On tour in Europe and Passing Through Paris, Sweden, and Denmark
On Tuesday, I flew from Kansai Airport to Paris by way of Amsterdam. I was feeling happy about getting a hotel in Montparnasse, but it ended up being cheap for a reason...it was in the middle of being remodeled. The hallways were bare concrete, and the ceiling was nothing but pipes. When I opened the door to my room, it smelled so strongly of paint that it might as well have been painted just yesterday. I soon got a headache, and though it was cold I had to keep the window open and just deal with it. The room was small, and I couldn't open my suitcase. But! 'The room comes with a bath! Perfect,' I thought, and filled the tub with water. It felt perfect for only a short while, though, and the water quickly turned lukewarm so I shampooed and rinsed after the water cooled off.
The next day I met a married couple of professors from Paris University. Since the husband had taught at the school, he was able to point out which places would be best for turning into bases for Pangaea. I then found out that the couple was planning on traveling to Kyoto University 3 days afterward as visiting scholars - that was a surprise! We had lots of meat for lunch, and I felt indebted to them both for a grand meal. (Even though I'm on a diet, I took a little break for that.)
After that I went to the headquarters of UNESCO Paris. We had planned to have Pangaea activities in Kenya in February, but as a result of political unrest the projects have been postponed and are currently undergoing reevaluation. We may need to wait anywhere from another 6 months to a year. Once I mentioned these circumstances and a few other issues, the couple, as always, gave wonderful suggestions and advice to start activities in areas other than Kenya for the time being.
The next day I checked out of the hotel at 7. To Copenhagen! I had planned to visit the school soon after arrival, but my flight was late and I had to cancel. In the evening, since I had an appointment at Lunds University, the friend who came to pick me up at the airport sent me directly to Lunds University, giant suitcase and all! And right around then the jetlag started to kick in...But since it was an urgent meeting that had to be held, I walked around Lunds, Sweden in the cold for a bit to wake myself up. And there I met two female professors at Lunds University, both Japanese. One was 30 years old, and the other professor had been there for 10 years. Both very elegant and intelligent women. (I'm afraid I make no comparison!) The meeting was held in the tower on the highest floor of a several hundred year old building. It only felt like an hour or two, but four hours passed in no time. Through speaking with them, I was happy to share in their seriousness and thoughtfulness. My friend later related to me that, when they had first moved to Japan they had held a fireworks party at which the professors had also been present. Sure is a small, small world.
Then the next day I went to Copenhagen University. I also had acquaintances there, and I was soon introduced to several people and places in Copenhagen that seemed to have potential as new monitors and sites.
For one thing, I realized that I will need to make another trip in either April or May to solidify plans. Today I'll be heading to Amsterdam in a bit. There I will be meeting with Toshi. At the Burger King in the airport, I might normally be nervous about leaving something behind by accident or forgetting something, but since I'm not by myself this time it should be all right.
After that I went to the headquarters of UNESCO Paris. We had planned to have Pangaea activities in Kenya in February, but as a result of political unrest the projects have been postponed and are currently undergoing reevaluation. We may need to wait anywhere from another 6 months to a year. Once I mentioned these circumstances and a few other issues, the couple, as always, gave wonderful suggestions and advice to start activities in areas other than Kenya for the time being.
The next day I checked out of the hotel at 7. To Copenhagen! I had planned to visit the school soon after arrival, but my flight was late and I had to cancel. In the evening, since I had an appointment at Lunds University, the friend who came to pick me up at the airport sent me directly to Lunds University, giant suitcase and all! And right around then the jetlag started to kick in...But since it was an urgent meeting that had to be held, I walked around Lunds, Sweden in the cold for a bit to wake myself up. And there I met two female professors at Lunds University, both Japanese. One was 30 years old, and the other professor had been there for 10 years. Both very elegant and intelligent women. (I'm afraid I make no comparison!) The meeting was held in the tower on the highest floor of a several hundred year old building. It only felt like an hour or two, but four hours passed in no time. Through speaking with them, I was happy to share in their seriousness and thoughtfulness. My friend later related to me that, when they had first moved to Japan they had held a fireworks party at which the professors had also been present. Sure is a small, small world.
Then the next day I went to Copenhagen University. I also had acquaintances there, and I was soon introduced to several people and places in Copenhagen that seemed to have potential as new monitors and sites.
For one thing, I realized that I will need to make another trip in either April or May to solidify plans. Today I'll be heading to Amsterdam in a bit. There I will be meeting with Toshi. At the Burger King in the airport, I might normally be nervous about leaving something behind by accident or forgetting something, but since I'm not by myself this time it should be all right.
Posted by: yumi | 8. General
