Conjugal visits

So, here is how it works at IMD. About a third to a half of us are married or the significant other is here. For the rest of us, me included, well, are here by ourselves. This however, doesn't mean that we have no "significant" other. (Unlike most MBAs in other schools, the average age here is 31.5, so most of us have pretty steady relationships)

We are here from 8am to 5:30pm everyday. After 5:30, most study groups meet after a quick dinner. My group typicall meets at 7:30 and we can go until 1, 2 or 3am. Even on Saturdays, we have class in the morning, and the afternoon are often reserved for project work. For example, we have class scheduled until 5pm this Saturday. As you can see in some of my previous blog entries, this becomes frustrating after a while. I am either here at IMD, or in my apartment. We are pretty much locked in at IMD when we are not taking a shower or sleeping.

So, here is how I call the visits by "significant others": conjugal visits. It's a free pass, or almost. The group becomes a lot more understanding if you show up late, or sometimes not show up at all. Hey, after all, we don't get a lot of conjugal visits. The 90 MBAs this year represent 45 countries. This means most us travel pretty far to get here. This week, a girl from Brazil is visiting someone from my team, and another is visiting from Spain before moving to New Zealand.

So, a lot of action from members of my team this week. (My time will come.......)