Berkeley Revisited | Travel Blog

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Stagebridge storytelling class

Well, I'm back here after spending the summer at my apartment in Paris (with side trips to Marseilles and the Calanques, county Dorset on the south coast of England, London, and Amsterdam). On the way back to California, I stopped off for a week in Boston and NYC. You'll see some photos of my stays in those wonderful cities, as well as of the San Francisco Bay Area and my activities here in Berkeley. My “home” until December 15 is an apartment 5 blocks from the south entrance of the UC campus. Last year when I was here, I was about 9 blocks from the NORTH entrance of the campus, so I am discovering a new neighborhood this year. Lots of students around in off-campus housing and lots of churches on my street (Dana Street).
What is a typical week like for me here? Well, here goes: Monday, I go to 2 classes at Stagebridge in Oakland (see www.stagebridge.org for a description of this wonderful senior arts organization that goes into the community–senior homes, Oakland schools and museums, etc.) : beginning acting and playwriting. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings I go to my tennis class with the Berkeley Recreation Department. tuesday afternoon

HK doing mime at Stagebridge

I've volunteered to provide English conversation for graduate students and spouses at the YWCA. Thursday morning, it's back to Stagebridge for an intermediate storytelling class, followed by a mime class. Friday mornings I play tennis with some gals I know, and every other week is one of the two bookclubs I belong to. In addition, once a month, I attend a memoir-writing class on Tuesday afternoons. And in the late evenings I often attend talks or booksignings on or off the UC campus or go to the theater in Berkeley or San Francisco. VERY busy, as you can tell!
I do miss my sons and baby granddaughter, though. As some of you already know, Elea was born in a town outside Paris on July 24th. Being a proud grandmother, I'm posting a few photos of her and my son and daughter-in-law on this blog entry. SO PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO PAGE 2 to see them!
Retirement has, of course, been treating me well. For the past two years, I've been able to rent my apartment in Paris for several months and to divide my time between Paris and the San Francisco Bay Area. It's been fun and rewarding, but I must

Elea, 2 1/2 months, with Sebastien

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(this is a “preview” of the photos at the end of this blog entry!)

admit I tend to suffer from “culture shock” and “reverse culture shock” the first few weeks I come or return to either place. In fact, I'm writing an article about this entitled “Chez Moi?”, which you'll soon be able to find at http://hilarykaiser.wordpress.com or on my website at http://www.hilarykaiser. com.
That's all for now folks! I'd love to hear from you if you'd like to reply to this message or to the email address you have for me. Bye!

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