Celebrating Friends

Over the years our lives (Doug's and mine) have been made richer by friends throughout the world. We have made friends through structured programs, such as NC State's International Friendship program, our Indonesian teachers (my facility with Indonesia is no reflection on their abilities), former students, and people that we encountered in the course of our journeys. The latter is not unusual considering I met Doug on an air trip from Denpasar, Bali to Singapore.

Each friend has added to our memories and we like to think that they have made us better people as we learn to view the world a little differently.

As I have prepared to start my Fulbright I have been especially grateful for all the help and advice I have been given. This morning I rec'd an e-mail offering to help me find accommodations from Leelee's cousin. I shared a house with Leelee in 1985 while I was on sabbatical at Virginia Tech. We had lost contact, but due to the great reach of Google no one is ever entirely lost. Leelee's cousin cc'd her message to a friend who teaches research methods at USM. All this reassures me that settling in will be easier than I anticipated. (I am certain that it was easier to meet people when I was 20 something as I say "when I was young and cute.")