And the work begins!!!

So long vacation and traveling!!!! I started school this week and I am already wondering how I am going to survive these next 11 months. When they said intense, they were NOT kidding. I knew it would be hard but in the back of my head I was thinking- it can't be THAT hard! Well I may have been wrong! First of all the grading scale is forced, which means there are only a few A's, majority B's, and then C's (if you get a D or an F you are done- start packing your bags). So it is going to be very competitive and there are really smart people in my class!! This is a good thing because it will force me to work as hard as possible but I am also nervous about this challenge! More than half of the students were engineers so we will see how my Risk Management Degree sizes up against that! ha!

We met the Dean, professors and some alumni. They all gave us advice on how to survive these next 11 months. The Dean seems awesome and so do all the professors. They are here to help us get through this and learn as much as possible. They went over some really great opportunities that Purdue offers like  study abroad and internships. I am most likely going to do the internship in India. It is going to be a lot of work, but people said they get the most out of it! It is also only $200 instead of the thousands of dollars for the other ones and since I have no money that seems like the logical decision! I would love to go to China, but it is very expensive. I would travel to India for two weeks and work for a company there. I will be traveling in May- do you know how hot it is going to be in May in India!!!!! VERY HOT!

There is also a consulting job during the 3rd and 4th module on top of the normal classes we have. They have warned us how much work this it because this is an optional job, but I think I am going to go for it. I have never had any consulting experience and I would be really interested to learn more about it.

We were assigned to groups for the first module (accounting, quant, observational behavior, project management). I met with mine today and got to do some group work. I think I have a great group. I was a little nervous about being put into a group, but it seems like there shouldn't be any conflicts in our group and we should be able to work together nicely!  I have three males and one female all of us from different parts of the world and with lots of different experiences and backgrounds.

I am sure these 11 months are going to go so fast so I am really trying to not wish them away, but it is really hard right now to not wish it were Oct. 12th after my Accounting final!

Ok enough about the hard boring stuff!! Before all this really begins we have been encouraged to get together with everyone outside of orientation and begin making relationships. On Monday night I went a girl who lives in my building and graduated last year. She is awesome! I wish she was in my program! She has showed me ALL around and has given me lots of tips about the program. She came down to my room and invited me to Sushi and told me to invite my other classmates- I emailed everyone but since half the people don't have internet in their place they didn't get it until the next day! Jessica (who is from DC) and her boyfriend met us and also another alumni from last year. We had a GREAT time. The sushi was really good. I was nervous about sushi in Germany, but for that dinner I felt like I was back in Buckhead. It was a modern place with english speaking waiters. Just what I needed!! The menu was hard to read though. Normally sushi menu's can be a little confusing, but try that in German! I didn't really know what I was getting, but it was good!

Then after our first day of orientation we all decided to go to Jack the Rippers (an English Pub). About 15 - 20 of the students all came and I invited the Courtney and Ray, the two alumni and we all had a great time. It was fun to get to know people in a more relaxed setting.

Tonight I had a dinner at the school building with all the students, professors, families and alumni. It was a good time, but we all didn't stay too long because we had reading to do! The guys from my apartment building came up to me and said they were taking off because it was about to storm and since we all rode our bikes to class it is a good idea to try and beat the storm.  So I decided I better go with them so I don't get stuck in the rain- BAD IDEA! I got on my bike and at the first traffic light the sky opens up and it just down pours!! Not the normal German sprinkle- an absolute downpour. First of all the day before I had seen someone fall on their bike really badly so I was worried with the rivers we were riding through this was going to happen to me. And the guys were following me because I go a different way so they wanted to see how I normally get to class. So the whole way back I am thinking Please don't fall, please don't fall, please don't fall!!! How embarrassed would that be to just wipe out! Well I didn't fall :) :) Sorry I know it would have been a better story if I wouldn't have but I am still thankful I didn't! But we were completely soaked and all my school work was also. From now on I will bring a rain coat and also a better bag to put all my books in. The worst part of it all was that once I got up to my apartment the rain stopped and the sun came out!!

Well I need to get some sleep but I wanted to update you on my school stuff.

Guten Nacht!