The Calm Before the Storm

Well, I arrived in Philly on Friday afternoon in preparation for classes which start on Monday (May 11th). I spent Friday and Saturday getting to know my future Lauder classmates and settling into my temporary home (for the month of May). For those who know me, I'm not a big night-life guy, but I've enjoyed spending the evenings getting to know students over a Sprite/beer. Unfortunately, I don't think my Sprites cost any less than their beers. Regardless, it has been fun.

As a married 30 (almost 31) year-old with 2 kids, I find myself in an interesting living arrangement. It didn't make much sense to move my family out to Philly for the whole summer knowing that I would be in Argentina and Spain for 2/3 of it, so they stayed behind and I found myself living with 3 Lauder roommates, eating frozen pizzas and cereal. Oh, the life of a bachelor!

My three roommates are as intriguing as they are intelligent. One of them was admitted to HBS and another to Stanford. Like me, Wharton was their top choice of schools due to the Lauder program. One of my roommates is an American who spent his childhood living in France and is a Johns Hopkins alum. Another is ethnically Chinese, born in the US, raised in Singapore and educated at Stanford. My third roommate is a fellow BYU grad who has been in pharmaceuticals and speaks perfect Japanese. I am an entrepreneur who started a business with ties in China, but am proficient in Spanish, having lived in Latin America for 12 years of my life.

We are just a sampling of what the Lauder class represents. I am anxiously awaiting the adventure that will begin in 12 hours and will end 2 years from now.