Cultural Diversity

Last night was London Business School’s annual Tatoo Party. This gathering celebrates LBS’ cultural diversity, and because my class consists of around 60 different nationalities there is quite a lot of celebrating to do. There are around 20 regional clubs at LBS (North American club, Brazil club, Asian club, Africa club, etc) and each of these clubs brought something from their culture to the event. I enjoyed an excellent Russian meat dish (still unsure of the name), sushi from the Japan club, paella from the Spanish club, gelato from the Italians, and some pretty tasty chorizo from the Portuguese. You won’t be too surprised to hear what we brought from the States – hot dogs, hamburgers and apple and cherry pie.

And, it wasn’t all about food; I also caught a Lion dance, an African drumbeat and a Bollywood dance (with LBS students and partners dancing). I missed the belly dancers, mariachi band, salsa dancing and samba. I just couldn’t make it to everything!

Finally, this was the first time I heard the LBS student band, No Donuts for Hilda (btw - they're great). We ended the evening listening to the band, rocking out to songs like ‘Mr. Brightside’ and feeling like we were back in undergrad at a fraternity party listening to the great local cover band. Some things never change, regardless of where you are in the world. Enjoy a few photos…

(Lion Dance)

(African Drumbeat dance)

(A little Bollywood-style dancing)

(No Donuts for Hilda - the LBS Band)

A Day in the Life...

Here's a glimpse in to life as a business school student. (This is Tuesday, September 30, and I wrote this the following day but didn’t have time to post until now.)

7:30am – Wake up, read some news online and check to see 1) if the press developed some cheesy name for the rout in global stocks on Monday, and 2) if the European markets are going to continue to be battered after Congress failed to pass a bailout package. Futures down sharply; more fun.

8:30am – Arrive at LBS, pick up a copy of the WSJ, grab a coffee from The Bite (LBS’ onsite café), pick up my Managerial Economics binder from my locker and head over to the library. I run in to a few friends at The Bite who are on their way to a Speed Reading course taught as part of our Development Skills class. I decided not to take the speed reading class (although I'm sure it would help) because I'm taking classes on negotiation and influencing others later this fall. I’m at the library early today because I need to finish up some assignments before heading back to California for my sister’s wedding.

12:30pm – After grabbing a sandwich, I’m back on campus for an Investment Management Club meeting. The purpose of today’s meeting is to discuss the upcoming stock pitch competition. The competition is open to all LBS students, and each student who wants to be involved selects a stock and, in one page, explains why it’s an outstanding investment opportunity. The submissions are first reviewed by a small group of investment professionals (mostly LBS alumni) who then select 5 finalists to present their ideas. The LBS student who wins gets to represent LBS at a European stock pitch competition as well as at the Alpha Challenge, a global competition held in the U.S. at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

2pm – A 3-hour Managerial Economics class…highlight of the day.

6pm – After running back to my flat to change into more appropriate business attire, I’m off to a CFA Society event at Goldman Sachs’ office (“Alternative Assets: How Risky are Hedge Funds and Private Equity in the Current Climate”). My lousy understanding of London’s tube system means I arrive at the event about 15 minutes late. Following the event, I meet one of the speakers, Drago Indjic, who happens to co-run the Hedge Fund Centre at London Business School and who was one of the speakers at the event. Small world…

9:30pm – Finally get back to my place to have dinner with my wife.

11pm – Time to hit the sack. A busy day, but so far fairly typical of life as a MBA student…