I will be starting work on November 15th - a dream company but not in my dream location.

I am in Asia right now. I will spend some time in Europe too before I start. I am talking to a lot of friends from my promotion, from other promotion, from businesses in general.

Some people have argued that Insead is a mirror of the world. Only a positive reflection then. Reality hits you hard in the face when you step out. I hear Pakistanese friends who moan about their families arranging marriages for them back home, I hear French friends who bash about some traditional French companies who did not want to recognize their degree, I hear Chinese friends who work for an old school Indonesian leader who cannot take criticism and must micromanage everybody, I hear Hong Kong friends who worry that high levels of mistrust in the new government will lead to an increased number of deals under the carpet and undermine Hong Kong's reputation for transparency; I hear a Paris fan who had to settle for Switzerland, an Africa fan who has to settle for Europe, a Tokyo fan who might have to settle for Shanghai. I hear European friends who must postpone their Asian dreams, Asian who must postpone their US dreams, disillusioned American friends who were just asked to be "fit for the job, without having to wave an MBA as a sine qua non condition to get in".

It will be interesting to see where all these people will, 5 yrs from now.