So its without `futher a do` I make my comeback back to blogging again after an intense 8 months of MBA life. The best analogy I can give is that it`s like what I imagine having a baby is like `you get no sleep a year and it requires 24/7 attention` ...but I am not complaining at all as this has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
True to form and the old cliche ` I wish I had done it earlier` sounds familiar when I think back to when we embarked as naive students last September.Reverting to type means that as students again we don`t generally see mornings unless we have class, and even then we probably didnt go to bed till 3am. Waking up at 3pm is seen as kinda fashionable now, as is drinking red bull... unhealthy amounts too.
Fast forward to May 2009 and it`s interesting to see how we have adapted to our MBA environment: firstly in dealing with impossible deadlines we have taken on four methods 1) numbing the nerves through some form of alchohol 2) laughing out loud at the prospect of someone else being in a worse situation than you - I know, yes its mean but we have all done it, and yes it makes you feel a whole lot better knowing that someone else is suffering more than you! 3) going out dancing and rolling in at 5am and finalWly 4) developing such a black sense of humour that nothing is really serious anymore.
Financially what we were thinking of changing our professions to students in a state as expensive as Dubai! Lol the UAE has seven star hotels, the most expensive wine lists you will ever see, malls bigger than small countries..... we have resorted to pressing our faces up to the glass of these places so at least we can indirectly experience how the employed live!
However the nightlife is completely worth it as, not kidding I`ve been to some of the best clubs ever - you have to pinch yourself that youre not day dreaming as you dance on gold floors, saunter through the lobby of an amazing hotel as you rock up to the club, and witness the biggest bottles of vodka ever made. Close your eyes on one of the roof-top bars with chilled out Balearic beats floating out and you could be mistaken for thinking you were in Ibiza or Miami.
All that dancing aside still doesnt make you immune from the infamous `Dubai Stone` where if your`e not careful too many Friday brunches, chicken shawarma`s, beer and very edible sweets see you packing on the pounds until one day on the beach you realise how very fat you & your friends have become! Maybe it`s time for the western ladies to start wearing the abaya to hide the flab, where for the gents the dish-dash hides many an imperfection.
So what have I learnt from being an MBA student? Well firstly and most importantly don`t take yourself too seriously -there`s always another 20 people are who just as good or even better than you -showing humility takes you further. Secondly break down all your stereotypes and inhibitions as quickly as possible, because if you don`t you wont learn from yourself & your peers. Thirdly take everything with a pinch of salt initially until you have good evidence to base your decisions on, and finally laugh, laugh, laugh and have fun as much as possible. It will be those memories that you hold onto such as random 80`s themed baradi balcony parties & all the times you rode in the party bus into town after three exams in a week & a heap of coursework.
It pushes your limits and opens up your mind in ways you never thought possible, sleepness nights, floods of tears, computer crashes and endless powerpoint presentations created at 4 in the morning..... would I change it? Nah I love it!