it snowed in Fontainebleau yesterday and today the world is covered in white and everything is frozen.

including the lock for my fuel tank.

on a good day, it is difficult to open. when it's frozen, it is near impossible.

so here i am, struggling with my key when a guy pulls up on his motorcycle.

suffice to say, he opens my gas tank in less than 30 secs after whipping out a lighter from his package of cigarettes and heating up my key.

there's just something about being rescued by a guy dressed in black leather, driving a motorcycle. something even better than a knight on a white horse, that just starts off your day on a high note.

i am now the proud owner of a 1991 peugeot 205.

red.

named cleo. short for cleopatra.

hurray! i am mobile.

after a gruelling week of settling into school, we had a huge party to celebrate. here at Insead, the tradition is to throw parties at one of the nearby chateaus where you hang out with 600 of your closest friends.

so i walk into this party, and start talking to this guy i've seen around. the first question he asks me is, "so, did you go to XXX primary school?"

and i'm a bit taken aback, because it's been 16 years since i was in primary school ... and i have no idea who this guy is, but he remembers me from grade 6.

on top of which, he figured it out from the photo i have on the Insead website where all the students have a profile.

so somehow i haven't changed significantly since i was 10. wow. there is something rather scary about that.