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So many times when we travel it is the chance encounters that are more memorable than the tourist destinations. So it has always been when we've gone to Paris.

On our last trip in 2004, we went for a picnic by the Seine with our friends and hosts, David and Becky Tepfer. David and Becky are a long time friends originally from Eugene, Oregon. They have lived in Paris for more than twenty years where Becky sang with the Paris Opera and David has a research lab. Their son, Dan, finished a masters degree in music in 2005 at the New England Conservatory of Music and now lives in New York City. If you're fortunate, you may be able hear him play piano when you visit the city!

The spread David had prepared for us was not only delicious, it looked fabulous - so fabulous that some others who were also having a picnic came over to admire the spread and ask for samples, which David was delighted to give them.

After our feast, we wandered along the river and happened upon some folks who were learning to tango. One couple danced with such grace and dignity that all eyes were on them. Check out the hat on the man in the photo - isn't he marvelous?





The first night in the city, we went to a Moroccan restaurant restaurant. We were seated in the upstairs with one other party who had a small, white dog with them (yes, you can take your dog to a restaurant in Paris). The waiter told us that the dog's name was Mystique and that he was a television personality who could communicate with people. He went on to get messages from Mystique throughout the evening and pass them on to us. Not only was the meal magnifique, we had a free show from the waiter! This picture, tiny though it is, shows the waiter bending over to receive communication from Mystique.

This month not only had a week with two Mondays, it was a month with two graduations! The first was that of Meena, who was my daughter's younger "sister" or "didi," when Amanda lived in Nepal several years ago as part of her undergraduate experience.

Meena has been in the United States for five years now. She came as a high school student who had, until the day she left Nepal, never flown on a plane, taken a hot shower, been to a fast food restuarant, or gone swimming. She had much to learn about life in the US! At the end of her one year high school career she was chosen above the many athletes in her school to receive an award as an outstanding athlete - never having donned a bathing suit or having been swimming before arriving in Marquette, Meena was swimming a mile by the end of the year. She has also learned to ride a bicycle (although I hear that the whole town had to watch out when she was on the road!), both cross country and downhill ski, and ice skate.

On May 6th she graduated Magna cum Laude from Northern Michigan University with a BSN - a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She received an award as the student who exhibited the most growth from the beginning of the nursing program to graduation, and the others in the class all gave her a standing ovation when it was presented to her.

What she has learned over the last five years has been phenomenal, thanks in no small part to her host family in Marquette, Sally and Bruce Closser. They have gently introduced her to the a very different way of life beginning with theri home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where they have helped her build a support system that has encouraged her to achieve wonderful things that her birth family in Nepal can't begin to comprehend. As of last week, though, her Nepali family is in the US visiting with her and the Clossers. The reception they had for her after graduation drew well over a hundred people including the president of Northern Michigan University, didis from New Haven and Costa Rica, and another one of her US moms - me, from Oregon. Nepalis from Virginia and other cities in Michigan came to celebrate her accomlishments.

Meena plans to move to Oregon later this summer and get a job as a nurse. She hopes to find a program where she will be mentored for a year before enrolling in a graduate program. Long term, her plans are to return to Nepal where she will be of great service to her country.

The world of reality shows continues to amaze me. It includes everything from the Dr. Phil show to Survivor -- and they may have more in common than most of us realize!

Some actors I know in New York City (now "actors" in NYC is a VERY large group of people, but those I actually know is a much smaller group) recently auditioned for a new reality show, the exact nature of which they didn't know. Needless to say, actors all want as much time in the media as possible, so the prospect of being on a multi-week TV show is very appealing! Those who actually cast the shows don't particularly want to let the general public know that participants are actors, so they emphasize their other jobs - and we all know that most actors have other jobs to keep the wolf from the door! Thus, the list of professions came through as chefs, poets, archivests, etc. I'll let you know if they make it on to the show.