Although there are a couple of actual marathon runners in this year’s batch, I think it is safe to say we all, in a way, have been getting the hours in for a different kind of marathon. Coming out of a GNAM week which was packed with new people, new locations and new experiences and finding ourselves in a hurry to study for the first exam of the year sure felt like running 42k. Travelling the farthest away from home, that is Smurfit Graduate School of Business, to a tiny little island called Singapore with a total of 28 hours spent in flight, we weren’t only thinking about the things we would get to see but also thinking about the cash flow statement question on the Financial Reporting exam that we were going to be facing immediately after the return flight home.
It was very exciting to set foot in a southeast Asian country for the first time and the excitement really doubled after seeing the renowned Marina Bay Sands Hotel from a distance. It instantly led me to question what our hotel would look like in comparison to this shrine to engineering excellence and infinity pools. At this point in the cab, I turned to my colleague Mr. Condon and asked for a begging confirmation, we will have a pool, right?
…And yes, we did.
I didn’t pack my bag for Dublin having thought of the possibility that I would be exposed to a 35 degrees Celsius heat with a small but effective touch of 95% humidity somewhere along this exciting year. I guess it was clear that we were a little under-prepared that Monday morning, which marked the first day of lectures, with both of us in the Smurfit GNAM Party sporting the only jackets in the country. Oh well… Most importantly I had already went out to buy swimming shorts as soon as I had set my bags down in room 1104 in a crazed rush the day before.
The days passed by in a hurry. Starting with a warm welcome breakfast, going through to the eye opening first lecture about emerging markets in Asia, how we didn’t know what to do with them and how Prof. Pasha was able to teach us through a fascinating case study. Having completed the city tour, provided by the National University of Singapore, we saved the Marina Bay Park and the illustrious mega trees for later. All the while getting to know people from Nigeria, Trinidad Tobago, Costa Rica and Indonesia, listening to exciting travel/vacation plans of the group coming all the way from Mexico and catching a familiar feeling with fellow Turkish students visiting from Istanbul.
After a full week of learning about Asian markets and the logic behind Singapore’s rise to being one of the most prominent countries in the current financial markets there was still a question as to why a beer would cost double that of in Dublin. I mean they had breweries, they weren’t importing. I know because we had a refreshing visit to the birthplace of the famous Tiger Beer. Maybe it was because there were a lot of taxes attached to it in order to provide for the outstanding growth and keep everybody in the island working without compromising efficiency due to alcohol related hiccups… or maybe it was just because the common folk, with all that wealth, were able to actually afford it.
Still thinking of the Indian food that I enjoyed with our new friends on Diwali (Deepawali as Singaporeans call it) night, which was celebrated in great fashion in Little India, we embarked on our journey back, with cabin bags full of strategy cases and past exams courtesy of Mrs. Brennan.
Despite having the longest flight of my life and experiencing Singapore for the first time, the marathon wasn’t over yet. Even though we didn’t choose Singapore Airlines, which we had had the opportunity to learn everything about during our GNAM Week, there were still a lot of choices for movies on the screen in front of us. Unfortunately thought there was no time to waste as we were returning back to our first exam this year. I opened up the books, which held the keys to financial reporting, all the while catching curious, questioning looks from people wondering what important things I must have going on instead of watching the latest Spiderman movie. I’m sure Pete can relate to this, having caught the same flight as I did. Eventually closing my eyes for a quick nap towards the end of the flight, I felt like I opened my eyes in the oratory-turned-exam hall finishing that unconventional 3rd question.
As I look back on the past two weeks, I feel that we passed important milestones in our MBA run. These accumulating experiences lay the roots of our academic and also introspective trees growing ever so slightly each time we leave a comfort zone behind. Still the marathon continues and I am grateful for the opportunity to be here, experiencing challenging sprints that are tasks and deadlines. To conclude, I would like to congratulate all my colleagues that powered through these last weeks and wish them well for the upcoming figurative 42k’s. And for those who are curious: Those “trees” at Marina Bay are just amazing.
Emrecan Kercek, Full Time MBA 2017-2018