Day 16: Playtime is Over

Today was the start of a new semester at UCT. I was a little nervous about meeting the students for the first time. What would they think of me?  What would I think of them?  How do you make an impact when you're only around for three weeks?

To combat my fears, I decided to wear my Aunt Lucy's classic St. John, pull my new hair back and don my school marm glasses. At least I'll LOOK like a professional!

After spending a quiet morning reading, I spent the afternoon with the Institute Director and a couple of graduate students. I now have a much better idea of what I'll be doing for the next few weeks. 

First up, I'm working on a research project with a student who is modeling the potential impact of a mandated change to the manner in which government bonds are traded in South Africa. It's incredibly interesting and important work. The hardest part is getting up to speed on current practices. Needless to say, I have a lot of reading to do tonight. Not only that, my student, Zac, wants to meet from 8-1 tomorrow to brainstorm scenarios on how the proposed change could affect market participants and quantify them so that the banks know if they'll be better off or not. Piece of cake, right?  Yikes!  I'd better get started with my reading and taking lots of notes. But first, let me unwind just for a moment.