Just a usual Friday

I might have just had my last usual student friday of my life.Class in the morning, then group meeting. It is incredible how much I have to study now, it is simply incredible.
But now, i am going home, then going out. Then tomorrow and after tomorrow fully dedicated to the human resource final paper. I havent been to Concordia (very nice pub, full with excahnge students) since i am back to HOlland, so it will be high time! Cant wait, indeed!

I do not know yet where i will go in week time, indeed options are still open. I do not have anything fixed yet, although right now it seems that even if not right now, i will be back in milan, in a very short time! :-)

But I am sorta starting to like it here :-( I have met excellent people, in all the 3 master classes i am following. And Balazs is also here (a Hungarian guy I know from Milan) and is it really nice to catch up with him during the breaks. Okay, I hate being at the university from 9.00 am to 11.00 pm, but since i have so much to do, time is really flying. But, since I am always with people, and with really excellent people, it is not that awful after all.

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What else, the riots in Hungary seem to calm down.

Anyways, i cannot provide you guys more news, as there aro no news.

This time I will not bother with pics, but if you speak Hungarian, you have to see this one (note: it does not in any way express my political view!) :

Breaking News

It was a bit over midnight, I was going to take a break, so I switched on the TV.
BBC says, breaking news and showed a crowd, some cars set on fire, and teargas in the air...
then i realized, it was Budapest:

CNN reported:
BUDAPEST, Hungary (CNN) -- Protesters stormed the headquarters of Hungary's state television network and set fires in and around the building early Tuesday after the country's prime minister admitted lying about the economy "throughout the past one and a half or two years."
Smoke and tear gas wreathed the headquarters of state broadcaster MTV, where police clashed with demonstrators around midnight Monday.
Officers turned water cannon on protesters, some of whom were trying to break into the building, and several officers were injured during the demonstrations, police spokesman Lajos Nenet said.
The turmoil exploded Sunday, when state radio aired an audiotape of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany telling members of his ruling Socialist Party that his government had lied about the state of the country's economy throughout its two years in office.
"We lied throughout the past one and a half or two years," he said. "We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening and also at night."
Protests began Monday night outside Hungary's parliament and moved to the television station by midnight. The demonstrations drew as many as 10,000 people, many of them from the country's conservative opposition, to the streets outside the broadcast center, Nenet said.
The remarks came in a conversation taped during a party retreat in May. President Laszlo Solyom said the prime minister's admission has caused a "moral crisis" in Hungary, but Gyurcsany -- who has led the the NATO and EU member state since 2004 -- has vowed to remain in office despite the protests.
Gyurcsany's center-left coalition won a new mandate in April by a narrow margin, become the first Hungarian government re-elected since the Iron Curtain came down in 1989. Opponents had accused his government of manipulating economic data during the campaign.
On the tape, he said the government had botched economic policy "not a little bit, but very much. None of the other European countries have done such stupid things that we did."
Gyurcsany told interviewers he was referring to the actions of Hungary's political elite over several years, not just his government.


cnn

bbc

watch it on bbc

corriere

Counting down...

I am almost at the half of the very last stay in holland. (no matter what happens, i doubt anyone can make me stay here) I cannot take this dutch superioty feeling against foriegners and this amatour teaching quality.

Why?I am taking 3 courses now (practicaly I am following 3 master programes, if I did it for the whole year, not only for september, i would have 3 diplomas):

The Strategy Process (MSc in strategy management): What the hell is this course? nothing to do with business. I would even say that strategy is a really far concept from the course. It is kinda philosophing about the meaning of strategy and has no practical approach. The literature is written in such an English that sometimes i do not get the point!

International and strategic human resource management (MSc in Human Resource).This course is a joke. Structure and quality could be one of a course in high school. Demanding, but only because it is ill structured. and how international the course is? what is 'local' in the literature, is 'dutch' on the class, what is 'international' in the literature is 'foreigner' in the class. (So we do not study the local companies international business practicess, but dutch companies operations abroad, and vice versa). Also, you gotta stop speaking in dutch completaly on a master course, it is in english because there are international students, and not to enhance the dutch students' language competences. (Btw, there are some nice girls on this course :-)

Strategy of Innovation (MSc Innovation Management)The only really interesting course, which btw makes sense. It is a petty that there are way too many readings. But it is realy enjoyable, eventhough not too focused on innovation and sometimes the class is really slow.
Anyhow, doing 3 courses, first class practically was on 6 September, the last will be on 28 Sept, total of 16 ECTS credits, one ECTS stands for 28 hours of work (preparation, groupwork, etc), that mean 448 hours of work in a bit more than 3 weeks, which is funny, beacuse in theory i have 2,6 hours a day out of 24, for my private things (sleeping, eating, commuting), so i am studying 21,4 hours a day. Once more, RSM, congratulations, you got a really viable system here.

There is, nevertheless, a very positive thing, which i am quite impressed by. And this is the kindness of Dani, Alex, and Mariska. The previous two rented me their rooms for september, solving a major problem for me. the room belongs to alex, who did not even know me beforehand, still rented the room, and they are extremely nice, and kind, and help a lot. Mariska is great too, making my stay a lot easier here (she waited me with food 2 weeks ago when i arrived). Incredible, such stand up guys here, in this shit of misorganized place. But thx a lot, guys!!!! Really!

Btw, still no news about the job in milan... And i am getting certain doubts now. Maybe i should not take that job, maybe i should go somewhere else. Maybe i am not that determined.
I was just thinking, now that I spend my time, from 9 am to 9 pm at the uni, that it would be great to do this very hard month in Lisbon. Uni is open 24/7, and you got nice people at the uni (yeah, Joao, believe, I prefere studying there, where people show some emotions, unlike here, everyone is like a machine in this room, i feel pretty much like i was the only person in this huge room now).

Anyhow, way too long post, and way too many things i still need to do.
So, guys take care!!!And Thao, update your blog more often pls! ;-)
Ciao!
ps: well, some 'dutch' photos, as usual :-)

Incredible, this part is taken from MyYahoo weather forecast, from all the places that count to me, Rotterdam has the nices weather now!

The uni campus

This is Amsterdam...

That friggin famous bridge in Rotterdam

back to holland

It is my 4th day in Holland, and so far it has not been that awful, actually.
I have not studied too much yet, and have not worked on my projects either, and it seems like today is the first day when it will be really about studying, since i have a lot to read for tomorrow!

I had my first class yesterday, i short one, from 9 am to 4 pm. And now i am realizing how difficult it is to be at 2 aulas at the same time. It is practicaly impossible. And tomorrow again, 2 overlapping lessons, and both kinda important for forming groups.

I got my grade from the july resit, of International Finance and Accounting. I got an 8 (of 10) which is my best grade here!!!! It is a pitty now, that it is only a 5 credits subject, so it will not increase my average too much.

Also, other good news, one of the exams was moved from the end of october to the end of september, so i have to come back only for one exam (if everything goes well).

I am also kinda happy for the accommodation, it is really nice, although it is soooo far from the city center. And eventhough i am trying to engage in to a 'nerding life' for this month to manage with the courses, it would be much nicer to move out some times, this temptation is big!

I know I am awful, but I am counting my days left in holland. It is 22, twenty two now! I have arleady got fed up with coming to the uni, which takes 20 minutes, but i gotta come here every day since i have no internet connection at home.
The weather has not been so great, but it could be worse, i know it, so i will make my mind with this one.

Balazs (hungarian guy, who studied at Bocconi) just arrived yesterday, he will study at school of economics, and they are quite lucky since they have already fun a flat for themselves. Anyhow, we were talking yesterday, he is starting to realize what this place is about ;-)

Anyways, i am thinking organizing some bocconi evening here, since we are supposed to be like over 10 people here from bocconi, it would be nice..