What a week, what a week...

I kid you not, by Wednesday, I was so exhausted that after my evening class, I had about an hour window before the onslaught of group projects began, so I seized the opportunity, ran back to my dorm room and all but dove under my fleece blanket to catch a few winks. Well, thank god I set my alarm, because I think before my head hit the pillow, I was already out! My alarm went off 30 minutes later – and totally groggy, I could have sworn it was Thursday morning, and it was time for class! Haha – wow, sleep deprivation took its toll I guess! And then… earlier in the week, as I was just about to finish a nice 6.5 mile run, this HUGE flying cockroach came out of nowhere and almost flew right into me! Well, thankfully, I jumped to the side and managed to avoid the filthy beast, but instead, wound up doing a not-so-graceful face-plant into the rocks! Haha… had the nice big scrape on my chin all week as my battle-scar. I love my friends though… “OMG wtf happened to your face,” was the usual response I got! Haha. Thanks guys! So much for the indirect cultural orientation, eh?!

Anyway, this weekend has been filled with homework, group projects and more homework! Actually, I just finished doing an analysis of ING’s marketing campaign sponsoring Formula One. The campaign I am focusing on specifically is in Singapore – pretty interesting stuff actually – well, it’s gotta be to be doing this on a Saturday night at 1am! Yikes! But, it’s better than doing another Porter’s Five Forces and value chain analysis for the Korean electronics industry I guess! Oh, that ship will sail tomorrow, lucky me! For now though, I get to focus on the fun stuff though… posting pictures from some random pub nights over the past couple weeks. In the true spirit of Thundersharing, I will give some sort of credit to other people’s photos here… so © people. Haha. There, should cover my bases with that one! Although, most of the people, are probably Meike’s pictures!

1 Global Place

So I know I've already sent most of these pictures, but I thought I'd post them on my blog for new readers to check out the campus of Thunderbird. So first of all, in keeping with it's global nature, Thunderbird is located at "1 Global Place" in Glendale, AZ. The below photo is (c) Thunderbird, but it was cool nonetheless, so had to include!

This is the entrance to our school....

This wall reads "welcome" in many different languages, and on the other side includes a famous quote from Socrates that says, I am not an Athenian or Greek, but a citizen of the world."

Trivia for you - what is the largest statue shipped from France to the U.S. in one piece? No, it's not the Statue of Liberty, it's this globe statue!! It is signifying the interconnectedness of the globe, and is adorned with a wonderful quote that says, "borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers." In the background is our world-famous IBIC (so much more than a library), where students spend many a late night studying!


This is the commons! (Try not to eat here too much though)! Last year we had worms in the broccoli! Yikes! So far, it's been OK this year (fingers crossed).

This is the old air-traffic control tower on campus. As you know, Thunderbird used to be a military training base to train pilots during WW2. But then, the general Yount recognized the need to train men not for warfare, but educate them in global business, so with just a $1.00 investment, he bought the land in Glendale, and opened the first foreign institute of trade! Since then, the name has changed a million times, but the mission is still on target - educating global leaders who create sustainable prosperity worldwide." Also, check out that the air traffic control tower is only 2-stories! A testament to who flat Phoenix is! This tower is currently undergoing renovations!

This is the rugby pitch. Rugby is huge on the Tbird campus! Also, students use this for soccer games, ultimate frisbee, etc. etc.

This is the "fish." Its a swimming pool and BBQ pit with crazy-looking trees bordering the perimeter. The fish separates two different dorm buildings. Also, legend has it, the trees are all crazy like that from students having so many parties giving them beer... but, actually, so not true. Well, true from the parties, but the landscape architect made the trees grow like that...

Back to Thunderbird!

Well, it’s been a little over a week since I moved back to hell, also known as Glendale – or also affectionately referred to as Gletucky, Glenhell, Glenhurl, Glenmart. Seriously, it blows my mind that here in a land populated by Wal-mart shopping, never-left-the-country Americans, that there exists a small oasis in the desert filled with intelligent, capable, and eager individuals ready to make the world a better place with their global MBA from Thunderbird. Ok, ok – I am generalizing again. But seriously folks, have you been to Glendale?!

Anyway, so my move into the dorms was slightly complicated by the fact that my air-conditioning didn’t work! But, thanks to the good folks at Thunderbird for putting me up in the Executive Inn while they fixed my air!! Woo-hoo! So, I’d say after a good week, I am finally settled in! However, it has taken this week to adjust back to the rigorous demands of the Thunderbird curriculum! My god, I think all the professors must have congregated prior to the start of the semester to devise an evil plan on how to keep their students as busy as possible. Seriously – I thought last year was busy – wow, I haven’t seen anything yet! This semester promises to have many late nights/early mornings (hell, who I am kidding – many sleepless nights), group projects, cases and papers, as well as a few meltdowns along the way. What’s a good semester without a few of those?!

But, amidst the already insane first week of classes, I did manage to find time to hit the pub a few times – all in the name of cross-cultural communications though. It’s always a good educational experience there. The pub is mystifying place that seems to unify more than 50 cultures/countries that are represented here at Thunderbird. No matter where you’re from, or what you believe in, the pub is a place where we can all leave our differences behind and unite over a common theme – friendship. And these friends of mine, we are also all centralized under our timeless and passionate desire to create a positive change in the world. Seriously, the friendships I have made here at Thunderbird will no doubt last a lifetime, and even though I had arguably one of the best summers of my life in Portland, I was excited to come back to Glendale and see my friends.

Right, with the first week under my belt, it’s time to charge headfirst into week two!