Facebook has been buzzing all day with posts and pics about the unexpected snow flurries that hit Ann Arbor today.
I know what you're thinking. I was surprised, too, especially since it's been a nice, sunny 70 degrees here in Rotterdam and ...
Oh wait ... did I forget to mention that I'm in Rotterdam? Ooops. That's kind of what I meant last month when I mentioned that there were "entirely too many exciting MBA2 things going on in my world."
I should probably begin at the beginning, which in this case would be New Year's Day, when I gathered up my cuddly down coat and shiny dav rainboots and boarded a flight to the Netherlands.
Since then, I've been living in Rotterdam: the second largest city in the Netherlands and home to CPG powerhouse Unilever, the edgiest urban architecture and, until relatively recently, the largest port in the world. (The Port of Rotterdam was overtaken by Shanghai in 2004.) Less than an hour from Amsterdam to the north and, to the south, only 2.5 hours by train to Paris. Need I say any more about how perfectly situated the city is?
For the first three weeks, I studied Dutch language (Nederlands, as it's called here) every day, 8 hours a day. Whew! By the end, I tested at A2 proficiency level, which certifies that I can communicate in simple, direct terms on routine topics like shopping, the weather, family and the like. Of course, since over 70% of the population is fully fluent in English, my biggest challenge has been reminding myself not to rely on English in daily conversation.
My exchange has been with the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) at Erasmus University. I chose RSM primarily because of its reputation in corporate social responsibility, an interest I've mentioned in earlier blog posts. (Ross ranks #2 on the Beyond Grey Pinstripes Global 100 list; RSM ranks #7.)
Classes are divided into 7-week blocks, similar to Ross' calendar. But unlike at Ross, where we juggle 4 and often 5 classes at a time, RSM students take 1 or 2 courses per block. I selected two courses from RSM's global stakeholder management program: Corporations & Justice, and Management of Diversity. Both somewhat correlate to courses offered at Ross (BA 512: Ethics of Corporate Management and MO 605: Leading & Leveraging Difference), but with the added advantage of seeing upclose how colleagues from different cultures and social structures would approach the issues.
There are actually about 45 Masters students on exchange here this term. Aside from myself, seven others are from the United States (Wharton, Stern, Kellogg, Duke and Emory). The rest are from literally all over the world: Argentina to Indonesia, Canada to the Czech Republic. We all met and bonded in early January in an overnight trip that was like a mini-RLI Foundation Session, complete with acrobatics and skits and even acrylic painting.
The decision to spend a quarter of my b-school career away from Ross was difficult, to put it mildly. I'll admit to being sad about living vicariously through Facebook for the Winter Formal (aka Prom), Follies, GBR and its flash mob and the kickball re-match at the upcoming first-ever MBA2 Games. But at the same time, I've had aMAIZing experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything: touring 4 cities in 3 days with fellow Rossers on exchange elsewhere in Europe, discovering poffertjes and stroopwafels with my Chinese-Canadian neighbors, and perhaps the US students' greatest contribution to the future of global business: teaching European MBAs how to flipcup.
