I’m sitting in one of the many parks around the UBC campus under a tree on yet another gorgeous sunny Vancouver afternoon. This particular afternoon is strangely devoid of the readings or assignments that have become a part of life as an MBA student. So I’m taking the opportunity to get some fresh air, relax in the sun and chill out for a little while.
I feel like the first two weeks were baptism by fire in some ways. The pace of most classes is pretty quick, the number of assignments to juggle is high, and the time it takes me to write up a case memo is still pretty high. Last week was definitely one of the busy weeks for me but getting stuck into the workload seems to pay off here. I wouldn’t be outside this afternoon enjoying the sun if I hadn’t already completed the two assignments due tomorrow (here is where I admit I’m that odd guy in class that goes home and does assignments the same day they’re handed out). It’s not all hard work and no fun here though. We’ve put together a number of sports teams within our class, a few of us get out rock climbing most weeks, Thursday is usually pub night and later this week the core faculty are hosting the MBA students at a karaoke evening down town.
The amount of material we’ve already been exposed to in class is huge. Yet I feel like the majority of the learning isn’t coming directly from the classroom. For me it’s the times, like now, when I get a chance to reflect on what’s happened over the past day or week. That’s when I’m able to start joining some of the dots to see how the different subjects mesh together and how ideas from one subject area reinforce those in others.
A few days ago I met up with a friend whom I hadn’t seen for over a year. I was feeling pretty tired after the first busy week here… and I was up most of the night supporting New Zealand as they decimated Japan in the Rugby World Cup. Despite me feeling exhausted and somewhat grumpy my friend commented that I seemed happier than they’d ever seen me before. Now either I’m a really good actor or there was something in that. Yes this program requires a lot of work and it can be tiring at times, but I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be, except the Southern Alps. It doesn’t matter what options you in place in front of me I’d always rather be in the South Island back country. Everyday I learn more about myself, about the world and about business. I see new doorways opening all the time and I’m finding interests in subjects that I’d barely heard of before coming here and I know that many of my class mates feel exactly the same way.
