Orientation

Today was the first day where everyone was together. It seems that there are about 7 or 8 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Indian, 1 Brazilian and 8 or so Italians. I'm pretty sure there are 19 people in this program all together. When things get going, and I know everyone's name better, I will be able to give a more exact headcount of where people are from.

I was able to speak a ton of Italian today, which was awesome. Of course, none of the Italians are scared about speaking up when I say something wrong. This is definitely fine with me, because how else would I improve? I honestly don't know how much Italian I'm going to be able to speak because a lot of our classwork is as a team, and half of the people here don't speak Italian. Hopefully I'll get some one-on-one time so I can practice my Italian.

Orientation was intense. Doctor Al (the guy who created the program) seems incredibly intense and scary, but I suppose that's a good thing since this program is supposed to be demanding. Anyway, during orientation, the Doc said that in 11 months we are going to spend more time in a classroom than people who are in 2 year MBA programs do. EEK! He made a good point though, that this program is not for patient people. Perfect for me!

Tonight we all had a welcome dinner at a restaurant in town. It was good food, and a very good time getting to know everyone. I sat in front of the guy from India, the Brazilian was next to him, with an American on the other side, and next to me was an Italian. Great conversations. Interesting trying to translate the Italians' english for some of the Americans, and the Indian's english for the Italians. Reminds me of Stacie and Enrico. Sigh.

Tomorrow we are actually going to a store that has food and supplies! This town is teeny tiny with very limited shopping(food-wise). Will write more soon. Haven't taken any pictures yet, but hope to do so soon.