The sound of silence

With our summer interns gone and everyone working furiously towards our ambitious end-of-the-year goals, the office has gone dead silent. I need to download some new songs or I may go a bit crazy. Here's a glimpse of the team at Alex's goodbye dinner (the last of the summer despedidas):

In order of appearance: Tiani, Yadira, Armando, me, Alex.


On a side note, Sagrario is now full time working and playing with me. Rodrigo is no longer a part of our team. I am starting to recruit if you know of anyone.

Is this the end?

According to the recount, Mexico has a new president or, rather, the same one was confirmed. There are some crazy people out there, but hopefully this will bring the end of some of the protests. Dates to watch out for: September 1 - State of the nation, September 16 - Independence day and December 1 - swear in new president.

Now, if only we could end the violence in Oaxaca....

Dialogue in the Dark

Tonight I went to see an exhibit designed by an Ashoka Fellow in Germany -- Dialogue in the Dark. Tiani and I gathered in the children's museum, el papalote (butterfly in Nahuatl), and took a 6:30 tour of the exhibit. It started with a tutorial on how to use a cane and use your senses to guide yourself, then we entered into pitch darkness and learned to see the world through blind eyes. Our blind guide led us fumbling through the darkness to smell, feel, and listen a series of scenes until we sat down at a cafe for a candid question and answer session. I'm always amazed by the work of our Fellows.

After the Dialogue, we attended the inauguration of a new exhibit of photography by the blind. We got to hear one person tell his inspiration for his photo (light and openness), but mostly mingled and marveled at the diversity of perspectives. As we headed out into the monsoon armed with chocolate covered strawberries we reflected that tonight was a good night. There is always so much more to learn and experience.

Ouchy

Among other things, I got a tattoo this weekend:








Ok, so it's henna, but I still like it.

Will I really look back and laugh someday?

Mexican's often complain about the bureaucratic process of getting a US visa, but I have had a horrible time with Mexico's bureaucracy. I think this back and forth has been the cause of much of my stress over the past month. Here are a few highlights:

In early July I put in an application for "change of migratory status" after I pulling together all of the items on the checklist (proof that the org i'm working with exists and has been paying taxes, my credentials, etc.).

When I called to see if it was ready 3.5 weeks later i was excited to hear i could come pick it up. Instead of a visa, I got a letter requesting more info (including some of what I had turned in). Unfortunately this was a week before my trip to DC and they told me i couldn't leave the country with an application in. They sent me to another window who sent me to the migration office at the airport where they told me I needed to fill out a form and pay about $25 to get a letter that would let me leave for up to 30 days. Of course this was two days before the flight (in the midst of work and meetings) and the letter took 24 hours to process.

When I went to pick up my official letter just before the flight, they couldn't find it at first (note: I called the afternoon before to confirm and they had trouble finding it). When they did hand it over, they explained that I needed a stamp when I passed through immigration in the US and again when I got back to Mexico. When I got back to Mexico, though, they told me I needed to go to immigration (seek out the stand even though I'd just come from the office) to get them to stamp the letter on the way out of Mexico. Since I only had four stamps from the same day (they couldn't figure out when i left with the round stamp, only the long one I didn't have), I had to pay a $50 fine. Of course nobody told me any of this before.

Currently, i am putting together the additional info they requested including a letter from the US headquarters and hope to put in my application tomorrow. Maybe I'll get my visa before I leave Mexico next year....

This is why I can hardly read the news anymore

Mexico is a crazy mixed up place nowadays. Not that it's worse than other countries, but the current political situation is still a bit out of control. Here are a few highlights:

Mexican election results are still being disputed.
I understand that Lopez Obrador has a lot of support and wants to be president, but here's what I don't get:
- If he only questioned the results of some polling areas, why does he expect the courts to approve a full recount instead of just the areas he disputes?
- If he cares about Mexico, why create chaos and cost the city so much money and hassle?
It seems that the biggest losers at the moment are Obrador's supporters who are striking (ie. giving up their income) and who live or work in the areas most affected by the protests (downtown). The "rich" mostly live and work in the outskirts of the city and are generally unaffected by the chaos downtown.
I guess he never claimed to promote democracy, but what kind of government would he run if he doesn't respect "the authorities" (ie. if he'll reject the recount if it doesn't come out in his favor?)

Here's today's update:
Mexico "leftists" blockade foreign banks.
Attacking foreign investment is generally a good way to show the country that you will make strong, sound leader promoting economic stability.

I'm still working on getting the full story, but there are still lots of holes and I'd rather take the side of peace and prosperity.

Eye Candy

For some reason I couldn't post pics with the last few posts. If this works, here's an album of the previous posts for you visual learners:

1. Deepak sampling wine at Tabor Hill vineyard




2. View of Lake Michigan from the top of the Dune





3. View of downtown Chicago from the Architecture tour boat





4. Me brunching near the Navy Pier in Chicago

Back to Business

Feedback on the b-schools I visited in order of visit with a little commentary on the areas:

Chicago, the city: loved it and would love to live or work nearby for a little while.

University of Chicago
A last-minute addition to my schedule after a tip from a Kellogg '08 student who looked at Chicago, too. I was one of 3 potentials in the info session, so we got lots of personalized info from an associate director of admissions, but no student feedback. The tour was led by someone who didn't seem to know much about the program, but it was hard not to be impressed by the beautiful state-of-the art facilities. I fell in love with the classrooms and winter garden. On the way out, though, there was mention of how competitive registration is -- people line up down the hall. I guess the flexible curriculum doesn't let everyone take everything they want. Just because my gut likes the school, I'm not convinced to add Chicago to my list, it's still a backup.

Northwestern
I had high hopes and was pretty sure Northwestern was up on my list, but I was completely unimpressed by the campus. I missed the info session and class visit due to the time it took to get to Evanston, but did get a personalized tour of by a current one-year student. The community sounds great, but I couldn't see myself going there. Sad to see it go, but Northwestern's off my list, too.

South Bend, IN: nice town that pretty much centers around Notre Dame. The campus is really nice, though definitely geared towards Football season.

Notre Dame
Everyone was really friendly and I really like what I saw in the school (focus on ethics, strong Catholic influence, strong alumni network, etc.). After more evaluating, though, it doesn't bring much more value than Maryland would and would cost more, so it's coming off my list, too.

Ann Arbor, MI: A little more out-of-the-way than I'd like, but pretty and a nice college town. Undergrads abound, but I do get a sense that there are places to hide out in graduate communities. I get the impression it doesn't get quite as cold as I feared, just lots of snow.

I met with several different Admissions staff members and really appreciated their openness. They even tried to woo me a bit, reinforcing my confidence about applying business school. I think I could get into Ross and be happy there, so I feel much better about this whole process.

Due to my school visits and conversations, here is my current list:
Top: Stanford GSB and Michigan (Ross)
Likely: Berkeley (Haas), UVA (Darden) and UMD (Smith)
Backup: Dartmouth (Tuck), University of Chicago GSB, UNC (Kenan-Flagler)

I guess it's time to start pounding those essays.

Meeting the Midwest - Part II

It's nice to drive around and see corn fields and blue skies. I could do without the hot, muggy weather, but my biggest concerns have to do with snowy cold winters, so I can deal with heat. My week went a little like this:

Tuesday - Went to Shipshewana, IN for a little Amish food and market. The market wasn't what I expected (few Amish vendors, more like a sprawling garage sale), but we got a great all-american breakfast near the carriage rides and found some yummy fresh peanut butter, cheese and meat, handmade ice cream (in rootbeer floats), and local fruits and veggies. Got back to town and ate another full meal -- that means I'm recovering. In the afternoon, we got in a bit of putt-putt golfing to warm up the skills for business school.

Wednesday - Early morning interview for Notre Dame. Then we found a great new Filipino restaurant that had just opened in South Bend with an all-you-can eat buffet for $4.99. I get the sense the new owners are just experimenting in the restaurant business. They were very sweet, but not especially friendly nor accommodating to potential customers looking to order small dishes. I hope business picks up, 'cause they had a great menu-in-the-making. Finally, I got my real first business lesson at the Notre Dame driving range. I learned the basics of a swing and tried out some putting. I am now equipped with a golf glove and basic knowledge of clubs and swings. I may need a few more lessons before turning pro.

Thursday - After a midday mass at Notre Dame cathedral, Deepak and I ventured into Michigan for a bit of wine tasting and a yummy lunch overlooking the Tabor Hill vineyards. After lunch, we went to check out the nearby Warren Dune state park, expecting a little sand and some wildlife and found a full-blown beach full of swimmers and boogyboarders alongside a huge sand dune that families were sledding down. Since we weren't prepared, but were only 30 min from home, we headed back to South Bend to pick up swimsuit and dinner and made it back for some swimming in late Michigan and sunset from the top of the dune. We just made it back before the lightening storm hit.

Friday - Another Michigan adventure, this time in Ann Arbor. Deepak and I left bright and early to make the 2.5 hour journey to University of Michigan before the noon tour. After a quick breakfast in the Ross cafeteria, we got a personalized tour of the facilities and a description of the new building that will be finished in 2008. Summer's not the most interesting time to visit, but I did get lots of one-on-one attention. After the tour, I continued with my scheduled meetings: one with the Associate Director of Admissions and one with the Director of the Women's Inititiative. Both were friendly and open to answering any and all of my questions and I really felt like I could see myself at Ross. We left in good time and explored a bit of Ann Arbor before heading back to rest.

Saturday - After a homemade brunch, it was time for more local exploring. Deepak and I hit the poorly-funded Mishawaka botanical gardens, then stopped off at a historic drive-in for some rootbeer floats and finished off the afternoon with a hike a nearby state park. I still have the bug bites to show for it. After a nice long nap, we closed off the visit with a nice dinner and a long-awaited berry cobbler a la mode.

Sunday - The final episode in the saga implied an early-morning trek back to Chicago for brunch followed by an architecture tour by boat before heading to the mall to meet Deepak's mom and sister for lunch. It was an eventful day, but I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare and got home just in time to crash. It'll be tough to get back to work after such a long, relaxing week.