Cases, Creme Brulee and Rugby. (A.k.a.: my first full week at HBS)

Having completed a full week of classes, I’m starting to get into the rhythm of life here. It’s almost killing me. There is so much work to do that I barely get 5 hours of sleep a night. Days begin at 6:30 in the morning to meet my “learning team” (study group of 6 people) to discuss the days cases, and end after midnight preparing cases for the next day. I’m sure I’ll become faster at this the more experience I gain, and, significantly, my learning team will become more realistic about the level of preparedness they feel comfortable with…but in the meantime it’s overwhelming.

I don’t mean to sound negative, however. It has been highly educational so far; my professors and classmates are of a much higher caliber than I was expecting. The classroom is a high energy, high intensity place where every one of the 90 students is well prepared and eager to participate in the class discussion…this is easily the most enriching learning environment I’ve witnessed, let alone been a part of.

Jeff was in town this past week on business, so I managed a rare few hours of socializing with him over dinner Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Nice to see someone from home, and hear the updates on what’s happening in Toronto.
This week, Tim will be here on business as well, and is planning on staying the weekend. I have already publicized among my social group that I will ensure that Tim prepares one of his legendary dinners for us—may as well put him to work for his lodging.

In a related story, I hosted my first Harvard dinner party last night. A resounding success, too. Huge accolades on the lamb, the wine, the music, and (of course), the crème brulee. Most of all though, it was great to get people together in a relaxed setting and enjoy some conversation.

I’ve officially joined the Rugby Team (http://www.hbsrugby.com/). This is an intense bunch. The practices are serious, focused and disciplined. Our coaching staff (external to the school) are Aussies with no patience for slouches. There are two teams, the “A-Side”, which is the stronger team made up of mainly of 2nd year students, with most of the stars being foreigners. (The captain, for example, played semi-pro in northern England, and was the captain of his team at Cambridge or Oxford…one of the two). The B-Side, where I play, is less skilled on average, as about 50% of the players have little to no experience with the game. The good thing however, is that many rugby clubs have both an A-Side and a B-Side, so my team sees a competitive game most weekends. We belong to the New England Rugby Football Union (www.nerfu.org) and play other schools as well as club teams from around New England.

A team is divided into “forwards” (the big guys) and “backs” (the agile, take the ball and run-up-the-sidelines-as-fast-as-possible, players). Clearly, I’m a Back. It’s a great group of guys on the team, lots of fun and camaraderie. After matches, the home team takes the other side out for beer. At night, the rugby team gets together at a bar in Cambridge (that sponsors us) and has a night of ruckus and sing-songs. (This sing song business is new to me, though it seems to be a large part of Rugby culture. Everyone has a song they need to sing, and I’ve heard it gets pretty rowdy, though I had to miss it this week as I’d already scheduled the dinner party. Looking forward to next Saturday).

The work keeps piling on, and I’ve just come down with a crippling head cold. I need to get my case preparations over with this afternoon to allow sufficient time for a good night of sleep. Starting Monday on a sleep deficit is a sure fire path to a painful week.