a lot of firsts

So the whirlwind has started! Yesterday was the first day of the pre-program! So far, the teachers are excellent and I really think I'm going to get a lot out of the pre-program. I'm having an easier time understanding the material in Quantitative Analysis than Financial Accounting, but I think so is everyone else. I'm really glad I finished at least half of the online course I paid for with MBA Math. It gave be a good background for understanding a lot of the excel functions and accounting principles we are learning. Yesterday I also bought my first textbook, for €55.80! I'd try to buy the rest used, but since we have not been given a list of the books we will need, I'm a little hesitant to assume that we will be needing all the books the past intake was instructed to get...

I had met some of my classmates already through get-togethers organized online by Facebook, but this was really the first time I was able to meet many of them face to face. Every piece of literature and every IE alum will tell you the same thing - what an international group! In our Financial Accounting class we had to introduce ourselves and people, just in my pre-program group, literally come from all over the world. This diversity of cultures, together with the diversity of experiences, already led to many thought-provoking questions in my first day of classes. I'm excited to get the get-to-know-you phase over and to start making some friends!

This weekend was also the first time I used my new gym membership. I went with Palestra. It's a bit pricey but it's literally 5 seconds from my apartment building, and it's the only gym I could find in a 10 block radius that opens at 7am. I like to get my exercise done in the morning. Getting up is already no fun, so whether I do it at 6:50 or 7:30 makes little difference to me. I might as well get up half an hour earlier to burn some calories and stay healthy, especially because I usually feel like I have a million things to get done in the afternoon... The gym is really nice and it's all-inclusive: my monthly fee covers the cardio machines, muscle toning machines, and all their courses offered like yoga, pilates, tai chi etc. For now I'm just trying to do yoga two nights a week, but I might add tai chi later. I did tai chi for several months when living in Italy and really enjoyed it.

So that's my start at IE! So far, so good. Now, off to finish the reading I need to do!

P.S. My landlord and his father are so cute! They just came to put "prettier" drawer handles in my bathroom and baked for me a Spanish tortilla!