....and everything comes to an end ...

Today is the last day of IMD life...

When I sat tonight to write this post a song from Semisonic, "Closing Time", instantly came to my mind:

"Closing time, open all the doors

And let you out into the world

 ...

Closing time, one last call for alcohol

So finish your whiskey or beer

Closing time, you don't have to go home

But you can't stay here...

Closing time, every new beginning

Comes from some other beginning's end

...

Closing time, time for you to go out

To the places you will be from"

It was a truly special year. 

- So many new things...

- So many new parsons
- So many new places to visit...

- So many parties, meals to attend...

- So many works to do ...

- New languages to learn

- New cultures to explore

... and yes so many laundry, cleaning, cooking, supporting the students ... 

It's hard to describe in words how special this year was for me. And a big part of the role experience was the people I meet and became my friends, my family.

I've learned a lot with and from them and that made me grow in so many 

aspects. 

You guys made my year !!!

We began the year as strangers and finished as friends. And by analyzing we all changed in a good way =) 

We weren't chosen as the students were chosen to be part of IMD. But the outcome of our group was outstanding. As individuals we have lots of  qualities and as a group we manage to work really well. We've been trough lots of stuffs and I risk to say that we did a very good job.

This past days a mix of feelings is surrounding all the IMD Community. We are happy for closing a cycle but at the same time we're sad for leaving....

Leaving a city that we learned to love , living a lifestyle that we enjoyed so much and above all leaving some good, really good friends....

As Maria, a wise 4 year old kid once said "we won't have this anymore". She was completely right. We won't have everybody at the same place together again. And maybe that's way the fact of saying goodbye is so sad.

As you can see  I'm already missing everyone and everything.
I'm sure I'll meet you again someday.

I'll bring everyone in my heart wherever I go for the rest of my life.

I love you all.

Lots of hugs and kisses to you ;-)

...

Now let's enjoy our last day !!!

"Carpe Diem"

Marta

P.S.1: a small retrospective of our year in pictures. Sorry for not including everyone, but I have many pictures for a few slides (it was hard to choose)

P.S.2: I added the song that I was talking about in case you want to hear.

Exactly one year ago Diego has received the news that he was accepted at IMD.
Finally another big dream came true.
And them we started the countdown ...
Suddenly we had only three months to prepare everything for the year : many things at work, antecipate my final paper in my post graduation, professional decisions to make, goodbye parties,  and ... nothing.
My personal decision was that I wasn't "getting ready" to my life in Lausanne. I decided that the best thing for me was not expect anything for this year. Just come to Lausanne with my cloths , my computer, camera and of course with Diego.
It was a big decision for me. But  it was the right one for me. It's very easy for people to high the expectations and this way highly likely get disappointed.
I've came to this experience with open heart, open mind and open soul hoping that I had the extra patience that is required to be a partner of an IMD student and to be as supportive as I could be for Diego.
I don't regret at all.
I confess that the first weeks I had butterflies in my stomach mainly because I was "afraid" of the other partners.Would I like them ? Would we do things together ? Would we became friends ? What if I don't like one of them and I will have to live with this person for one entire yeatr?
After 9 months this and other questions seems crazy.
Not only I knew incredible people but also knew their cultures and little by little we became friends.
And now we are in countdown again to come back home ....

These next days we will start saying goodbyes to our friends, to people that are part of our lives now...
It's a mix of sadness and happiness altogether at the same time.
At the same time that I'm very happy to come back to my country, to my old friends, to my family and to my work I'm sad because I will leave this new friends behind ...
...
But we still have 2,5 months together =)
Life is short. So let's enjoy life and have a great time together.

Get Inspired !!!

Yesterday we had a really nice workshop about "Positve Energy Coaching" with Louise Le Gat. 
Quoting Marcella one of the objective is " turning this year into a springboard for inspiration"
So I decide to put here a text that I read in Sunkyoung's facebook (you can also watch the video here) for you to GET INSPIRED  !!!! 
I always get inspired with this text and I think it has everything to do with what we talked about yestterday.
Hope you like it !!!

Unwritten ...

That was the feeling of this week.
Not only for the students but also for the partners. We all have a blank page infront of us all. And it’s up to each one of us to make this year one of the best experiences of our lifes.
So keep your minds open but mainly keep your arms and hearts open. We never now what life can present to us
Hope you enjoy the photos.
See you soon.
------
In Portuguese - Em português


Livro em branco ...
Esse foi o sentimento da semana.
Não somente para os estudantes, mas também para os parceiros.
Todos nós estamos diante de uma página em branco. E cabe a cada um de nós fazer deste ano uma das melhores experiências de nossas vidas.
Então mantenha a cabeça aberta, mas, principalmente, mantenha seus braços e corações abertos. A gente nunca sabe o que a vida nos reserva.
Espero que vocês curtam as fotos.
Vejo vocês em breve.
----------


It all started at "Lorange Auditorium"(10/01/2012)

Then we had some time to chat

Julia and her handsome little boy

Some partners chatting

Some students chatting

The Lunch with MBA students and partners

Coffee time 

 The Fair

Everything was very well organized.

People who works at IMD we're wearing colorful t-shirts. Each color was referring to a team.

Some details

Tere's and Mario's beautiful kids

The schedule for the photo shoot

Every student has its own locker

Looking at THE board

First Partners Session (11/02/2012)

Some of the partners after lunch