AMP Treatise

So I asked my CEIBS contact, Tyrell, if he saw the irony in saying that censorship isn't as bad as its made out to be, then following that by saying the entire blogspot.com domain is banned. Also, the deodorant question:

Did you say irony? Ha ha, I don't know what you mean. China is such a
strange place that normal levels of irony no longer register.

As for the deoderant question: Chinese people don't really use it, and
the puzzling thing is that they don't seem to need it, either. Lower
levels of sweat, I guess. When I first moved to Taiwan, I went into a
drug store looking for deoderant and they pointed me to a couple of
sticks gathering dust on a back shelf. And Taiwan, unlike China, is
pretty advanced when it comes to personal hygiene.

Quote of the day: "Tough like the ukulele." - Dr. Octagon

More Lily. 

Jack Light Move at the Lion's Den, NYC. 

F1 Montreal tickets, two weeks!

Yes. This is art. Trust me. OK, it's just the window in my apartment and my camera on the B&W setting.

...for my Mom this weekend. This dog is so goddamn cute I can't even handle it.

It's a mi-ki and her name is Lily.


Lily

Doctor’s appointment is set. With a Mikhail A Fuks, MD, across the street from my office. Does it get more convenient than that? Not only can I get pizza from 4 different proprietors within 100 feet of the building, but I can also get my haircut, a suit, mobile phone, and a health exam! Somtimes I wonder what I'm doing leaving here... And I hope the doctor isn’t scared by the “Physical Examination Record for Foreigner” that is full of both English and Chinese characters.

Also, been looking for a hotel for my one night stay before I go to register at school (I will probably be landing in Shanghai around 6:30PM, after the school administrative office close). Besides the fact that the names of areas like Haui Hai, Huangpu District, Jin An mean nothing to me (much like Chelsea or the West End in London), there are so many hotels I have no idea whether to go old-style (from the 1900-1940s) or brand spanking new billion dollar hotel. They even have a Howard Johnson!

If you’re planning a trip, definitely go to ctrip.com over hotels.com. Ctrip shows many more hotels and at far better prices. I should have no problem finding a 3-star hotel for a Thursday night at US$50.

And while I take off one item from my To Do List, I must add another, obtain health insurance. D'oh!

I *think* this is good news for me! Definitely bad news for people going to school in the US and expecting their MBA degree to carry them into China.

"William Stacey, head of Asia research for Credit Suisse First Boston, agrees. "Ten to 15 years ago, if you were a Chinese with a western education and spoke English well, you were rare. That's not the case anymore.' Stacey says it's harder for students and young professionals living in the United States to find a way into the top jobs in China. It's true that Goldman, Morgan Stanley, CSFB and other top investment banks are still recruiting from top U.S. universities. What's new is that they're doing less of that recruiting from U.S. schools and more and more of it from the top universities in Beijing and Shanghai. 'It's a very tough market,' Stacey says."

GRADUATE / MBA NEWS: China's Job Market Gets Tougher to Crack, not Easier

Just wanted to plug some of the people currently linking to my blog (until they figure out I'm useless I don't know what the hell I'm talking about where they will be going):

gumbico.blogspot.com/
sankhastudies.blogspot.com
weiping-bschool.blogspot.com/

Obviously, these are also MBA-related sites so take a look.

The Standard - Fast-living Shanghai at crash risk.

Another "Look how crazy Shanghai is" article.

The most fun part of any trip, as is commonly known, is applying for a visa. I’ve never had to get a visa since every international location I’ve gone has happily accepted my Swedish Passport as good enough to entry. I’m waiting for a JW-202 application form which I get directly from the Chinese Ministry of Education. Then I have to go to the Chinese Consulate in Midtown West with the JW-202 form, acceptance letter from CEIBS, physical examination form filled out by a doctor, current passport, 2 photos, and a bunch of patience. Can't wait!

Some Chinese Visa notes courtesy of the infamous Henry Blodget on Slate.com.

In New York, anyway, when it comes to consular real estate, China got the shaft. No 19th-century, Upper East Side mansion for this emerging superpower. China's consulate is a cookie-cutter rectangle on the corner of 12th Avenue and 42nd Street, overlooking the West Side Highway and the docks of the Circle Line. As I made the pilgrimage west from Times Square, trudging into the icy wind, wiping construction grit from my eyes, I figured that the journey might be best conducted as a tribute to the late Hunter S. Thompson.

I'd brought along The China Dream, Joe Studwell's chronicle of centuries of idiot foreigners trying to "crack the greatest untapped market on earth," as an ironic prop, but I didn't even get to open it. In the consulate lobby, feeling guilty about being oblivious to the plight of the Falun Gong protesters outside, I was shooed through the metal detector into a Department of Motor Vehicles-like waiting room. I took a number, sat in a plastic bucket seat beside an incongruous, rock-sculpture fountain, and began to fill out the visa form. Then, even without pharmaceuticals, the experience became vaguely Thompson-esque:

AFFIX PASSPORT PHOTO HERE. Passport photo! Oh, Christ, I've forgotten to get a passport photo. I've wasted the trip!

Wait, why do I need a passport photo? Why can't I just Xerox the one in my passport? And just my luck that this appears to be the only DMV waiting room in history in which I won't have time to hike to Times Square and back before my number is called. Oh, wait, there's an in-house photographer!

Of course there's an in-house photographer. In fact, the system has clearly been designed to make me use the in-house photographer. She no doubt charges Shylock rates—if she'll even take my picture. This is China—and I don't have guanxi!

No line, no bribes, a pretty smile, and a (relatively) reasonable $8 for a last-minute Polaroid? What's the catch? No catch? Just a quick blow of the hair-dryer on the Polaroid paper and I'm done? How do I say "Thank you" in Chinese? Should I bow, too? Do they bow in China—or is that just Japan? If I bow, will I trigger some deep xeno-driven offense ("The clueless bastard thinks all Asians look alike!")?
They're about to call my number! Quick—finish the form! Does "home address" mean "residence address" or "mailing address"? If I write my mailing address, will I be accused of fraud?

If I hadn't already been accused of fraud, I wouldn't be filling out this damn form. I'd be sitting at some cushy hedge-fund applying for a visa by mail—while looking forward to helicopter tours of the Great Wall and investor soirees in the Forbidden City with dim sum and chardonnay.

I finished the visa form and shoved it under the bulletproof glass to a scowling "Ms. Ding." She shoved back a receipt and told me to pick up my visa on Monday.

Scratch one item off the To-Do list...

Apply for China Visa
Get Health Exam/Dentist
Re-Entry Permit at INS
Pay Tuition Down Payment
Cancel EZ Pass
Time Warner Cable Box Return
Sell Bike/Cancel Insurance
Sell Furniture
Clear out MySHPS Account
Get Apt Security Deposit
Going Away Party
Roll-over 401k --> IRA
Cancel Credit Cards
Close Bank Account
Buy Laptop
Steak Dinner
Eat soft shelled crabs

Great NY Noodletown - 28 Bowery. Highly recommended!

From the Canada based Globe & Mail
JAN WONG October 23, 2004

Ah, those clever Chinese. First they invent gunpowder and a few other essentials of modern civilization. Now they're gunning their economic engines. Yet who would have thought that, after a millennium of poverty, they'd already do so many things better than we?

In fact, compiling a Top 10 list of what China does better than Canada isn't easy. There are so many items. To whittle it down, let's assume it's unfair to count anything related to cheap labour.

So we won't include the wonderfully thorough mop-ups of supermarket spills: The staff don't plunk down those yellow you-can't-sue-us caution signs. They actually fan the floor with a broken sheet of Styrofoam until it is dry.

Nor will we mention the exquisite, free head-and-shoulder massages that come with every shampoo and haircut.

And we will only sigh with envy over bicycle couriers speeding theatre tickets to you the same day -- free.

Frequent travellers will love this one: Even remote rural hotels in China, not previously known for world-beating hygiene, now routinely slip blankets, quilts and coverlets into freshly laundered duvet covers. No more puffy bedspreads and nasty polyester blankets that cover guest after guest without being cleaned, which is still the practice in most of our hotel chains.

Considering how cheap labour is, it's astonishing that so many Chinese facilities offer free automated lockers now, the way European airports and train stations do. No more old-fashioned keys to form a lump in your pocket -- just a slip of paper with a randomly chosen number that lets you retrieve your belongings. Stores like them because they cut shoplifting; customers like them because they reduce schlepping.

Not all progress is good. Taxis, subways, trains and elevators barrage you with non-stop ads on flat-screen videos. Some city buses feature live television. Who wants that? Pickpockets, probably.

For this list, we won't count minor things, either, like the narrow plastic bags that department stores and offices offer on rainy days to sheathe your dripping umbrella. Or the invention of the electronic fly swatter, which electrocutes without squishy messes (and is now available in dollar stores in Canada).

On this list, we won't count mega things, either, like the soaring architectural wonder of China's airports -- even in provincial capitals like Fuzhou -- awash in natural light. (Not to mention that you can understand the public announcements, and the restaurants are much better.)

We won't include the vast subway and highway systems and huge underground garages that Beijing, Shanghai and Canton have built in astoundingly little time. Or Shanghai's magnetic-levitation train, the first in the world, which accelerates to 431 kilometres an hour in 2 minutes and 53 seconds. Even the Germans who designed it can't afford one for themselves.

No, for this list we were looking for truly brilliant ideas, the forehead-slapping kind, the ones that make you say: Now why didn't we think of that?

1. Cellphones

By any standard you can think of -- coverage, price, ubiquity -- China's cellphone practices beat ours. You can use them in elevators, subways and parking garages. They work in Tibet, at the Great Wall, in remotest rural China, which is more than you can say for Ontario cottage country. Patients, doctors, nurses and visitors use them in hospitals, too, with no apparent ill effects.

It's a cheap, pay-as-you-go system, with no stupid monthly contracts or credit checks. The phones are so cheap -- even sidewalk cabbage vendors have them -- that China is now the biggest cellphone market in the world. With 300 million in use, each one telling time, wristwatch sales have plummeted.

"We're a nation of thumbs," a young Shanghai woman told me, meaning that Chinese use cellphones like BlackBerries, text-messaging friends 24/7, at 1.6 cents a pop. The Chinese never got used to voicemail or answering machines; installing home phones was equivalent to two years pay in the 1980s, so the country leapfrogged over landline technology right into cellular.

Chinese author Qian Fuchang even plans to transmit a novel -- about an extramarital affair -- via text-messaging, one 70-word chapter at a time.

2. Informative stop lights

In Tianjin, a city of 13 million people, traffic lights display red or green signals in a rectangle that rhythmically shrinks down as the time remaining evaporates. In Beijing, some traffic lights offer a countdown clock for both green and red signals.

During a red light, you know whether you have time to check that map; on a green light, you know whether to start braking a block away -- or to stomp on the accelerator, as though you were a Toronto or Montreal driver. (That's probably why Montreal has a few lights with countdown seconds for pedestrians.)

3. Transit debit cards

Wouldn't it be great to have a single debit card for buses, subways -- and taxis? That's how it works in Shanghai. Passengers don't have to fumble for exact change on buses and subways, or line up to buy tokens or tickets. Taxi drivers don't have to make change, or get ripped off by counterfeit bills, a real plague in China. And they aren't loaded down with cash, which would make them tempting targets for robbery.

(In another transit plus, forget those illegible handwritten taxi receipts we get in Canada. China's taxis automatically print out receipts with date, mileage, taxi medallion number, even the start and end times of the ride. That certainly would help you recover the Stradivarius you inadvertently left in the back seat.)

4. Adult playgrounds

Hate paying those gym club bills? Loathe huffing and puffing around buff bodies in spandex? Beijing provides free outdoor exercise equipment in neighbourhoods throughout the city: walking machines, ab flexers, weight machines and rowing machines in bright reds, blues, yellows and greens.

Adult playgrounds get everyone out in the fresh air, especially seniors who might stay shut in at home. Teens like to hang out there, too. And it sends a not-so-subtle propaganda message about the benefits of healthy living.

5. Anti-theft slipcovers

What do you do with a purse in a restaurant? It can slide off your lap, and looping the handle over the back of your chair is an invitation to a thief. In China, when you sling your purse or laptop or coat over your chair back, a waiter hurries to toss a tasteful slipcover over it. It foils thieves, and also protects coats from food spills. Some restaurants provide hooks under the table for purses.

6. Daily banking

We feel so lucky when a bank branch in Canada opens for a few hours on Saturday mornings. (Notice the long, long lines?) But Chinese banks are now open 9 to 5, seven days a week. Even on New Year's Day and other national holidays, at least some branches will open for business. The ones that are closed post helpful notices directing you to the closest open branch. And, yes, they do have a full network of ATMs.

7. Wireless service bells

Trying to flag down your waiter for a glass of water? Just press a made-in-China gizmo at your table. Your table number lights up on a panel inside the kitchen and your server is soon hovering by your side. The bell also eliminates that annoying waiterly interruption: "Is everything all right?"

The same gizmo in spas alerts masseuses when you're demurely under the sheet and ready for their attention.

8. Parking data

A celebrity I once lunched with was an hour late because he couldn't find an empty parking spot in downtown Toronto. He had driven to a dozen lots, each time finding a wooden sign plunked at the entrance smugly announcing that the lot was full.

In China, roadside electronic billboards not only give directions to nearby lots and garages, they crucially reveal how many empty spaces are left.

9. Computer seating maps

Canadian concert halls will tell you that Row DD, Seat 81 costs $74.95. But where on earth is it? At the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the black granite ticket counter is embedded with a Samsung computer screen which lights up with the event you want to see, showing unsold seats, colour-coded by price, and the sightline to the stage. There is even a bar stool on which to perch while you consider your choices.

Movie theatres offer the same service. You choose which film and what showing, and the screen in the counter shows you what's unsold. After you make your choice, you can go shopping or enjoy a latte until show time. No one will take your seats.

10. Free hemming

This doesn't count as cheap labour because only three people service an entire department store. In Canada, hemming a new pair of trousers adds at least $10 to the cost, plus two trips to the tailor. And you have to try them on again while you get measured.

At the No. 1 Department Store in Shanghai, the salesclerk measures you while you are trying on the pants, asking: "Will you be wearing these with high heels or flats?" If you decide to buy them, she scribbles the length on your receipt. You head to what looks like a gift-wrapping station where a man measures and chalks the pants, scissors off the surplus and flings them to two women behind him. One hems the raw edge on a machine and tosses it to the other, who stitches the final hem on another machine and presses them.

Even with two customers ahead of me, I swear it took under three minutes in all to get two pairs back.

When I tell the woman ahead of me that stores in Canada don't do this, she's astonished. "Really?" she says. "How inconvenient."

tbp: From cells to bells, 10 things the Chinese do far better than we do

You can now add another moniker to Shanghai's List. Alternatively known in the first half of the 20th century as the Paris of the East and Pearl of the Orient (or Whore of the Orient, as the case may be), now it is called the Dragon's Head. A little more sinister than "The Big Apple" eh?

Shanghai: China's business engine

I've recently learned of alcoholic spirits being distilled with (you won't believe this)

CHICKEN!

Seriously.

The Pechuga production season is limited to year end due to the special ingredients: Wild mountain apples and plums that must be in season and cannot be substituted. Pechuga is begun with Minero; mezcal that has already been double distilled. In preparation for a third distillation they place about 75 liters of mezcal in the still and add about 25 lbs of wild mountain apples and plums, big red plantain bananas, pineapples, figs, almonds, hazelnuts, and a few pounds of uncooked white rice. Next, a whole chicken breast, skin removed, bone structure complete, is washed in running water for about three hours to remove any grease. This is then suspended by strings in the atmosphere of the still and a 24 hour, third distillation is begun. The vapor passes over the pechuga and condenses into a crystal clear liquid that has an amazing taste and smoothness. The reason for the breast they say, is so the mezcal is not dominated by the fruit... a balance. Upon completion the Pechuga is removed from the still and hung in the family Altar room... the most important space in the house.

http://www.mezcal.com/pechuga.html

I than ran across another instance of chicken distillation.

For the connoisseur of bizarro beers, the Great American Beer Festival is the perfect hunting ground. The 1996 festival brought us Boston Beer Company's Cock Ale, based on actual 16th and 17th century recipes that call for tossing a rooster into the kettle.

A drink called "Cock's ale" was served in early colonial times during cock fights. It was a mixture of ale into which a sack of a par-boiled chicken, raisins, mace and brown sugar was placed. This was left to ferment for about nine days.

Am I missing something? Should I be demanding chicken distilled spirits at my local watering hole?

Some details from the information packet, paraphrased and otherwise:

Time: July 25 to August 19

Focused on the Chinese Language, some lectures about Chinese Culture and History, “China in a Foreigner’s Eyes” and Chinese business environment are arranged over the 4 weeks.

Chinese Lesson – Consists of 96 sessions of 45 minutes each. Textbook used will be Chinese Conversation 301 (301!!!).

Chinese Culture and History – Taught over 16 sessions comprising the following parts. A brief history of China, the strategy in Chinese thinking and behavior, specific art forms (traditional operas, Chinese calligraphy and painting), Chinese architecture and gardens, Chinese festivals, Chinese food (the real stuff! No General Tso's chicken here!).

Looking a the schedule, looks like total class time per day is around 5.5 hours. OMG, and I just noticed the phrase "Final Exam" Friday August 19th. Awesome!

Class size will be 20-40 international students and the tuition fee is US$1,000. Considering an intro course to Manadarin Chinese with 8-12 weekly lessons costs almost $700 at NYU, this is quite the deal. Be warned, "this is quite a deal" may be used frequently in the future.

There are optional available city tours during the weekends at additional cost. Shanghai city tours take place during the week.

City tours take place in conjunction with Shanghai Jiao Tong University with students of their Summer Language Class and are over the weekend. These tours go to either Su Zhou & Wu Xi or Hang Zhou & Xi Tang. Cost is RMB700 (~US$85, exchange rate is RMB8.28/US$).

Just going to be writing some quick reviews/blurbs on recent China-related books that I've read over the past couple of years. One of the more recent, easy to read, and fascinating books is China Inc. by Ted C. Fishman. As far as Chinese-related books go (which due to the speed of the economy seem to go a little stale quite quickly), this one is pretty recent, published in early 2005. The main point of the book is to illustrate the rise of china with vivid descriptions and an ass load of shocking statistics. Some examples are that there are 150 cities in China with more than 1 million residents. This compares to the US which has only 9 cities with more than a million people and Europe with 33 cities populated by more than a million people. The text is quite optimistic on the long and short term prospects of China and puts a positive spin on some of the problems or negative traits of China. So in that sense it is a little "rah-rah" regarding China. Not necessarily a bad thing. What makes this book my first recommendation is that its pretty easy to read and not bogged down in complex theories and hard to follow details. Most people can pick this up and read it with no problem, unlike some other China books I've read. So file this one under "Highly Recommended." The link at the top is to Amazon.com's hardcover version, feel free to read more reviews there. And I'm NOT getting paid for the link! This is just a satisfied reader recommendation.
I picked up three more books today at Strand NYC (18 miles of books!).

The Coming Conflict of China
China Dawn
East & West

More reviews to come!

Beijing moves to quell revaluation furvor. Apparently, while all the finance journalists were out of the office, a tourism journalist wrote a story,which after being widely mistranslated, caused the movement of several billions of dollars of foreign currencies in a matter of minutes. Oops. Some banker in Shanghai realized the mistranslation and the markets quickly reversed.

Looks like revaluation is a while off, despite the best efforts of the US government.

It was recommended to me from the CEIBS alumnus that I buy my notebook PC here in the US and also to bring deodorant with me.

Don't they make all these computer parts in China? How could it be cheaper to buy here??

And the deodorant.. well.. Not sure if that should worry me or not! Perhaps american deodorant is stronger.. or deodorant scents are different. Gonna have to follow up on that one.

Starting to remember a little bit of the “lost” post on interviews:
My interviews with CEIBS and HKUST were both via phone while my RSM interview was with a local alumnus. For the most part, your location will determine whether it will be a phone or in person interview (unless you’re willing to fly out to the school). For a phone interview I think it’s a little harder to have a “great” interview since you’re not face-to-face and it’s harder to make a notable impression. However, the phone interview does pose some advantages:

• You can prepare in advance any questions you have when the interviewer inevitably asks, “Do you have any questions for us?” or have any materials in front of you that you may need like your resume, application essays, school brochure, etc.
• You can pace around like a madman and they are none the wiser. I did exactly this, gesturing wildly as I talked. Its probably better that I stop here with this one.
• If you’re super-ugly and smell, you’re probably better off over the phone.
• It’s harder for them to tell if you’re drunk.

Regardless of your interview method, just remember they want you to talk about yourself, which for most of us is pretty easy. Be honest without sabotaging yourself. Otherwise, the interviews were generally similar and I really got no curveballs, which I was expecting. I’ve heard of some bschool interviews involving a case study. At the end of my RSM interview, my alumni interviewer stated that he was sufficiently impressed that we would skip that part (which I had no idea was coming!). So this is an area I can’t really comment on. I imagine it involves the reading of a short case and a quick analysis of the issues and possible solutions. But that’s all I got. After I dodged that bullet, though, I was kind of curious what it would be like and was a little disappointed it didn’t turn up in any of my interviews.

Oh, CEIBS asked me to speak a little bit of Mandarin (I put on my application that I was trying to learn), which they didn’t understand. So, I’m 0 for 2 in that department (I tried to demonstrate my skills to a co-worker and was presented with a blank stare. Not good!).

Questions???

Found a cool new search engine that seems to be exclusively devoted to weblogs.

Technorati

Someone asked if I could give some details on the actual interviews I did for these two schools. Some interview background for the non-MBA applicant. If you get an interview, you can assume they are impressed enough with your application to take it to the next step, however, that doesn't mean its a guarantee for admission, the opposite actually. If you bomb the interview, chances are your application isn't going too much farther. Although, it is pretty tough to bomb an interview unless you try really hard and tell them about the time you burned down your high school after you were caught smoking crack in the bathroom (and believe me, this is a hard secret to keep).

Also, schools vary in their interview policies, especially the top ones (stanford apparently did 0 interviews until recently. If you don't get an interview, you are in either 1 of 2 categories, you didn't stand a chance, or you are so crazy overqualified they don't need to even talk to you. The BSchools intent in the interview is to make sure you're articulate, that the answers you give are consistent with what's in your application (if not, they will suspect someone wrote them for you), and to ask questions not answered in the application.

Anyway, here goes:

HKUST (2nd bschool interview, after RSM w/ Alumni in NYC)
Spoke with a Mr. Tsang of the admissions office. First thing to note is that this interview took place at 9:30PM due to the time difference. I was originally scheduled for 4PM HK time which equals 4AM NYC time! They understood my reason for a time change. Anyway, Mr. Tsang's English was very good, as expected, and he asked me the expected questions. These are:

• Why this school?
• Why MBA now?
• What are your plans afterward?
• Where else did you apply?
• If you got into all your schools, where would you go?
• What will you do if you don't get into any school?
• What would your boss says is your biggest weakness/strength?

I was prepared for these types of questions and anything else he asked was supplemental and more conversational in nature. A good sign is if part way through the interview they start to "sell" you the school. This happened in all three of my interviews after we had talked for a bit, so I assume if you start to get this feeling that you can assume it is at least going OK.

///And I lost the rest of the unsaved post due to a system upgrade by the friendly people at google.com.

But it ended with a reference to ugly people and how they should go to a guatemalan plastic surgeon. And finally with this picture:

Hit refresh for a new quote!

Got the official denial from Columbia in the form of a very vague "Your application status has been updated. Please log on for more info" email. Regardless, no real surprise here and chances are I wouldn't have gone despite its higher ranking. Yay for no $120k+ student loans, though. I really appreciated their very prompt (12 weeks!) reply.

Regardless, I am starting to assemble a "to do" list which is already 20 items long. One including going to the doctor for a health examination for the student Visa. This should be easy except I haven't been to a doctor in years. So not such a bad idea. Although, I fear what Doc might find ("You have the arteries of Fat Albert after a marathon 36 hour White Castle binge!").

And it's soft-shelled crab season. Added to the list.

I've also had my first encounter with Chinese internet censorship (and I'm not even there yet!). I've been talking to a recent CEIBS graduate and asking all sorts of questions, including one along the lines of "How much does the censorship suck in China?" He replied that for the most part, it's overblown by the 'Western Media' and that sites I thought were blocked, like cnn.com and nytimes.com, were actually accessable 95% of the time. Then, without irony (and I'm not poking fun, just thought it was humorous), he says that he wouldn't be able to access my blog because China has banned the entire blogspot.com domain! Which is funny, but also poses the question, how will I update this blog if its banned by the CCP? Apparently, there are ways around this (something called proxy servers, I plead ignorance on what this is exactly). Anyway, you can read Tyrrell's Business Week MBA Journal, 7 entries total, here.

I still owe you pictures of the Canature BBQ Grill, I know you can't wait, and CEIBS 4-week Pre-Course details. One final triumph, my computer fixed itself yesterday.

Computer at home has stopped working AGAIN.

Going to send my HKUST & RSM "I regret to inform you..." letters today. HKUST's campus is really, really beautiful, though. Wouldn't mind going on exchange there.

Some people have asked me why I would go to China for business school when there are plenty of good schools in the US. Only getting into Columbia would make me 2nd guess my current options. I really want international experience and it would be great not paying 120K+ in student loans. What it costs to go to Columbia for one semester is nearly my entire tuition + living costs in Shanghai/HK. I want to differentiate myself from the typical MBA grad and if I can do that in the fastest growing economy in recorded history, then all the better.

"Well, you could go to China on exchange. Why not just do that?" Is the next question. In a way, I agree, especially if you want to work in the US. You get int'l exposure and a sizable look at the place without really committing. However, that seems like using a very expensive middle man that can just as easily be cut out, especially if you're considering post-MBA career options in the region.

In reality, going to HK or CEIBS as an int'l student is a bit of a gamble. You're taking risks on several areas, political stability, varying political support for the schools, career options, school reputation/recognition and whether you'll even like the place/people/culture. On the long term, I think and Asian MBA is a safe bet since despite the high likelihood of volatility, this is a region that is already important today and will continue on that path for the foreseeable future.

I just hope they don't decide to float the yuan or HKD before I have to pay the tuition bill!!

CEIBS Campus Gate:


Information Centre:


For more pictures click here.

Finally got my CEIBS acceptance package (thank you for the two day delay, TNT Courier Service). Contents included:

• Acceptance Letter
• Summary of deposit, registration, financial aid, and housing.
• Payment information
• Confirmation Letter of Enrollment
• Regulations for CEIBS Dormitories
• 2005 4-Week Pre-Course in Chinese Details.
• One issue of City Weekend
• One Canature BBQ Grill Brochure

Yes. That last one is correct. I was entirely confused when I pulled it out. This led to a series of questions. Do they want me to buy a grill? Where would I put it? Do they have BBQ sauce in China? If so, where? Why is everyone in the brochure white? Is there really such thing as an "Aussie style" grill?? My final thought was, mmmmmm, that steak on the front page looks really good.

I will post pictures of the brochure tonight!

And if you need a grill: BBQ Grills! Design Your Own Island!

More details on the 4-week Pre-Course later.

I've been added to the list of blogs on the League of MBA Bloggers website (link in title). I'm the first one for CEIBS, so that should be interesting.

MBA News: I should be getting my admittance package from CEIBS today and hopefully it is more comprehensive than the acceptance email (see post below). During my interview with the school they mentioned a 4-week pre-orientation for international students starting on July 25. From what I was told, it is an intensive study of the language, history, and culture of China and will let students settle in before the real class work starts. Should be useful, but this is the first year they are considering doing this so I'm not even entirely sure that it will happen. If so, I'll probably be leaving NYC around July 22nd, assuming I go straight to Shanghai (as opposed to stopping somewhere like Hong Kong for a short vacation).

Also, if you're interesting in an MBA and haven't already been there, check out the Business Week MBA Forums for tons of info. Not the easiest site to navigate, though.

...a formula in order to maximize my social activities with studying. Still a work in progres... But I can tell you it involves Variables!

This is obviously a result of too much time in front of my Quantitative Methods book. It has convinced me there is a mathematically elegant solution for all problems.

...for the title of the site “AMP Treatise” tell me. I don’t even know how to pronounce Treatise.

And appropriately, The Link of the Week: China Century

Been getting a lot of my Shanghai information from this site. Everything from visas, to medical attention, to how to deal with what is apparently a favorite Chinese national pastime, people cutting in front of you.

Here is the offical email:

Dear candidate,

Congratulations!

You have been successfully admitted into the 2005 Intake of CEIBS MBA Programme commencing in September, 2005.

The MBA Office will send you an official letter regarding your admission offer today. You are expected to follow the procedures stipulated in the letter to confirm your enrolment.

Best regards

MBA Admissions Office

China Europe International Business School

Somewhat of a pedestrian letter, eh?

Got the letter Saturday morning. Ceibs - Admitted! Official letter to come.

Shanghai-Pudong Skyline


Shanghai Bund at Night


No, I can't read the signs: