Next time from Reims...

My stay in England is nearing its end, slowly but surely. I have a few final weeks left to enjoy all that the university offers here. The idea that I will be talking about living in England in past tense four months from now scares me a bit, but the idea that France will certainly offer me similar student experience, albeit at higher level professionally, comforts me.

So am I using my last days in England as efficiently as I can? Of course, studies take up most of my time – teamwork, tests, and preparation for exams. But, as I have mentioned, the system of university life in the UK is such that if the degree is the only thing you walk away with from the university, then the university failed. So I started to fully focus on volunteering in addition to part-time work in public opinion research. I regularly help with teaching in the first grade of a nearby elementary school. Protected by the university, which offers useful advice and supports me when I am in trouble, I get a chance to see what it is really like being on the other side. When teaching, I can forget my academic duties and focus fully on much more serious issues such as refusals to share colored pencils and stolen scissors. True, it’s not always fun – trying to explain things to little children in standard English isn’t exactly easy, especially if you don’t comprehend their replies, as some of them still lisp and swallow most of their words. But it’s a unique life experience. At this point, I also sub for Czech lessons here at the university, which is more demanding but also more fun. Sometimes I feel like I am studying a pedagogic program instead of a managerial one.

Placement in the field of consulting is mandatory this year. We were assigned a client with whom we solve sudden problems, propose sophisticated solutions and seek a way through many a compromise. Not only do I really enjoy the work – it also offers me insight into the real business world. Yesterday’s rules no longer apply – three partners withdrew from an agreement, and two new ones gave a nod to the new terms. The government will not support the project financially if we don’t meet 100% of their terms, then again, without the government funds our rules would be looser. I have to admit that I had no idea how quickly things change in business – but that’s what placement is for: to give us at least an idea of what we’re getting ourselves into once we have completed our studies.

And, to inject some business into my leisure activities, I enrolled in the prestigious Red Rose Business Weekend competition organized by our university, where universities from all over the UK compete in early March. In a matter of hours, we have to resolve a problem assigned to us by IBM and Saatchi & Saatchi. We then have to present the solution backed by relevant arguments to a jury that will select the winning team and reward it with one thousand pounds.

I’m never bored. I don’t have time for all the leisure activities that I was able to pursue last year. But I’m not sorry for a single moment that I feel tired, because that’s exactly what gives strength to my personality. So I will savor the last 10 weeks of life in the UK and start getting ready to leave for Reims, where I will study for another year and a half.