Group Pics with Cambridge Team

Soccer:













Rugby:













Rowing:













Cricket:

Warrior faces...

some more impressions from the Oxford Cambridge Sports Day:

Kicking some serious Cambridge A*#

Once every year, the Oxford MBAs compete against the Cambridge MBAs in several sports:
-Soccer
-Touch Rugby
-Cricket
-Squash
-Volleyball
-Badminton
-Rowing

The tradition is that Oxford is victorious and Cambridge receives a beating (which is deserved of course for committing treason some 800 years ago -> explanation: see history of cambridge).

Yesterday was the big day!
The weather was wonderful and we kicked off the soccer game at noon. The competition was intense and on could feel that there was a lot of emotion in the game. There was a clear seperation of fans: Oxford supporters on one side and Cambridge supporters on the other side (during the course of the day we started mixing and it became a friendly & fun event; the reason? probably the many free rounds of beer)
In the end, we were victorious even though I have to admit that Cambridge had the better individual players. But we had the better team and god was of course on OUR side!
Same with touch rugby...we slaughtered them!
Same with Cricket...our Indians showed some serious Oxford action on the field and humiliated Cambridge!
Same with Squash...Oxford won!
Same with Volleyball...no chance for Cambridge!
Same with Badminton...Cambridge went down!
Same with rowing...ooopppssss not really!! Actually Cambridge beat our team. What a shame!!! Our rowers better not show up to class on Monday!

Result for me:
-played soccer
-played rugby
-was insulted by a cambridge soccer player several times (due to my excellent defense work...admittedly not always fair BUT efficient)
-major knee injury (I'm limping like a pirate)

Lots of sun, new friends and cold beer made this an enjoyable day which ended with a massive party at the business school. Free food, tribute to the MVPs of the day, live music and a DJ ended the night. Around midnight most of the Cambridge MBAs left (beaten of course). The others that stayed over night were about to be shown what a real Oxford night is like.

"You become fat.."

You won't believe what happened to me today...

I was in the library working on an assignment when Ya-Hsin walked by.
She is from Taiwan and we worked in a study group together last term...the last time i saw her was shortly before easter, so not too long ago.
I greeted her and she just stared at me like she was looking at an alien. After a while she said in her funny asian-english: "oooohhh I didn't recognie you first...hihihi...you become fat...hihihi..."
WHAT???? I couldn't believe it! She hadn't seen me for only about 4 weeks and then she tells me I've become fat?! Even so fat that she didn't recognize me any more?
What a shock...
Now all my buddies here call me "Fatty". Well, at least they can laugh about it.

Damn English food!!!!!!

Great guestspeakers...

Seems like this term we have some really really good guestspeakers for my lectures. I just read the list and it includes CFOs, Private Equity Managing Directors, Heads of Strategy, etc. from such great companies as Royal Bank of Scotland, McKinsey, Barcley's Capital, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, etc.
Guestspeakers basically teach one lecture session on a certain subject and give us some really valuable inside into the practical side of how things work.
I'm really looking forward to this and hope they can make it...in the past, the line up of the guest lecturers has changed regularly on short notice, because it is almost impossible to plan with people in positions like that. Nevertheless, the lecturers have always been able to find appropriate substitutes through the school's network in case on of the speakers cancelled in the last minute.

Touch Rugby - OUCH!

Saturday will be a BIG day!
The Cambridge MBAs are coming over to compete against us in sports...

I am part of the mixed soccer team and the mixed touch-rugby team (the soft version of rugby).
Having never played touch rugby before (just like most of my classmates), we decided to have a practice session before the game on saturday so that we actually know what we are doing.

So after some hours in the library we met on the beautiful back yard of the business school - a real English lawn (it wasn't that beautiful any more after we were done with practice).
It was a real fun game and a good break from studying...but if touch rugby already hurts that much (I have bruises all over my body), what am I going to look like after the MBA Olympics in Paris??? Andrew talked me into signing up for his rugby team (no touch, but full-contact).

More of Exeter Ball

Caroline riding the bull...she showed us guys some real skills there and lasted about 1 1/2 minutes (Richard on the other hand managed to hang on 3 seconds after telling the operator "Turn it up a couple of notches or I will hang to this thing forever!")









Crazy picture with the crazy moulin rouge dancer AKI (50% Japanes, 25% German, 25% Italian...what a combination)






















Two of my buddies posing with the moulin rouge dancers...yeah, they really liked us MBAs

Exeter Ball

Last night I went to another Oxford Ball - at Exeter College. It was epic!
There were about 30 of us (MBAs + wifes/husbands and partners), all dressed up in tux, suit or ball dress.

The theme was Moulin Rouge...they had:
-champagne reception
-moulin rouge dancers "The Readymaids"
-other dancers (waltz, salsa, etc.)
-Volksfest-like booths (shooting, throwing balls, etc.)
-donuts (all you can eat)
-a chocolate fountain
-drinks (all you can drink)
-a BBQ (all you can eat)
-live music
-a shisha tent
-bull riding
-fire-eaters
-performance artists
-a ring the bell stand (Hau den Lukas)
-a HUGE twister game for about 15 people
and much much more

The college looked awesome...and with the building illuminated in different colors, the dancers, the fire eaters and the performance artists, one could totally feel the moulin rouge vibe.

The ball ended at 3 in the morning, but the party didn't end for us...we went on to have breakfast at one of my classmate's house and I finally dropped dead in my bed at around 6:30 this morning.

Me and my three dates for the ball...










Me and two of the gorgeous Moulin Rouge dancers






















Me and ma boyzzz!

Week 0 of Trinity

It's good to be back in Oxford and seeing lots of my MBA friends again...during the break many of them travelled all over the place and we all spent a lot of time at the pubs sharing stories of our break over pints of ale and a nice british steak and mushroom pie with chips and vinegar.

On Tuesday we had the annual Private Equity Conference at the school, which was extremely interesting and a great opportunity to network with real capitalists ;o) the people from Deloitte Private Equity Group were so nice to take us out for drinks (spending 500 GBP within a little more than an hour with about 20 people is quite impressive...a big thank you to our sponsors from Deloitte)

I spent the rest of the week preparing for the things to come and attending my first lectures of the term. Basically, I took it very easy and went to bed quite early, because my body signalled me that I needed a break from all the partying of the last couple of weeks. I even managed not to go out on Friday, but rather stay in and work.

I'm off to the library now...I'm such a GOOD boy!

What happened in the meantime...

Back in Oxford after 10 days of excellent food (there is actually stuff like FRESH salad out there), partying (not that I never do that in Oxford...), fish-racing with poor little goldfish (don't even try to understand that), playing cards with grandpa, seeing family & friends and driving on the right-hand side of the road in Germany.
On April 1st I was so sick of Oxford that I decided to go to Germany over easter. So I booked a flight and 2 days later I was at home.
When I was back home the whole heartsickness came back up again (not that it had ever really disappeared) and I realized how valuable family and friends are. Somehow my mind associated going to Germany with seeing the girlfriend...that hurt a lot (since there is none), but fortunately my family and friends kept me pretty busy.
I had a great time in Germany, but I didn't do anything for university - nothing!

Now I am back in Ox and ready for the final term: Trinity - one of those fancy traditional Oxford names again