Getting Ready to Go

This is my first attempt at blogging.  I'm writing this to document some of my experiences during my upcoming stay in Mexico, and to let friends, colleagues, students, etc. know what's going on with my Fulbright project.  Here are some answers to the questions I'm most frequently asked about this whole enterprise:

Q:  What are you going to be doing?
A:  I will be working on a research project related to the work of faculty and students at the National School of Social Work, with youth in Mexico City neighborhoods.  The project is in the area of youth development.  I hope to document the work being done and work on program evaluation.  That may take the form of developing ways to measure outcomes.  I'll know more once I get started, and a lot more several months after that!

Q:  Where are you going to live?
A:  We have rented an apartment, fully furnished.  It's quite nice and in an area where we will feel comfortable.

Q:  What's happening with your house?
 A:  Not to worry--it will be lived in while we are gone.

Q:  How's your Spanish?
A:  Not as good as it will be by the time I come back!  Seriously, though, it's good enough to usually be understood and for me to usually understand most of what is being said to me. 

Well, that's enough of the question and answer for now.  I still have tons of stuff to do before I leave, but I wanted to try to get this set up. I am looking forward with great anticipation to learning more about the culture and people in Mexico. It is a great opportunity that is amazingly coming together. I hope you'll check out my blog from time to time if you want to know what I'm up to.