Sorry that this is not personally written by me but I am tired and got stomach sick today so I am substituting Cynthia's wonderful entry:
Please read below!
"Sixteen hours of travel from San Francisco to Copenhagen was easier than I imagined (or perhaps I am having that helpful amesia of sleep-deprivation). Already on the plane I was hearing many languages besides English and that was great. My seat-mates were Italians, visiting their son who is working in Half Moon Bay as a way to learn English. That makes Walla Walla seem quite close to Sebastopol!
My flight changed in Amsterdam and I loved getting to fly over part of that country. It looked absolutely flat, very green and extremely well-organized. One thing Europeans are telling me is that many, many kids learn English here is because the languages of their countries (Netherlands, Denmark) are not spoken by enough people to make dubbing them cost effective. So the kids grow up hearing English and reading the translation into their language when they watch movies. Such a subversive educational move!
I arrived on Tuesday afternoon. After a couple of hours unpacking, relaxing, I had the pleasure of being invited to a friend's home. Marianne was a student at ITP many years ago and "met" me because I had written courses that she studied. I contacted her before coming over and and she and her husband had me to heir home for dinner. It turns out that they live literally across the street from my hotel! One of the very nice aspects of Copenhagen is that even the center of the city is so human. No buildings seem to be over 6 stories tall; many buildings are apartments; virtually all the buildings are old (my friends live in a mid-age building — built in the late 1700's!); there are several long streets blocked of for pedestrians only.
After dinner, Marianne took me for a 40' walk by the Kierkegard's Church, the Queen's Palace, the harbor, the canals. Very beautiful, welcoming! I'm dashing now. Our group is meeting today, starting with a boat tour of Copenhagen via the canals, then to our first training meeting for the afternoon."
Cynthia
I had a good but tiring day and will write again tomorrow! Love, MOnica
|
