Back from spring break

I just returned from a wonderful spring break to start the very last lap of B-School. I use the word wonderful because the break was a combination of a lot of play and learning experience. I decided to sign up for an exchange opportunity to Mexico that was very cost effective and fun-filled. I got together with some of my classmates going on the exchange and we decided to have a two night stop at Cancun. It was a very fun experience and I got to see even the most conservative of the bunch let loose. We spent most of the day either on the beach, checking out the Mexican cuisine or just shopping. Nights were spent checking out the night life and boy do those guys know how to party. There were a lot of undergraduate students from the US that were absolutely going crazy. Two nights was by no means enough but it got us started with the Mexican experience.

We proceeded to Mexico City for the exchange program tagged “Doing Business in Latin America” at Instituto Panamericano de Alta Direccion de Empresa (Herein referred to as IPADE). We were joined for the 4 day exchange by students from Darden Business School and IPAD in Peru. We were lodged at a very cool hotel in a nice part of town. Although Mexico was nothing as pretty of touristy as Cancun, it reminded me a lot of Lagos. I saw brands and models of vehicles such as Peugeot and the old line VW bug that I have not seen in a long time. The buildings have tall gates and barbed wires with water tanks sitting atop them. Driving was slightly crazy and it was perfectly ok to haggle prices on any item to be purchased. Simply put I felt at home. I also found that the Latino culture and challenges to conducting business were similar to that of Africa in many respects. The business culture is more relaxed and as one of our speakers mentioned business and pleasure in Latin America is one and the same. We attended classes with students at the host school. Some classes were in English while others were in Spanish. We were handed headsets to listen to interpreters who did a fantastic job of keeping up with the speakers’ pace. I felt like one of those guys you see on TV at those United Nations conferences.

We worked on a lot of cases highlighting the unique challenges of either trying to take a global brand to Latin America or attempting to globalize successful Mexican businesses. Ok enough about work already. We visited a few companies and the best visit of all was the trip to Bacardi. Yes Bacardi. After the obligatory PowerPoint presentations and factory tour, the company threw open their bar. Needless to say, we all got happy! They provided lunch before we hopped on the bus to attend a soccer game between a Mexican club and a Peruvian side.

One of the things I enjoyed while in Mexico was that soccer was ALWAYS on TV. Our group had excellent seats at the stadium right behind the goalkeeper. There was a little drama while getting admitted into the stadium with our counterparts from Peru. The police escorted them to a special section of the stadium seeing that they’ll be supporting the visiting team. After the game, they were again escorted back to the bus and encouraged to leave ASAP. It was hilarious.

I will strongly recommend this or similar trips to anyone applying to Kenan-Flagler or any other business school. It serves as a great reminder that there is another world out there beyond just your immediate region. I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.