A few very eventful days

I am now in Montreal on Christmas morning, and am very happy to be amongst my friends and family.

Tuesday and Wednesday were two days of 100% study. Never in my life prior to INSEAD had I ever studied more than a few hours per exam. At INSEAD, studying 12-15 hours per exam is the norm rather than the exception. On Thursday morning, I had the dreaded Finance exam, which went rather well for me. I suspect I will get a strong grade. In the afternoon, we had the team OB exam, which consists of answering a new OB case in 4 hours. The hardest part is to have the whole team agree on a single solution and run with it in a limited time. Our paper was ok at best, so I don’t think I will over-perform in OB this year.

On Friday, we had the Marketing exam, a case on Olay Daily Facials. It would not have been my first choice of topic, but I think it went fairly well nevertheless, although it is impossible to tell for sure since this topic is so subjective. After the exam, I played soccer with some friends and went for dinner at the Japanese BBQ place with Leo, Tapan, Coby, and Guillaume. I will not cross Coby and Tapan at INSEAD anymore, as they are leaving for Fonty and coming back in P5 when I will be in Fonty. They are both excellent friends I met on the Indian tour and I am sure to see again in the future, however. Good times, good times guys!

On Saturday night, I studied all day at the library, before hanging loose at the Dover BBQ which ended late on a rooftop terrace. On Sunday, I spent the entire day at the library. On Monday morning, we had the accounting exam, followed by Strategy in the afternoon. They both went rather well, I think.

My streak of good exams ended on Tuesday with POM. It seems as if the exam was written in a different language. Although I know most people felt the same way, I was still disappointed with my performance… I will find out just how badly it went in January when I return to Singapore. After the exam, I learned that my grand-father had passed away that morning, after several months of not feeling very well. I was glad that I was leaving for Montreal the next day, as I really felt the need to be with my family during this sad event.

To celebrate the end of the exams, we had several drinks in the courtyard at school, sponsored by the students who were late or whose cell phones rang in class during the period. It rapidly got pretty rowdy, and almost everyone was thrown in the fountain at one point. After a change of clothes, we went to a karaoke place to continue the party. Even some professors came out with us, which was pretty cool of them.

On Wednesday morning, I was invited to play golf at Jurong Country Club, a nice semi-private club on the West side of the island. I played with some of my regular golf buddies: a Japanese lawyer and two Koreans. They booked two cadies who were driving around with strange motorbikes carrying out clubs, and did everything from counting the points, to suggesting strategies finding our lost balls. It was a good time, and I managed to win 13 of the 18 skins. I even shot a birdie on a tough par-4, and was quite proud of it!

On Wednesday night, I got together with some friends at Changi Airport for some last drinks together, before boarding the 15-hour long flight to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. After a few hours of wait, I jumped on a BMI flight to London, and finally Air Canada to Montreal. One hell of a long ride!

I put Star Alliance to the test with my crazy flight plans. When I checked my luggage in Singapore, I asked that they merge the two tickets so I wouldn’t have to check in my luggage again in Amsterdam. They told me it would not be a problem. When I reached Amsterdam, I suspected that something would go wrong so I went back to the BMI counter and asked to ensure that my luggage would follow me. They asked for my tag numbers, which I had lost on my standby ticket in Singapore. I ran across to Terminal 1 (from terminal 3 in a large airport… 15 minute walk…) to Singapore Airlines to get my tag numbers, and returned to the BMI desk. Sure enough, the luggage had not been loaded, and they thanked me for looking after myself… I did the same thing in Heathrow, and managed to get my luggage in Montreal.

My mother and sister picked me up at the airport, and after a quick bite, we went to the funeral home to be with the rest of the family. It was good to be together in this difficult time. I have mostly been with family since I arrived, although I did see a few friends. Last night, we had dinner at Milos’, arguably the best fish restaurant in Montreal. Today is Christmas day, and I will have lunch at my aunt’s with the rest of the family.

Best wishes for the holidays to all who read this!

Oli

PS: I will post a few pictures when I get a chance!