Le Vivier - Housemates and History

There are so many reasons why relationships matter.  My first week here at INSEAD has definitely highlighted that they can determine the amount of fun you have here at INSEAD...  Needless to say, I've done my part as a social butterfly, meeting classmates continuously this first week.   I think, however, either by value of proximity or other, my moments of laughing the hardest are largely thanks to my housemates at Le Vivier.  We all ended up at housemates by accident, which I'm scared to attribute to some crazy-unknown forces, but you never know...

About INSEAD and "Le Vivier," my house - First of all, housing here is quite different than for most MBA programs.  INSEAD, as an international business school without a broader university affiliated with us, the school side-steps any implication regarding responsibility/assistance with housing.  The way people find housing here depends mainly on alumni contacts, a local hou

sing website (geared towards INSEAD though, I believe), and plain old student ingenuity.  But also, there are places of deep reputation and storied history with INSEAD students, including several chateaus and villas.  One 'country estate' is called Le Vivier and has four homes (one occupied by the landlords).  

In total, there are 9 of us living at Le Vivier (the picture to the left is from the top floor of the "Grand Maison").  Le Vivier's history is pretty long since students have been living here for over 20 years - and there are definitely some interesting stories to match.  

To highlight things, the "Grand Maison" is where I'm living with three others, including:

• One wild Singaporean guy, a proven and fun ring leader already, who's never washed a dish in his life and can't boil water (this just seems funny to me...)
  
• An equally entertaining Lebanese-American guy, a little more on the sensitive side, and painfully funny when intoxicated, but wickedly sharp regardless
  
• A smart and sassy Taiwanese-American girl, a fellow bay-area native previously a chemist, who has a sharp wit with brutally hilarious insight to match
  

The "medium" house is the bachelor pad, including:

• The funniest Indian guy, a former McKinsey consultant, that I've ever met - classically, bringing consultancy to the Le Vivier "table" (another guy who's never boiled water)
• A quite, but completely charming Italian who's cooking talents are decidedly overworked 
• A Belgium, tall and handsome, but humble and understated like an entrepreneur-type - he actually still managing a start-up he recently launched

In the "small" house is a recently married Swiss couple from Zurich.  To highlight some noticeable characteristics, you can't miss commenting on their height - roughly 6'7 and 6'3... I'm not sure I've ever met a more perfect couple before they ever said a word.  Now, with slightly more insight, I can say that they might be the sharpest (and craziest) of the bunch of us, but that's still TBD.  

More on INSEAD, my first week of classes, and my study group next.

Ciao