Where next?

I can't say enough great things about BCN. It's young, hip, fun, modern, stylish, sexy and clean. I'm so glad that I didn't visit earlier. I would've been easily seduced and tempted to do an exchange program at IESE or ESADE. Instead I opted to attend a school outside of Europe.

I must confess that, at first, I was vying for a spot at a top U.S. school to get a taste of the American experience - great people, amazing campus life, top notch facilities and strong ties with the corporate world. But after considerable thought, I decided to apply to a school in a non-English speaking country. The exchange program is after all an opportunity to live in and adapt to a different environment.

I had to withdraw my first pick, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, due to the timing. Classes start in January with a summer break in February and then resume from March to June. My main concern was coming back to Europe in the summer looking for work (in case I don't find a job before I leave on exchange) as July and August are not ideal months for job hunting in Europe. In fact some companies in France shut down in August.

In the end, I will be wrapping my MBA in the winter term in Tokyo at Keio University. I now have four months to learn some Japanese and appreciate raw fish.