The past fortnight has been one of the most happening and enjoyable days of the recent times. I reached Manila on the 16th of August from Kolkata via Singapore. The first impression that Manila gives you a very neat and welcoming one (Mahubay). The city on the way from the NAIA resembles Mumbai in certain ways, mostly in terms of weather. The city gives a very clean and polished feeling unlike Mumbai. However, the place where Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is located is very posh and looks as good as any well developed city around the globe. Some reliable sources do inform me that the looks resemble LA downtown (wow!!). The place is known as the Makati City and happens to be the commercial hub of the country.
The arrival at the institute was a very cordial one, Thanks to the wonderful people out here!! The laptops were registered with the institute and we were allotted the rooms in the dorm of the college on the 6th Floor, Room#602 to be more precise. The suite gives a very professional look, due to the Green Boards, Rolling Chairs and the meticulously separated study space provided for each of the members. The dorm is a well maintained one and truly organised one in terms of amenities given the fact that it was established 40 years ago.
Reflecting on the Pre MBA, I would say with affirmity that attending it was a worthy decision. It helps one with the initial feel of the various subjects of MBA along with subtle hints of the rigour at AIM. The subjects included Language of Business i.e. Accounting, Basics of Economics, Basics of Quant and MS Excel, along with the MBTI personality tests. It also gives one an opportunity to ramp up to speed before the actual battle kicks off. The pre MBA also helped us know the excellent quality of faculty at AIM, I'm informed that one of our professors has been the economic advisor to the President of Philippines. The profiles of the various teachers are truly admirable. The classes have immensely helped in making a rapport with our batch mates and seniors and I guess that would be particularly helpful during the MBA. Also not to forget, Pre MBA also gives some time off to sight see the vicinity of the campus.
I did spend the last weekend moving around the nearby malls in Makati City (Landmark, GreenBelt, Glorietta, etc.) and visiting the places around Fort Bonifacio, which is an urban development in Taguig City, Metro Manila. The cost of living of the city is also very reasonable compared to Bangalore, India and the quality of Life is much better, except for the fact that I don’t have friends and relatives here. Manila also has some of the biggest malls of Asia and I'm informed that those are really huge. The apparent reasoning of such developed retail establishments in a moderately developing economy like the Philippines is that the inflation rate is higher than the rate earned by the Central Bank, so the incentive of saving is lost and people tend to spend more relative to the savings. This can also be explained by the fact that the culture here resembles that of the West, and English is a well known and understood language unlike most of the South East Asian countries.
Food in Manila is really diverse and one can get anything one wishes. Its worth a mention that vegetarians might have a hard time adjusting with the cuisines available here.
A very evident feeling one gathers here is that people are not very worried or tensed about day to day issues, which is wonderful and healthy. Life seems to be a very big party out here and I sincerely admire the attitude. Rock On Manila!!!
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