Lesson #2: remember... this is France

I am reminding myself often these days that this is France that I'm dealing with....

Luckily, INSEAD is a bit on an anomily in France with respect to how efficient things seem to run . All my interactions with the school have been efficient, straight forward, and generally positive.

But most of us INSEAD students will sooner or later be exposed to some of the less pleasurable parts of French living....stumbling our way through the tangled web of red tape and some mind boggling "is this really a western economy" inefficiencies of both public and private French institutions.

The biggest beast of all was the one I wished to avoid at all costs...the French government. In the end, no such luck. Well the student visa will have to wait.. glad to see that the French embassy in my country complies with the mandatory shutdown for the entire month of August. Can't I just leave the country every 3 months and remain on a tourist visa. INSEAD documents say no...apparently they are obliged by the French government to ensure all their Non-EU students have a carte de sejour (obtained after you have received the student visa...)

So I'm estimating at least 3 days on non-value added, administrative hell plus a couple hundred euros in fees to obtain this thing. Some of the most annoying points: french bank account containing at least 4.500 euros (I've already got accounts in too many countries...why must I have another one in France?), health inspection in Paris sometime during the first weeks of class (come on, we are already required to have proof of medical insurance ), a dozen other documents (usually originals plus 3 copies stamped, certified, etc).

Private enterprises are no better. Many of us have had to BEG the dedicated BNP Paribas rep to open us accounts. This guy's only job is to support INSEAD students... I know, I saw his job title at the bottom of his out of office reply (his vacation started even the last week of July...I'm just happy as an out of office reply is the only clue I've gotten in weeks that this guy actually receives my emails.) How is it that French customer service people can come across as so stressed out??? On top of 5+ weeks of vacation, they have the plush 35 hr workweek (and that is being generous...if you netted out coffee breaks, uber lunch hour(s), etc. we may be into the single digits).

oh well....I should stop getting bothered... this is France et c'est la vie

L’été de hog

Work has been over for more than a month. I’m currently in a very beautiful setting taking a several week intensive language course to satisfy my 3rd and final language requirement for INSEAD. Are there students who actually take the language classes during the MBA? This is a possibility in principle, but with the intensity of the 10 month program as it is, I have got to believe that this would be a huge mistake. Then again, not many of the students actually need to worry about languages.

Yes, life is good. Outside of 4 hours of language class per day, I’ve got beautiful beaches, beautiful culture, beautiful food, and beautiful women (but of course a more beautiful partner back home!). After all of this, I have no fewer than 3 trips to look forward to where I’ll visit future INSEAD colleagues in their home towns/countries. I am enjoying the summer and have got to wonder if life can ever resemble this post-MBA.

I see other students fretting about the pre-reading. I’ve gone as far as to look at the list of suggested pre-reading material. That’s as far as I’m going to take it. Fortunately for me, I feel confident enough in finance/accounting/econ to not feel the need to do this sort of prep work. Instead, my best prep work is going into even more self-reflection as to why I’m doing this MBA and what it is that I want to walk away with. More on this later.

I’m happy to report that my INSEAD housing situation has worked out better than I could have expected. I will be living in the French countryside with around 10 fellow students in a semi-famous INSEAD house…exactly what I was looking for! In addition, the roommates are fantastic…well at least the ones I’ve met. There are 1 or 2 wildcards that could make for interesting stories down the line. All in all, it will be a very social living situation…lots of fun!