Exams approaching

I went for a run along the lake when I came home today. I just had to get some fresh air to the brain after another intense day. On the way out I met my classmate Marco Simons [Dutch] who came running in the opposite direction. I was apparently not the only one in need of fresh air.

The sun sets around 7 in Lausanne these days and the view is just spectacular when you at that hour run on the small path between the lake and the huge villas with their boats and high fences. No doubt that this is an area with a lot of money. You can't help thinking that all this must belong to all the big bankers and insurance companies that have made this country so wealthy.

Everybody's minds are on the exams these days. Tomorrow is the last day of tuition before the exams. We get Thursday and Friday off to study. Accounting is the first thing that hits us. That is Saturday. Monday is Finance, Tuesday is 'Leading People for Performance' and Wednesday is Operations. And then we are off for an extended weekend! For the first time since we got here! That is the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps us going at the moment.

The accounting exam is my biggest concern. I actually thought that I had a good grasp of the general accounting principles, but another few layers of complexity have been added that has thrown me off a bit. A big part of it is about understanding the 'language' of accounting, which at times can seem like it has been encrypted. A number of us are very grateful to our classmate Eva Hubsman [Israeli] who has been using her lunch breaks the past days to teach us (again) about the wonders of T-accounts and the meaning of 'capitalizing a financial lease'. Moreover, she has set up one-on-one sessions with a dozen of us over the next couple of days. Thanks, Eva!

Thorsten


Fadi Sbaiti [Lebanese/American] and Simon Sundboell [Danish] enjoying a moment in the sun.


Chuks and Arturas in the auditorium.