Back home - or nearly back

Yes, I'm back home since yesterday - but I'm still not really arrived. For one that might be due to fatigue and the Jet lag, but there is also the fact that the five weeks in America, nearly all the time with Americans, have been very impressing and I think I'll be "working through" all these impressions for some more time ... In the last few days in NYC there was not much time left for may blog. Again I was engaged preparing the transfer to the airport, the packing and the flight back home. And, of course, I tried to exploit my last days in the States. In NYC, for the first time in this month, I felt surrounded by tourists - in the museums for example and also at the guesthouse - and believe me, that was not very pleasant, but probably was kind of a transition for my return to "good old Europe". As always tourists from all over the world tend to gather in places where there is little of the real surrounding. The Guggenheim and the MOMA, for example, as impressing as they are, could be in any place of the world. and on my visit they were filled with "trendy" (and some of them even spoiled) people, who exhibited themselves. This contributed to the fact that I didn't enjoy these two museums as much as for example the Museum of NYC or the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art). My reluctance to hear all these French, Italian and Swiss syllables was almost physical... Well maybe it was also kind of an indigestion of museums, because on monday I went to three museums, and that was evidently too much for one day. So I decided to have a day of rest from all the culture and I wheeled down the Riverside Park (incredible how much green there is in NYC) and the new Riverside Walk (very nice and few people) till the pier where the Circle Line departs, and I made the Full Island cruise around Manhattan (3 hours). That cruise - with sunshine and a little wind - was really pleasant (even if, needless to say, on the Ferry there were mainly tourists).

Circle Line and Skyscraper silhouette

Man-Made Waterfall (art object 2008, Olafur Eliasson)

Manhattan is (also) green!

Well, there were quite a few other things I've seen in these days and there would have been even more, if I had had more time. As always only after a few days I knew where to find the interesting things - and than it was already time to pack (which I really hate).

What was really fantastic: on the last evening I went to a (free) dance performance at the New York City Center. Julie, my Greeter from Saturday had seen the advertisement on a newspaper and we met at 6pm. The Gwirtzman Company showed a work in progress and the choreographer explained how they usually work. Very interesting!

D. Gwirtzman

On my last morning in NYC I went to the Riverwalk again for a farewell to the Hudson river. My last taxi ride in NYC, to the airport, went smoothly (just in order to make up for some other taxicab experiences). With the aid of Elizabeth of the guest house office we had checked and double checked that the cab would be there early enough (it was moving day for the students, so Elizabeth really had an awful lot of work on this day).

American Airlines was also a pleasant surprise, for one I could take my own wheelchair aboard (in the closet space) and the assistance at JFK was great - not too much, but just adequate (and that is not my usual experience at airports with the exception of perhaps Zuerich).

The experiences on this trip were absolutely great. For the first time in my life I've traveled as far and I've had as long a holiday. Even if it was also continuing education and acquisition of language and not only a vacation, I enjoyed my trip very much - and I would really like to visit the US again. I've had to do an awful lot of planning, but it was for sure worth it. A next time perhaps it might be a little easier. Who knows ;-)

Thanks to KME, my school, which allowed me to have a sabbatical of ten weeks. Without that, it would not have been possible for me to do this big trip.

Thanks to my TRAC, which permitted me to be very independent in the big cities. Even if the price was to support all this additional planning and expenses for the transfers.

Thank you to ALL the people who followed my travel - even if most of you didn't write comments on the blog. Your support during my planning and your mails through the voyage have been nice.

Thanks to my son Philipp, who took care of the apartment and some other things during my absence and who gave me a lot of good advices concerning the US.

And thank you especially to ALL the nice, helpful and interesting American people I've met in Philadelphia, in Boston and in NYC!

Miscellaneous

On my way to Central Park yesterday morning, as I passed the gates of Columbia University I was surprised to hear music from loudspeakers out of the courtyard and to see a lot of large white tents on the grass. Curious as I am, I followed the crowd of people who went in. In some of the tents coffee and bagels were offered - as I hadn't have breakfast yet, I got a cup of coffee and a bagel - after having asked what all this was about: it was the introduction for the new students from all over the US and abroad! It really was more like a festival, students arriving with all their belongings, most of them with their parents and by car, putting the belongings in big boxes with small wheels underneath - boxes labeled: Class of 2012 - which were aligned outside the University, on the sidewalk. It was clear that later on there would have been speeches and music and entertainment ... I didn't stay, but I really was amazed again: they make entrance to the college a big event, something like a festival. On the other side it also must be said: that's a big private University - about 20'000 students - and it's one of the expensive ones (Ivy League).

The Central Park: even if I knew that beforehand, I was astonished to see that there are parts of it which look quite wild, like the Uetliberg, and in other places there are streets (allowed for cars) crossing the Park. There are quiet places and there are fun fair places. It's always pleasant to enter the Park after the hustle and bustle in the big streets .

Just very shortly: The Museum of the City of New York was really interesting for a starting point (special exhibition: Campaigning for President), the Jewish Museum had, besides the beautiful Collection, a special exhibition about American Art 1940-1976 - and the National Academy Museum is housed in a superb old building.

J. Pollock: Convergence

When I wheeled back to Central Park (from the East Side to the West Side), by chance I met one of the participants (Judy) of Summer University in Philadelphia!! Funny, isn't it?

NYC with a Big Apple Greeter

Saturday: My Greeter, Julie (originally from New Zealand), a woman of my age, who has been in a wheelchair for more than 30 years, gave me an overwhelming introduction to NYC, not only we went (with Access-A-Ride - the NYC Promobil for mobility impaired persons) through three boroughs (Harlem, Queens, and Brooklyn Heights) but she also went with me on the Subway from City Hall to the very South of Manhattan, and from Battery Park to Times Square and again from there to the Lincoln Center where there was an outdoor music festival, so we had a nice but short moment in the sun with live music. To the end we went to Whole Foods - Philipp, I've thought of you, that would be paradise for you - vegetarian paradise - an incredible multitude of food: vegetables, cheese, bread and much more ;-)

I really don't know how Julie could manage to do all this rolling - even with the Trac I was quite tired in the evening. And - I'm not easily scared - but she crossed the NYC streets with her wheelchair very intrepidly indeed!

Map of Harlem

Triborough Bridge

Promenade Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Bridge (pedestrian bridge)

Times Square

Battery Park Promenade

Lincoln Center

Whole Foods Cold Bar

That was quite a lot of impressions for only one day, and of course we didn't have much time left to see these points more in depth, I hope I'll have some more occasions to do that in the next few days. What was special: While Julie took the subway from Brooklyn Heights to City Hall, I wheeled with my Trac over the Brooklyn Bridge - very nice view indeed. As my camera (sadly) works only occasionally these days, most of the photos I put on this blog are not from my camera.

NYC - Big Apple

After a really nice trip by train - and some hassle again about wheelchair accessible taxicabs - I arrived at the Guest House yesterday afternoon. I've a clean, rather small room, with a large, accessible bathroom, and it is quiet (Upper West Side, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue) as far as I can tell.

Teacher's College

Yesterday evening I only went to a nearby Deli to buy something for dinner and I wheeled there again this morning to pick up coffee, a bagel and the NY Times. For me this (small) Deli is rather impressive: open 24 hours a day, with a large choice of salads, dishes, vegetarian and organic food etc. So I had my cup of coffee and my bagel - American style - seated at the Deli. Again people here seem to be mostly friendly,even if it is more hectic in the streets than in Boston. There is a police station near the Guest House and apparently one or the other of the officers is always at the Deli, sometimes helping me in and out.


These days I was thinking about the cultural differences between Americans and Swiss people - and I have formed some private theories: First of all people here, at least in the big cities, are used to diversity: there are black and white and brown people, poor and rich, skinny and obese, old-established and immigrants - and, very important, they also have the ADA law. So they seem to be better prepared (or less astonished) for someone who "gets out of line" - in other words I think in Switzerland there is probably more "need for adjustment" - diversity is not always seen as enrichment. AND I've also got the impression that something of the old "pioneering spirit" in the States lingers on insofar as they tend to keep a child's curiosity about anything technical. A machine like my Swisstrac is immediately seen as a great and helpful invention, a lot of times I've seen people (especially men) who simply made the "thumb up" sign, laughing friendly, when I passed by ... They are more interested about "how" it works than about the fact that I need it.
By the way: did you hear the news about Obama's running mate (see my links on the right)? So far the newspapers couldn't write much about the reactions, because he made it public in the middle of the night - I'm looking forward to read more about that.

Today a "Greeter" - in a wheelchair - will come to spend a few hours with me, showing me around and giving me some insights. I've arranged this service already in march (from Switzerland), because the service is very sought-after.

Visit of the MIT

My stay in Boston is approaching the end, and I think that I am really beginning to have a fairly good knowledge of some spots of Boston - when I wheel "home" after some explorations I don't need the map anymore.

Yesterday Mary had organized to meet a couple, friends of her, Charles (a political science professor) and Sue (Mary's ESL business partner) for lunch. It was restaurant week and we had a good three course menu for 20 dollars in a restaurant (Harvest) in Cambridge. It was very interesting to speak with them, about the elections in the US and all kind of other things (travelling and cooking for example).

Today I had a private tour with Mary (her late husband was a MIT professor, one of the first to work on speech production and synthesis) through the MIT Campus. There were a lot of young - and also not so young- students taking their introductory tour, as school will start very soon.

Campus

Killian Court

Stata Center (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory)

Ingeborg, another friend of Mary, who works at the MIT Media Lab, showed us the place where she works, there is even a space in the middle of the building called the Play Space (or Lifelong Kindergarten, intended to help people develop as creative thinkers). There were two groups of graduate students at work in this space. After Mary left (having work to do at home) I went to the MIT museum, which gave me a good complement to the tour with Mary, you could see some of their researches and you could also see the development of MIT through the years. Again too much to see in a few hours....

Media Lab

The weather was nice and sunny, with some wind (same as already yesterday) and so I wheeled back along the Charles River instead of taking a bus home.

Guess what: yesterday, for the first time here in Boston, there was a bus driver who didn't seem enthusiastic at all about taking me on the bus. He said there was not enough space on the bus (maybe he thought I had to stay connected to the Trac during the whole ride). I had to insist, and after I had maneuvered my Trac and the wheelchair in the space reserved for people with mobility impairments (with the help of a very nice colored man), in the end the driver became friendly, and even tried to help getting the Trac out of the bus ;-)

Bits and pieces II

SATURDAY: Museum of Fine Arts; I knew that at 11am there would be a guided tour. As nobody else showed up I had a private tour, given by a volunteer, a former teacher of French. That was really great: Chinese art, American art and European art - there was so much to see. Afterward I went to the Prudential Tower (not the highest in Boston, but the only one where you are allowed to access) and had a look from the 50th floor (the Skywalk), all over Boston, took some photos.


SUNDAY: As I wanted to take the ferry to Salem early, I was outside the Inn at 8:15am, but then I had to wait for a wheelchair accessible taxicab more than an hour even though I had made the reservation yesterday! Addendum: But finally, after several calls a very friendly Ethiopian taxi driver from another cab company appeared. He again was stunned by the Swisstrac. Timeliness doesn't seem to be one of the strong points of the cab drivers in the States, after my experiences - especially when you need a wheelchair accessible cab. So I lost the ferry I had already paid for, but fortunately I could take the next one (two hours later) and in the waiting time between two ferries I went to the Aquarium. Highspeed ferry (catamaran) to Salem, the trip by sea was splendid!

In Salem I had really good "fish and chips" (haddock) in a restaurant named Finz - with a view on the water. The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem is not only a very beautiful building, but has also lots and lots of treasures: Maritime art, art from India, Japan, Oceania, China, Korea ...


Came back all the way from Long Wharf (Boston) with my Swisstrac (about 90 minutes). By the way: lots of people in the US come up to me asking about the Trac - it is great for making acquaintances - like a little dog ;-). Some people only smile and say: "I like it" or "I love it". Others want to know where I bought it, especially handicapped people. Many Americans are much more outgoing (and even polite) than Swiss people. Today the lady of the ferry Company came over and said to me: "Darling, we'll make you embark first, in order to avoid a mess..." One might be astonished by all these "honey" and "sweetie" and so on, but I think it makes life a little friendlier or smoother sometimes. And, it must be said again: it is much more self-evident in the States to try to make life easier for people in a wheelchair - even if not everything works well.

Bits and pieces

About three weeks in the States now. Sometimes I feel as if time is already becoming scarce - I'll not be able to see everything worth of seeing it. But sometimes - as this week - I simply confide to the "stream of life", getting me here and there, without planning a lot.

So today I'll write about bits and pieces - just to allow you a glimpse of my experiences.

WEDNESDAY: The heart of the Freedom Trail with Mary - lots of history everywhere, I'll save you the details. In order to go to Park Street, we took the Green Line of the T - in the afternoon I went home by myself on the Green Line. The Green Line (part of it a real subway) is not really wheelchair friendly - it was kind of an adventure to get back - but it is accessible. Before I went home by the T (subway) relaxed stroll through the North End (and part of the Harbour) - if it was not for the Brownstones (houses), you would believe you were in Italy!! Had pasta at "Piccola Venezia". By the way: When I really don't understand a single word of what is said by an American, it is often when they use a French or Italian word - for example "gelati" ;-)




THURSDAY: Discussing the effects of the Internet with Mary - and had a lunch with Nancy and Sam (he is a College teacher for mathematics, she a former Highschool teacher for english) and Mary at Zaftig's. I really enjoyed meeting them, very nice people. Met a blind woman at the Inn, Sharon, a Brookline resident. In the evening, in my room at the Inn, looked a DVD: "To kill a mockingbird" (about racial segregation in the South at the time of the Great Depression, with Gregory Peck) - very interesting - and a really good film also!

FRIDAY (today): we'll go to the JFK museum - there have been quite a lot of thunderstorms and also some rain these days, so Mary proposed to go "indoors", in order to avoid the risk of getting too wet - sometimes we do lessons at the Sewall Inn, in my room or in the little patio, when the weather is fine, other days we make small trips around Boston and she always has a lot of interesting things to tell about these places.

Already three days in Boston

Yes, time is passing by very fast, it's already Tuesday and I've done some sightseeing in Boston - and I had my first two sessions with Mary, my English teacher. She has prepared a tailor-made program for me; we have been discussing very interesting subjects. I'm very glad I found her (in the depths of the Worldwide Web) - and I'm glad she helped me book the Sewall Inn.

The Samuel Sewall Inn

After Philadelphia, where the weather has been really hot and muggy - over 30 degrees Celsius - and where I've stayed in a student dormitory (but a deluxe one) at the University City, not far away from Downtown Philadelphia, now I am staying in a small but very nice B&B in a quiet suburb of Boston. Temperatures in Boston have been low these days (and seemingly also before I came) - about 20 degrees Celsius and less - every now and then it's raining and there have even been some thunderstorms (Gewitter) .

But these aren't the only differences between Philadelphia and Boston. To mention some of them: In Philly about half of the population is Afro-Americans, but you see very few Hispanics. Here in Boston you see a lot of Hispanics, but fewer Afro-Americans. And i you see a lot of people who seem to be of Irish descent; I've never seen (except in Holland or Great Britain) so much tall, red-haired and white complexioned people than here. In Philly the street system is based on a grid, so you can orientate yourself very easily, which is a little more difficult here in Boston, where all the buildings and the streets are more in the European style, except that you have a few highways right through the City. So even if they say that Boston is a "Walking City", there are quite a few places where pedestrians are left in the middle of nowhere and you don't have any clue how to cross the street. But Boston with his parks and the harbor is nevertheless a beautiful City, and after so much rain in the last month everything is green and blossoming.

Boston Public Garden

The air seems to be less polluted than in Philadelphia, but this may again depend on the amount of rain in the last time. The City seems also to be "cleaner" than Philadelphia, where in certain places the streets and the houses seem to be in a very bad shape and you see also a lot of litter around the streets. Addendum: Please don't misunderstand me: I liked the Philadelphia experience very much , it simply was more "far away" for me than Boston seems to be. And NYC will be another experience. I think I'll be very happy to have had three different glimpses of the States (or better: of the East Coast) at the end of my trip.

As I've already told some of you, it is easy to find a really wheelchair accessible taxicab, here in Boston they seem to have plenty of them. But for example the trolleys for the sightseeing tours are not equipped as well as those in Philly. So nothing is perfect! But every time I take a bus in the States I'm flabbergasted by the readiness and patience of the drivers toward people in a wheelchair, and it's for sure not an easy job to be a bus driver in these cities. When they catch sight of me they get ready to take out the ramp, I don't have to tell them (like it happens in Zuerich very often). We should send them (bus drivers) over here for training!!

Today I went (by bus) over to Cambridge and took an "Unofficial Tour" of the Harvard campus, given by Harvard (pronounced: Hahvahd) students. It was really interesting and funny! And all these young students on the campus, from all over the world, again many of them are Asians, Koreans and others. Very impressive also the Library.

Door to Harvard

Yesterday I went to a "Deli" called Zaftig's, their motto is: "Let us be your Jewish mother". I had a couscous with chicken, which was really good.

Zaftig's Logo

And Sunday I had very good seafood near Long Wharf, but I didn't go to the Aquarium because there were crowds of people waiting outside. Instead I made a very big stroll around the City - and by chance I met the mother and daughter who had been on the train to Boston in the seats near me!

Philadelphia impressions ...

... taken with my own camera - which unfortunately seems to fail working properly these days

The Stratum

wheelchair elevator

Rittenhouse Square

Museum of Contemporary Art on the Schuykill River

Squirrel on Campus

historic area

museum of comtemporary art

near the Stratum

Reading East Market

Travelling - the funny and the tiring side

The last days in Philadelphia (Philly) went by in no time. Partly because of all the things I saw and heard and the shadows of the farewell to some of the members of the group with whom I had friendly relations - but also because I had a hard time to organize the transfer from the Stratum (University City) to the station. You must know that the distance is only about 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes, to walk. And I also knew after my experience at the arrival that I could try to take any normal taxicab - and hope that the driver would be willing to lift the 140 pounds (65 kg) of the Swisstrac in the trunk of his car. BUT for one I don't like very much the idea of letting lift my assistive devices (there is always a danger of damaging something, if you are note used to do it - and ON THE OTHER HAND I was curious to find out if the big City of Philly (1.5 millions of inhabitants) would not offer the possibility of a wheelchair accessible taxicab - or at least a Paratransit Service (like Promobil in Zuerich). The taxicab companies which I contacted did not offer this kind of vehicle (even if according to my researches on the Web there was a prototype presented in Philadelphia in 2006). I knew indeed that there is a Paratransit Service (called CCT, Customized Community Transportation) in Philly, but I thought they would offer this service only to residents. Nevertheless I made several calls and was connected to a lot of employees, some of them very friendly. So after two days I even had a so called registration number, which should have permitted me to book a ride. But when I tried to book a ride with this number one of these nice ladies had to tell me that her manager said no. And guess why? For security reasons - as they (despite all my explanations given in the course of the registration procedure) had no idea what a Swisstrac was like, "the manager" feared it could harm the security of the other passengers (as CCT is often a shared ride, that means there can be other passengers in the van)!!

Anyway, in the end I called a normal taxicab with a large trunk, organized one of the young guys at the Stratum to help lifting the Swisstrak in the trunk and off we went to the station of Philly in no time ... But it had been an exhausting search, and this in a country under the ADA law!

Very similar was the experience I made when I was trying to book my travel with Amtrak (before leaving Zuerich). The manager had claimed that there would not be enough space for my wheelchair and the Trac (it is always the manager who makes a fuss and it's always a story of "security" or of "policy"). Therefore to come to an end of the booking procedure I had pretended (with the consent of the friendly lady at the front desk) that my wheelchair would fold up, in order to be able to book a transfer seat (which would permit me to transfer to a normal seat on the train). And guess what: at the station there was absolutely no problem with the Red Caps (Porters), who were very friendly and helpful - and on the very modern and clean train I had plenty of space for my wheelchair and myself!

Needless to say that these kind of experiences may sound funny, but only when they lay behind me, the experience itself provokes stress and anger in me.

I was so exhausted and tired on the arrival at Boston, that I compelled the taxi driver and the Red Cap to lift my Trac in the trunk of the car - and I realized only afterwards that this one was a wheelchair accessible taxicab with a ramp - there are plenty of those in Boston, as incredible as it may sound after my experience in Philly!

You know, when you are traveling in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language you sometimes can become "blind" and unable to recognize the reality, especially when you are fighting to avoid troubles ... I apologized to the cab driver, who was a really nice guy. with a daughter who is studying mathematics!

As time permits, I'll give you more details about Boston (and the Sewall Inn), which both seem to be very pleasant places. For now I need some sleep.

Senior Summer School (SSS) Philadelphia 08

I started this little article a few days ago, but there was so much to do, plan and see in the last few days in Philly that I interrupted writing. So be aware that in the beginning I write in the present tense and later on I make use of the past tense.

Reine-Line, you asked about our program and about the participants. Our group in Philadelphia is (with only 14 participants) unusually small for a Senior Summer School (as I was told), so it isn't certainly representative. Most or nearly all of the participants have been to College and graduated. As always the women are the majority, all of the men are part of a couple (at least in our group). Most of the participants are retired - for example a dentist, a nurse, a pharmacist, an accountant, but also a 77 years-old woman who still works in real estate. All of them are "educated" people - and probably most of them don't have to worry too much about their financial situation. All the participants are "whites" or Caucasians, but I was told that in Elderhostel (which is a similar organization, which organizes a lot of vacations for age 55+) the range of ages and professions may be wider. Interestingly enough some of the lecturers were black people, and some of them were very, very bright. The topics of lectures given is much diversified (maybe you can even say it lacks a thread), but we had several interesting lectures about Philadelphia, its history and its population. Other lectures were about Broadway musicals and songs, the song writer Irving Berlin, the live of Mozart, the history of World War II. One of the most interesting lectures was given by a black psychologist, who is now chief psychologist of the Philadelphia Prison. He spoke mainly about the importance of goal setting and what helps to achieve goals. On one of the last days two black women spoke about volunteering for AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) with their new campaign "Divided we fail". That was also very interesting for me, as I learned a lot about volunteering in the States and about social issues. Volunteering is a very big issue in the States and I admired these two women and what they do for the community.

Yes and no - for comparing SSS to Volkshochschule (VHS): as it is a summer course it is not about one subject, as it would be at the VHS, but instead a variety of subjects. And it is nearly always held on a campus-like surrounding, which is usually not the accommodation style of VHS. And what is most important for me: they don't make a fuss about someone being in wheelchair (even if they also are not really used to it) - You remember, I made several attempts to participate to holiday courses or cultural travels and the Europeans always objected, that the accommodation or the transportation would not meet "my requirements" and so unfortunately they were not able to offer me the possibility to participate. So either I have to sue (einklagen) them one of these days (which is not impossible, for example through the Gleichstellungsbüro) or I'll have to wait till I'm 80 years old or older ;-)

But for sure that was not the only reason to come: I wanted to improve my English, to meet the Americans and to catch a glimpse of this big country. And I'm very glad - thanks to my 3-month sabbatical (Weiterbildungsurlaub) - to have the opportunity to make these interesting experiences. And SSS was overall an excellent starting point for my American Experience, as a member of a group I automatically met several American women and men - and I had to speak English since the very first day.

Bingo - and other occurences on the weekend

Saturday was a busy day for me. I didn't go to Valley Forge with the group - for several reasons - for one I wanted to solve some smaller problems. First of all I needed a battery for my digital camera and an adapter for my laptop; the adapter I had bought in Switzerland curiously works with nearly every electrical engine, but not with my laptop! After having settled these two problems I took a very large stroll till Penn's Landing on the Delaware and had a look at the Independence Seaport Museum (about the history of the port, the trade and the immigrants in Philadelphia) - very interesting. To get back to our accommodation I took a bus for the very first time in Philadelphia, it was a little adventure as I didn't know how the driver would react to my Swisstrac. It proved to be a good experience, as everybody seemed friendly and relaxed, even if they never had seen anything like this - and it really took me quite a bit of time to get in and out the bus with the Swisstrac AND the wheelchair. No one complained, even if the bus was a little crowded at the arrival. I would like the bus drivers and the people at home to be as friendly ;-)

Saturday evening I played Bingo (evening activity) - a premiere for me. You should know that the age range of participants of this particular summer school is between 60 and 95(!). The majority of them are residents in Florida and they come to Summer School for various reasons or with various motivations, partly to avoid the heat in Florida in July and August. Mostly they are incredibly fit and their acuteness of mind is enviable, even if some of them doze off during the lectures - but that happened to me twice (for other reasons). Anyway, we played Bingo and I won a T-shirt with the logo of Senior Summer school.

On Sunday we went to the Philadelphia museum of Art - a very large museum. We had the lady who gave us a lecture on Monday as guide and she did a good job, even if the tour was rather "short" - or on other words: we had to rush through the museum. Three of us stayed afterward one more hour to have a closer look on the Picasso's and the impressionists.

New view from my room

As I've told some of you on my arrival the staff at The Stratum gave me a "wheelchair accessible" room on the 3rd floor a week ago. The bathroom was really accessible, quite large and the tub had grab bars BUT the room itself was rather tiny, with a "view" to a backyard, the next house beeing about 10 meters away AND there were 5 different air conditioning plants right underneath my window, so all day and night during there was this terrible noise. Sometimes I felt as if being in a plane ready for the take-off.

I promptly asked for another room, but was told they had no accessible room left. A few days ago I went to see the room of our "summer school director" - a nice room, with a small bathroom, but just wide enough for me to maneuver. As the new VP of Senior Summer School, Ron, left the Stratum yesterday I happily could move to his room. Not that I'm particularly fond of packing suitcases and moving around, but it was worthwhile: now I've a large room on the 7th floor with a view to the Philadelphia skyline. I've to do some gymnastics to go inside the tub, but I can manage. This morning I had the pleasure to see the sun rising over the skyline - that was really great!

As always the meaning of "wheelchair accessible" can vary a lot, even here in the States. There is also another little problem: the wheelchair elevator (a stair elevator) works, but not always well. When I try to get on it with the Swisstrac, more often than not it will not work, so I've to call someone to help me. Now I'm leaving the Swisstrac at the main entrance, wheel around to the other entrance, use the wheelchair elevator to go to the cafeteria, from where I can take the main elevator to my room. As far as I am on holidays now, it's not too big a problem, but I hope things will work more easily in Boston.

Trolly tour through Philadelphia

Yesterday morning our group (of Senior Summer School) had a City tour through Philadelphia. Guess what: even if the trolley was old-fashioned they had made it wheelchair accessible! The young lady (she had a college degree in art) who was working as a guide told us quite a lot of interesting things, but she she didn't speak slowly and after nearly two hours of listening my concentration did decrease.

In the afternoon we went to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. There were "lines" of people waiting outside - and you had to pass security checks just like at the airport (mostly black people do these jobs). There were rangers, who did explain a lot of interesting things, but again they didn't speak slowly enough for me!

As it was rather hot outside today, we had the "privilege" of air condition in all the rooms - to be honest I very often felt as if being in a ice box :-)

After dinner Benjamin Franklin "himself " came to tell us about his life; I missed some of the jokes, but mostly he was easy to understand:


To be continued

First impressions

Went out twice yesterday: very early, when most of the city seemed still sleeping and I couldn't sleep anymore - due to the jet lag and the air condition plant of the neighboring house near my window - I had my first Starbucks Cappuccino (had to come to the States to appreciate the Starbucks, which is open early, clean AND everything is written down, helpful for foreigners like me). Afterwards a stroll through the University City, lots of young and very young Asian students. Saw also a squirrel where I never would have expected a squirrel.

In the afternoon (it started to be warmer if not hot) a larger tour with the Trac. What strikes me: a large percentage of coloured people (nearly half of the population), all over the noise of the air conditioning plants, and in most rooms I always feel like freezing .... But it's very easy to orient yourself, more or less all the streets are arranged on a rectangular grid, so you can't get lost.

In Marketstreet I've seen all kind of things: very modern buildings, glass and steel - a lot of banks, even more than on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zuerich - but also quite a lot of junk shops - and homeless people in some corners, sleeping or sitting on the pavement or on benches.

After a lot of wheeling I've been sitting and reading nearly an hour in Franklin Square, where families with small children use to come, there is a big playground, a minigolf and also a carrousel.

Evening at a pizzeria (but the food was not very Italian-like) near the Stratum (where I stay), with an older couple living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They are the directors for this summer school, that means they didn't do the programming, but they have the responsibility at the Stratum and on the trips and they do introduce the lecturers and they have to help in cases of need the members of the group. They also have had a lot of experience with Elderhostel. We had an interesting conversation about working and living in the States and in Europe. Today the other members of the group will arrive, we'll be a small group of only 15 persons.