Cold and Executive Students

Hello from a very, very cold central Europe. All of this part of the world is undergoing sub-zero temperatures. Several of our nights have been down to -5F. Now, this is bad enough when you have a car to run you around. But when you rely on walking and waiting for buses and trams, it is damn miserable. Ever carry groceries 1/2 a mile in -5F weather? Neither had we.

Probably the worst part is that the family has really not left the house in days, and people are starting to wear on each other’s nerves.

That said, the forecast is to return to the 20s soon and maybe even get above freezing.

Even with the weather, life goes on.

I had a very unique teaching experience over the last several days. Our school has a special MBA program for adults who have significant work experience and are older (as opposed to a typical 22 year old student). In the US this would be similar to an Executive MBA program. My school usually invites lectures from around Europe to give the classes.

Since I was here they invited me to do one of the classes. There is a catch. Since the students and foreign lecturers have limited time, the entire 25 hour class is done over three straight days (Thursday-Saturday). So, I did three days, back to back to back of 8.5 hour classes. Normally, I would teach this class over 12 weeks, but had to do it for this group over three consecutive days.

I had 40 students who work full time for some of the largest companies in Poland (lots of them are US companies based in Poland). 40 is a rather large class for this type of format, but we managed. It was just a long three days and wiped me out. That said, I really enjoyed meeting these older students who have strong work experience. This was an “extra” class for me, but I enjoyed it and glad I took it.

Finals are just beginning here. I have three classes of finals to give over the next week. Then, I will have a great deal of grading to do before I have to turn in grades. I give these Polish students almost identical exams and homework assignment to what I give my US students. I like to compare the differences. So far, the Polish students compare very strongly with our US students.

We then get a small break and then my second (and final) semester begins on February 21st and ends June 25th.

As it is so cold, I have been watching TV on my computer a lot. I have discovered and downloaded some very good shows that play on the cable channels: Dexter, The Wire, MI-5 and Weeds. I am about to start a series called Mad Men. Frankly these cable shows are far, far superior to what plays on network TV. When I now watch a network show, it seems so poorly done and cheesy. I think the cable channels (like Showtime) have the right idea. I think The Sopranos started this trend. If you watch the award shows, you are seeing more and more of these shows win over their network competitors. Dexter and Mad Men just won several Golden Globes.

Barcelona Spain with Rockhurst

Not long after returning from a long Christmas holiday in central Europe, I went back to work for a few days and then headed off to the next adventure- Barcelona.

This trip actually had nothing to do with Fulbright, but rather with Rockhurst U (that other job). Prior to me leaving for Poland, I worked with two Professors: Turner White and Martin Stack (actually, they did most the work) to set up a two week study abroad trip for our undergraduate business students. We arranged a collaboration with a Jesuit school in Barcelona Spain, IQS. Turner and Martin left with 20 of our students for Barcelona after the New Year. All 20 students range in age from 20 to 22 and are juniors or seniors.

As I am still teaching in Poland, I was able to join them for only part of the trip. I flew through Munich, Germany and into Barcelona and met up my group. I have now been in five different countries and hearing eight different languages since December 25.

Our trip structure is simple. All 23 of us start each day about 7:30am with breakfast together, then go to IQS for an academic lecture provided by their faculty (Spanish Economy, Spanish Marketing, Spanish Logistics, etc). In the early afternoon, we go to some Spanish business for a look at the real business world in Spain and speak to some of their executives. The late afternoons are for cultural events and the evenings are free for the students to enjoy the city (they just have to be home for breakfast the next morning). All are “of age,” so we give them a reasonable degree of freedom for their time off.

This is an actual international class these students are taking for college credit. So, although we want the students to enjoy and get the most of this wonderful city- we are rather militant about how they spend their days and how they present themselves (so far, we are quite proud). This trip is coupled with pre and post work the student have to do.

Barcelona sits right on the Mediterranean sea; famous for its architecture, hosting of the Olympics in 1992, Mediterranean beaches and tourism. It is one of the most popular cities in Europe. It is located in the Catalonian area of Spain,which has its own language. Catalonian is a combination of Spanish, French and Italian. So most residents speak Catalonian, Spanish and many do speak English as well. I always thought Catalonian was just a regional dialect, but quickly found out it is its own language.

Like the rest of the world, even Barcelona was in a cold snap, now realizing this is a relative statement to those of you in sub zero weather. But it was in the low 40s for the entire trip. Considering that Barcelona is a Mediterranean coastal city, that is chilly! What is going on in the world??? The mountains just outside of the city got a heavy dose of snow.

My trip was the tale of two cities- the first part started off great. As noted above, we had a good academic schedule with the students each day. Then we toured some great businesses and even went to a Spanish Winery called Torres (look for some of their wines in your local liquor store- they are wonderful). After the students go on their way, Martin, Turner and I usually walked around to see the wonderful architecture. One of the famous architects from Barcelona is a gentleman named Antoni Gaudi. He created some of the most unique and wonderful buildings you have ever seen. This includes a Cathedral (Sagrada Família), which he started in the 1890s. It is so massive and ornate that it is not scheduled to be completed until 2026 (that is 130 years to build). Gaudi died in the 1920s, but his work and influences live on in the city.

Each night the three of us Professors went out to tapas restaurants (Spanish appetizers) and a bottle or two of Spanish wine. Basically you order a 1/2 dozen (or more) different tapas dishes and try everything. Everyone eats so late in Spain- we would have dinner about 8p and leave about 10:30. That was about the time the dinner rush was starting to come in. At 8pm, we were usually eating in an empty restaurant. It was only filling as we left.

We would typically return to the hotel and find our students in the lobby, who were all dressed up and ready to hit the town for the night. Most of the discos really don’t get going until midnight and stay open until 6 or 7am. Us old professors skipped those experiences (not that the students wanted us with them anyway).






Now for the other (unexpected) part of the trip. On Saturday, we did our normal routine with the students, and then Martin and I stopped at a small restaurant for a late lunch. I had the 1/2 chicken (start to see where this is headed?). By dinner time I was not feeling well, but assumed all my frequent travel was catching up with me. I planned an early night of rest. About 11 p.m. I started my second phase of my trip, where the only Barcelona sites I saw were my bathroom and the bed (TMI!, TMI!). I was horizontal for the next 48 hours. I survived on Sprite and Pringles (from the minibar). Martin brought me a baguette on Sunday. I never even left my room. Food poisoning is bad, but food poisoning while in a hotel room, in a foreign country, is really bad! I should have brought the mashed potato bowl.

I missed two days (out of six). One was supposed to be site seeing of some places I wanted to go, and the other was a academic trip down to the Barcelona port and harbor. Oh well... next time.

By Monday night I decided I needed to get out of the room (I really had not left it in 48 hours). Martin and Turner took me to another tapas place, and I ate some mild dishes (and no wine, nor meat).

On Tuesday morning, I had a 6am cab scheduled and flew back to Poland where I had to teach a late afternoon class.

Just to show you how unusually cold it is, our airplane sat on the Barcelona runway for over an hour waiting for planes that had just come down, and were going back up to be de-iced. I’ll bet the Barcelona airport had to look long and hard for their de-icing machine.

In retrospect, other than my 48 hours of solitude- I really enjoyed Barcelona and really enjoyed seeing and working with our Rockhurst students. As a plus, both Turner and Martin are great friends of mine who I will not see again until July. So this was great catching up. Martin, Turner and the students will be in Barcelona for another six days. I wish them all the best. I think they are really getting a lot out of this trip.

Back to Poland.....

Buda & Pest

Happy New Year!

I am quite late on this blog from a combination of being busy and lazy.

I last left you in Slovakia on St. Stephen’s Day. We then had a gorgeous train ride to our next destination in Budapest, Hungary. It took about 2.5 hours to get to the capital city along the Carpathian mountain range and Danube river.

Buda and Pest were actually two different cities that are separated by the Danube river. Buda is the old part which holds the castle and palace. Pest is the newer city, and these days the biggest section. Buda and Pest are connected by multiple bridges that span the Danube- each bridge is grander than the other.

Very quickly Budapest rose to my top five list of “most beautiful cities”. It really is a jewel. The city is a wonder to see and visit. I can’t say enough good things about it.


We had decent weather on most days, considering it was late December and early January. During our six days in Budapest we saw quite a bit and ate quite well.

Additionally, we had the great fortune of meeting some of our friends- The Keys: Barclay, Sonya and their two children plus Leanne. Barclay is a Fulbright Scholar of history and Leanne is on a Fulbright with Linguistics and also teaches English. So, you have never partied in Budapest until you have done it with a Historian, Linguist and an Economist!

We spent most days visiting the famous buildings of Budapest including the grand Parliament Building, Castle Hill, St. Stephen’s Church and all the gorgeous architecture. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Most nights we gorged ourselves on Hungarian food.

Hungary has a history similar to that of Poland (always being controlled by someone). The Ottoman Empire ran it for 150 years, then came the Austrian-Hungarian Empire (the Hapsburgs’), then the Communists. Actually Budapest was the site of one of the earliest and largest communist revolts.  In 1956, the citizens tried to break away from the Soviets. The Soviet tanks were sent in and 30,000 were killed on the streets.

Although Hungary is in the EU, it is not on Euro yet. It still uses its own national currency the Forint. What we found fun about the Forint are the denominations. 200 Forints equal $1. So, to stop at an ATM and get a few days of “walking around money,” I would get 100,000 Forints. For a decent dinner we would drop 40,000. It was fun to carry around 10,000 domination bills.

We celebrated New Year’s Eve in Budapest with our friends. It gets quite wild there. They have a main drag called the Vaci Utca. On New Year’s Eve it reminded me of Bourbon Street in New Orleans (without the beads). Thousands of people, horns blowing, people drinking (and drinking). Our biggest problem were the fireworks. People would just shoot them off right in the middle of these packed crowds. It felt like a war zone when they landed next to you. Poor Trey and Abbie did not care at all for that. But it was certainly a memorable way in ring in 2010.

On New Year’s Day- our friends watched the kids, and I took Lisa out for a romantic dinner cruise up and down the Danube. We had a great time.

We said goodbye to our friends and headed home on January 2. It was a 17.5 hour train ride- but we scheduled the journey to be during the evening and night and we had two sleeping compartment. Therefore the trip was rather nice.

I look forward to returning to Budapest someday.

St. Stephen's Day

Happy St. Stephen’s Day! Although not much recognized in the US, St. Stephen’s is considered a “second Christmas day”. As we found out today, not much is open on St. Stephen’s Day either.

If you did not read Lisa’s blog of our Christmas Eve evening with the Draniewicz’s, please do http://anamericanhouseholdinpoland.blogspot.com/2009/12/wonderful-polish-christmas-experience.html

As she also noted, we spent Christmas afternoon on a train and spent the night in Warsaw. Our final destination is Bratislava, Slovakia, but that is a 13 hour train trip from our home in Gdansk. Our plan was to break the trip up into two days, five hours to Warsaw, and spend the night. Then today, the remaining eight hours to Slovakia (going through the Czech Republic).

We left our Warsaw hotel this morning after a great breakfast buffet . Good thing we had the buffet, as all the train station eating places were closed.

We got on our train bound for the Czech Republic at 9:45. As usual, we reserved a six person compartment, three seats facing the other three seats. Keeping the kids occupied, and me from killing at least one in that small prison cell is always a trial.

As Warsaw is right in the middle of Poland, we still had to get through the southern half of the country. That took about four hours on the train. Southern Poland is very rural and very beautiful. We enjoyed the scenery. We were riding on a Czech train (Warsaw to Prague), which is much nicer than what Poland typically offers.

We crossed over Poland’s border and into the Czech Republic at about 1 p.m. Not far from the border was the station where we had to change trains. We had about an hour layover at the station, and it was our plan to grab a bite. Although the station is medium sized, absolutely nothing was open today. Well, except for this greasy spoon restaurant (and that is giving greasy spoons a bad name).

They had a large menu of items on the wall and the kids picked out what they wanted. We began to order. The counter lady stopped us quickly and signaled (the only English words she knew were “ketchup” and “mayonnaise”)- and indicated they had nothing on the menu today: just the items we actually saw, pre-made, sitting in front of us behind the glass. It consisted of about six or seven different sandwiches, which had been there for who knows how long. Plus she had cold french fries. We basically ordered all she had left. She even had to put the french fries in the microwave to warm them up.

Problem two: they do not take credit cards and the Czech Republic has its own money/currency. As we were only spending an hour in this country, I did not plan on getting any of their money. I only had Polish Zloty’s and Euros. So I had to find a ATM and make a withdraw to get just enough Czech Koruna to cover our pitiful lunch. The bill came to 347 Czech Koruna (about $19).

After about an hour in the Czech Republic, we boarded a Slovakian train for our three hour trip to Bratislava.

The Slovakian train was even nicer. Again, amazingly few people traveling today. We took two compartments and stretched out a little. Slovakia is full of mountain ranges and is a popular place to ski in Central Europe. We traveled along side the Tatra Mountains (part of the Carpathian Mountain ranges) for several hours. Also, as we are now much further south in Europe- the sun stayed up much later. We actually traveled the full entire north/south length of the Czech Republic.

We finally arrived at our destination at 6 p.m. We have a great three bedroom apartment in Bratislava, about 1/2 mile from the historic downtown. For those not familiar with Slovakia, it is half of the former Czechoslovakia. The entire country is about the size of two New Jersey’s and has only five million people. Bratislava is the capital.

It has done quite well for itself since the fall of the Soviet Union. It has one of the better performing countries. Slovakia just adopted the Euro 11 months ago, so all prices are stated in Euros as well as Slovakian Korunas. Everything has two price tags on it, and you can pay with either currency. They will use both currencies for another month or so, then the Koruna will go away and only the Euro will be accepted.

Our first and only order of business tonight was to get something to eat. The downtown area was only a few blocks from our apartment, so we left in search of food. Again, every place was closed. We could have kept walking and maybe found something, but place after place was closed expect one: McDonalds. To my great chagrin (but my childrens’ delight), that is where we ate. Our McDonald’s bill was 832 Slovakian Korunas (or 27 Euros).

Tomorrow is a day for Castles, the Danube, and other touristy places.

Christmas in Poland- Wesołych Świąt

Wesołych Świąt,

The weather here has broken. Europe had quite cold spell from the Ukraine to France. Rail and air was grounded through much of Europe. We have a good Fulbright friend of ours (Leanne) who decided to go back to the States for the Holidays. She left Poland, and has been stuck in Paris for 3 days. Now getting “stuck” in Paris might sound nice, but I am sure when your bags are checked and you are living on airport food for days, well.... But similar things are happening all over Europe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8425805.stm

However, today we started to warm back up and thaw. Just in time of our trip later in the week.

I taught my last class of the season yesterday. My attendance on Monday and Tuesday was about 25%. We have a much shorter break here than colleges do in the States. In the States, I would be “off” for about 5 weeks during the holidays. Here is it really just the week between Christmas and New Year (like a real job). We start classes back up in Gdansk on January 4th.

Another difference is the semester term. In the States, Christmas Vacation (over here you are allowed to call it Christmas Vacation) would signal the end of the semester. Then after the Christmas break, you would start the next semester. Here we are only 75% done with the Fall semester which does not end until the beginning of February. So I have about a month left of this semester when we return from Christmas break.

Speaking of Christmas Vacation- I treated the family to that movie last night. I love Cousin Eddie! With Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid, It’s probably one of the closer depictions of a real family gathering at the holidays. It's not the Christmas season until you watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Earlier this week we also showed the kids the classics: Rudolph, A Year Without Santa and Frosty the Snow Man. It is hard to believe all of those were made before even Lisa and I were born. They really hold up over time.

Of course Christmas in Poland is a special event. They have their own unique traditions.

First, the big event day is Christmas Eve (Wigilia)- not Christmas Day.

On Christmas Eve (Wigilia) it is traditional in Poland to:

-It is a day first of fasting, then of feasting. You fast until the first star comes out. That is normally the childrens' job is to look for the first star to appear in the sky. Now luckily as it gets dark at 3 p.m.--you are not fasting long.

-The feast begins with the appearance of the first star; there is no meat in the feast. Mostly fishes. Carp is the big item on the table (their version of a turkey). Poppy Seed cake is also important.

-In some households, bits of hay are spread beneath the tablecloth as a reminder that Christ was born in a manger.

-An even number of people must be seated around the table or, tradition states, someone may die in the coming year.

-The meal begins with the breaking of the opłatek (an unleavened bread). Everyone at the table breaks off a piece and eats it as a symbol of their unity with Christ. They then share a piece with each family member giving good wishes for the following year.

-There should be twelve dishes of food, as a symbol of the Twelve Apostles.

-Poppy seed cake, beet soup, prune dumplings, carp, herring and noodles with poppy seed are universal Polish Christmas foods. Traditionally, there is no meat eaten on Christmas Eve. Often there is compote of dry fruits.

-How you spend the Wigilia signifies how the next year will be for you and your family.

-Then presents are opened after dinner.

-Midnight Mass is very very common.

-Christmas Day and then the 26th (as second Christmas Day) is spent visiting friends (we will spend it on a train).

Some of the above we will follow this year and some we will not be able to (no Carp unfortunately, and I doubt Lisa will put together a 12 course meal. Lisa promised a 12 course meal next year when she is in her own kitchen).

So what did I ask Santa for this year?  A Gate's BBQ brisket sandwich.  I miss Midwest beef (Poland is the land of pork)!

We have been very honored to be invited to our landlord’s (The Draniewiczs') for an after dinner glass of wine and conversation. We are excited about the evening.

Then off to Slovakia and Budapest the next day.

So again, Wesołych Świąt!

Warsaw

I am in the middle of giving an examination to my undergraduates.  So while they are praying and/or cursing, I thought I could catch up on my blog.

Last week we were in Warsaw for my mid-year Fulbright meeting. Warsaw is about a five hour train ride directly south. Recall that Gdansk is in the very north of Poland, and Warsaw is basically in the middle. Five to six hours are about a much as the kids can handle on a train, we have determined. This train was quite nice and had a restaurant car.

I will not go into much family detail on our trip, as Lisa was quite good in blogging our activities each day. If you are not subscribed to her blog, I suggest you do.  You can read our many Warsaw adventures here.

http://anamericanhouseholdinpoland.blogspot.com/

The top three blog entries are on Warsaw. If you have not, please give them a look. I am trying not to repeat what Lisa has already said.

As I mentioned, it was not all fun and games- I did have a meeting to attend. Most of the Polish Fulbrighters came from their cities for a meeting with the Program Director and Executive Director. I spent 10 days with these scholars in September, and it was great to see them again. Before and after our meetings, we caught up at dinners and accompanied each other to sites. Most had not met Lisa and the kids before.

Our meeting was an informal gathering to let the scholars discuss how the program is going and obstacles people are facing. This is then used to help the next batch of Fulbrighters who come next year. The topic that dominated the meeting was the issue(s) of visas, which have been problematic for many. We also discussed other travel opportunities and some administrative items.

We meet again for our final meeting in May. At that time, we also get to take our families to the US Ambassador to Poland’s residence. I have not met the new Ambassador.  He is an Obama appointee and just arrived. I had met the former Ambassador (a Bush appointee). He stayed on until this past October.

I love Warsaw. It is huge, and struggling with its own growing pains. In many ways it does remind me of New York. It is a perpetual traffic jam. That said, in my opinion, it can be classified as one of the “Great Capitals of Europe.”

The history is phenomenal, from the Jewish and Polish struggles during WWII, to medieval Warsaw, to Post-Communist Warsaw. Lots of skyscrapers, culture and history to see and do. Like New York or Paris or Berlin, you could spend a couple of weeks in Warsaw without seeing everything.

On the culture side (not my strong suit; I am a history guy...) is Frédéric Chopin. You might recognize Chopin’s name as one of the great classical composers. He was from Warsaw and they are getting ready to celebrate his 200th birthday in 2010. The entire year will feature Chopin concerts put on by some of the best orchestras in the world who will all be traveling to Warsaw. Although he died and is buried in Paris, he asked that upon death, his heart be removed and returned to Warsaw. It is held in a parish church in downtown Warsaw today. The comment goes that no matter where he lived, his heart belonged to Warsaw.... Also, if you are a Vodka drinker- try a bottle of Chopin. It is a great Polish made Vodka. Other than the name, it has nothing to do with him, but it is good.

Our apartment was in Old Town. Although most European cities have an “Old Town,” this has an interesting history. Although centuries old, the Warsaw Old Town was completely destroyed by the Nazis in 1943-1945. General Eisenhower toured Old Town soon after the Yanks arrived and could not believe the destruction.

However, the Poles had hundreds of pictures of what Old Town looked like. It was completely rebuilt to look exactly like it was prior to 1943. In fact, if you did not know better you would think these 40 year old buildings were over 400 years old. They did a great job in historical reconstruction.

A picture of Old Town before and after.....

 

Although most European city destruction was the ravages of war, Warsaw was a planned destruction. 85% was purposely destroyed by the Nazis. A couple of Nazi quotes “ The city must completely disappear from the surface of the earth and serve only as a transport station for the Wehrmacht (German Army). No stone can remain standing. Every building must be razed to its foundation." SS chief Heinrich Himmler, October 17, SS officers' conference
 
"Warsaw has to be pacified, that is, razed to the ground."
Adolf Hitler, 1944"

Interested in some other before (in 1945) and after (today) shots of Warsaw- I found a site- http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?s=9c24ca47388fb3c6ebbf375c18efb095&p=30310178&postcount=33

Warsaw was great. I have now been to this city a number of times. I look forward to coming back soon.

Back to Work and a Cautionary Tale

For those who think I am just traveling through Europe all on the taxpayer’s dime, you are only partially right.

First, I must admit, it is “taxpayers money". Fulbright is a part of the State Department, which of course is funded by your tax dollars. So Thanks a Bunch! I am enjoying myself!

Alas, I must also work. As mentioned in previous blogs, I have three classes plus one seminar that meets on occasional weekends. Two of my classes are Master’s level and one is Bachelor’s level, all in the School of Management and Economics. Also, as noted before, I am teaching basically the same classes here that I do in the US. In fact, I am even using the same book, study questions and examination format as I would for my American students. So, I think these are fair comparisons.

Here are some of my observations on the students.

Quite a bit is made in the news about ”foreigners“ taking US jobs. This first started in manufacturing in the 1970s, and in recent years has moved into services and even managerial jobs. The US had a great advantage for several decades in the job market. So, what have I learned based on teaching the next generation of European workers?....

Frankly these Polish and other European students are as strong as students in the US. They are as driven, they want to take risks. Many want to start their own businesses.

Keep in mind, my students are young enough that they have really never lived a day under Communism. Frankly, they know little about Communism. I actually know more (given the fact I was a Cold War child and history nerd). I tell them stories..... Furthermore, they do not care about Communism. That is something in their history books or stories that Grandma tells. Young students today are about jobs, careers, Capitalism and money.

I have asked my students (the ones near graduation) what their future plans are. About half wish to stay in Poland and about half want to move to other parts of the EU or Asia. Interestingly, I have not met any student that desires to move to the US.

That said, all of these students are very proficient in English. They realize English is the international language of business and globalization, and they chose to take their degree in the English language. There is a parallel Polish language track, but they want to work in English. Interestingly, they also have a desire to learn Spanish.  It is the second most common language requested here.

One of the reasons I am here, is there are more students who want to take classes in English, than there are professors that can teach in English. That also says something about the generational difference. As children, many current professors learned Polish and Russian, or Polish and German. Most of the Professors at my business school CAN speak reasonable English (to have a conversation), but they are not confident enough in it to teach or give lectures.

So, is there a worry about foreign graduates taking the jobs of US graduates? Absolutely.  Even if you argue that US students vs foreign students are ”the same“ when it comes to intellect, skills, desire, entrepreneurship, etc, it still increases the candidates for jobs well beyond the US borders. Actually, if you do the math, our American college educated job pool now only makes up a fraction of the world’s English speaking college educated job pool. Of course, companies know this. I have seen many of the big US and European companies (like Coke, Dell Computers, etc) all here recruiting.

Not to get political on you, but you can take the Lou Dobbs approach, and call for the US to close its borders to jobs leaving. I always thought that idea was silly, but after living here and meeting these people, the idea is even sillier. Frankly, that will be like holding back Niagara Falls with a teaspoon. It is just no longer the world reality.

Now countries like Poland are not going to take over the world tomorrow.  They still have political and infrastructure systems to improve. But they are improving them.

So, I not only have to worry about my children competing against other US children when they graduate college, but also worry about children from all over the world becoming part of the employment pool. And their skills are good!

Now my comments are directly based my Poland experience (which I doubt anyone would have thought would be a threat to future US jobs).  But Poland is just one of many countries all doing the same thing throughout Central and Eastern Europe, India and Asia. The job candidate pool gets larger every year, and companies have lots and lots more choices for smart new workers.

So what is my advice for my children in this new world order? I have no idea. If I did, I would write a book and not need a Fulbright to travel and experience Europe. I just know the playing field has grown much larger, and I must admit I am impressed with their progress.

My next blog will be over the similarities and differences in teaching these students and my teaching style.