Where do we go? Where do we go now? Where do we go, ay ay ay aiii.

Not exactly “Sweet Child of Mine” by GnR, but the question is the upcoming MBA exchange. I would well stay in Barcelona for the 4^th term, but besides being here over six months already; what kind of fun would that be?

So what exciting places are there to go and see? Well for starters, let’s get the usual dishes out of the way. You have schools all over Europe, from France, to the UK, the Netherlands, Finland - Boring. Well, Finland could be interesting but that’s all I’m saying on that subject. Then you have the wonderfully wonderful US of A. Same here, East Coast / West Coast schools, some in the south, some up north, all of them the usual suspects (you know those schools that people can’t stop talking about on MBA forums) – and after spending 19 years of my life in the States, something is just not pulling me back there, and although I love and sometimes even miss NYC, for an exchange, bleh. I’ll come back when I have well over a couple of mill € in equity (maybe). Oh… and good luck getting a visa if you’re not from Western Europe. Viva la Patriot Act.

Then we come to the interesting ones kiddies. Nr. 1 on my Choice list. UCT GSB. Huh? University of Cape Town GSB (yes like in Kellogg). Why? Well… because I want to work in energy and during the embargo S.A. converted coal to liquid, they’ve done gas to liquid, and they’re an entry point into all the other Sub-Saharan African nations out there. They’re also the leading economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the fastest developing, and building a network there, and learning the lay of the land so to say, will only bring advantage to me when I’m building refineries off the coast of Angola (while investing in Angolan education, infrastructure, etc... because I believe the way Europe and the U.S. have done business on this continent in the past is flawed and morally wrong).

Then there’s numero dos. Or should I say “número dois” is Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo. Why? Well it’s Brazil, and Brazil has, for all those who are not privy to this information an amazing E85 system in place, meaning they run most of their autos on an etanol / petrol mix, and as I want to go into energy (see a process developing here), I believe I could learn a lot. Not to mention pick up Portuguese along the way. You see, eu non fala porgugeis. Or something like that.

Then the last one, is a two week stint in China before Term 4 starts, and the school pays for everything but the airfare, and believe it or not, after looking online the flights to an fro Sino land (that is the People’s Republic of China) are not bad at all 700€ round trip. Totally doable, and given my internship prospects don’t turn out as favourable as I hope, and am not able to land that dream job right afterwards, I can always get right on it here in BCN.

So where do you guys think I should go? Huh? Would love to hear your thoughts. Cheers