LEAP and Greece!

Since I last wrote, I’ve had another couple weeks of classes, the beginning of LEAP, date with a professor, a trip to Asolo with my Italian class and our long travel weekend to Greece. Where to start!?

Classes have continued and it’s amazing how I don’t dread going to class like I would at home. It’s one of the only times in my day that is set to sit and focus without my mind running a hundred different directions on things I have to do.

LEAP started with the leadership competency workshop that I mentioned towards the end of my last entry. It was a fun way to learn some more about how the mind works within our smaller groups and was way more fun than I anticipated. With that Monday night and my first one on one coaching session on Wednesday of that week I really began to see what LEAP was going to be all about. It has already been a very eye opening experience that has helped me understand myself more and things I would like to work on. I have set specific goals that with the help of my group and my coach, Anna, I look forward to attaining by the end of the semester. The one on one coaching session lasted a little over 45 minutes and was a great way for me to put into words and actually face what I want to do. The next week we had our first group coaching session with our coach and worked on setting a mission statement and defining what we want and expect from our group. We have all become even closer friends than before and I am really excited to grow with my group and to help everyone reach their goals.

Next was one of two dates with a professor night. A group of about 6 of us went to McDonalds and then bowling with Katy Jo and Tommy from the front office. I was originally a little skeptical of how much fun it would be but it was a blast! It was a great way to let loose and get to know people that I don’t normally spend a lot of time with at other times of the program. I actually came in second in bowling too (without bumpers)!

That Friday my Italian teacher took our class to a nearby town called Asolo where the CIMBA MBA campus is located. The town was BEAUTIFUL! It reminded me of Venice minus all of the water as roadways. It is an extremely old medieval town that dates back to the 1200’s when famous women built their palaces there. The same fountains that they used still exist and with the town being set up high on a hill it was so charming to walk around and the views were spectacular, despite our dreary weather. We even got a tour of the MBA campus. It seems like it is a very intense program! At the end of our tour we grabbed some gelato and coffee at a small cafe and headed back to campus. I am very grateful that I got the chance to go to Asolo and wander around!

Our first long travel weekend just ended yesterday and my group of 9 friends and I went to Athens Greece. It started with a 3:30 am alarm clock wake up on Friday morning. When we got to the the Marco Polo airport to check in we were informed that our connecting flight from Vienna to Athens may be canceled due to a Greek strike. It was already delayed 3 hours but we decided we might as well at least make it to Vienna before deciding anything drastic. When we landed in Vienna it had only been delayed about another hour so we decided Greece is where we wanted to end up and waited it out. We finally made it to Greece at around 5:30 pm (4 hours later than expected) and were greeted by a HUGE line of people waiting for taxis outside. The public transportation workers were on strike until 5am Saturday morning. That left us to break up into three groups and take three cabs to our hostel. Jessica, Jill and I of course got a driver that did not recognize our hostel address and spoke no English. I made a couple calls to the hostel and with all the traffic we arrived about an hour later. We got all checked in and decided to grab some authentic Greek food for a late dinner.

We went to the most amazing restaurant. They gave us a group deal so for 12 Euro each we got to try a little bit of everything and got some white wine! We started with appetizers which were: garlic and plain bread, a sour cream yogurt dip, a salad with all kinds of vegetables, a potato and cheese dish. For the main course we got to try Octopus (not calamari but straight octopus- way better than I thought it would be), fish with rice, a zucchini potato and eggplant type lasagna dish, lamb with noodles, and pork with potatoes. For dessert we all got a taste of the Greek cake called Kalvaz. It was a cous cous type texture with a cinnamon and sugar topping. Delicious! We went back to the sports bar for a bit before calling it a night- about 22 hours after we originally woke up.

The next morning we started with a tour from the hostel of the main archaeological sites in Athens. We got to see Hadrian’s Arch, Zeus’ temple, the Olympic stadium, the National Gardens, and the Parliament Building. At the Parliament Building we saw the guards march around and do their “exercises” as our tour guide called it. We then headed to the Monstaraki area where there was an awesome shopping district and our tour guide pointed out a great Gyro stand where we grabbed lunch for only 1.80 Euro. It was delectable! We decided to break off from the tour there and do some shopping before heading back to the hostel to regroup. The weather began to turn from beautifully warm and sunny to cool and a little cloudy. We stuck to our original plan of heading to the beach and despite the weather, it was definitely still worth it. It was so nice to see the ocean and mountains despite the cool weather. We spent the afternoon relaxing and wandering. Greece is truly a beautiful country and I hope to return someday and visit the islands.

That night we were all craving some burgers so we found the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. After dinner Tom, Ryan, Nicole and I stopped at a local bakery right near our hostel and began talking with the old man who was the owner. Nicole and I got an awesome chocolate heart filled with a chocolate mousse and pie crust base to split! We then met the rest of the group back at the sports bar where we met Matt, who was originally from California, but had been living and studying in Greece for the past 5 years. He took us to a bar in the Monstaraki area that we had been shopping at earlier. It was really fun and we got to see Athen’s hopping night life.

We got up early Sunday morning before we had to be at the airport to climb the Acropolis and see the Parthenon. The views from the top were breathtaking. It’s amazing to think of the history and how long the columns and temples have been there. You could see so far even with the clouds rolling in. We got all our sightseeing in just as it started to spit. We grabbed a bus to the airport and it began to pour. We lucked out with our weather overall because we were told it was the rainy season. We made it back on time and grabbed pizza in Bassano near the train station before heading back to campus. It was a long weekend with not very much sleep but so worth it!

This week is absolutely crazy for me! Two papers, two tests, a quiz and a presentation along with another LEAP one on one session, and a formal dinner Thursday night. We also have company tours on Wednesday morning. My group got assigned to go visit a company called Northwave. They manufacture snowboards and bindings- it should be really cool! My friends and I leave Friday night for an overnight train to Rome before spending our second and final week long break visiting Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre and Bologna. Only 39 days until I leave CIMBA. I can’t even grasp how quick time is going! It really is true- time FLIES when you’re having fun!