Before leaving...T-6 hours!

After months of planning, preparation, and packing, the night is finally here!  Ty and I leave Chicago this evening to fly to our new home (for 6 months, anyway).  We'll hop on our Air India flight, head to Frankfurt to connect with our German roots in the airport, and then continue to Hyderabad via Mumbai.  Although I am extremely excited for the trip, my mind continues racing with final to-do list contents...typical!

This is officially my first post for the Duke MBAA, so I suppose a bit of introduction is appropriate.  My husband, Ty, and I are second year students in the MBA program at Duke University, but we've decided to take advantage of the global reach of our school and finish our business school education at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.  Although saying goodbye to classmates, faculty and staff, and Durham was difficult, the ability to learn about the global economy and international business in India was too appealing to pass up.  As such, the massive rucksacks are packed (almost!), the classes at ISB have been scheduled, and we've got a long list of "must-see" locations throughout India, thanks to our Duke classmates (thanks to all of you for your help!) We will attend classes from January through April, during which I will also be working with Duke's Global Health Institute on a public health project - an amazing opportunity, given my global health interests and my public health nursing background.  From April through June, Ty and I will explore the country, traveling by train from the southern tip of the country to Delhi and everything we can manage in between. Suggestions are much appreciated!

In addition to the two of us, four other Duke MBA second years will be attending ISB (during Spring 1 only), and they'll surely make some appearances in photos and on the blog. Stay tuned!

As I think about the parts of India that most excite me, the ability to meet the people of India and hear their stories, see their homes, eat their food, and know their culture, are the aspects of the experience that makes my pulse race the most.  We've met such amazing, welcoming people in Hyderabad via email (friends of ours from Duke have connected us with their friends at ISB), other Duke second years are still in the country and welcoming us to their homes in the coming days, and I'll be attending an international conference with healthcare professionals mid-month who've been enormously helpful. Already, I feel the amazing warmth of the Indian people, and I can't wait to know them and live with them for the next half-year.

There's not much that I think we'll miss, with perhaps the exceptions of salad, fresh fruits, and water from the tap. Other than these things, we're excited and ready to go.

The next post will come from INDIA! 

Be well...