St Charles, IL

Two weeks ago, I left NY slightly disgruntled that I was being sent to St Charles, IL, for training. And for two weeks, no less. They wouldn't allow us to fly home for the weekend! Now that I'm back, I really miss St Charles. I've been looking at pictures over and over again, trying to relive the craziness of the past two weeks in my head. After being around so many people, being completely immersed in training and socialization, it's quite a different feeling to be back here.

It's nice to have my own space, but I miss all of the St Charles people because they were so amazing. My group mates were awesome. We had our moments of tension, especially during our final project. Somehow, we managed to pull through and won the best presentation competition! That was pretty cool, and it somehow reaffirmed our group bonding experience. My group comprised two Brits, one Italian (Milan), Vancouver, Chicago, and NY (me). That was basically the composition of the entire school population fo 150 - 50% North America, 40% UK, and the rest. There weren't any Asia-Pac people in St Charles, because they opened a facility in Kuala Lumpur two years ago.

The past two weeks felt more like a few months. It was a very intense experience, very boot camp-like. We had to be up every morning and at school by 8am. One guy didn't wake up on time one day, and at about 8:30am, a security guard walked into his room with a big smile on his face, and woke the guy up. The guy was sent to the school lead (principal) for a lecture, but was let off only because of "high performance".

During lunch time, we have to fight to get our food at the buffet style dining hall. Then we have to eat very quickly, because if we are late for class, our entire group will have to do a 15-page research paper and presentation. It takes me 10 minutes to walk from my room to the classroom. And this is 10 minutes, in heels, and never having stepped outdoors. The facility is very very long. A good morning wake up, nevertheless.

I had 12 nights of non-stop going out and hanging out, a jazz bar in Chicago, shopping on Mich Ave, a fancy dress party at St Charles... Life is good. But right now, I'm sitting in my room, slightly bored because I'm not sure what to do now. hah hah. I'll need to get used to this life again.