13th September 2010
The dress-code for Monday was business; so very business-like, I took out my lovely new black skirt from Park Avenue, my green top and my black jacket. The jacket, incidentally was bought from Deutschland itself a few years ago and has it stood the test of time! Some yoga, a glass of milk, a certain amount of hair-adjustments and Catwalk shoes-on-feet later, I was ready to go!
And go I did; the orientation from the day-before helped and I was there at 8.45 a.m. We were all warmly welcomed into the fold, so to say by the program coordinators and wore our name-tags and found our places in the 'MBS Lecture Hall'. Now, The University of Mannheim and the Mannheim business school are run out of 'Der Schloss'; i,e. the Castle of Mannheim, which also has the unique distinction of being the 2nd largest baroque castle in the world. As I type this, I realize I don't quite know what 'Baroque' means... So here it is, courtesy our friends Page et Brinn! 'The term baroque can be applied to an artistic style from the early 18th century. It is usually art or decor that is very ornate or ostentatious with contrasting objects. Sort of an overkill on decorating ideas.' Well, once I post the pictures of the castle and its surrounding areas, you can decide for yourself. Baroque or not, I believe all rulers of the days gone by, the world over, were into major overkill in terms of creating their palaces/ castles/ homes.
We are a class of 58, and all 58 of us were in our respective seats a little before 9. I guess, the German efficiency rubbed off on us a little bit :) The day began with an introduction to the program by our Academic director. Around an hour and a half later, we spread out into the coffee-area; where I couldn't wait to have my favorite 'Heisse Schokoloade' (hot Chocolate). Trust me, hot chocolate, like you find in Europe, cannot be found anywhere else in the world! We also introduced ourselves to one another and started the process of getting to know each other a bit better. Then we were taken around the campus and were shown the various facilities; the administration offices, the library, the MENSA (Cafeteria), etc.
Lunch was on the house, and we dug into open-face sandwiches and coffee. Oh wait, just before lunch, was the all-important 'honor code signing ceremony' and the address by our President. It was a nice thing to do; we basically promised to abide by the basic rules of life; courtesy, honesty, integrity and respect. Quite a profound way to start one of the most important journeys of life. We also had other presentations; career services, alumni, the student association, etc. and finally, a joint dinner at a local restaurant. Here, we continued to meet other classmates and get to know one another. The day ended for me at around 10 p.m. and somehow it never felt like I had to look at the watch too many times.
Things that will stay with me:
1. The coming year is a window of opportunity, open it wide.
2. The school has taken great pains to recruit the kind of people, who know how to take care of people. (This surely reflected during the entire admissions process; in terms of clarity and responsiveness to our queries.)
3. This school, while it pays attention to its ranking in various forums/ magazines, does not believe in doing just about anything to improve its rankings. Its a lot more important for it to get there by quality and long-lasting quality at that.
I was feeling a lot better by the end of the day; my pangs of anxiety at starting over, in a way, reduced significantly. It is people that make all the difference all the time.
I MUST: Get to know my classmates a lot more; the target is to speak to all 58 of us by the end of the week.
I WISH: that I had brought along some ready-to-eat; it kinda slipped my mind, but never mind. The additional 100 grams may have prompted the AI-personnel (Read my previous post) to have charged me 4000 rupees and 50 paisa; lol
Bis morgen, Viel Spass!
Anya
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