Chapter 6 - Next continent...Europe

World Citizen in Rome

2011-02-24T15:16:00.001-08:00

This blog is being continued at:

http://worldcitizeninrome.blogspot.com/

1 year and a bit later...

2010-10-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

What a whirl wind year! Since I last posted a lot has happened.

The second term of the MBA was intense to say the least! There was hardly any time to even breathe let alone eat and sleep. There was a lot of group work and we were in so many different groups that often on Saturdays when most would converge at the school to meet with their various groups to discuss the various projects on their agenda you would see people confused as to which group they were working on what! By Christmas we all longed for the well deserved break.

I went off to Dubai and India to see my family where I broke the news of my new found love, Luca. To my surprise it went down very well. Indian families are often very discerning, calculating and think more strategically than hearitly when it comes to their children's significant others. Its often more about the CV than if one can make the other happy in life. The assumption being ofcourse if you do well in your career you must automatically be able to provide which should lead to happiness.

The fact that he has two degrees and both held in high regard by the Indian Parent, Engineering and an MBA, gave him a running advantage. My mother then asked two more questions which were always my premier questions, perhaps because of how I was brought up: Is he religious? and does he love dogs? To my own personal relief and to hers the answers were no and yes respectively, it would have never worked for me otherwise regardless of what others thought.

10 days after graduation on July 17th, 2010 we married in a gorgeous civil ceremony by the sea on the island of Ischia, where Luca was born and family still resides. In August I moved to Rome since I was a fresh graduate looking for work and he fortunately already had a good job.

And here's where I'm at now.

I'm eager to be a DINK- Double Income No Kids, so we can travel the world before we hear the pitter patter of 4 little paws first!

My basic Italian is a bit of a handicap in a country where English is not a predominant language. But with the growing internationalisation of companies I'm hoping to tap into an opportunity somewhere!

But for now as I roar through internet job sites and company web-sites hoping for at least an information interview, I enjoy setting up a new home in a new city, Rome, my 7th home city. An absolutely gorgeous and historically well endowed city that never ceases to amaze no matter where you look. It is a bit more multicultural than Milan, but still no where near the diversity of Toronto, which I miss culturally and gastronomically.

MBA catchup

2009-06-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

I had previously had every intention of making this a weekly thing, I was wrong! The MBA keeps me working 12-14 hour days and most of my week ends not, but I still intend to try!

How do I sum up the past month and a half!? I've experienced so much! I think I'll try and break it down into groups of topics rather than a chronological rendition of things.

Lets start with what I came here for in the first place- the MIP MBA. We are about 50 students in the class representing 19 different countries. There are 16 Italians students from all over Italy and the rest International. It is truly diverse with English being the first language for only a halndful.

We are a close group so far, and socialise in large numbers for birthdays and aperitivos*. We are also a very supportive group; students who are strong in some subjects offer and do tutor others who are weaker.

We have tons of group projects that take up a lot of time since it involves extensive discussions, but it is truly a good experience...so far. We have also had an outdoor excursion where we spent a week end in the mountains in a town called Bratto* for a fun and interesting two day/ one night team building event. It was by far the most fun experience for me thus far. We had physical and mental challenges during that week and we had the chance to get to know each other a bit better outside of the classroom.

The professors are...interesting. Our financial accounting professor, Davide (D-ah-vi-dey) Chiaroni is by far the best. I never thought I would actually look forward to attending a finance course, but I did! I will comment on some of the others perhaps later on, once the courses are done.

There are some other comments I could make about the MBA set up itself, but that will have to wait a while....for good reason, trust me.

3's company and the MBA

2009-05-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

I had written this blog a while ago, but didn't realise that I hadn't posted it. So here it is:

May 2009:
Daniele finally moved in and things are getting along fine so far. Suparna and I are serenaded with piano playing (mainly Elton John tunes) which is sometimes accompanied by soft singing almost every morning and night. He's a good pianist and not too bad of a singer so its quite pleasant, especially since we have no TV.

The MBA has finally started, the Milanese vacation is over.

The orientation day was lovely. We started off in a massive and grand board room with tall cathedral ceilings and ornate work. It was in an old building of the gorgeous Politecnico di Milano Campus, I dare say even more stunning than University of Toronto. Almost all 50 of us were in attendance, with the exceptions of the Mexicans who had to be quarantined in their hotel for 7 days due to a new Italian regulation introduced as a result of the swine flu epidemic. They are thankfully fine and well.

The director of the MBA program, Prof. Stefano Ronchi introduced himself and spoke for about an hour or so followed by his boss who video conferenced in from Shanghai through skype on a big screen. We then each introduced ourselves, followed by some more staff introductions followed by a lovely lunch. The afternoon was filled with more introductions to various processes and details about the program. Prof. Sdogati presented as well, I found him quite hilarious and I am quite glad he is teaching a subject I am not fond of since I will need someone funny, vibrant and edgy to keep me interested - economics of some sort.

The following day classes began with the light subject of financial accounting. In the afternoon we had a great session with the Dean who is obviously passionate about the program and passionate about kicking Bocconi off the top spot. We are hot on their heels with only a few decimal points away!

The third day - 6 hours of Financial Accounting...with an hour break for lunch. Followed by a two hour break before a two hour Italian language session.

And so it begins....

Milano! Week 1

2009-04-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

After a 10 hour journey over the Atlantic and via Brussels I landed in Milan, Italy with a classmate (who's name also happens to be Milan!).

I made my way to the hotel I was to stay in for 4 nights before moving into the apartment, to meet my room mate, Suparna from Boston/New York. Thanks to the internet and facebook one has a chance to somewhat get to know the other person to an extent. Realities may always be different, but so far we get along well. We're both well traveled, have a good amount of work experience under our belt and have both experienced living outside of home in different cities and countries so there wasn't much of a cultural clash.

Milan (the classmate) moved in with a current MBA student, Anna R, who graduates soon. Thanks to her we set up our cell phones, got some advice on the city and lots of advice on the MBA year ahead. We were also introduced to some of her classmates who have been absolutely friendly and hospitable.

In the first four days we saw some of the main attractions of Milan and got over jet lag. We then moved to our apartment close to the campus in the city itself. The building is pretty average looking on the outside. There is a big iron gate that is locked and one has to buzz to get let in. Followed by a marble-y tiled walk way and stairs to the main door of the building. The walkway is flanked by foliage and grass on either side.

As we waited outside for the owners, the coordinator from the school who helped connect us with the landlords and our third room mate, Daniele who was arriving from Rome, we assessed our surroundings. It was a quiet neighborhood and our building was on the corner of a side street and a semi-main street.

We were then greeted pleasantly by a tall Italian middle-aged (mid 50-ish) couple and their adorable Dachsund. The Dachsund inspected our luggage as we headed in.

As I walked into the apartment I was wowed! It was even nicer than in the pictures! We were incredibly fortunate. The landlords were super nice and friendly and spoke good english. They had bought two apartments when they were first married and combined them through renovations to create a 3 bedroom apartment with a ridiculous amount of storage space. There is almost a whole apartment in storage space with closets and attic cabinets everywhere. As you will see from the pictures in this album, it is also very bright and spacious. We have been told by many that we are not only lucky to have found a place to live in Milan, but that we've found a great place in a great location with good landlords who speak English.

Knock on wood!

Daniele returned to Rome that evening. He moves in at the beginning of May.

The apartment:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116644&id=714670864&l=3076cec04f

Au revoir Canada!

2009-04-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Packing for over a year is insane. How is one supposed to pack everything one needs for that amount of time with a limit of 23Kg x 2!? Impossible! But I did it.

Ok, not really. Thankfully my Mom is flying through Milan on her way back to Dubai in about a week and a half and will bring some more of my stuff then.

So Canada, this is it. I will say Au Revoir. Which I think is appropriate since its literal meaning is 'till we see again'.

I am going to embark on a 15 month adventure that I hope will extend to at least 2-3 years either in Europe or somewhere else in the world. I wouldn't be opposed to it extending even further. I would like to explore opportunities in Singapore and Hong Kong or really any other enticing place where there may be a challenging project for me to chew on in the midst of a culturally rich and interesting place.

Canada has been good to me. I have learned so much and grown so much. I was a mere 16 when I moved to Halifax and lived with the lovely Amaratunga family in their gorgeous home on the banks of Lake Micmac. 10 foggy months later I moved to Toronto.

Toronto. T Dot (12 years later I'm still not sure where that comes from). This is a fantastic city. It is so unbelievably culturally rich and diverse. I can eat any cuisine my heart desires and learn about any culture. I love going to Little Portugal and Little Italy during the soccer finale and I love taking in a free concert at the Harborfront in the summers. The festivals every week end of the summer forces you to enjoy the city. Toronto summers are exhilarating. The beach volleyball, the lake, the islands, the food, the people, the culture and the ease. It is so easy to live here, so easy to find a friendly face (although downtown it may be alongside a slightly imbalanced person too but that's part of the charm!).

Its too bad a majority of the fun can be had in a minority of the year. 4 measly months of summer has been a hard pill to swallow given that I had never experienced anything lower that 12C until I moved here! But everything else about Toronto generally makes it worth it and thankfully the summers come just in time to remind me of how great this vibrant city really is.

However, I have been looking for an opportunity to leave for a while. I never really thought it would happen. It was just one of those day dreams. My friends are part of the reason I never pushed myself to find a way earlier. The friends I met in university have stayed with me for 10 years. We are family. We know each other's idiosycrasies and love each other for them. We know when to give each other space and know when to be right there. We have all been through many high points and low points and have ALL always been there. ALL. That is hard to find and I found it here. Perhaps we graduated towards each other because most of us are not from Toronto and don't have immediately family here. So we became each other's. I remember when I was terribly ill one year with the flu. I could barely walk, I was so weak and I was living in a 3 floor house on my own. One friend immediately dispatched another friend with soup and ginger tea. I had to crawl to the door to open it, but they were the only ones to come to my aid in a time of need. If it weren't for them I would have starved because I was too weak to go out and too weak to stand and cook something up. Despite how ill I looked my friend still came in, gave me a hug and made sure I was back upstairs alright before leaving.

There are many other instances where there are no words to express how truly amazing there friends really are. We called ourselves the Museion- the gathering of muses. Rarely do we live up to that name, but we have a lot of fun. The Museion has gathered others along the way, but the bond between the original nucleus is unbreakable. I will forever treasure that and will miss that the most. That has been what has always made me feel safe in a city in which I have been living alone, away from my biological family for many years.

But thanks to the Internet, the world is smaller and they won't seem so far. Thanks skype! :)

With that, skype you later Canada!

Italian Consulate - Part III

2009-04-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm trying to catch this blog up to where I am now because I leave Canada in 13 hours!

I had planned on going to the consulate a few days after my return from Ottawa. But before I did I got a call at 7pm one night from Ms. Spedicato. She asked me to come to the consulate the next day. Like I said before, when Ms. Spedicato says jump, you ask how high. I thought it odd that a government official was calling me at 7pm at night especially since govt. officials almost world wide are known for working light hours and are out of the office as soon as the clock hits 4 or 5pm. But I wasn't going to argue, I was glad.

Alessandro was also summoned at the same time. We were ushered in and Ms. Spedicato processed us at the same time. As she went through my documents she came to the letter from Ryerson. After reading it she asked me if I paid for it. She was appalled at the fact that there were 4 spelling mistakes in it! She immediately called up Mr. Ferguson and asked him how a letter from a well established university in an anglophone country could possibly submit a letter with spelling mistakes. He apologised profusely to both her and me and offered to write another letter. Ms. Spedicato informed him that I had gone all the way to Ottawa with that letter to get it legalized and did not have the time to do so again.

She did suggest that perhaps he misspelled 'Sacred Heart' as 'Scared Heart' since he issued the letter on February 13th, however there were three other errors that could not be condoned.

"Would you please refund her money Sir?", she asked in a polite yet stern manner.

Ms. Spedicato was not to be messed with.

I got my DV processed and I got my $15 back from Ryerson the following week.

Italy here I come!

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ottawa Canada

2009-04-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

My friend suggested we spend the week end in Montreal where we could stay at her parent's place, do a bit of shopping and then head to Ottawa Monday morning to get to the Ministry. It is a 5 hour drive from Toronto to Ottawa and the same to Montreal. But its only 1 hour to Ottawa from Montreal.

We left early Saturday morning and got to Montreal in 4 hours. I've been known to have a lead foot which resulted in a friend nicknaming me Mach 1 many years ago. After this trip she upgraded me to Mach 3. In my defence, I didn't even touch 140Km/hr once. I'll just say cruise control is an amazing thing.

After a lovely week end in Montreal we reached Ottawa Monday morning and headed straight for the Ministry. We parked (for free!) behind the building, entered through the back where a polite security guard checked our IDs and headed on to the lobby where I would wait my turn to be called in to get my documents legalized. While we sat on the couches in the lobby- surrounded by flags from all over the world, we happened to face the set of Canadian provincial flags. Since we had nothing to do while we waited we decided to try and guess what flag belonged to which province. We both scored 1 out of 10!

In my defence, I didn't grow up in Canada. I know I try and sneak that excuse on almost everything, but this time I think its valid! My friend was born and brought up in Quebec, Canada. We have both lived in Toronto for about 11 years so you would think that we would get the Ontario flag right, right? Wrong! We both knew the Quebec flag and that's it! Shameful I know.

As we texted friends trying pathetically to describe the flags in front of us so they may google and let us know, my name was called.

Before heading back to Toronto we decided to see the frozen Rudeau Canal. It's quite amazing to see people skate along a whole canal with coffee shops and skate rental booths set up along the ice. While we were sliding around in our sneakers amazed that we were standing on the canal, I saw a maintenance truck drive by in front of us. I know they say that ice is thick, but thats when I decided to step off the ice.

We had lunch and made it back to Toronto...in 4 hours.

Ryerson

2009-04-11T11:20:00.001-07:00

Good Ol' Ryerson University has changed drastically since I graduated back in 2002. The Student's Resource Centre was finally built, a building which my classmates and I paid for through a portion of our fees four years, yet never benefited from. There were parking lots that were replaced by fancy buildings housing the design, architecture and engineering departments. Older buildings had been re-designed and rejuvenated.

When I went to Ryerson you wouldn't even have known you were at a university. The buildings blended into the downtown area of Yonge and Dundas. Now there are massive RU signs and banners and you can't possibly say you were late to class because you couldn't find it - a common occurrence back in my day- especially in some of the buildings that seemed to have hidden hallways, hallways that led no where and buildings that made you lose your bearings trying to get around especially in the first year.

In my effort to procure this special letter that Ms. Spedicato from the Italian Consulate wanted me to get, I spent 3 hours at Ryerson one morning. I was bounced from department to department all over the campus, no one seemed to know who could give me this special letter. Finally, I went back to the first department and another person helped me out that seemed to finally be interested in helping me out. She said the admissions officer would write the letter and give me a call when its ready.

A day later Mr. Ron Ferguson called me. He asked what I wanted and I explained what I wanted. As I proceeded to explain why I wanted it I was abruptly cut off. I'm not sure if he was having a bad day but he was quite short and couldn't care less why I needed the letter. But he did agree to do the letter and have it ready for me to pick up the following week. I was a bit taken aback by his mild rudeness, but at the same time he basically said write me the letter in an e-mail and I'll get it done. So I did. However, before the end of the conversation he did gruffly ask:

"Have you paid for this yet?"

"No", I said.

"Well then we'll have to get some money out of you, probably around $15, you can pay when you pick it up".

I was fine with that.

The following week I picked up the letter. It was signed and sealed with the Ryerson seal.

I took this letter and other documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa the following week end. My good friend Erica said she would accompany me on the 5 hour drive.

Road trip!

The Conundrum

2009-04-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

I had already started connecting with some future classmates, and soon began connecting with past graduates and current students. Not a single international student had a smooth tale to tell of their DV adventures.

I decided I better hustle. Ms. Spedicato told me to get a letter from Ryerson stating that on the basis of my academic achievement at my high school in Nova Scotia I was admitted, enrolled and graduated with a degree from Ryerson.

Why did they not just accept my degree itself you ask? Valid question and one that baffled me as well. Well, I heard (I think from Alessandro if I remember right) that they needed to validate the fact that I actually went to high school. Well how would you get a degree without having gone to high school anyway you ask? In Canada you can go to University as a mature student and on the basis of your career achievements, so there is the opportunity and a possibility of you being accepted without ever having been to high school. However, in Italy apparently (second hand knowledge) you cannot attend University without having gone to high school. The DV is basically a Declaration of Value for your academic or professional work and because the Italian Government does not recognise Nova Scotian high school records, I had to get this special letter from Ryerson stating that I was accepted to Ryerson with a legitimate high school diploma that they validated enough to accept me into the program.

The Conundrum: Why did the Italian consulate require all this documentation AFTER I had already been accepted into the MBA program and AFTER I had already paid them my deposit which confirmed my seat in the program. If the University had already accepted my application, photocopy of my degree, original transcripts sealed by Ryerson University and deemed me worthy enough of a seat in the program, then why did the consulate need all these documents AND more!?....the answer would eventually be revealed.

Italian Consulate - Part II

2009-04-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

The internet has made the world the size of your cell phone.

I began to connect with my future classmates, four of whom were from Toronto. The first one I met in person was Alessandro. We went for tea (which I'm sure will change to an espresso once we move), and started to exchange info and battle stories with regards to the Italian Consulate. He was given similar information, but not the same. He was also given an English DV form, however I was given one in Italian and told that it would all be explained to me when I had the documents. But of course I needed to understand the form in order to know what documents they required of me! Eventually a nice lady at the front desk of the Italian consulate helped me, and when I had more questions she called Ms. Spedicato.

Ms. Spedicato reminds me of a stern little headmistress of an all girls catholic boarding school. She was a petite elderly lady with a short grey bob held away from her face with a hair band. She sternly yet politely, clearly and in a very Italian accent told me exactly what I needed to bring her.

This was THE lady. She had been processing the academic documents for 30 years. So I understood quickly that I better get what she asks since she is the one who approves the paperwork. If she said "jump", I'd ask "how high".

This now required me to make a trip to Ryerson for a special letter and then to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa.

The Italian Consulate - Part I

2009-03-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Italian Consulate in Toronto is only open to the public for a few hours every weekday. So one fine morning I decided to go straight to the consulate before heading to work.

This would only be the second consulate that I have ever been to in my adult life. The first one being the Indian Consulate in Toronto.

I get to the consulate, head towards the Visa office which has a separate entrance at the side of the old Heritage building in down town Toronto. There is no line up.

Italian Consulate - 1

Indian Consulate - 0

One had to get to the Indian consulate 2 hours before they opened to get ahead of the line up and even then there would be about 50 people ahead of you. Once they opened, you got rushed in and had to get a number from the number dispensing machine. Sometimes they actually ran out of numbers and you had to return another day to try again. Plus, the officials were never pleasant, it always seemed like they had spicy curry for the first time ever that morning.

Back to the Italians - so I entered the side entrance and got into a little space with two windows behind which sat the Visa officials. The lady was all smiles and explained exactly what I had been told on the phone the first time I called. This time I got the form as well. But still no info on the DV. I was informed that I'd have to go speak to someone else inside the main office of the consulate for that.

But, I had already spent enough time getting the form and info for the Visa and had to get back to work. So I decided to come back another day. I hopped back on the streetcar and headed to work.

Passive beginning to the story I know, but this is only Part I. Stay tuned.

To go or not to go...mi permetteranno?

2009-03-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

I got my official acceptance letter about a week after my birthday. I was going. Now they just had to let me.

So before even reading all the documents I received in my package, I called up the Italian embassy in Ottawa and said "Buongiorno, I've been accepted to MIP and Politecnico di Milano in Milan. What do I need to do in order to get the papers as a student."

A lovely lady gave me a list of things I would need: passport pics, visa form, passport copy, passport, proof of health insurance and proof of finances. She said it would only take about a week to process.

Cool, I had months to gather it all together....or so I thought.

In the mean time I started to figure everything else out, finances, lodging, etc. I began to connect with some of my future classmates and join in the excitement of this new chapter.

Somewhere around the end of January 2009 I met Alessandro Racco. My future classmate also from Toronto. Obviously a more worthy MBA student since he actually paid attention to the details in the package we got and didn't rely solely on the words of the representatives of the Italian government here. He informed me that not only did we have to get a student visa- which did indeed take a week, but we also had to get the DV- Dichiarazione di Valore...insert ominous music here.

Obtaining this DV would be the bain of my existence for the next two months! It involved Halifax, Toronto and Ottawa. Looking back on the experience I am amused rather than frustrated and it makes for an interesting next blog post....

Stay tuned for more on Dichiarazione di Valore (always to be followed by ominous music).

Life after the GMAT - week one

2009-03-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

Thankfully the GMAT isn't the end of the world. Even though I didn't do so bad, I didn't do as well as I expected and thus was terribly disappointed as mentioned previously.

The week after the GMAT was a roller coaster of emotions. I took the GMAT on October 15th and on the 18th I had to make the worst decision in the world. It was by far the worst time of my life. I had to make the decision to let my beloved Dutch go (more on that time: http://khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=weekend&xfile=data/weekend/2008/november/weekend_november69.xml).

On October 20th, I got accepted to my #1 choice: MIP Business School at Politecnico Di Milano in Italy.

I didn't know what to feel. I knew I should have been over the moon, but the loss of Dutch was just too much to bear and my heart was not in a position to truly celebrate. Even as I write this I am overcome by sadness, he was my best friend, room mate, and fierce guardian. I wish I could have celebrated with him. I would have taken him to his favourite park where we'd play hide and seek amongst the big Maple trees until he dashed off after a rabbit. But alas I just had to go there in my mind and dreamt that he met me there.

So it took a while to sink in. When I got word that I was accepted I did go to one of my closest friend's office and with her felt the ability to celebrate with a jig while there. But the moment I left her office I was empty again. Once the mixed emotions started to get lighter, I started thinking practically as well. I was reserved since I still had to figure out if I could actually afford this potential new chapter. Although I got a bit of a scholarship, it wasn't anywhere near what I really needed.

Next step budgeting and paperwork...

Curious

2009-03-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

This post really has nothing to do with my Europe adventure. But something that happened this past Sunday was so curious I just had to share!

Every Sunday I go to a freind's place to swim. His sister and I do laps for about 40 minutes and then relax in the hot tub, steam room and sauna to cap off the week end. (Le Sigh, I'm really going to miss my free Swim Sundays).

Anyway, this Sunday I picked up my swim buddy and parked on the main street just a block away from our destination. Its our somewhat secret free parking down town. There are only about 8 spots and it might just seem like very few people know about it because we always manage to get a spot unless there's an event on in the area.

After our Sunday regime we headed back to my car. The silver Honda that I parked behind was still there. As I approached my car, I noticed something strange on my windshield. It was a flat black rectangular thing. I pulled it off....it was the standard sign that goes on the door to a women's washroom! Black background, the white 2D lady graphic image with "WOMEN" at the bottom.

Curious.

Taking the GMAT...I think I'd rather walk the plank!

2009-03-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

For those not in the know, the GMAT is a Computer Adaptive Test. This means that the more you get right, the harder the level of the next question. Similarly, the more you get wrong, the easier the level of the next question. Of course the easier questions bare less weighting in points as well.

There is a whole mathematical way it calculates what level of question to ask you next. You think you want to spend as much time to make sure you get the earlier ones right- and yes as much as you do, you also don't want to spend too much time because if you do not finish, that's even worse.

I began the test with enthusiasm. As I got to the quantitative section I thought I was doing well as the questions got harder, but then suddenly three quarters of the way through they started to get easier. A pinch of panic set in but I tried to just keep going while watching the time. I got to my last quantitative question with 2 minutes left. If you've done these tests before 2 minutes is actually a lot of time especially if on your last question. I was so engrossed because I was so close to getting the answer that before I knew it, the test shut down! I ran out of time! I had about a minute of full fledged panic. Not finishing would have caused a severe dent in my overall score. After that minute I realised I still have the Verbal section to go. I looked at the lady in the commentator's box, the invigilator; she had a look that suggested to me that she had seen what happened. It was a look of nervousness for me. Or perhaps I was reading into things. I had to pull it together for the last section.

I felt that I did stronger in the verbal and finally finished the test. You get an unofficial score as soon as you finish. I left the test almost in tears, I felt defeated. Although you can do the test as many times as you want, it also costs $250 each time.

On the subway ride home I tried not to look anyone in the eye because of the tears that I was trying to fight back.

No, I didn't do that bad, but I had such high expectations for myself that it was a hard fall even though it wasn't a far fall. I thought that everything hinged on this test.

But it didn't.

The GMAT (insert ominous music here)

2009-03-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Grade 10 Math and English....that's what the level of questions on the GMAT supposedly represent.

When you first start prepping for the GMAT with the prep books you think, this is easy! Especially for me. After all, I did graduate high school with honours. I signed up for a test prep course anyway, Oxford Seminars, and soon learned that it has actually less to do with your knowledge of the questions (because I do believe most of us could really solve those questions after a bit of brushing up), but more on the strategy of answering questions within the allotted time.

POE (process of elimination) and "strategic" guessing were some of the techniques taught. Many in the class were at first skeptical...until you do your first mock test.

It was ridiculous.

I honestly felt the mock test was mocking me. Playing a game of catch me if you can. But I was determined to conquer.

Many many prep hours later when the mock tests stopped mocking and started cheering, I felt ready.

I went into the test centre one rainy afternoon. They took my picture on a web cam and scanned my finger print at the registration desk. They then scanned it again just outside the test room. I'm not sure why they scanned my print twice, perhaps there are people who pull a Copperfield between the front desk and the room- a hall way of about 8-10 feet!
I entered the test room. There were a number of computer stations lined up with wooden barriers between them so you couldn't see the one next to you once you sat down. There was a window by the door I entered and the invigilator watched through there, slightly elevated. She looked like she was in a commentator's box at a sports game. I was given a few plastic pages and a couple of dry erase pens.

I began.

The hunt

2009-03-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

As I began my research into the right Masters degree I realised I still didn't quite find the right course for me in the regular Masters stream. I searched through numerous brochures and web-sites reading up on the course content and curriculum. But still nothing that truly popped out and said- "You need to be here".

Queen of the World (aka my Mom) then suggested looking into MBA programs. I immediately dismmissed it. I didn't want to go into finance. Even though I owned my own business I didn't think that 1. an MBA was for me as my thoughts on MBAs were that it was for people who wanted to get into the high flying finance world and 2. I didn't do my undergrad in any kind of math related program so I wouldn't get in anyway.

However, 27 years of dealing with a husband and daughter with similar head strong personalities taught my mom how to deal with my ignorant dismissiveness. She introduced me to MBA graduates who had not done their undergrad in finance or math related programs. Once I spoke to them and numerous others I found out that in fact I knew more people did their MBA after doing their Bachelor's and subsequent work experience that had nothing to do with Finance!

These people had pre-MBA lives in industries such as music, television, literature, computers etc. Thats when I started to curb my Masters research into the hunt for the right MBA.

Fabulous schools popped up in my search, schools in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland. However, many of them were actually geared towards people who wanted to go into Finance. Sure they all had streams that would allow you to branch out and so I did research them thoroughly, but they still didn't quite fit. They all promised "career assistance" boasting impressive percentages of graduates that got jobs after graduation. Most of these are considered even better than some Ivy League schools on an international level. Yes there are schools considered better than the Ivy even though the American marketing strategy has been quite successful in touting them to be the best in the world. Also anyone who watched Rick Mercer's Talking to Americans will probably not have the best view of Harvard and the fact that Dubya Bush went there can't have helped their reputation any. But I digress, these great European institutions also demanded not just your first born, but probably your second as well! 40K Euros...50K Euros...60K Euros...and so on!

I started to get a bit disuaded, but then then suddenly, one school stuck out. the MIP Business school at Politecnico Di Milano not only responded to all my querries promptly, but did so without ever making me feel like I was just another number and never made me feel like like I wasn't worth them (yes people there are schools out there that will give you that sense sometimes and sometimes even before they get to know you!).

They are the #2 business school in Italy, Bocconi being #1. So ofcourse I looked and Bocconi and it reminded me of University of Toronto. Not a bad thing- great for a majority of people- but not for me.

I was a Ryerson University graduate. I needed a school much like how Ryerson nurtured me. A place that was fresh and open to new ideas. A place that would allow for practical work and a place that had and brought in great seated and visiting professors. The University of Toronto type schools were always too stiff for my liking.

So I began to read more about MIP. The more I read, and the more I spoke to them the more I really wanted to go there. This school also had the earliest deadline with their courses starting in May. This worked to my benefit, because once I decided this was my #1 choice I figured if I didn't get in here I would apply to some of the back ups I had in Spain and Switzerland.

And so in July of 2008 began the application process and the preparation for the dreaded....GMAT exam.

2009-03-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

Why Europe?

I had been looking for the right Masters degree for a few years now. The right Masters for me that is.

I had a few things in mind, it needed to be useful and it needed to interest me. At first I only looked at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University and York University. All fine institutions right in the city where I live. As much as their courses had great reputations they didn't quite fit me.

Last year I went on my bi-annual trip to Europe. Usually I try and hop to a few countries but having done quite a few on past trips I thought I'd stick to one region this time. Italy...with a quick hop to Barcelona at the end.

I spent time in Rome, Florence and Venice before flying to Barcelona on a US$50 flight via Iberia. After Florence I thought- this is my city. I could live here. People are nice, the city is nice and clean, lots of things to do, temperate climate...basically the grass was greener - literally - until I got to Barcelona.

Barcelona is my city! Multicultural (and has been for centuries by nature of it being a port), well networked subway system and an incredible bike-sharing system for the residents. The architecture...oh Antoni Gaudi ...what drug were you on that led you to create such fantastically weird yet exquisite pieces of architectural art....and of course...the food...the delicious sea food paella!Mmmmm!

My first day there I was with friends, they went off on their own tour the next day and I discovered Barcelona on my own. I had read about this Fat Tire Bike tour- you just show up at a designated spot that you read about in the tour books and whoever shows up by 10:15 am then gets led to the bike shop to get fitted for bikes and assigned a tour guide and off we go!

I think there were about 20 of us, winding through the narrow streets of Barcelona's intricate and culturally rich Barrio Gotico "Gothic Quarter". All of us who had obviously not been on a bike in a while- trying to get used to the bike and keep up with the tour guide. Desperately ringing out little bike bells hoping that people would move. According to the tour guide people know that bikes have the right of way. Although it was hard to get out of that Toronto mentality where the pedestrian is never at fault. However it was an adventure weaving unsteadily. It was a nice hot day. It was fun!

We would stop at various tourist points and our South African-living in Barcelona in a 3 bedroom apartment for 1000 Euros 10 minutes from the beach with his girlfriend who owns a bar on the beach - would tell us amusing tales of history.

From him I learnt that the residents of Barcelona need pay only 28 Euros a year to use the public bikes for half hour periods and any longer they would be charged a nominal amount. I frequently saw lots of city vans transporting bikes to either refresh the racks with more bikes or remove some to make space for more to be locked in by users. Fascinating!

So, who wouldn't want to live there! And for all those who are saying, oh you're just seeing it as the grass is greener...perhaps..., but I have lived in 5 cities on 3 continents across the world. I am well aware that each city has it's pros and cons. But I also think that some people's pros might be other people's cons and vice versa. (I will write a whole other blog on the reactions of some of my Toronto friends and acquaintances on my decision to try and move my life elsewhere).

When I came back from this trip I was really depressed about the work life balance (or rather imbalance) of Toronto. Don't get me wrong, Toronto is probably one of the only cities in North America I would actually want to live in, all things considered. However, it is not me, at least not at the moment.

This time I found it really hard to get out of the funk. What was my future here in Toronto? Sure I had a young event management business that I aimed to grow at a steady yet positive pace...but what else? All my goals were work related and I worked so hard to live for my 15 days vacation. It didn't seem fair.

I decided to figure out a way to move to Europe at least for short periods of time. At first I thought I'd do the teaching English thing. I did my research and found out that unlike the prospects in the Far East, there was no money to be made doing that in Europe. However, you could live a lean life and still truly experience the culture and still afford to travel around Europe at least. So if it was for the experience and culture and change I was looking for, I didn't care about making a ton of cash.

But then the voice of reason set it - aka The Parents. My Dad reminded me of what we all worked for to have what we have in Toronto. He reminded me that I can't just go flitting off without a plan. He was supportive, but undertandably concerned about his only child going off into a world that none of us really knew that well and had no connections in terms of friends or family. My mom reminded me that I had been looking to do a Masters....so why not combine the two. That woman is brilliant. Sometimes I wonder how she didn't manage to become Queen of the world.

A Masters in Europe...Eureka! And so began my search for the right program in Europe.