Hello my faithful readers:
It has been quite a while since I've blogged on this particular page (my own) since I began blogging for the FT.com MBA Blog. Never fear - this blog still lives.
There's a lot going on for me lately. This week is finals week for me and I just completed the first of three finals today in Financial Accounting. You'll read more about my thoughts on that in my FT blog later this week. Now I'd like to share a few random thoughts about celebrating the holidays here in Belgium.
Thanksgiving here in Belgium was an interesting experience for me mainly because they don't celebrate it here. On the actual day I had classes and I felt a lot of homesickness on the actual holiday. Much more than I expected to feel.
Normally my family gets together to cook, laugh and talk before the big day and it was tough not being there to take part in the preparation ritual. Never fear - I spent Thanksgiving night touring the Stella Artois brewery here in Leuven with some of my classmates. I ended the night with a late night dinner with a couple of my American friends and classmates.
We had a special "international potluck" Thanksgiving celebration on the Sunday after the actual holiday and it was a nice opportunity to taste traditional dishes from all over the world. I had a great time that day and ate just as much as if I were at home for the holiday.
This year I'm not planning to go home for Christmas. It will be the first time in my 31 years on this earth that I haven't spent the holiday with my family. Instead I'll be in Vienna on Christmas day because during my winter break - I'm planning to travel to Prague, Vienna and Budapest with two classmates and one of my friends from America.
I know that this holiday season is going to be tough for me as well as my mom because Christmas is her absolute favorite holiday. She's like a little kid again at this time and she decorates the inside of the house with a zeal that makes me think I might be adopted. She even has an animatronic Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Shocking right? Most of you who know me well realize that I have never (EVER) set my own tree up or decorated my apartment(s) for Christmas in the nine years that I've lived away from home. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for decorating at the holidays I will miss the ritual of waking up in the morning to exchange gifts with my immediate family (mom, dad and baby sis). We have a giant stocking that we stuff with little gifts and stocking stuffers that is presented to one immediate family member each year; it's funny now I can't remember who gets it this year.
After the exchange of gifts and a special breakfast at home (complete with the hot apple cider that my mom loves) then we head over to my Dad's side of the family for Christmas lunch and gift exchange. Then after spending a few hours there we head across town to spend time with my mother's huge family for another meal and round of gift exchanges. At the end of the long day after all of the food, fun and laughter then we head home (if it isn't at our house) and talk a little bit before going to bed.
I'll miss the tradition this year for the first time ever. It's a special time of the year for my family but I will be there with them celebrating in spirit. I made the decision not to go home this year because I wanted to use my only break this year to see a little more of Europe. Hopefully I'll find some new traditions to bring home with me for next Christmas while I'm here in Belgium.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Paris, oui oui!
Hello my faithful readers:
It has been a while since I've written here on my personal blog. Things are quite busy for me and my workload truly seems to be multiplying. It's as if someone poured water on all my assignments and like Gremlins more and more seem to pop up each and everyday! Despite all the work I'm doing I am trying to balance it all with a little travel every now and then.
Almost two weeks ago I had the chance to travel with some of my classmates to beautiful Paris, France. Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world and believe I would love to live after graduation. I feel truly alive in Paris and it reminds me of how I first felt when I moved to New York comfortable and in my element.
People always complain that the French are rude, but even when faced with it I'm never truly bothered because they treat everyone who butchers their language that way. During my recent trip to Paris I had an experience in a bookstore with a rude clerk. I wanted to ask her if they had an English language book section. Our exchange was quite brief.
Me (in the most perfect French I could muster up): "Parlez vous Anglais?"
Rude female clerk (with the most huffy, brusque response I've heard in a while): "Non!"
She then abruptly turned away from me. I was in shock for about two seconds, then he situation ended with me and my friend laughing hysterically and exiting the bookstore. The hot chocolate and people watching I shared with my friend at a cafe made it all worthwhile.
My love affair with Paris continues and I hope before I leave Europe to get to spend more time; there maybe as a resident. My favorite moments in Paris are the simple ones -- like me sitting in a cafe, sipping on my beverage of choice and people watching for hours.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
PS - I'm blogging two times per week for the FT.com MBA Blog- here's a link to my profile there.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Check out my blogs on FT.com
Hi folks-
I'm blogging on a weekly basis for FT.com. This is very exciting news for me because we're expected to read the "Financial Times" for class so to get close to them in anyway is an amazing experience for me. Check out my first blog for them here.
Enjoy!
I'm blogging on a weekly basis for FT.com. This is very exciting news for me because we're expected to read the "Financial Times" for class so to get close to them in anyway is an amazing experience for me. Check out my first blog for them here.
Enjoy!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades...
Hello my faithful readers:
It has been nearly two weeks since my last post and it's quite simply because I have been under the weather with some sort of cold/sinus infection/disease and studying with my friends for my mid-term in Financial Accounting. My cough (some say it sounds like I have tuberculosis) wasn't enough to stop me from spending this past weekend in Amsterdam where I had a fantastic time blowing off some steam, with some of my friends (and classmates). I finally have health insurance here in Belgium (all for 82 euros for the year) and officially I'm a Belgian resident (for the rest of my school year) after multiple visits to the City Hall Office here in Leuven. My bank account situation was straightened out a few weeks ago and I was even elected as one of four student representatives for my class. My future's so bright I gotta wear shades, right?
Ironically, with all of the good news coming my way, this past couple of weeks have been my toughest so far because I've had a burst of homesickness that seemed to hit me out of the blue. Some of the minor annoyances of living here in Leuven, like my noisy neighbors, have started to wear on my nerves more than usual. This weekend in Amsterdam I think I realized that my biggest frustration is coming to terms with the fact that I have to live within a student budget. That's tougher for me than I thought it would be, simply because my standard of living was a few notches above my current (humble) student lifestyle. I'm not sure this is my biggest issue, but I think it contributes to my feelings of discontent. I am also feeling like information overload is about to make my head explode. My classes are fantastic, but a lot of the topics I'm covering aren't my area of expertise (Financial Accounting anyone?) and that makes the control freak in me a little crazy. Overall, I'm having a great time here, but I think I'm fully entering my "crisis" mode of culture shock.
I have to say that I am so thankful to have met some of what I believe will be lifelong friends here in Belgium. Everyone has a different perspective, based on their life experiences and backgrounds. It's these friendships that will get me through the rough patches... they make me realize that I need to focus on enjoying life and living each moment to the fullest. I should also say that my family has been incredibly supportive of me coming here and my parents have been helpful in keeping my life in order back at home in the US. All these things help me to deal with the strain I'm feeling right now. My friends (old + new) and family make me happy that I decided to come to the top 10 MBA programs in the world, according to the rankings by The Economist. I have the feeling that six months from now this culture shock "crisis" will be a faded, distant memory. After such a relaxing weekend in Amsterdam - it feels like it already is becoming one!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
It has been nearly two weeks since my last post and it's quite simply because I have been under the weather with some sort of cold/sinus infection/disease and studying with my friends for my mid-term in Financial Accounting. My cough (some say it sounds like I have tuberculosis) wasn't enough to stop me from spending this past weekend in Amsterdam where I had a fantastic time blowing off some steam, with some of my friends (and classmates). I finally have health insurance here in Belgium (all for 82 euros for the year) and officially I'm a Belgian resident (for the rest of my school year) after multiple visits to the City Hall Office here in Leuven. My bank account situation was straightened out a few weeks ago and I was even elected as one of four student representatives for my class. My future's so bright I gotta wear shades, right?
Ironically, with all of the good news coming my way, this past couple of weeks have been my toughest so far because I've had a burst of homesickness that seemed to hit me out of the blue. Some of the minor annoyances of living here in Leuven, like my noisy neighbors, have started to wear on my nerves more than usual. This weekend in Amsterdam I think I realized that my biggest frustration is coming to terms with the fact that I have to live within a student budget. That's tougher for me than I thought it would be, simply because my standard of living was a few notches above my current (humble) student lifestyle. I'm not sure this is my biggest issue, but I think it contributes to my feelings of discontent. I am also feeling like information overload is about to make my head explode. My classes are fantastic, but a lot of the topics I'm covering aren't my area of expertise (Financial Accounting anyone?) and that makes the control freak in me a little crazy. Overall, I'm having a great time here, but I think I'm fully entering my "crisis" mode of culture shock.
I have to say that I am so thankful to have met some of what I believe will be lifelong friends here in Belgium. Everyone has a different perspective, based on their life experiences and backgrounds. It's these friendships that will get me through the rough patches... they make me realize that I need to focus on enjoying life and living each moment to the fullest. I should also say that my family has been incredibly supportive of me coming here and my parents have been helpful in keeping my life in order back at home in the US. All these things help me to deal with the strain I'm feeling right now. My friends (old + new) and family make me happy that I decided to come to the top 10 MBA programs in the world, according to the rankings by The Economist. I have the feeling that six months from now this culture shock "crisis" will be a faded, distant memory. After such a relaxing weekend in Amsterdam - it feels like it already is becoming one!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Monday, October 5, 2009
Just another weekend in Belgium
Hello my faithful readers:
It's Monday morning and I have the morning free of class! I love having mornings free after the weekends; it makes me feel like we have a long weekend (especially if we get the afternoon off on the preceding Friday which was the case for me). This weekend I did some traveling with my classmates. We visited Antwerp for a short day-trip, then headed to Brussels for "Nuit Blanche" which translates into "White Night" or "Sleepless Night" in french. This is a cultural festival that intends to get people at night to enjoy the cultural aspects of the city.
Saturday was such a busy and full day for me because I started my day by leaving Leuven on the 11:05 AM train to Antwerp with two of my classmates. We were so excited to get to Antwerp that we got off one station to early and ended up at the Antwerp-Berchem train station (not in the center of the city). We were meeting up with a couple of classmates at Antwerp-Central station so once we realized our mistake we hopped on another train for the short trip to the right station.
I decided upon getting off the train and seeing the beauty of Antwerp's train station that I wanted to move there. Antwerp has a more sophisticated, urbane energy when compared to Leuven, the town where I currently live. It's the fashion center of Belgium and home to the Antwerp 6, fashion designers who studied at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts (in Antwerp) in the early 1980's. We spent the day walking around the city window shopping, taking pics and sampling some of the local food. We had as our gracious guide, one of our classmates whom I have a lot of respect for because she commutes in daily from Antwerp for classes (approximately 1+ hours each way). She met us at the train station and remained us for most of our time in Antwerp!
After our relaxing girls day out in Antwerp we were ready for some fun in Brussels. We had arrived and missed one of the trains to Brussels by just a minute. We had to wait another 20 minutes for the next train, but the station is so beautiful that we didn't mind waiting at all. I'll share the rest of my story later this week.
On another note --I have some exciting news to share! I will be blogging on behalf of my school for the Financial Times MBA blog starting later this month. Once the details are finalized and I have the link on this blog. I'm very excited because this is an amazing opportunity for me. I'd also like to say a special thank you to the classmates who helped me out by being a part of the mini photo shoot for the blog. Without such wonderful classmates I wouldn't have anything to talk about.
Thanks for reading today. I have a few new classes starting this week and a couple of papers to write so it's time for me to get back to work!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Time flies + random thoughts
Hello my faithful readers:
As I sit here listening to the chatter of the crowds in Oude Markt outside my little studio it hits me that I've been here in Belgium for almost a month and a half now. When I made the decision to take a year off from working, the thing I kept telling myself was "It's only a year." Now I realize how little time a year (really) is in the scheme of things. To put this into perspective - in nearly 3.5 weeks of classes, I've already completed 3 courses and started a total of 6. We're starting a new course next week for a total of 7.
I'm invigorated by the pace, the opportunity and most of all my fellow classmates. Each day in class, I'm a part of discussions by some of the most brilliant minds on this earth. I have no doubt that we're all future business leaders. I love the fact that most of all we support each other, while having a good time. Just thinking about all of the adventures we've had so far makes me smile and I can't wait to have even more.
Today, I was impressed by how seriously the school is taking our feedback and responding to it. We expressed some concerns about one of our courses; our main concern was with the way the course was structured. We felt we weren't learning how to apply the concepts in a meaningful way, nor were we really learning anything about the topic we were supposed to be covering. The school took our feedback and in response they added an extra class and we have a final group assignment instead of the exam we initially were supposed to take. I love the fact that they took our feedback and made immediate adjustments, it's a nice feeling and it shows that they truly respect us and care about our education.
This year is speeding by. It's my goal to make sure I enjoy every single minute of my time while I'm here in Belgium. I hope that you remember to do the same, no matter where you are right now!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
As I sit here listening to the chatter of the crowds in Oude Markt outside my little studio it hits me that I've been here in Belgium for almost a month and a half now. When I made the decision to take a year off from working, the thing I kept telling myself was "It's only a year." Now I realize how little time a year (really) is in the scheme of things. To put this into perspective - in nearly 3.5 weeks of classes, I've already completed 3 courses and started a total of 6. We're starting a new course next week for a total of 7.
I'm invigorated by the pace, the opportunity and most of all my fellow classmates. Each day in class, I'm a part of discussions by some of the most brilliant minds on this earth. I have no doubt that we're all future business leaders. I love the fact that most of all we support each other, while having a good time. Just thinking about all of the adventures we've had so far makes me smile and I can't wait to have even more.
Today, I was impressed by how seriously the school is taking our feedback and responding to it. We expressed some concerns about one of our courses; our main concern was with the way the course was structured. We felt we weren't learning how to apply the concepts in a meaningful way, nor were we really learning anything about the topic we were supposed to be covering. The school took our feedback and in response they added an extra class and we have a final group assignment instead of the exam we initially were supposed to take. I love the fact that they took our feedback and made immediate adjustments, it's a nice feeling and it shows that they truly respect us and care about our education.
This year is speeding by. It's my goal to make sure I enjoy every single minute of my time while I'm here in Belgium. I hope that you remember to do the same, no matter where you are right now!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Thursday, September 17, 2009
I'm an individualist
Hello my faithful readers:
It's Thursday evening and I'm sitting here in my little studio feeling a whole lot better than I was a couple of days ago. The past few days I've been living at the VLG building and it was making me a tired, grumpy, young(ish), woman. This has also contributed to my lack of blogs in the past week. Hopefully the group work that I've been doing will slow down in the next few weeks, or at least be limited to in-class only; but I have the feeling that the slow down in group work won't happen anytime soon.
Our MBA program focuses a lot of time on getting us to work together in groups. We have all been broken out into different groups for each class based on our nationality, gender and background. I, however, am not a fan of working in groups. Both in my professional and personal life I view myself as a bit of a loner. In our Managing Across Cultures course the term for this is "individualist" and in general that's where most Americans fall in the grand scheme of things. It's all about me, me, me and I, I, I...and I'd say the control freak in me likes this an awful lot. Working in groups requires you to trust the others in the group to do what they say they will do, it also requires you to learn to be open-minded enough to see things from a different perspective (even if you think your way is absolutely right). I've learned a lot about myself this week. Yes - I can be a bit of a pushy 'diva' when things aren't going my way; and I believe I still need to do some serious reflection about my behavior when I'm required to work with others.
This weekend is going to be a much needed re-set and rest for me. I need a weekend to recover and decompress from an intense week. Thankfully I survived without completely breaking down (although I started feeling sick earlier this week). Now my focus is on working smarter, because to be honest this 1 year intensive MBA program is more of a marathon for me and not a sprint. My goal for myself over the next few weeks is to find a nice balanced life here in Leuven.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
P.S. - I got word earlier this week that my money won't hit my account until the end of next week.
P.P.S - Good news is my police visit was completed without my knowledge and by the end of day tomorrow I will have my Belgian Residence card! Things are looking up!
P.P.P.S. - Did you catch that my sports analogy was an individual sport? (that was my subconscious taking over - I swear!)
It's Thursday evening and I'm sitting here in my little studio feeling a whole lot better than I was a couple of days ago. The past few days I've been living at the VLG building and it was making me a tired, grumpy, young(ish), woman. This has also contributed to my lack of blogs in the past week. Hopefully the group work that I've been doing will slow down in the next few weeks, or at least be limited to in-class only; but I have the feeling that the slow down in group work won't happen anytime soon.
Our MBA program focuses a lot of time on getting us to work together in groups. We have all been broken out into different groups for each class based on our nationality, gender and background. I, however, am not a fan of working in groups. Both in my professional and personal life I view myself as a bit of a loner. In our Managing Across Cultures course the term for this is "individualist" and in general that's where most Americans fall in the grand scheme of things. It's all about me, me, me and I, I, I...and I'd say the control freak in me likes this an awful lot. Working in groups requires you to trust the others in the group to do what they say they will do, it also requires you to learn to be open-minded enough to see things from a different perspective (even if you think your way is absolutely right). I've learned a lot about myself this week. Yes - I can be a bit of a pushy 'diva' when things aren't going my way; and I believe I still need to do some serious reflection about my behavior when I'm required to work with others.
This weekend is going to be a much needed re-set and rest for me. I need a weekend to recover and decompress from an intense week. Thankfully I survived without completely breaking down (although I started feeling sick earlier this week). Now my focus is on working smarter, because to be honest this 1 year intensive MBA program is more of a marathon for me and not a sprint. My goal for myself over the next few weeks is to find a nice balanced life here in Leuven.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
P.S. - I got word earlier this week that my money won't hit my account until the end of next week.
P.P.S - Good news is my police visit was completed without my knowledge and by the end of day tomorrow I will have my Belgian Residence card! Things are looking up!
P.P.P.S. - Did you catch that my sports analogy was an individual sport? (that was my subconscious taking over - I swear!)
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