Day 38 Westport New York

I have a big mosquito bite on my forehead. But really, I want to devote some time to talking about our wonderful hosts and the big Victorian home we are calling home this summer. We have a wonderful set up: our hosts are so welcoming and generous (John and Astri have said that I’m now a part of their family), the Meadowmount students that we are sharing the upstairs with are cool (one of them is making us Korean food for dinner on Sunday night!), and there is always plenty to do and keep Dora and Sebastian busy. Our hosts, John and Astri, have 6 kids, and John’s sister lives just up the road, so there is always someone coming or going. John is a philosophy professor at a University in Vermont (from what I’ve pieced together), and he always has some interesting story or anecdote to share. He is 75 years old, but I wouldn’t have guessed it: everyday he drinks a glass of broccoli-cauliflower-celery-carrot-fish oil “juice” and he claims that the chlorophyll keeps his hair from going gray. He is a violist as well, and he attended Meadowmount in 1945. His wife tells me that he is quite a collector, hence all the interesting antiques and gadgets around the house—pictures of Abraham Lincoln, masks from Africa, clocks, and much much more. He’s going to a conference in Spain next week, something having to do with Philosophy. Astri is from England, and she collects cacti: I keep trying to convince her to come visit us in Arizona. Sometimes I can’t quite believe how hospitable they are (they are always trying to pour me glasses of wine, and tonight John gave me a jar of fresh oysters!), and how much I feel at home. I really don’t think I can do this home justice—it has so much character. Paul, one of the students here, keeps telling me that he thinks that our room was at one point the servant’s quarters, because there is a “back entrance” to the kitchen, and because we are right above the kitchen. It also seems a bit more functional and practical than the other rooms (i.e. it doesn’t have built in mirrors and chandeliers and access to the balcony). Oh, I could go on and on, but it’s getting late and I still need to take a shower. I keep telling myself that I don’t have much to do, but somehow these kids and the driving and exploring and preparing meals fills up my days. And it is good. I’ll try to write more about the area and what our days are like next time. Adios!