There's some expression that goes "Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans"...and so it is. And nothing gives you perspective on these plans that you're making than when something REALLY happens. A couple weeks ago my little baby sister Liza got into a terrible car accident just meters from our home. I found out about it almost a full day later, which left me feeling terrible, completely powerless to do anything to help anyone from thousands of miles away while my sister lay in the ICU.
So I started making plans to come home. Luckily, the term was a week away from ending and we were to have a 5 day weekend - one I planned to spend in Italy with my girlfriend, but c'est la vie. I went to talk to the administration to see if I could get some extra days off since it was, after all, a family emergency. I can't say I was very pleased with how IESE handled it....Elena, the head of the MBA, calmly explained to me that IESE had a no-exceptions policy. That the 80% rule covered emergencies such as this, and if I missed more than 20% of any one class, I would get an incomplete for that class. Calm, simple - no exceptions, work within the rules. The lack of empathy was truly appalling.
I took what I could get and flew home. I was surprised that I was able to find such a cheap and convenient flight on such short notice - it felt like I was back in sunny so cal within mere hours of being in Barcelona. The week flew by between spending days in the hospital and nights catching up with friends. Liza improved dramatically while I was there and I was relieved that she would be checking out of the hospital the day I was flying home.
Otherwise, coming home is strange. On the one hand, its wonderful. You come home, everyone's excited to see you, your life looks so cool and glamorous to them - you're doing all these things and changing while everyone else is in their daily routines, staying the same. But the problem with these visits home is that they come to an end - you enjoy the things and people you've missed and then you have to leave them behind. Its so easy to adjust to what you've always known - but so hard to adjust back to the challenge that we're living here. Each time involves separation anxiety and a brand new culture shock. No one likes being the tiny fish in the huge pond...
