OneMBA in Latin America — one of the greatest trips ever!
Let me say this to start. Mexico is not for sissies and Brazil is not for beginners.
I just spent ten days in Mexico City, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro as part of my OneMBA program. On reflection this was one of the greatest trips I’ve ever been on. In between the festivities (I won’t lie — there were a few) and some interesting lectures and company visits, it was a chance to engage with our fellow classmates from Mexico and Brazil and have an opportunity for them to share their home with us.
The countries have fascinating histories and, despite some very different circumstances, have many similarities to each other. What was even more interesting for me was seeing how similar both countries are to South Africa, my native country. The comparisons and banter between Cape Town and Joburg is a copy of the ones between Rio and Sao Paolo. The news coverage of drug cartels in Mexico is almost identical to story of crime in SA. All three countries are success stories and yet all three have their challenges.
What was remarkable was that the confidence of the people in Mexico and Brazil (especially Brazil) reminded me so much of living and working in South Africa. It’s the confidence you gain from having been through economic challenges and come out stronger on the other end (currency crisis in Mexico, hyperinflation in Brazil, apartheid in South Africa). I will remember the food in Mexico, the raw energy of Sao Paolo and the beauty of Rio. Most importantly though, I’m coming back!
However, in a global MBA program like ours, the real magic occurs when you get together with your classmates from all around the world. We do four of these weeks together during our program – DC, Amsterdam and Istanbul, Mexico City and Sao Paolo; and Delhi and Hong Kong next year. Despite our best efforts to hide the fact, we are a serious bunch – for example during one cab ride, a couple of us had conversations comparing our experiences with the transition from communism in Russia to the transition from apartheid in SA. Even so, we are also a festive bunch, and once again we were the Bacardi people taking over a bunch of trendy night clubs in a couple of the world’s most happening cities.
