This semester has just been flying by. To update you on the recent events, the MBA2s and some PMBAs just traveled to Buenos Aires to complete the second part of our global leadership module. It was a wonderful experience being in South America and I hope to spend more time there in the future.
First, I went to Rio de Janeiro for a few days. I received some recommendations from a fellow MBA1 who is from Rio before my trip. One of the major perks of our class having 25% international students is the diversity and amount of information you can learn from them. He gave me some great recommendations for things to do and places to eat that were less touristy. This trip was my second to Rio and I absolutely love the country of Brazil. I went to the botanical gardens, walked around various neighborhoods, and enjoyed the beaches.
I arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday November 4th. I was fortunate to have met a family in Rio on my first visit; they live outside of Buenos Aires. They generously offered to show me around their city. The first night, they showed me different neighborhoods and we went to Café Tortino, an old coffee shop were many famous writers visited. The next day was our first day of classes at IAE, University Austral. This university is located outside of the city in Pilar. It was a beautiful campus in a more countryside setting. Our first lecture was about the Argentine economy and was taught by a very charismatic professor. That afternoon we went to visit a wine tasting room in partnership with a local vineyard, Bogedas Nieto Senetiner. We enjoyed learning about Malbec and Argentina’s wine market as well as tasting some great wine and eating some cheese and charcuterie. In the evening, I met up with the family for a real Argentine steak meal. It was fun trying different parts of the steer even if sometimes I wondered what I was eating.
The next morning we had our service day. We helped plant a garden for a school of orphans so they could receive more proper nutrition. It was amazing to see these people volunteering their time to help poor children and receiving no government subsidies to do so. The kids were adorable and played a game of soccer with some of the MBA students. I was impressed with how good some of these kids were at soccer already. The day was hot and many of us were very tired by the time we got back to our hotel. I went to a bar in Palermo that evening with my Argentine friend and his friends. They all attend law school. Their English far surpasses my Spanish. The bar was a craft beer bar called Antares. The beer was good and I enjoyed spending more time in the local scene.
The next day we returned to IAE for two more lectures. Both were interesting. One discussed emerging markets and the other was about that lecturer’s experiences working at Exxon-Mobil for over 20 years. Since our presentation to our respective NGOs were the next day, many of us returned to the hotel to practice our presentations. Everyone’s presentations went well. We enjoyed some friendly competition and I’m proud to say my team won. Our project was to design a marketing strategy and evaluate the NGO’s current structure. Our NGO was EMA, an organization raising awareness and providing assistance for multiple sclerosis patients in Argentina.
Our final evening was spent at Almacen for dinner and a tango show. The tango show was incredible. Before our flight the next day, I went shopping to get some gifts for my friends. I feel like I did not have enough time to explore Argentina and look forward to going back. These trips are such a great introduction to different cultures and lifestyles. Many thanks to everyone who made this trip happen.
Now we move towards the end of the semester. Multiple projects and papers are due in the next few weeks; we are all feeling the pressure. It is hard to believe our 3rd semester of business school is coming to end.
Amy