Financial Accounting, but I think so is everyone else. I'm really glad I finished at least half of the online course I paid for with MBA Math. It gave be a good background for understanding a lot of the excel functions and accounting principles we are learning. Yesterday I also bought my first textbook, for €55.80! I'd try to buy the rest used, but since we have not been given a list of the books we will need, I'm a little hesitant to assume that we will be needing all the books the past intake was instructed to get...

I had met some of my classmates already through get-togethers organized online by Facebook, but this was really the first time I was able to meet many of them face to face. Every piece of literature and every IE alum will tell you the same thing - what an international group! In our Financial Accounting class we had to introduce ourselves and people, just in my pre-program group, literally come from all over the world. This diversity of cultures, together with the diversity of experiences, already led to many thought-provoking questions in my first day of classes. I'm excited to get the get-to-know-you phase over and to start making some friends!

This weekend was also the first time I used my new gym membership. I went with Palestra. It's a bit pricey but it's literally 5 seconds from my apartment building, and it's the only gym I could find in a 10 block radius that opens at 7am. I like to get my exercise done in the morning. Getting up is already no fun, so whether I do it at 6:50 or 7:30 makes little difference to me. I might as well get up half an hour earlier to burn some calories and stay healthy, especially because I usually feel like I have a million things to get done in the afternoon... The gym is really nice and it's all-inclusive: my monthly fee covers the cardio machines, muscle toning machines, and all their courses offered like yoga, pilates, tai chi etc. For now I'm just trying to do yoga two nights a week, but I might add tai chi later. I did tai chi for several months when living in Italy and really enjoyed it.

So that's my start at IE! So far, so good. Now, off to finish the reading I need to do!

P.S. My landlord and his father are so cute! They just came to put "prettier" drawer handles in my bathroom and baked for me a Spanish tortilla!