Lancaster MBA in Prague!

Prague it was! The chosen destination to host the international business in context module. An opportunity for me to witness yet another kind of an economy after having seen India, Kenya and the UK. The trip started with a deep dive into the cultural heritage and history of the country. The cultural walking tour took us to the significant sites of the city and the historical tour to Terezin got us heart-broken. Then began the core 3 days of the trip. Filled with sessions by some chosen and eminent speakers and complemented with industry visits, the trip got us to deeply think about a multitude of spectra that emanates from CZ. Very interesting observations and some sharp specifics that I plan to stitch in my prospective assignment. 

The city of Prague is beautiful. The river Vlatava flowing through the city and the numerous bridges over it add to its charm and beauty. The trams are a bit scary but one of the best modes of transportation within the city. Food was extremely delicious and Trdelnik and Kofola are not to be missed. 

Thanks to Alexia and Jiri for planning everything from head to tail and rendering a seamless experience. I met Tej after 8 long years and his friends and even got to catch up for dinner. This was also one of the best parts of the trip. Overall, a week filled with great insights, information, experiences and most importantly memories with my MBA family to last for lifetime. #lovelancaster

Beer Biking	Meeting Tej, Karyna & Andy!	The fun trio!
Es la mente sucia! :)	With the lovely ladies!	Alex, Alexia, David & Karine
Northern Power Women! :)	At Kozel!	Mighty eight!
Pavelness!	At Melnik Castle	At Crocodille
At Skoda	Misha....! :)	At Skoda

Daffodils teach resilience

A lot on the calendar, well no wonder isn't it. After all I am on one of the best one year MBAs in the world. As people who know me really well would say, I like to be occupied and engaged always and indeed a program like the Lancaster MBA is a perfect match.

Last week post the OB workshop and presentation, there was a lull - well indication that everyone was crunching numbers for the finance exam and I guess we all did pretty well in the last exam for the term. That was a moment to celebrate and little did we miss the opportunity. Friday evening, most of us went to watch Beauty and the Beast followed by a late dinner. A much needed break. Thanks to Jen for organizing that bit. 

Following that began our work on the digital innovation submission and prep for the entrepreneurial challenge final presentation. Long days of work, little sleep, staring into documents/slides, more accurately intensely busy. I must admit, working with my EC team in the SCR room at Lonsdale college was sheer bliss. A fun, wonderful and close-knit team. We spent very long hours working and felt like a small family for a few days. Personally a very soothing experience for me. That didn't end with we calling off our presentation as complete. Continued when Per - who lives in the same apartment as me walked in to play the piano. I didn't know I spent almost an hour, just listening to him. It was nice to break-away from the current setting especially on a day that has strong emotional strings bound, and get lost in an imaginative world all be it for a while. Thanks to Per for making my day. 

One of my favorite aspects of the MBA also happened yesterday - session with my coach Merroney. Yet another conversation that I always look forward to. The energy and ideas I get after talking to Merroney are inexplicable. A lot of such positive chats and vibes also add to boosting a low situation. Well, something as simple as looking at the daffodils (thanks to the season) also feels so good. Many ways of developing emotional resilience!

Today was rather a long day with 8 presentations. Another module comes to a close. Another day of classes before we head to Prague for a week. #lovelancaster

Dinner at Suncafe	One of  my favorite captures	Beauty and the Beast night
Finance prep	Family selfie	Family room
EC Family	Per at his amazing best	My favorites from today!

Spring begins | Birthdays | Lake District | Submissions

Spring is in the air! White, purple and yellow lilies everywhere. Nice to see the transition!
Organizing Behavior it was, the last week. Another module almost comes to a close. A final presentation tomorrow before we call it done. The human resources bit was in effect new to me but adds a lot of value by just being aware. The week in itself involved a lot of organizing - multi-tasking on multiple assignments with multiple groups makes it a challenge to just coordinate across the class. Another example of what an MBA experience can offer - a one year program to be precise. 

Hay fever got my schedule go a bit hay wire last week as well. A visit to the health center followed by a few doses of Allegra has got me running again. 

The exciting bit was the planned picnic with flatmates to Lake District. Since we will see off Hiba soon, we wanted to go on a trip and chose Langdale Valley as a possible option. Little did we know we will go beyond that. Favorable weather, excited bunch of people and enough food to keep us energetic got us to cover Langdale, Dungeon Ghyll, Elterwater, Windermere, Water Head and Ambleside. A thorough fun-packed Saturday with very good company. Pictures cant speak enough. But you can still look up my Instagram handle to get a glimpse of the experience.

After a tiring long day, I gave myself no excuse to miss Clara's birthday. Another loca loca evening as they call it in Spanish, spent at Clara's. Eating, dancing and chatting and staying away from the work chaos was much needed.

Sunday was back to normalcy, a long long day finishing of bits of work here and there, chores at home and supplemented with inherent online activity.

The new week begins, close to finishing the next module. Blessy's birthday was in the air and was a definite party affair. Just back after a dinner catch-up with Blessy and team. Not to forgot the presentation rehearsal with Irene. Signing off before I could head to bed shortly.

Dungeon Ghyll	Langdale	Camp site!
At Clarita's	With the birthday girl	With another birthday girl