March is here...

(by Maria Godsey)

Can you believe it is March already?!? Time is flying by! The students are head deep in work and us partners are keeping busy. I started the week count at the beginning of this blog and we are now at Week 8…. only 38 more weeks until graduation!

Tahira mentioned the PDE in her last posting and I thought I would very briefly explain what it is. PDE stands for Personal Development Elective and is something offered to all students. This year the partners are also able to participate, although next year's partner group may have a different offering. So the PDE is just that, it's personal and individual, for our own development in whatever area we want, and an elective (not mandatory). We are basically given 20 hrs with a trained psychoanalyst to discuss and work on whatever we want. I started mine last week and have already felt the benefits! IMD continues to impress me with the attention and care they give to us partners. We are not the students, but they still offer us monthly lunches, attendance to some of the speaker events and classes, cultural awareness sessions, PDE, part-time staff member (our wonderful Marcella!).. oh, and did I mention free babysitting for some of the sessions?!?

Yesterday we had a potluck lunch in our partner room (one of the rooms specifically dedicated to us filled with books, toys, brochures and all sorts of goodies.) We had such an amazing turnout and a wonderful spread of food. Another one of the many benefits of being an IMD partner… tasting wonderful dishes from all around the world! From quiche to egg curry, we all were stuffed after lunch! Here is a group photo of us before we started out meal. Thank you Shuvra for organizing this wonderful event!

Every first Saturday of the month, many of the Lausanne museums offer free entrance. This month, the group has planned to visit the Museum of Photography. We've heard a lot of great things about this museum and I'm really exciting about visiting it.

Lastly, March is the month of birthdays for the IMD babies. Daantje, Marieke's baby girl, and my Noah will celebrate their birthday this month. Daantje turns two and Noah will be one. If looking at the calendar isn't enough to remind us how fast this year is flying, seeing the changes in all the IMD babies is a constant reminder!

Until my next posting…