Our Week in Review
Tuesday was also normal, with the most interesting part of the day for me being when I met with an MBA student who wanted some advice on an organizational change initiative she has been undertaking. It was really quite interesting to hear all that she has been doing, the survey she conducted, her interpretation of the data and the key issues, and how she thinks management will respond. It was educational for me to see how the process might work here and the challenges an internal or external consultant might face. And of course we spent some time at the park.
Thursday we found out about Jacque's dad had been admitted to the hospital the night before in serious condition. We were able to Skype with some of Jacque's sisters and get several updates on her dad's condition throughout the day. Fortunately he was able to get stabilized a bit, though he is still in very bad shape. Of course Jacque was very concerned and this is what occupied our attention most of the day. I did have to go in to work in the afternoon and did a session with potential MBA students before coming home so Jacque could do her first session at the BSU English Language Center (where she will be volunteering and working with a classes a couple nights a week). She had a great time and is looking forward to going again next week.
Friday was a good day. I didn’t have to go in until later in the day, so we had a morning together as a family. We also received updates on Jacque’s dad and he seemed to be making slow but steady improvements. After lunch and the kids were down for rest time, I went in to teach a class at BSU, which went very well. I was able to get back in time for us to get the kids ready for babysitters (two young woman—sisters—from the ward who the girls have become quite close to in our first 3 weeks here). Jacque and I then went out on our first date night since arriving in Minsk (to see the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet at the Belarusian State Philharmonic)! The concert was great and we really enjoyed the time out together. It was a good day.
This has been a good week. Monday was a pretty typical day. The girls did their schooling in the morning and we played at the park in the afternoon. The highlight of the day was after dinner, when we walked down the road to a yummy pastry shop for a fancy
dessert for family night. We then met
with Sara’s doctor (who made a house call to drop off her medicine) and then
the kids got to bed kind of late.
Tuesday was also normal, with the most interesting part of the day for me being when I met with an MBA student who wanted some advice on an organizational change initiative she has been undertaking. It was really quite interesting to hear all that she has been doing, the survey she conducted, her interpretation of the data and the key issues, and how she thinks management will respond. It was educational for me to see how the process might work here and the challenges an internal or external consultant might face. And of course we spent some time at the park.
Wednesday was Belarus Victory Day, which I posted on earlier in the week. After a fairly quiet day around the house, we
all went out to the park in the late afternoon.
Sara taught Jacque how to make dandelion crowns and the kids
played! The weather was beautiful. Then we had dinner and did the normal bedtime
routine with the kids. Jacque and I
enjoyed the crazy loud fireworks show around 10 pm (sounded like there were
canons going off around the entire city!).
It was a good day.
Friday was a good day. I didn’t have to go in until later in the day, so we had a morning together as a family. We also received updates on Jacque’s dad and he seemed to be making slow but steady improvements. After lunch and the kids were down for rest time, I went in to teach a class at BSU, which went very well. I was able to get back in time for us to get the kids ready for babysitters (two young woman—sisters—from the ward who the girls have become quite close to in our first 3 weeks here). Jacque and I then went out on our first date night since arriving in Minsk (to see the Ari Roland Jazz Quartet at the Belarusian State Philharmonic)! The concert was great and we really enjoyed the time out together. It was a good day.
Saturday started early and I was up and
helped the kids until I had to leave for work at 8:30. I met the SBMT director and we drove out to
the location of the BSU SBMT MBA Faculty Retreat. We were out in the middle of rural Belarus
and it was very beautiful. We passed many
small villages (200+ people) along the way, until we arrived at the retreat
location (which was in a town of about 4000-5000. We arrived at 10 am and I was surprised to
find out that they had me slotted for the morning session (I had been told I
would go in the afternoon, after lunch).
So we spent the next 3 hours talking about service-learning/experiential
learning and its possible application/integration into their MBA
curriculum. It was all very well
received and we had a very good discussion.
After my session, we had lunch and then
rejoined for a MBA strategic planning meeting (half in English, for my benefit,
half in Russian). That was an
interesting experience, to say the least.
But I learned a lot through the process.
I didn’t get home until 8 pm (about 2 hours later than I was supposed
to), so all of the kids were in bed by then and Jacque and I just had a quiet
evening together before bed. It was a
long, good day.
And of course today is Mother's Day. We let Jacque sleep in and the girls helped me make her French toast and an omelet for breakfast. Then it was off to church and we are enjoying a quiet afternoon back home now.
And of course today is Mother's Day. We let Jacque sleep in and the girls helped me make her French toast and an omelet for breakfast. Then it was off to church and we are enjoying a quiet afternoon back home now.
So that was our week. There are more pictures of our daily happenings here.
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