Spring break

Mary's on spring break, so we hopped in the car and drove south.  Or we crawled, for the first three hours.  It was a Saturday for crying out loud.  Once the traffic started moving, the rain and, as we found out later, the tornadoes came.  We had gone to spend the weekend in Chapel Hill NC with Charlie and Annie, friends from, you guessed it, the Peace Corps.  We made it, and once there, the sun came out and we could see it getting greener while we were sitting out on their back porch.

While there, we met up with a couple they knew from Northampton Mass, one of whom teaches at UMass.  We went for a long bike ride, which ended conveniently at a local (and crowded) ice cream stand.  (It was Sunday during Lent, and our minister said that Sundays are feast days while the rest of Lent is a fasting time.)  

We found ourselves in some culture shock situations, being in the South.  The hardest was the accent of the people who could understand us, but when they launched into a 12-minute response for a simple comment or question, we did not understand them as we would smile and beat a retreat to the car.  Reading a book now about the Civil War, where there's a quote:  "North, East and West are simply directions; South is a state of mind."

I saw Grandma on Friday, when I drove back from a few days of work on the upstairs in the old part of the house in Pittsfield.  She is patiently awaiting a wheelchair, as she feels she can no longer get around on her electric cart due to her eyesight.  She has a couple of friends who are bringing food and mail, and then when she gets the chair, she'll be able to get out easier.  We have now set aside July 28, 29 and 30 as the dates for her birthday reunion in Pittsfield.

Today was a banner day, as we sent three different e-mails to Annie.  She has updated her blog, and changed its name and it has all kinds of new bells and whistles:  http://3rdculturekidbetweenworlds.wordpress.com/.  Speaking of China, John and Marilyn are back from their two week trip there.  We will hear more about it when we go up this weekend, but it sounds like they had a terrific time there.

Margaret has closed the deal on a new apartment which is near her work.  Sounds really nice, and is close enough that she can come home during lunch to walk her dog!  Dee will be happy.  She started her new job working on teacher exchanges.  She joined us last night at a Passover seder with friends who had been with us in South Africa and live close by.  A special night with a family with many connections. 

Joe is busy, busy.  He has been accepted at Tufts, and is seriously considering a move north in the fall.  He is looking at exams coming up at the same time he has to finish a project proposal for work.

Closing out, we understand a young man from Dundee is back in DC for a class trip!  And, happy birthday to Peter!

Love from down here.