Summary

It's been a while since I had a chance to update everyone, so I'll try to summarize what I've been up to. If I get a chance, I'll try to go back and add details. Since the beginning of the program, we have completed ~60 lectures and taken an essay test on the information presented. We get the results of the test later this week. We also had a department project to do. The business and management department responded to a Request for Proposal. The proposal was turned in last week, and we gave a presentation today. We were broken into small teams with in the department and are competing against each other for the contract. They will announce the winner later today, but win or lose I think our group did a great job. We had the normal team forming problems and challenges, but it all worked out in the end. The evaluators gave us very positive feedback following the presentation.

There have been two culture nights since I last wrote, which were both a lot of fun. I'll try to post pictures when I get a chance. We also had another panel discussion on how humans can live and work in deep space. Most of our time has been spent studying and working on projects, but I've had some fun too. Last weekend after the test was over (yes, we had our test on Saturday) I went shopping, but I didn't find much. One of the culture nights was Saturday night, and we had fun hanging out as a big group that night. Sunday I relaxed. After sleeping in and doing laundry, a small group of us went to Baden-Baden, which is a small town known for its spas. It was a beautiful drive, and a wonderful way to relax and spend the day. I'm hoping to take Ross there while he's here.

Ross got here last night, and we are both enjoying our time together. He went to "school" with me today. We're now moving into the second phase of the program, which is more research oriented. It involves a lot of team work, and I think Ross enjoyed watching the dynamics of a forming team...there is always a little chaos. J

I'll try to be better about updating now that the test and department project is over. I hope everyone is well!