5 Videos: Bullocks, Goats, and some art, too

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Hi, Mary, Kieran, Gus, Finn, and Ceci —

Look what I met last week! They were on the road near my hut.

And these,too —

One very hot afternoon in the village, we stopped for some coconut water. It’s called “Tender Coconut.” Watch  this woman slash the coconut! This one, for my friend, was too old – no water – so we just ate the coconut meat.

I met this piper on the beach one Sunday afternoon when I first arrived. It is at the Bay of Bengal.

This young woman was decorating the sidewalk outside the Internet Café in Pondicherry.  She’s not using a stick of sidewalk chalk. It’s powder. Look how fast she works!

Uncle Matt’s Gus-Speak + in Vienna

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(sometimes if you double-click on the pictures, they’ll enlarge)

Hi, Ceci, Finn, Gus, and Kieran – I think  your uncle/Baby Mary’s dad sounds as if he’s doing Gus-Speak, don’t you?

(he was ordering Auntie Lei, Baby Mary, and me some chocolate pastries!)

We passed many pastry shops and candy stores before we decided on that one.  

Pastries

Look at the gingerbread!

IMG_5555On our way to dinner at a really old restaurant called The 12 Apostles (there’s a pretty good video on that link, ESPECIALLY IF YOU TURN OFF THE SOUND), we walked through one of the Christmas Markets. Auntie Lei & Uncle Matt were bundled up…
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…and look who else was ready for the cold!

In this next picture, can you see the mug Uncle Matt is offering Mary? It’s Gluhwein, an Adult Beverage. He was just pretending. I think.IMG_5552

At night, everyone walks in the streets, and every street has different  lighted decorations. Here’s my favorite: 

Lights like chandeliers!

Lights like chandeliers!

We stopped for awhile to listen to some Christmas music — in Spanish! Ceci and Finn, you’ll recognize this song.

FISHERMAN FINN

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Somehow, this short video was never posted — from Finn’s and my weeks in Greece, a couple years ago. He’s an even finer fisherman now, from what I’ve seen; in any case, the Greeks were v. impressed .

This morning Finn’s fishing rod reel broke, but even so, look what he caught!

Finn fished every day, here on Rhodes… and look who joined us for a few days…!

“NO” Day in Greece

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Dear Grandkids Who Can Read,
In 1940, Benito Mussolini planned to send his troops through Albania, then into Greece, and he wrote the Greek Prime Minister to tell him.
“OHI” (sounds like “OXI”) was the answer the Greek Prime Minister sent back to Mussolini — NO!
People like Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England said this “NO” was largely responsible for the war not spreading more than it already had.
You’ve read or know about Homer and his Iliad and Odyssey. So you’ll GET what Churchill meant when he said this: “Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.”

–

Today, in this village (Zacharo) the school kids marched and marched in honor of this “NO.” I watched from the balcony — you would have loved it!

London —

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LONDON — a year ago

I stayed awhile back with a brilliant and generous former student, Megan, whom your moms and/or dads know. I also met up with another former student — & part of his beautiful family. They came and met me, near Megan’s: again, very generous, as I’m pretty sure it meant a 30-45-minute train ride across London.
As for London — you have all been to London or will go or…I hope you want to go (start working on the ‘rents).
The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was the day before I arrived. Everybody seems hopeful about their new king, Charles III. What do you (seven of you, I mean) know about Elizabeth II or Charles III, I wonder?

Before breakfast
Before dinner
Charles Darwin on Bees

I Love My Athens Neighborhood — I think you would, too!

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Dear Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, Mary, Seamus, Francis, Joey, Peter, and Genevieve —

I do not work at Melissa on Fridays. I take my clothes to the laundry. Along the streets of Exarcheia I see many wonderful things. On my way back to the studio, I stop at the market — everyone keeps 2 meters’ distance and is well masked. I obey those rules, of course.
But NO, I do NOT buy squid. Or octopus!

South Bend: Game On, Sort of!

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Dear Grands,

Mary loves soccer. Here she walks the sidelines, cheering on her teammates. Yes, she’s sporting her unicorn robe – chilly day in The Bend.

Coach M gives a tip to our Sweeper.

Mass late yesterday on an almost-empty campus. It’s Fall Break. No football game, no students, beautiful weather.

As Mass began, Mary leaned over and told me that she really didn’t care for pizza(again). She’d like a real dinner.

 

So here it is: chicken tenders-and-fries.

PS Cheerleader Mary loves her Blue&Gold Ponytail.

And so, Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, Francis, Seamus, Joey — here’s Mary’s Cheer of Cheers for you–

 

 

 

 

Easter with DONKEYS

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Happy Easter to you,  Francis, Seamus, Mary, Kieran, Augustine, Finnian, and Cecilia —
Hydra, where I’ve spent Holy Week,  is a small island  not far from Athens. NO CARS ALLOWED here, so it’s donkeys, donkeys everywhere. They meet the ferries to carry luggage up to hotels and guesthouses. 

 

Mostly, they seem to carry loads of…everything: I’ve seen huge  jars of olive oil, of paper towels, and cases of wine, milk, orange juice.

In my days here, I saw  this woman and her donkey a couple times.

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Construction workers and their donkeys, I see all the time.

Oh, and here’s what I eat for lunch — delicious, really. Really!

THIS…

Here are 10 Greek seconds from Mass. Can you guess what those small green leaves are from? Hint: it’s Palm Sunday, not Easter — all over Greece

 

 

 

A Layover!

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Dear Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, and Francis — 

I’ll be on my way tomorrow but got to spend this afternoon at Mary’s school. She wanted you five to see some photos —

Some of you have heard or  (seen?) this artist…

 

Paul Cezanne (left) and Mary Briel (right)

 

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Mary loves her uniform. And don’t you love her booties?

 img_1147Mary’s kindergarten teacher is kind, creative and patient (and a grandmother!).

 

Father’s homily was about making sure that the faith grandparents pass on includes a sense of justice and inclusivity. ASK MOM or DAD (or Ceci or Finn, I’ll bet)!

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Missing you ALL already!  

 

 

 

 

 

“Teacher, Teacher, what means ‘Stand by Me’?”

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Dear Francis, Mary, Kieran, Augustine, Finnian, and Cecilia —

Did you watch the Royal Wedding, or anyhow some of it, on Saturday?  I hope you saw the part I showed my students at Melissa today, but if you didn’t, WATCH THIS. Your parents can explain how the song became an anthem, a sort of symbol,  during the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. 

For now, look at these words near the end. See what a great English lesson it was for the young women! 

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea, 
I won’t cry, I won’t cry
No, I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.

 

 

 

Two questions as they listened:

  • “‘I won’t be a friend!’  But,  Teacher, why not?”  I explained, and they understood instantly:  “I won’t be afraid!”
  •  The title of this blog (“What means ‘Stand by Me’?” ) was a little tougher. I really wish one of you had been there to help me out. But then one of the young women shouted and pointed to her friend sitting across the table — “I know, I know — like you, like me, like you AND me. Here at Melissa!”

The women at Melissa are amazing. Sometimes, I just sit back and watch them teach themselves.

Missing you all!
xx —
Eebie
P.S. Did you know that Auntie Elizabeth has done art with them here?
E.B.