Life in Switzerland: 24 Hour "Business Trip" to Barcelona

As part of our coursework for the second half of the year we were split into groups of 5 and assigned to work as consultants for major companies around the world, such as Nestle, Nespresso, Nissan, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Franke (kitchen stuff, based in China), NordAnglia (education for kids of expatriates), DuPont, HP Labs, Thomson Reuters, and UPM. The company I was assigned to was a medium sized pharmaceutical company called Celgene, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey with European headquarters in Boudry, Switzerland. They were well known for having several leading drugs in the treatment of blood cancers such as multiple myeloma, MDS, and leukemia.

We met our project leader, Kevin, on a Tuesday night to learn more about the project and have dinner together. The specific project he wanted us to explore was to determine if Celgene should pursue a social media strategy, and if yes, then what and how. As we were having dinner with him he mentioned that he was going to a hematology conference the next day, and that if someone from the team could make it, it would be a great opportunity to meet lots of people and learn more about the various patient groups that operate in the sphere. We unfortunately had lots activities that we needed to be at IMD for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but after long several hours of debate Wednesday morning, and after confirmation from Kevin, my team decided we should send someone, even if just for one day, and that person turned out to be me.

So on Wednesday noon, I jogged home, packed in 10 minutes by literally throwing clothes into my bag (first time I've ever done that in the literal sense), ran to the metro, managed to get a ticket before the train arrived, and 6 minutes later was at the main Lausanne train station. I had 17 minutes before the train to Geneva so I quickly grabbed travel size shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste from the pharmacy, and frantically checked my bag for liquids or sharp objects, praying I didn't find anything that I actually wanted to keep.

The train left at 1:42 and arrived at Geneva airport at 2:25, which was precisely the 40 min I needed to check in for the flight at 3:05. Unfortunately I needed ten minutes to get to the terminal and another ten to wait in line to buy my plane ticket, so by the time it was my turn it was 2:45 and was too late for the 3:05 flight. I bought a seat on the next one, the 6:50pm, which put me in Barcelona at around 8:30pm, hopefully in time to make dinner, which Kevin promised probably wouldn't start until at least 9pm.

When I first stepped off the airplane into the Barcelona terminal, I was first struck by how warm amd humid the airport was. It made me happy because it remineded me of how much hotter it is in the south of Europe. It also reminded me of Oklahoma summers, which made me happy too.

During the taxi ride from the airport the palm trees, red brick buildings, brightly colored summer dresses, and the slight smell of dirty car oil all made me realize I was in Spain, and contrasted sharply with the more subdued Switzerland. My taxi driver blowing through the red lights that changed to geeen just as he passed them also reminded me I was no longer in Switzerland.

When I got to the hotel, which looked clean and professional, their computer system was down, so they offered me a free welcome drink while I waited for 10 minutes. After stingy, expensive Switzerland, the enormous wine glass that appeared in front of me and the 7oz of white wine that was poured was a shock to my eyes. When I returned to the front desk the woman told me "Your room is a non smoking room with king-size bed on the 7th floor with a balcony. Your room overlooks the city, you have a great view. The swimming pool and sauna are located on the top floor. And breakfast is included. So sorry for the wait, please enjoy your stay." This was the kind of work I liked.

As I walked outside to catch a taxi to the restaurant, I grinned to myself because I felt excited and alive in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. The thrill of spontaneity, of looking around and saying "wow, how did I get here" is a feeling I'd missed a lot in the last 5 months.

Dinner was at the Hotel Majestic, in the upstairs semi-private restaurant, with red velvet carpet that entered into a plush lounge where Kevin was seated with 4 late 20-something girls, who turned out to be from his public relations firm. This was very obviously their client appreciation dinner for him, and I was definitely the last minute add on, but they were all very friendly and polite and we shared a wonderful three course dinner with many bottles of wine. From the quick glance I got when the bill arrived I think dinner was around 1000 euros for the 6 of us.

After dinner half the group headed home, but 2 of the girls invited me for another drink at a rooftop lounge they knew across the street. I went with them, and we shared a nice round of champagne while overlooking Barcelona at night. I got back to my hotel around 1:30am and was asleep at 2am.

However, I must remember to carry Advil with me at all times, because Thursday morning was not easy. Our first meeting was scheduled to start at 9am, but at 9:03 only 5 ppl had shown up, and by 9:15 there were 8 out of 12. One called at 9:20 to find out where he was supposed to go and was told he needed to take a taxi from where he currently was. The meeting finally started for real at 9:30. Once again, I was reminded that I was in Spain.

Throughout the day on Thursday I met with various patient groups, was introduced to dozens of employees from Celgene, and soaked up as much information as I could about blood cancers. I even attended a press conference and sat in the audience amongst the journalists. At 7pm I grabbed a taxi back to the airport, hopped on my 9pm flight, and arrived back in Lausanne just after midnight. All in a day's work.