INSEAD Blog by Zanat0s the INSEAD(er) @ Tokyo ! The Biggest among INSEAD MBA blogs. Insead is over, blogging not.

Another reason why i won't forget my classmates

2 weeks ago, on the 23rd I had my birthday. I was facing the dilemma whether or not i should celebrate my birthday and invite friends. I knew it would be the last saturday for a lot of people and therefore didn't want to organise a rival event. on Saturday morning i received this email:

P5 Posse: 

In case you haven’t had enough bonding yet: 

WHAT:                P5 Drinks @ Scarlet Hotel!
WHEN:               Tonight (Saturday) from 9pm
WHERE:             Scarlet Hotel, 33 Erskine Road (off of Club Street)
                         Roof Top Bar (reservation under “INSEAD”)
BRING:              Your left-over pennies (it’s self-sponsored)
WHY:                 Because you just had the best year of your life

Hope to see you there!
I was asked on Wednesday whether i was planning to organize any events but I told them i wouldn't.  Receiving this email while made things easier for me( i could go there and enjoy my birthday will all my classmates and not have to organize anything), it created new complexities( i couldn't invite to a school event my friend @ SIngapore nor would i be the main attraction for the night).

Things became clearer when Jolene tried to persuade me that it is my birthday and i should arrange something on my own and therefore have my friends there. The time was around 4.20PM when our professor Markus finished the class by saying "now let's go the courtyard to give the awards and wish happy birthday to Stefanos". He gave me a small cake and the class(P5s and P3s) sang for me(touching).

At 5.30 i had made my decision; I would organize a small get together near my place(if i found a bar at sucha last notice), then i would go with every1 to the drinks @ Scarlet hotel. I started making phone calls, sending emails and searching for a place. I did everything. I found a suitable place @ 1 Rochester and also notified everybody in such a short notice.

At 7.30 Molly, who was organising the other event called and frustrated asked me if i am organising a "rival" event, which i wasn't( i timed it so they wouldn't collide). On my way to one rochester i bump into markus whom i cordially invited to join us. The first to arrive was David who told me that the drinks @ Scarlet hotel was cancelled and everybody was coming here. I felt terrible, I thought now i would be the "bad" guy.

I bought around 20 bottles of wine for everyone to drink since more people came than i expected and everybody seemed to be having a good time and relaxing, the last saturday in singapore. At some point I see Jolene coming with a cake( ayummy strawberry cake) with 25 candles lit. What a nice surprise! But guess what then i learnt that othe other event was a suprise party for me organised mostly by Molly, AK(my roommate), Kyle the pilot and Mosche the soda guy! Molly had even baked a cake for me.

I felt devastated and at the same time elated. What a great class, they had organized and kept secret a party for me and I screwed up their plans, wihtout knowing of course. I ordered shots for everybody and then the party went on until 2.00AM! Marcus was telling us stories, others were making their plans and most left for their homes. Baguette, Lauren, Sureth and Me ended the party after doing some bar hoping around 7.00!

Oh u thought that was the end of it? On Sunday i got another surprise when i got a cake delivered at my place and celebrated once again my birthday this time with some other singaporean friends!

A message to the future INSEAD students: Love your class and your class will love u!

Why I love INSEAD and INSEAders

The last week has been crazy like hell, last exams, packing( this is one undertaking which next time i will outsource to cheap labour), travelling to Japan, booking tickets etc etc! There hasn't been a post in my blog for a long time.

Time to set the record straight. I have argued coutnless time in my blog and also offline that what makes INSEAd special is the people who attend it. I may be repetaing myself but i believe in this 100%! nothing else matters so much. Hard skills you can get to learn in every school, but soft skills will be developed mostly by interacting with your groupmates, your teachers and your friends/colleagues.

At INSEAD there are no minorities, or no ruling class or ethnicity (although some may say INDIANS have become Nr1). It is not like american bussiness schools where everything is tailored to the American audience and american culture. @ INSEAD nothing is off limits, everything is discussed and analyzed. INSEADERs ar emore aware of the world they live in.

Only at The UN can someone find a more international setting. For example in my group  5 different nationalities were represented. Still though English is the worl'ds language and this will not change. Even better are the debates raised in class. Real cultural difference emerge during that time and one can see how different views converge or diverge.

I was raised in a society where if one didn't fit he was just a stranger or somebody who wouldn't never be a part of that society. I detested that. the world would be such a better place if we had more iNSEAD alumni: people with international perspectives and the social and emotional intelligence to make a difference.