Archive for July, 2009

By Akshay Jakatdar ’09, MA in Global Affairs and Management

… what will be lunch, a  steaming bowl of Yong Tau Foo – my latest food-related discovery in Singapore — and one certainly responsible for my “healthy” appearance, as local Indian aunties would say. Yong Tau Foo is available at most foodcourts around Singapore. It can be either a light, healthy Chinese-style meal in clear broth, or a heavier, less healthy meal in Singaporean-Malay style Laksa (coconut gravy).

Although the preparation is simple and involves a final choice between noodles and rice, clear gravy and coconut, choosing the perfect ingredients is always difficult — there is usually a huge choice of vegetables, meat and tofu preparations unavailable in the west — and picking a few items can be hard, although I expect to improve over the next few weeks. The process is simple: Pick up a bowl and tongs, and go along the line, choosing up to six or seven items at the set price and paying just a few cents more for each additional one. At the end of the line, the ingredients are cooked in boiling hot water, and either served dry, with clear broth or with coconut spicy curry sauce.

I tend to order my Yong Tau Food the unhealthy way — laksa gravy and a big bowl of rice! A hot mug of Kopi C (dark Javanese coffee pulled with thick, sweetened, condensed milk) and I am looking at one sleepy afternoon ahead. …

By Gabriel Frank ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

WASHINGTON, DC – During one of the most worldwide heated debates on climate change in a century, I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity of an internship with the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), at their institutional relations office in Washington, DC. UNICA represents the top sugar and ethanol producers in Brazil, and the office in DC is considered a strategic location for working with the US government and opinion leaders  to positively influence policymakers.

The global concerns of climate change threats and the energy independence have been among the top priorities of Barack Obama’s administration and have directly influenced the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (the so called “cap-and-trade bill”, which has been recently approved by the House of Representatives and is now being reviewed by the US Senate.

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By Akshay Jakatdar ’09, MA in Global Affairs and Management

One of the most common complaints I hear about Singapore (usually from well-established, wealthy expatriates) is their unhappiness with their civil liberties being infringed upon. Certainly we in the west (the United States, does Australia count?) consider freedom of the press and the right to free speech and assembly a basic human right. For many of us, taking away a persons right to free speech is like depriving them of food and water. How many of us have a problem with being “watched” 24/7 (CCTVs cover almost every square inch of public space in Singapore). And yet many Singaporeans don’t seem to complain that they havnt had a real change in government since their independence from Malaysia in 1965. Singapore has quickly risen to become one of the worlds wealthiest countries, some economists estimating that Singaporeans have the world’s highest per capita GDP by purchasing power parity. And yes, the press and television may be censored, but their crime rate is close to zero. Violent crimes are unheard of on this island, and petty theft non-existent (as evidenced by the lack of sensor tags in most retail outlets). Is this a trade off we are willing to accept…. Do you mind being told that you cannot chew gum or smoke imported cigarettes while being guaranteed health care and an extremely high quality of life. Would you pay 300% sales tax on a car so that Singapore’s government can proudly say that there are no homeless people here, that everyone goes home at night? How many of us are willing to give up our right to drink a beer that doesnt come with a 500% sin tax…. for this… maybe….

By Renganathan Ramamoorthy ’10, Traditional Full-Time MBA Program

One of the long traditions followed in Thunderbird is First Tuesday. As the name suggests, the first Tuesday of every month, Tbirds, past, present and future, all over the world, come together to network and mingle.

On July 7th, 2009, Tbirds in Bangalore came together at the Cafe Coffe Day Square. We had current Tbirds who were interning and new Tbirds who are going to join us in the Fall, as well as a couple potential Tbirds who wanted to meet and talk with the us.

Here are a few photographs from the session.

By Renganathan Ramamoorthy ’10, Traditional Full Time MBA Program

In the recent past, the whole world went gaga over celebrity bags revealed and productivity gurus’ bags shared. Riding on this train, I believe it is only apropos that students viewing Thunderbird Student Voices should be aware of what’s in an MBA Student’s bag?

I am hoping to make this a series of posts involving not just student bags, but also a few stellar recruiters (who are true globe trotters) and some faculty satchels as well.

So, here’s the lowdown on my bag.

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By Akshay Jakatdar ’09, MA in Global Affairs and Management

Anyone who has been to Singapore has had the privilege of being befriended by the kindly, overly helpful English lady who I will refer to as Margarie. It is nearly impossible to escape her constant drone, and the overly loud public speakers in Singapore don’t facilitate blocking her out as background noise… “Please mind the platform gap” spoken in 4 languages (English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil) at every MRT stop, “Doors are closing” on every bus, and my favorite, “Eating and Drinking is NOT allowed on stations and trains” announced on every train. Given that it is impossible to miss the huge signs that confer harsh penalties on “eaters and drinkers,” as well as the CCTV footage of every square inch of the island that helps facilitate apprehending these criminals, it seems that any reasonable person would allow Margarie a break. Thanks to her guidance, I do not even have to worry about getting off on the right floor… she annonuces each one to me as I ride up the elevator…

Singapore is a fantastic place and nearly two months in to my internship, the prospect of having to return home in the middle of August depresses me… This is my fourth time visiting the country and I certainly hope it is not my last… Being from the mid-west and completely reliant on my car to get anywhere, I have never felt so relaxed as I have here in Singapore, with clean and safe public transportation that runs 24-hours a day and Margarie to guide me should I ever falter and unconsciouly attempt to break a rule….

My internship with the US State Department here at the United States Embassy has been an amazing experience, my location on this wonderful island playing no small part. Singapore is one of few truly cosmopolitan cities I have visited, with not just the expatriate workforce, but even the local population, being incredibly diverse. This diversity has contributed to the rise of what I will call the Singapore School and on which I will ultimately blame my having reaquired the “freshman fifteen”. More on Singapore’s wonderful cuisine in my next post. Margarie tells me it is time for breakfast…

By Christen Pechman ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – This week marks the end of the first month of my summer internship. I am currently doing a twelve-week internship at Harley-Davidson Motor Company in their Asia Pacific department. I believe there are over 300 summer interns at H-D facilities around the country. Most are undergraduate business students and co-op engineering students. Within the Asia Pacific and Latin America departments (they are housed together) there are two MBA interns and two undergraduate interns. There are also two Thunderbird Alumni. One of whom I used to interact with through my previous job. It is nice to have a mini Tbird community here for the summer. In addition to my co-workers there are two other current Tbirds interning in Milwaukee for the summer. Next week we will attend our second local Tbird First Tuesday event – last month about 20 Tbird alums showed up – good times and great networking.
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