The Fuqua Experience

What was last week’s sad realization has now become this week’s triumph.  Finals ended last night, and at this point, I don’t even care how I did.  I’m sure I will in a week or so, when I see those two SP’s on the finals staring back at me on the Duke registrar website in my Inbox:)

In my mind, this semester easily stands out from the prior three; the residency was such an eye-opening experience (in a good way), the distance portion workload was the most intense, and I’ve feel like my overall learning and appreciation of China (or just Shanghai for you sticklers) is just so much higher relative to the other countries we visited.  Going into the semester, I was ‘warned’ by Dan from the admission’s office that Shanghai would open my eyes to how the U.S. is in decline relative to the modern look, feel, and technology on display in Shanghai.  When I arrived and rode the maglev train from the airport into Shanghai, I knew that ‘warning’ would be fulfilled in spades.

There’s no rest for the weary, though, as we’ll be heading to Russia at the end of the month to start the whirlwind experience all over again. I don’t want to knock St. Petersburg, but I just can’t see how it can compare to all of the amazing Shanghai experiences.  A big thanks one last time to Ian, who organized one hell of an experience.  From the dinner when I arrived to the karaoke to see us off, I couldn’t have asked for a better time in the magnificence that is Shanghai.

Also, a big thanks once again to Section 2, Team 2!  Thanks for all of the hard work you all put in to close up the semester, what seemed insurmountable last week now seems like it was never an issue.