This is the PLACE!

Hello from beautiful Ann Arbor! After our last long day of travel, we arrived on Wednesday and since then have been unpacking, taking care of errands, and meeting lots of new people. We're living in about a mile and a half south of the business school (safely out of the undergrad zone!) in an apartment/townhouse complex called Woodbury Gardens. People refer to it as "MBA gardens" sometimes since lots of other MBA families live here too.

Maybe it's because Michigan is so similar to Ohio (demographically, socially, and climate-wise) but I really feel like I have come home, without actually going home. My mom is planning monthly trips up to visit us too, which is awesome! Felix could never have too much of Grandma in his life!! (And I could never have too much of my mom!)

Brian has dove right into school with a pre-term Accounting course. That's 5 days straight of 8 hrs of class, and then a big exam to see if you learned enough to not have to repeat the material this Fall. Brian will take the exam after his M-trek, which begins next week. I'm tired just thinking about all that he's doing! The benefit of cramming this class in now is that it will open up his schedule (a little) for a music class or two, helping him check off a couple of the 20 credits required for that degree.

The M-trek is an optional experience for incoming MBAs, which offers them the opportunity to travel and bond with their classmates before school starts. There are Mtreks that go to different places all over the world, and students can sign up for one that suits their preferences. Brian chose the one that went to Isle Royale here in Michigan (12 hrs North--above the UP), since it was cheap, involved lots of strenuous hiking, didn't have too much partying, and also, it was cheap. He's really looking forward to the trip!