New Orleans, New Babies, New Beginnings

A truly wonderful weekend.

Amazing weather; sunny and cool. The flood waters in the Isar and Donau Rivers receded within a week with no major damage or siltation problems. Amazing! I wish I could say the same for the poor people in New Orleans. I donated some money but I am afraid this is such a disastrous event for Americans on so many levels I unable give more of what I am capable of giving.Anyone who has stomached Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States knows that this region (Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana) is ever so quickly forgotten by the Federal Government and the rest of the world. People who live on the edge of nothing have been forced to do with even less and now victims are believing that “Natural disaster is caused by the sin in the world.” This is a false and dangerous assessment of the Earth. The Zoo Keepers at the New Orleans Zoo took successful precautions to protect and ensure food and clean water for the animals for the duration of this ordeal, what does that say? There is no logic to human behavior. I am so sad for those effected by Hurricane Katrina and the ripples to come.

HOWEVER on a happier note, congratulations to Julee and Gordon Schoenfeld for their new family member, Ryan Alexander. Good middle name :thumbup: Born bright and early in the morning 29 Aug. Also, thanks Grandmajeanny for reading my blog and the encouragement.

Alex and I are doing fine. We miss each other during the week (much more than when we lived on separate continents, wacky!) but we both need the time to put our noses to the books. My first language course with Inlingua ends 16 September. And my written Language exam is 13 September and the verbal exam is the following week. It’s no time for stage fright or getting sick. I highly recommend “ginger with camomile, black pepper and other good stuff” tea to combat any would-be bug. You get a nice tea pot of this stuff at the Victoria House cafe near the Viktualienmarkt.