Walking Tour

It was our first full day in St. Petersburg, and here are my impressions so far:

• This city is cold. Really cold. June is supposed to be the warmest time of the year here, but this morning it was only about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, if that.
• It is a beautiful and quaint city, very different from the commercial hub of Moscow.

Today began with an informal presentation by Peter, founder of Peter's Walking Tours. Once we learned about the background of his business, we set off on a tour of the city. Peter was an amazing guide who truly demonstrated his passion for this city and his knowledge of its history, while showing us both prototypical landmarks, as well as unique ones. We enjoyed the experience so much that we agreed to go on a private midnight boat tour with his company on Saturday. Below are photos of sites that we visited along our tour.

Summer Palace of Peter the Great

Summer Gardens of Peter the Great

For lunch, a few of us ate at Cafe Botanika, a great vegetarian restaurant. We were so happy to have a warm respite from the cold and delicious, healthy food to last us through the day.

In the afternoon, we had a presentation from Edgar Pauly, General Manager of the Novotel St. Petersburg. He reminded me so much of professor Christian Dussart, not only due to his French accent but also in the words he used (e.g. "servuction"). After the presentation, we all did a round of vodka shots together - Na Zdrovie! 

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.

Train of Thought

Well, this has been an "interesting" day! It started off well when we headed to Deloitte. Our presentation was led by Alexander Bragin, Partner, Tax and Legal Leader for Russia. He was very open about discussing corruption in Russia and how Deloitte avoids corrupt transactions (answer:  the company does not work with the public sector). It was an enjoyable visit and I am glad that I had the opportunity to peek inside a Deloitte office. While outside the office building, I took the dichotomous photo below that demonstrates Moscow's complex contradiction of old with new.

Later, in the afternoon, we took the high-speed train from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The Moscow train station was hazy, hot, and filled with sketchy people. Fortunately, we did not stay there long and were quickly ushered outside the building. When we were on the train and loading our giant luggages onto the upper shelf, I captured a telling moment of a passenger worryingly looking above.

And although the train was moving at a rapid pace, I was still able to take a photo of the landscape as we forged ahead. It was a very picturesque ride (see below).

Finally, once we arrived at our destination, we were anxious to explore our new surroundings. Most of us headed out onto the St. Petersburg streets together, looking for a place to eat and drink. In the end, we were split into three groups, with my group ending up at Carl's Jr. of all places. Yes, we certainly won the jackpot with our American fast-food restaurant chain find.

Fortunately, we have several more days and many more chances to locate quality food in this city.

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.

Klin

Not feeling well while on this trip is a huge bummer. Not only does it not feel good, it also feels like you are missing out on the experience. Thus, when I was feeling nauseous this morning, I happily accepted two Gravol that were handed to me by my group member. The only bad part was that I was extremely sleepy for the rest of the day. I slept on the entire bus ride to and from Klin and I slept on the bus while everyone else visited the Tchaikovsky House-Museum.

Once we arrived at the AB InBev brewery in Klin, I was still drowsy. Fortunately, I kept my eyes wide enough not to break any of the strict safety regulations. I even enjoyed a glass of Hoegaarden during the taste test where we were offered several varieties of beer. The AB InBev team was so nice to us, taking us through a long tour of the facilities, feeding us lunch, and giving us parting gifts. I feel bad that I was not fully alert during our time there. What I will always remember, though, is the passion and dedication that the employees showed at the brewery. Below is a nice photo of us in our safety gear.

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.

Open Communication

These days are so long and jam-packed with activities that by the time I get to the end of the day, it's hard to even remember how the day began. We started off today with a visit to the strategic communications firm PBN Hill+Knowlton. President Susan Thurman even stopped by our meeting to tell us about her experience in starting PBN (before the merger), and about her move from the US to the Russian market. Below is a photo from inside the PBN Hill+Knowlton office building.

After lunch on Arbat Street (my third time there), we headed over to the Canadian Embassy (second time there). It was here that we mostly learned about the role of the Canadian Embassy in Russia.

Once that visit ended, my team walked to what we thought was the right direction for our meeting with a Russian entrepreneur for our assignment. Though we weren't going the right way, we managed to get a couple nice pictures during our walk (see below).

In front of the Kremlin

Saint Basil's Cathedral

As soon as we made it to the proper location for Cafe Mechta ("Dream Cafe"), we were happy to meet Vladimir Kanin, entrepreneur and CEO of Optiflame Solutions. Vladimir taught us a lot about his business, the renewable energy sector, what it is like to operate within the Russian market, international business practices, his upcoming project with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his relationship with the Skolkovo Innovation Centre. It was interesting to begin the day with a communications firm and to end it with an entrepreneur saying that communication was the most important factor in business. I would like to thank Vladimir for taking the time to meet with us, as well as my classmate Anastasia for arranging the meeting.

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.

Works of Art

We finally got to sleep in today! After all the walking we've been doing and the time we've been spending in the sun, it was necessary. During the overcast and chilly morning, a few of us visited some metro stations along the brown line to explore and take photos of these architectural and artistic beauties. See my favorite photo below of the stained glass from inside the metro station, with two of my classmates casually standing by.

We didn't just ride the metro for fun, though. Halfway around the circular brown line, we stopped at the massive Ministry of Foreign Affairs and strolled along Arbat Street (see below).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Arbat Street

Stopping at the Princess Turandot statue in front of the Vakhtangov Theatre

Afterwards, four of us went to the ARTPLAY Design Center, which turned out to be an interesting experience. It wasn't exactly what we had expected, but we did see another side of Moscow and got to step inside a modern art exhibit, school, and neighbourhood. Rather than seeing Lenin, we saw Lennon (see below).

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.

Russian Dolls

Today started with a visit to Moscow's historical Kremlin. Our visit coincided with a military school graduation at the complex, which meant that there were endless military processions including dancing, music, and marching. It definitely added a different spirit to this walled-in area of religious buildings. Below are a couple photos of the military activities from inside the Kremlin.

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Izmailovo Market to pick up our souvenirs and practice our negotiation skills in the meantime. Though there were many classic Russian dolls, known as "matryoshka," I also quite adored the modern Winnie-the-Pooh version (see below). Also below, you will see a photo of two of my group members choosing their matryoshka at the market.

This evening, our group separated in two. While the majority of the group went to a low-key meal, eight of us went to a nearby Georgian restaurant that was absolutely delicious. It was great to try a variety of foods from a new cuisine, and of course, to have excellent company. On the way back to the hotel, as we walked through the busy Saturday night crowds, it was crazy to see so many women dressed up with insanely high heeled shoes navigating the uneven, cobblestone streets. In fact, I have noted that this seems to be very much a part of the modern Russian women's style every day, and is not just reserved for Saturday evenings.

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.

Skolkovo

This was such a long and amazing day that it's hard to know where to start when it comes to recounting the memories. I did want to say, though, that the coordinators did an excellent job of selecting the students for this Russia Campus Abroad journey. One of the criteria for the program was to be a giver, rather than a taker. I can safely say that that is absolutely true for each of the individuals on this trip, and that has been one of the major reasons why this has been an awesome experience. Not only have the activities been amazing, but the group dynamic has made every moment seem special.

With that being said, I can now dive into the details from the day. Our first stop today was at the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management. The combination of commerce, creativity, international minds, modern layout, and hefty price tag reminded me of C2-MTL. Below are a few photos from outside and inside the Skolkovo building.

While at Skolkovo, we learned that the name of the school is confusing because it is the same name as the school, the foundation, and the town. But while in this aspiring-to-be-Silicon Valley region, we had the opportunity to peek into a company called Vizerra. Vizerra is a 3D modelling technology organization and software that allows users to create and share three-dimensional images without having technological expertise. In fact, Vizerra was one of the winners of a "Business Project 2010" contest run by Google and Forbes Russia. What is additionally impressive is that Vizerra has already written about our visit on the company blog (see here.)

We managed to squeeze in a third company visit today at Thomson Reuters. Our visit was led by an HEC Montreal alumnus who answered our questions about the company and its challenges. Afterwards, we went to the Red October neighbourhood where we discovered a colourful and modern bar where we remained for the evening.

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.