First impressions

My apologies to anyone who is still following this blog. This post (which I started exactly a month after being at INSEAD) is way way overdue by any standards. So much has happened since Day 1 that I am surprised it’s only been about 3 months since I’ve been in France. Given the snow has finally melted, the sunny days are starting to outnumber the grey,gloomy ones, the temperature is finally in double digits and the first beautiful daffodils are starting to appear, it’s the perfect time to try and rejuvenate this blog as well.

So here it is, my initial impressions of INSEAD:

And so it’s almost been 1 month since INSEAD started. It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride – so much happens everyday that sometimes I forget whether something happened today, or the day before. INSEAD began on Day 1 and hasn’t stopped since. The relaxing holidays I took in November and December now feel a long long time ago. So many things I’d heard before I got here are totally true:

- Being at INSEAD is like drinking from a fire hydrant
- You’ll have to pick 2 out of 3 – partying, studying, looking for jobs
- You’re going to learn how to work hard, play hard and manage your time like never before
- You’re going to spend a LOT of time in your groups so you’d better like them
- You’re going to have to learn how to sleep a little (or LOT) less (depends on how (in)efficient you are))
- You’re going to be mighty impressed by the diversity of people you meet at INSEAD and their experiences – definitely a humbling experience
- How helpful people are – in doing CV reviews, and generally talking to you about their experience

I was in class the other day, and I realised how caught up I already am in life here that I keep forgetting I am in France. That seems a fair price to pay though for also being able to look back over this month and realise how many new things I’ve learnt.

The parties have begun (actually at INSEAD they never stop). I’m looking forward to Latin Week next week and all the fun that’s going to bring. It’s amazing how many people you can get to know in just a month’s time. This had been one thing I had been sceptical about – would I really get to be familiar with so many people in such a short duration? But there’s plenty of opportunities for that – parties, section get-togethers, group work, random run-ins at the Carrefour doing grocery shopping on a Saturday morning (weekends are starting to get really precious now especially if you consider that’s the only day to do any banking stuff, and any groceries AND catch up on sleep AND make sense of the week that just flew by).

I do need to recap some of the important stuff from Week 1 – I really enjoyed Dean Frank Brown’s welcome speech and 2 particular points that he made have stayed with me:
- the need for a healthy scepticism
- the confidence of being able to surround yourself with people who are as smart, and even better than I am

On the academic front, I’m enjoying all the subjects I’m taking, especially statistics which is being taught in a way it’s never been explained to me (or anyone in class as far as I know) before. The professor – Neil Bearden – is really cool – he actually rapped in class the other day. Why can’t they teach stats this way in school too? I especially look forward to Leading People and Groups (LPG) – it’s just re-emphasising to me that I enjoy such courses more.

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