Busy Days

An apology to regular readers, it has been absolutely hectic, and I have not had time to write so much. I have been doing exam after exam, the MBA game has really been played at maximum capacity! We are all pretty tired and for a while the cracks were starting to show. But our last exam before Christmas is tomorrow and after that we are counting down to the holidays.
I am not sure what to put about what I have been up to since I last wrote - winetasting in Cividale and the UK trip seem a long time ago now!
There was the problem of the finance exam (3 hours of number crunching, and I am not sure it was any more successful than last time, although I did manage to get an A in my resit which is great!). We will get the results tomorrow.
We also did a strategy presentation on insurance. I have attached a pic of the team before the presentation.

We will stop working together as a group after Christmas and we are a little sad about it - we are a good group and have very complementary abilities and personalities. But the whole class is great really, so although there will be some upheaval after Christmas with the new groups it shouldn't be too bad.
We have also had a marketing exam - a multiple guess affair and a bit of a collaborative effort between the class - its the Italian style of examinations and a big change for me! Very collegiate!
We also went to the alumni dinner for ex MIB students. This was at a German restaurant downtown (of which there are many - a throwback to the Austrian routes of Trieste). The pic shows the dinner - more pork and sauerkraut than I have ever seen on one plate. I didn't make much of a dent in it if I am honest!

We did manage to go out dancing afterwards, at a bar called the Colonial Cafe, near Piazza Unita in the centre of town. Its Trieste's answer to the Far East - with Buddha statues and raffia fans on the walls. But the people and the music are pure Italian! It was a lot of fun, and I think will be the first visit of many when we are less busy....
I have also finally managed to get my hair cut - last weekend in Slovenia with Vlasta. It seemed strange going abroad for a haircut, but is a big improvement! We had a lovely relaxed girly weekend, not too much studying, but we are all tired and cant keep going on forever at the same rhythmn.
On Sunday we headed back to Trieste, and I spent the afternoon at a degustzione (wine tasting) with Ciccio and Massimo. Massimo knows a lot about wine, and Ciccio and I were avid students! It was a great afternoon and the setting was gorgeous, in the Stazione Maritima congress centre with a view of the sea and the bay. As the sun set we went out on the balcony with our wine. Fabulous and a nice way to end a relaxing weekend, even if we felt a bit guilty about the lack of studying going on.
Yesterday we went on our first visit to a company - hitting both Electrolux and ACC in Pordenone, about an hour away from here. I have attached a pic of me and Lovro from Slovenia outside the factory. After an hour inside we were pretty happy to be back in the sunshine - it is a tough life for factory workers - and a mention must go to the lady who was sitting alone checking the paint job on washing machine bodies one by one for 8 hours at a time. A real incentive to keep up the studying.