No matter if you speak Japanese, Russian, Spanish or English. There is a course for you somewhere around the world in the CCIM program. These are just some of the places that we can take courses in the CCIM program around the world: Japan, Taiwan, Poland, Mexico, and Russia. For those of you looking for a way to diversify your market base in this economy, what better way to take a course outside of Monroe Doctrine territory and see how another real estate economy functions. The CCIM program operates with one solid foundation: CI 101 "Financial Analysis." After you have gone through that class of NPV, IRR, and discounted cash flows, you can jump around to the rest of the courses in any order. CI 102 "Market Analysis" focuses on highest and best use in case study format. CI 103 (my personal favorite) "User Decisions" takes the class through buy vs. lease, lease hold value and more. CI 104 "Investment Analysis" is centered on buy, sell, hold or refinance. Finally there are elective credits which can be done online or in person. Topics range from taxation to negotiations. You can take each of these courses anywhere you want around the world or the nation. I do often get asked the question, "Where should I take my courses?" I respond that if you have a chance, try taking a couple of the courses outside your back yard. By jumping around the country you can learn about different ways of doing business and network outside of your normal circle. Of course if the thought of $4.gas (and maybe $5.by the time you finish reading this) makes you think local, why not look into CI 104 in Boston this July. In August look for a two-day elective course on negotiations. This is one of the new programs put together by the CCIM Institute and it is the next hot thing that they have created, location TBD. Of course if you want to stay north of the Patrick-Lynch line you can always sign up for the CI Intro, a two day elective course, this October which will be held in Portsmouth, N.H. Finally a CI 101 will be coming around this November in Boston for all of those who want to start the foundation of their CCIM education. Now is the time to sign up for these great courses. We are all looking ahead to a restful summer with a bit of down time, we are all caught up on sleep after a great NBA finals, and we all want to continue to improve ourselves in our profession. As always if you have any questions on anything feel free to call me (603) 668-7000 x212. Chris Norwood is president of the N.E.CCIM chapter and director of NAI Norwood Group, Bedford, N.H.