Monday, May 2, 2011

Breaking news

We woke this morning to the news that Osama bin Laden was killed last night by American forces. Because we have limited access to news - we have a TV with British channels which carries British CNN and we have our computer - we were not aware until informed by Tony. So we've been watching CNN this morning to hear what's been happening.

I'm having an interesting reaction. I know that when we turn off the TV, things will go on as usual, disconnected from everything going on in the world and connected to an immediacy of just living. It makes the event seem so distant and removes much of its impact and yet we can see the reactions happening in the States. And we get a broader world view of this news over here than we would in the States. (All good that we've seen so far.) Strangely, I'm reminded of the US invasion of Iran. I was also in France at that time and again had the opportunity of a world view of our actions. IT makes you aware that there is a world beyond our US perspective and there is both an impact and a disconnect with this world.

We had slept in this morning having had a long celebration last night with Tony and Marian and John and Pat. They arrived at 6 and we had tapas, wine and conversation until 11. It was wonderful fun and there were many stories shared from French, British and US perspectives across lots of topics. Many olives were eaten and many wines sampled. In addition we had melon with prosciutto, sun-dried tomato jam bruschetta, cheeses, hummus contributed by Marian and puffed pastry and cheese appetizers contributed by Pat. Good food, good conversation, good fun. At the end of the evening, Wasily joined us. (I've undoubtedly spelled his name incorrectly.) He's the Romanian doctor who arrived the same time we did to cover the Beziers practice of a woman taking maternity leave. We learned that he speaks good English as well as French and that he's from Transylvania. As we were doing dishes, we mourned the fact that we hadn't taken any photos of the celebration. Dommage!

We have to pack tonight to be ready to leave before 6 AM for our drive to Barcelona tomorrow to pick up Duane and Judy. They should arrive by 9 tomorrow morning and we'll spend a couple days in Barcelona before returning to Thézan. Can't wait to see them.

1 comment:

  1. I was riding on a bus with Denver East HS's ultimate teams when the news came out. My first reaction was, "It's probably a fake." Haha. Anyway, have fun in Barcelona with Judy and Duane. And keep posting, as it's the only way your children can keep up with you!

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