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.