Welcome to the Class of 1969 page! We hope you use this space to connect with your classmates, share memories, and keep in touch with one another.
Class of 1969
Welcome to the Class of 1969 page! We hope you use this space to connect with your classmates, share memories, and keep in touch with one another.
Hi Karen and friends,
Like you Karen, living in Canada we are limited in travel but I can go outside my neighborhood. For the last month, I have had Casper, 9-years-old, doing his online schooling in Toronto. He lives about 120 kilometres away in Waterloo but with five kids in the house, he gets a bit lost (the middle child). I have learned a lot about Go Noodle, the exercise program, long division and rocks so I am hopeful that I may graduate grade 4.
Winter in Toronto has been unusually mild with little or no snow. As a result, I walk on the ravine trails — beautiful fingers of green that run north to south thru the city. You feel that you are in a park not within a few hundred metres of a subway.
For entertainment, I am continuing with Duolingo French. Speaking is of course the hardest part and understanding spoken French. I only hope that when I can speak with people without a mask, I improve. It has always been a goal to speak a second language. My daughter, Jennifer, is a professor at Berkeley and she has a contract to teach in Toulouse every other year. Fingers crossed that soon we will be able to actually go there. In the meantime, Je parle avec moi.
I just read America for Beginners, which I found humorous and inspiring. There is a personal connection as the key person is from India visiting the USA in search of her gay son.
Another interesting activity– the virtual tours of the Tenement Museum in the lower east side of NYC. I love the information and the museum is fantastic. Jenn and Jana, Jenn’s wife, gave me a membership for Christmas so I log on to all the zoom programs.
Happy 2021 to the Class of 69. It’s good to see that there are 4 of us chatting every now and then – maybe we can get a few more of our classmates to share thoughts and ideas. Here in Madrid we still have a lot of Covid restrictions and my town (just 30km outside city center is under confinement meaning we can’t leave the town except for medical or work reasons. the vaccination plan is controlled by the central government (as we have socialized medicine) so we must wait our turn to be vaccinated which we hope will be in April. I hope you are well. Stay safe. Hugs Karen
It’s Thanksgiving and even in 2020 we have reasons to give Thanks. Our family, including my 99+ year old mom have managed, so far, to remain Covid free. My granddaughter
Missed out on her Senior prom, traditional graduation celebrations, but she was thrilled with her acceptance to UPENN. With the vaccines in sight, she is looking forward to a more normal College experience. My son and his family have been living in Belgium for the past year and a half. Covid, restricted their travels, and the children did not benefit as much from their international experience. We were disappointed to have to abort a few of our scheduled trips. On the bright side, they will be returning home earlier than anticipated, before Christmas and they will be living just a few houses away from us. What a wonderful gift for us!
Covid has changed all of our lives, we are more adaptable. We all managed to do things differently, some things better.
I like the slower pace, I like doing things that make life safer for someone else. I like that my grandchildren learned this lesson early. We have all changed, yet most have reason to be thankful. We will soon have a vaccine, maybe our lives will return to normal, but maybe a kinder sort of normal. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Karen, it is amazing how Americans always gather for Thanksgiving, regardless of location. Toronto is going into lockdown on Monday so there will be no gatherings. I will miss seeing my family in New York but thankful they are well. As you say we have much to be grateful for: walks in the autumn leaves, good friends, our health. Stay safe. Pat
Four months have passed since the last comment was made here by Pat. Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. It’s not a holiday here in Spain, but all Americans I know celebrate with a turkey dinner with friends and family, sometimes moving the feast to the weekend for work/school purposes. This year, as the pandemic is still in full swing, there is no travelling among states and we are limited to a maximum of 6 persons at any meeting or reunion, so it’s going to be a very strange celebration. But we all have so much to be thankful for! Let our blessings be in our thoughts. Better times will come. Love to all. Karen
Hi Ellen, Karen and Daniela
Although I am writing months later, the pandemic is still driving the conversation. We have just started to open up in Canada with Toronto, my home, one of the last. I only pray we are slower and safer than the experience in the USA.
Enforced isolation has certainly provided time for reflection and self examination — and new learning. I am proud to say that I graduated from grade 3 Google Classroom with my grandson, Casper. Our daily remote learning — he lives about 2 hours away in Waterloo and I live in downtown Toronto — was interesting to say the least. The French classes were the best — a great improvement to my daily Duolingo French with the computer voice. I had lots of time to look at old photos and wonder about past decisions that really form the future. I wonder if at 21 years old, I had any idea what the implications would be fifty years later.
Ellen, many thanks for your wonderful work on the reunion. I enjoyed every minute and hope to return. When Canada opens the border. Pat Lewis
Hi Daniela and Karen,
It was great seeing you at reunion but in the madness of the event, i felt like I was in a whirlwind and didn’t catch up the way I wanted. I was also a little preoccupied.
I’m just getting back to regular life. I was to have neck surgery several weeks after reunion so I was anxious. Never had surgery. The surgery got postponed because of emergency dental surgery and finally had it 2/3. Started PT and OT this past week and will do my first test drive around the neighborhood this weekend.
Karen, our Thursday night zoom get together was enlightening. We all share a sense of isolation during this pandemic, especially those with parents, children and grandchildren. Not to be able to embrace is tough. But there was a lot of resilience shared as well.
Colette filled us in on the Mount’s situation at this time. It’s a challenge that requires imagination and perseverance. The College is thinking outside of the box with partnerships and alternative study.
I would love to hear/read about you study of the Spanish influence during the revolutionary war(?). Is there a way you can share with us?
Daniela, thank you for your sharing of what it is like to be so far from your love ones.
Let’s reach out to friends and ask them to join the conversation and share interests and experiences.
I can’t wait for the 55th reunion. I’m just showing up.
Fondly, Ellen
Hi Karen-
We were thrilled to see you at Reunion and welcome you back to campus! Great to hear about all the great things you’re doing to stay busy. Hopefully, hugs with the grandchildren are on the horizon soon!
Sending well wishes to Spain from the Office of Alumnae/i Relations and Giving!
Hi Daniela,
It was great seeing you on Friday via Zoom! We enjoyed hearing about what you have been up to during this crazy time.
We hope to see you in person soon! Sending well wishes your way from the Office of Alumnae/i Relations and Giving!
Hello classmates. Although I didn`t see anyone on zoom the other day (as Daniela commented), I was really happy to be present at our 50th reunion. It was a long trip all the way from Spain but I loved every minute. Here in Madrid we have similar – but stricter – lockdown measures as in N.Y. I haven’t been out of the house/garden in 8 weeks,. Now we are allowed to take a walk for an hour a day withing 1/2 mile of our homes. I keep busy with different activities, including patchwork, an on line course on Gothic Cathedrals and visiting all the sites that have opened up on the web to explore museumes, national parks, concerts, theatre… you name it and it’s there!. But I most miss hugging my grandchildren who live very near, but now…. so far. Hugs to all. Karen
Hello friends, it was so nice to see a few of you on zoom last night. We all shared a little of our Corona Virus experiences. Some of us found the slower pace conducive to enjoying and appreciating the simple things around us. Some missed going to Church, especially at a time when we most need community…on line mass is good but not as good. We miss hugging our kids, grandkids and friends. Hoping all of you are staying safe and healthy.