My Friendly Neighbourhood Riot Police

My small apartment is the size of a closet and it does not have Internet access -- and this has forced me to get out and enjoy Paris. So far, I've uncovered a few Internet cafes, including free WiFi at the local McDo. Unfortunately, the WiFi is unreliable. One young geek suggested that the signal is interrupted by the riot police. They are all around my neighbourhood and they are communicating with their walkie-talkies. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a war zone because of the sirens, the police cars and buses. Many streets and sidewalks are closed.

Le Palais de Marrakech

Here are photos from our delicious Moroccan dinner at Le Palais de Marrakech in Versailles. Ymmm. The couscous was delicious.

Le Vrai Parisien

At last, I am living in Paris, just steps away from the Seine, the Notre Dame and the Louvre. I live on a small pedestrian street in the vibrant Quartier Latin. (The high concentration of universities made Latin the dominant language in this area many, many years ago.) My two favourite hangouts are la bibliotheque Sainte Genevieve and la club quartier latin (the gym) because they are housed in beautiful old French buildings, illumanated by skylights.



I invited a few MBA students over for some champagne to help me celebrate my new location.

The Canadians

Can you imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower?

The Final Countdown

With just a handful of assignments left, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My MBA experience will soon be finished. One thing that has impressed me here at HEC is the involvement of the Parisian business community and other prominent guests. For instance, in our Marketing of Services class, executives from Air France, EuroStar and Accor took the time to attend our class and comment on our presentations. Our Strategy in Emerging Markets professor invited another professor from St. Petersburg, Russia to share his insights on Russia's business environment. One of my favourite classes is Mergers and Acquisitions - Tricks of the Lawyer's Trade. It's taught by two bright and energetic lawyers. In each class, they drop hints related to their work on the latest high profile deal. Judging by their excitement and passion in the classroom, I am sure they enjoy a high level of job satisfaction. Both of the lawyers are HEC alumni. How inspiring!

St. Patty's Day Party

It was fun to reunite with Roneil, another Ivey student on exchange this term at LBS. He certainly demonstrated his Irish spirit by sporting a bright green t-shirt at the St. Patty's Day Party last week.




As I approach the end of my MBA, it was interesting to compare notes with b-school students from LBS and HEC at the party.

However, even more interesting was the green beer. Roneil discovered that it was green coloured orange juice!

Brighton with Ben

I escaped to Brighton, a seaside town, an hour South of London. I enjoyed the chance to reunite with some relatives. We had a lovely time strolling through the town. I admired the Royal Pavillon and the view from the famous pier.

The London Eye

This is London

The morning after my cauchemar (nightmare) with the taxis in Paris, I booked a Eurostar ticket to London. I made plans to meet some friends studying at the London Business School and the London School of Economics, attend an HEC Alumni Event in Notting Hill and reunite with my cousins living just outside of London.

After spending the past three months in France, I experienced a mild culture shock when I arrived at Waterloo station. It had been over a decade since my last trip to England. Internet cafes were abundant. Stores were open late - as well as on Sundays. Cars were driving on the left side of the road, they were much bigger...


I found the pace to be much quicker than in Paris. Fast food outlets were everywhere. People seemed to be in a rush to get wherever they were going: I saw men running up the escalators in the tube! It was quite easy to get a taxi at any time. I found a black cab within a minute and with minimal effort. Whenever I had my small suitcase, I was stalked by unlicensed taxis offering to take me wherever I wanted to go...

Stranded in Paris

A Saturday night pub crawl through Paris ended shortly after midnight at Pub St. Germain. As public transportation is unavailable at that time, a few of us decided to find a taxi for the 20 km journey back to our university residence. I wish I had known that finding a taxi in Paris after midnight is mission impossible as I would have left the pub crawl a few hours earlier to catch the last train.


The few taxis on the road were a rare sighting. The ones we did see were either full or unwilling to drive beyond the city limits. We continued to hunt for taxis in the 4e, 5e and 6e arrondissement for more than 2 hours. By this time, nothing was open, not even the creperie stands. We were frozen, tired and thirsty. The city was dark and eerily quiet. In desperation, I called a few friends living in Paris in search of some temporary relief from the elements until the trains re-started. I guess they were sleeping as nobody answered their phone.

Next we tried to find shelter at hotels but the lobby entrances were locked. Imagine the feeling of being completely stranded in Paris? We were frustrated. Prior to living in France, all four of us had traveled in developed and less developed countries and had never encountered such a hassle in finding a taxi.

Over the next hour, we flagged down a few more taxis until one of them finally accepted our generous incentive. We offered him double the regular fare. We got back to the residence just after 4 am. It certainly was a night that I'd like to forget.

French at the Sorbonne?

I've always dreamed of taking a French course at the Sorbonne. To make this dream a reality, I've made a few attempts to register for a French language course...and I'm still working on it.

My first attempt to register was thwarted by the limited hours of the registrar office. Did you know they close daily for a two hour lunch and that they close at noon on Wednesdays? As I walked through the building, a Sorbonne student handed me a pamphlet on France's new youth labour law. (This controversial law makes it easier for employers to fire workers under 26 years old.) I didn't think much of this news until I made my second attempt to register for a course. This time I was blocked by police officers in riot gear! They prevented me from stepping foot on the property. Oh la la la.

While I had planned a third attempt, the riots on the weekend have dampened my enthusiasm. I heard that a number of police officers were injured and a union leader is now in a coma! Apparently,a group of students have occupied the university: they call themselves the "Sorbonne Occupation Committee in Exile" and here's what they released:

"The Sorbonne University with its airs of eternity. Full of suspended history. Marble hallways like a frozen swamp. When there is no sun, learn to ripen under the ice. Then ten days ago, the ice started melting, one evening in centuries. A fire of tables and final papers: a flame higher than any man, in the middle of the quad, the quad of ceremonies. No more murmurs in the lecture halls, and in the hallways, no more discourses, just jostling together, searching for a structure. It begins. Projectiles, screams, fire extinguishers, chairs, ladders, against the cops. A monster awakens."

As I type this, I can hear HEC students chanting something in French outside of my residence. I wonder if they are protesting the labour laws too? When will these students calm down so that I can realize my dream of taking a French course at the Sorbonne after I finish the MBA? Maybe they should stay in school until the age of 27 so they won't have to worry about the new labour laws?

Les Deux Magots

My last night in Egypt

After I reached my threshold of Egyptian history and culture - the temples, mummies, and tombs were beginning to look the same - I wanted to experience regular life in Cairo. I was mesmerized by the merchants in the bustling Khan el-Khalili souk (bazaar). When crossing the crowded roads, jammed with cars that were two or three decades old, I was terrified of the careless taxi drivers. The concierege at the hotel advised me to "look both ways, look both ways again and then one more time". I was amused to see donkeys, tourists, completely covered Muslims and more modern Muslims integrated together in the streets of Cairo. I was deeply disturbed to witness so many poor children begging for money. While the military dominated the city, Egyptian women were almost invisible. Overall, my trip to Egypt was exceptional. It's an intriguing place that I've always dreamed of visiting after my Father spoke of his Egyptian adventure in the 60s. His black and white photos captivated me: I hope that my photos have inspired you to visit Egypt too. I can't wait to compare notes with my Father! Perhaps we'll have photos of the same VW Beetles?

Sharm El Sheikh (or a Red Sea Resort Town)

Sharm El Sheikh is located at the southernmost point of the Sinai Peninsular, between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai. A chain of mountains provide a spectacular backdrop to the desert sand and the crystal blue water.




Unlike other places in Egypt, I found Sharm to be very relaxed, clean and calm. There are more tourists in Sharm than Egyptians. The town consisted of the following: dive shops, hotels, souvenir stores, bars, restaurants and plenty of shisha cafes.

Valley of the Kings

From their grand tombs, the pharaohs believed they would embark on a journey that would see them meet the gods in the afterlife and achieve immortality.