KEREN ANN　　End Of May
　　　　
　　Close your eyes and roll a dice
　　Under the board there's a compromise
　　If after all we only live twice
　　Which life is the runroad to paradise
　　
　　Don't say a word
　　Here comes the break of the day
　　In while clouds of sand raised by the wind of the end of May
　　
　　Close your eyes and make a bet
　　Faced to the glare of the sunset
　　This is about as far as we get
　　You haven't seen me disguised yet
　　
　　Don't say a word
　　Here comes the break of the day
　　In while clouds of sand raised by the wind of the end of May
　　
　　Close your eyes and make a wish
　　Under the stone there's a stone-fish
　　Hold your breath, then roll the dice
　　It might be the runroad to paradise
　　
　　Don't say a word
　　Here comes the break of the day
　　In while clouds of sand raised by the wind of the end of May
　　Don't say a word
　　Here comes the break of the day
　　In while clouds of sand raised by the wind of the end of May
　　

闭上眼睛，赌一场，
　　无视幕后已黯然的梦想
　　若能在这人世上走两趟
　　该选哪条路前往极乐天堂
　　
　　请安静
　　待破晓
　　五月尽头，风卷沙扬
　　　　　　
　　闭上眼睛，赌一场
　　面对那耀眼的夕阳
　　我们相伴来到这最远的地方
　　你却仍看不出我刻意的快乐与哀伤　　
　　
　　闭上眼睛，许愿望
　　纵然近在咫尺的险恶最无常
　　屏住气，赌一场
　　好运气可以带你上天堂
　　
　　别出声
　　待破晓
　　五月尽头，风卷沙扬
　　请安静
　　等黎明
　　五月将将近，风卷沙急扬

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亲爱的娜娜最近要步入围城, 所以最近她的blog开始思考人生.

 

"对于婚姻，我始终未敢下定论。除非我确定我因为婚姻而产生的职责义务小于我的婚姻收益，精神上和物质上的。抱歉，这就是我关于婚姻抉择的想法，是非对错要由历史来判定，但是这是我现在整理自己思维而得出的我的判断标准。面对人生最重大的一份合同，我不要任何模糊的忽然来临的幸福感来替我做决定。

 

 

去年，就读于波士顿地区两所顶级商学院的几个朋友为我提供了这条关于商学院申请程序的建议：“最难的事情是入学。定下你希望就读的学校后，秋季入学之前的日子你就可以轻松度过了。”

我满心希望，在作出择校决定后到开学前的那段日子，能够完全像他们预测的那样美好。我计划休息一下，盼望着我的劳动果实：在度过了人生中最美好也最有意义的两年之后，我将得到6位数(美元)的工资。

如果我的朋友们在建议中加上一条警告，我的计划也许就实现了：去美国学校。但是他们忘记了提醒我这一点，结果，我就读伦敦商学院(London Business School)的决定，让我秋季之前的日子变得超乎想象地富有挑战性。然而，在这个艰苦努力的过程中，我获得了宝贵的经验，将为我几年后的从商奠定更好的基础。

我从未想到，前往伦敦会比参加GMAT考试、写申请、参加面试和“耐心”等待校方的接收决定还要难。例如，我整个春天和夏天都在研究汇率，试图找到为学业筹资的最佳方法。

我应该把钱兑换成英镑、美元还是欧元？如果我毕业后在美国工作，而美元贬值或升值，又或者是英镑贬值或升值，我该怎么办？

为了向英国领事馆证明自己应该获得学生签证，我花了好几天时间搜集必要的文件。找到一个安身之所不是一件容易的事。我不得不频繁地把每周多少英镑换算成每月多少美元。新买的DVD影碟机和电视都没有用了，因为它们承受不了美国邮政(US Postal Service)的运费、进口关税和英国240伏特的电压。

这些经验不断地提醒着我，英国和美国是两个完全不同的国家。

不过，对我来说，这还算容易。我27岁，来自美国，单身，没有孩子。我有一些同学来自阿根廷、俄罗斯、中国或其它地区，一些人还拖家带口，他们的境况要困难得多。

一些人是他们第一次来英国。一些人没有强大的美国教育贷款机构学生贷款营销协会(Sallie Mae)为他们的教育提供资金，只能通过乞讨、借贷和偷盗来负担教育经费。

其他人不得不长途跋涉，提供无穷无尽的证明材料，以得到英国学生签证。一些人还总是担心：能否在发达市场找到一份高收入工作，来偿清不断欠下的巨额债务。

在如此大的压力下，人们可能会以为，我们班上的学生都倦怠不堪、脾气暴躁、忧心忡忡。然而，我的同学们却是你所能想象得到的最激情昂扬、乐观向上的群体。

我认为，其中的原因在于，伦敦商学院吸引的是那些希望成为全球商业领袖的人。他们没指望余生都在一个国家或地区工作。来到这所学校的每个学生，都不仅是想学习国际会计、金融等学术技能，还希望学到一些软技能，例如如何应对不同国家和文化之间存在的差异。

我和同学们都明白，如果能够应对抵达伦敦商学院和在那里求生存的挑战，我们就能更好地备战当今复杂的商业环境。我们遇到的障碍不过是对未来职业生涯诸多障碍的初步尝试。

这不是我第一次必须适应国外的环境。在之前担任美国空军(US Air Force)军官时，我曾在许多不同的国家工作过，体验过不同的文化。

尽管这一经历教会了我许多东西，但我获得的最重要技能可能是尊重它国政治、历史和经济状况的能力。当我做出决定离开空军步入商界时，我已清楚意识到了美国境外存在的前途远大且激动人心的机遇。

我决定不再求稳，而是勇于冒险，努力利用这些机遇。然而，要做到这点，我需要具备相应的技术技能，MBA就是最佳途径。

我大概知道该如何管理和领导。但给我一份资产负债表，我却不知该从何下手。营销策略？这是什么鬼东西？我还有许多商业技能需要获取。

然而，我追求的并非只是基本技能。我需要这样一所学校的MBA教育：它不仅会加深我对一般商业技能的理解，也能提高我对国际商业环境的认识。

在对顶级商学院进行分析之后，我得出结论：伦敦商学院比其它任何学校都更能更好地装备我。它的确做到了。

除了迁往英国所遇到的挑战外，每次我与学习小组一起工作时，伦敦商学院都装备着我。这个小组包括来自7个国家的学生。在我训练自己的耳朵，理解人们说英国语言的各种不同方法时，它装备着我；在我接触亚洲、拉美和非洲文化的风俗礼仪时，它装备着我。

在我与法国同学交谈时（我希望提高自己的法语水平以应对外语要求），它装备着我。它每天都在装备着我：每天我醒来时，我都意识到，要实现自己的目标，我不仅要生存下来，而且必须取得成功。

因此，对我而言，过去几个月忍受的头疼都是值得的。我希望，在我离开时，我已经学会了如何才能获得成功，不仅是在英国，而且是在我未来职业生涯中可能要去的任何一个地方。

译者/梁艳梅

《FT商学院》

LESSONS FROM THE REAL WORLD

Last year, several friends at two top business schools in the Boston area gave me this piece of advice about the business school application process: “The hardest part is getting in. After determining the school you want to attend, you can spend the rest of the spring and summer relaxing.”

I fully expected the period between making my decision and starting classes to be exactly as they predicted. I planned to sit back and look forward to the fruits of my labour: the best and most rewarding two years of my life would be followed by a six-figure (US dollar) salary.

My plan would have come to fruition had my friends included a caveat: go to a school in the US. But since they neglected to mention this, my decision to attend London Business School made my spring and summer more challenging than I could ever have imagined. Yet, throughout all this hard work, I have learnt invaluable lessons that will leave me better equipped for business in the years ahead.

I never realised that the task of moving to London would be more difficult than taking the GMAT, writing applications, attending interviews and “patiently” waiting for acceptance decisions. I spent spring and summer, for instance, reviewing exchange rates, trying to find the best way to finance my studies.

Should I try to get money in pounds, dollars or euros? What if I work in the US after school and the dollar is down or up, or maybe the pound will be down or up?

I spent days gathering the appropriate documentation to prove to the UK consulate that I deserved a student visa. Finding somewhere to stay was no easy task. I had continually to convert pounds per week to dollars per month. Out went the new DVD player and television – these would not survive a US Postal Service shipment, the customs import tax and the 240 volts of the UK electricity grid.

Thanks to these experiences I have been reminded that the UK and the US are two very different countries.

Yet, for me, it was relatively easy. I am 27, from the US, single and have no children. My classmates from Argentina, Russia, China and elsewhere, some with their families and partners, have had a much more difficult time.

For some, it is their first visit to the UK. Some, who do not have the robust US educational lending institution Sallie Mae to fund their education, have had to beg, borrow and steal to afford their education.

Others have had to travel long distances and provide an endless stream of documentation to obtain their UK student visas. Some are constantly worrying about securing a well-paid job in a developed market to repay the large debt they are incurring.

With so much stress, one would expect a class full of tired, irritable and anxious peers. Yet my classmates are the most excited and optimistic group you could imagine.

I believe the reason for this is that LBS attracts those who want to be global business leaders. The students are not looking to work in one country or region for the rest of their lives. Each student has come to the school not only to learn the academic skills of international accounting, finance and so on, but also the soft skills such as how to negotiate the differences that exist between countries and cultures.

My classmates and I know that if we are able to deal with the challenge of reaching LBS and surviving, we will be that much better prepared for today's complex business environment. The obstacles we have encountered are just a small taste of what is to come in our business careers.

This is not the first time that I have had to adapt to a foreign environment. In my previous career as a military officer in the US Air Force, I worked in many different countries and experienced different cultures.

Although this career taught me a great deal, probably the most important skill I acquired was the ability to appreciate the politics, history and economics of other countries. When I made the decision to leave the air force and enter business I was already well aware of the promising and exciting opportunities that lay outside the US.

I decided that rather than play it safe, I would take a risk and try to capitalise on them. But in order to do this I needed to gain technical skills, which were best provided by an MBA.

I have an understanding of how to manage and lead. Give me a balance sheet and I would not know where to begin. A marketing strategy? What on earth is that? There are so many business skills I have yet to acquire.

Yet the raw skills are not all that I am searching for. I need an MBA from an institution that will not only improve my understanding of general business skills but also enhance my knowledge of the international business environment.

After analysing the top business schools, I came to the conclusion that LBS would prepare me better than any other institution. And prepare me it has.

Beyond the challenges I encountered when moving to the UK, LBS prepares me every time I work with my study group, which contains people from seven countries. It prepares me as I train my ear to understand the myriad ways that people speak the English language; and when I encounter the customs and courtesies of Asian, Latin American and African cultures.

It prepares me when I speak to my French classmates (as I try to improve my French for my foreign language requirement). It prepares me every day, when I wake up and realise that in order to be where I want to be I have not just to survive but to succeed.

So, for me, the headaches I have endured over the past few months have been worth it. By the time I leave, I hope I will have learnt how to thrive, not only in the UK, but wherever my future career may take me

I never realised that the task of moving to London would be more difficult than taking the GMAT, writing applications, attending interviews and “patiently” waiting for acceptance decisions. I spent spring and summer, for instance, reviewing exchange rates, trying to find the best way to finance my studies.

Should I try to get money in pounds, dollars or euros? What if I work in the US after school and the dollar is down or up, or maybe the pound will be down or up?

I spent days gathering the appropriate documentation to prove to the UK consulate that I deserved a student visa. Finding somewhere to stay was no easy task. I had continually to convert pounds per week to dollars per month. Out went the new DVD player and television – these would not survive a US Postal Service shipment, the customs import tax and the 240 volts of the UK electricity grid.

Thanks to these experiences I have been reminded that the UK and the US are two very different countries.

Yet, for me, it was relatively easy. I am 27, from the US, single and have no children. My classmates from Argentina, Russia, China and elsewhere, some with their families and partners, have had a much more difficult time.

For some, it is their first visit to the UK. Some, who do not have the robust US educational lending institution Sallie Mae to fund their educatio