ISU has Begun!

Austria is beautiful! We flew in over some breathtaking mountains which are on the north side of the city. Here's a shot of the plane coming in for a landing.

Check in was a breeze thanks to the efficient ISU staff! After that I settled into my dorm room. We had dinner in the cafteria. So far I have met people from India, South Africa, China, Japan, France, and Israel. I sat with one of the professors who was at the founding conference in 1985. He has taught at ISU's summer SSP (space studies program) 20 of the 24 summers. After dinner we all went into a big classroom where we all introduced ourselves. The introductions were great! There are so many space fans like me from around the world! Latvia, Romania, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Canada, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, the US, Scotland, and Italy! There are over 30 countries represented. We have 2 here from KSC. I'm the only one from JSC. Sounds like most people have an aerospace engineering degree. Some people just finished their Master's this year. Some people are working on PhD's. People's interests range from small satellites to space law to space medicine to astrophysics. It sounds like a really great group of folks and I can't wait to meet them all!

Today we have brunch and then orientation and a campus tour. Tomorrow class begins!

I share a suite with 2 other girls. The kitchen/bath are shared but we have separate rooms with a desk, twin bed, and a closet. It's pretty nice but man does it bring back college memories. ;-) It's kind of like a mix between space camp and college.