OK, by stories/anecdotes, I did NOT mean one-line emails such as “wow sounds cool” or “I hate you”. Particularly not the second variety. I didn’t like those. ONE person wrote a very interesting reply, which I will quote from below, because it’s exactly the sort of thing I wish I’d written, but, since she did, I don’t have to. Sweet.

I feel like I need to write- again to follow up my last post with something more realistic….and to round out the description of my life. It’s 12:30 Sunday night, and I am just calling it quits on work today…I hope. Some of you may complain about 70-80-90 hour weeks, but I am technically on call all the time, so I work a 168 hour week. Deal with that. We got back to Moscow last night at 12:30, and had to be at an office nightclub party, which I went to straight from the airport…can you imagine the hardship???? In Moscow, people get very dressed up to go out, so me in orange Nikes, non-fancy jeans, a t0shirt, and sports jacket (sports as in athletic, not like a blazer) was a site for the doorman. Oh well.

So, here’s a paragraph from the email I referred to (edited for privacy):

“Finally post INSEAD personal life…….. Friendships - I am not sure yet how the INSEAD dynamic is going to play out. I spoke to a friend recently who graduated from INSEAD two years ago, and she told me that the people she hangs out the most with are those that were her friends pre-INSEAD. She still says INSEAD was one of the best years of her life and she wouldn’t change it for the world, and she met great people there,…but just as it happens, she doesn’t see them that often anymore….That made me think. I have been back for two weeks and I do find myself seeing my old friends again A LOT! I guess it is a function of being back in the old city, but nevertheless I do hope things will be different. I do believe INSEAD has changed most of us, in one way or another. For some it meant gaining confidence (you know who you are), for some it meant becoming outspoken, for some it meant realizing they are not as ‘hot’ as they thought they were, for others it meant long lasting friendships or simply an insight into French culture…..and yes of course academic studies as well…..Lets not forget all of that! So, I say as hard as it is, let’s try and keep in touch and grab drinks when we can. Lets share our experiences, and while I realize we will all be running around all corners of the globe, we still have something that connects us and lets keep building on it!”

Isn’t that nice? I think it’s great. It made me think that that without effort, it's quite easy to write off relationships that so recently seemed so important and meaningful as consequences of proximity and convenience and nothing more. I do not believe that's the case at all, but more often than not efforts at preservation are one-sided, and it's a shame. I worry that if I don’t see someone in Skype when I have downtime, I may let things slip, and I definitely don’t want to do that, 168 hour work weeks notwithstanding.

From Russia, With Love,

cca