Month: February 2019

Semla in Stockholm

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Tuesday 26th February 2019 – Stockholm

Semla are a special bun eaten in Sweden and also other Nordic countries (although each is a little different) originally just on Shrove Tuesday before Lent started, but was expanded to every Tuesday during Lent at some point in its history. They have nothing to do with Harry and his trip but as I am here and they are available, in the spirit of international food experiences, obviously I had to try one. It is a cardamon flavoured bun filled with almond paste and topped with whipped cream. According to Jussi Karlgren, who I met for breakfast (note the bun was eaten later as it is a bit much even for me at breakfast time!) the really authentic ones have a triangle shaped bun cap dusted with icing sugar perched on top of the mountain of cream. So this is a good one.

As I have pretty much no information about Harry’s time in the Nordic countries I thought I would see if he had had any press coverage as he seemed to in many of my previous stops, so I headed to the National Library of Sweden.

The Swedish National Library in Stockholm

It is a while since I have been to a big library, so once I had navigated the system to leave your belongings in lockers and take your essentials in a plastic bag into the area where the books and media are, I headed down to the Newspaper Archive section. A very charming lady helped me get set up and search the digitised archive of Swedish language newspapers. Sadly the search did not come up with anything from Harry’s 1966 trip but it did come up with lots of other references to International House, Harry and also Rockefeller’s involvement. It looks like they did a good job of PR at the opening of the House in 1924 with quite a bit of coverage and further coverage in the late 20s and 30s.

Article from SVENSKA DAGBLADET 7th October 1928 – four years after the NYC House opened

It looks like Harry probably visited Stockholm whilst he was in Europe around 1935/36 and again in 1953. One thing about Harry was that he never gave up and I think he lived his life in optimism that in every country he would find the people who would facilitate the opening of a new House. In Sweden it looks as though his efforts focused around a club for International Students being run by the business school now the Stockholm School of Economics.

Article from DAGENS NYHETER 14th October 1953

It seems that a lady called Ingeborg Axén was involved in the plan and that money was not the issue but land was. Much of Stockholm was re-built during the 50s and 60s to a master plan and getting access to land to build things that were not on the plan was a challenge. As there are no more references to this potential House that I could find, I can only imagine that it never happened.

Stockholm School of Economics

There may also have been a plan in 1960 to have an International House funded by the Rotary in Goteborg, there is no reference to Harry being involved so it may have been completely separate, although it is interesting that it was Rotary funding that helped build I-House Sydney.

Article about Goteborg plan SVENSKA DAGBLADET 12th October 1960

Looking for articles about Harry’s 1966 tour I also came across articles documenting the visit of the two Swedish Princesses, Desiree and Birgitta, to Chicago in November 1960 which tells of them having lunch at the I-House.

Article about Pricesses Desiree and Birgitta visiting I-House Chicago on a visit in 1960 – SVENSKA DAGBLADET 13th November 1960

Those of you following my trip will know that Stockholm has been one of my more challenging places to find people to meet, so no big gathering was possible here, but I was able to connect over email with a number of alumni and meet with two of them separately.

Jussi Karlgren had two stints at I-House NYC one when he was a bachelor, 89/90, and a later one, 95/96, when his wife and two very small sons came with him and lived in one of the flats. He is actually 1/2 Finnish and told me how with another Fin they had the Finnish stall at All Nations. They managed to get sponsorship from an importer of cheese, who provided them with a mountain of Finnish cheese (yes apparently it is a thing) and they found some black bread and did a roaring trade in cheese sandwiches.

His other recollection was of parties thrown by a young trustee of I-House at his very cool Central Park West apartment. Every month the trustee would put up a sign up list on the Claremont side notice board and when the numbered slots were full the list came down and those on the list were invited to the party. It was Beer and Pizza and also some additional lady guests from Barnard college! Somehow Jussi managed to get on the list a number of times…. 

Not the best picture of me with Jussi Karlgren – we had to resort to a selfie as unlike in Asia there were no photographic ready waiting staff or other volunteers to take it for us

My second rendez vous was with I-House NYC alum Anders Paulsson, who is a wonderful saxophonist and also passionate advocate for the preservation of coral reefs. He has managed to combine coral reef preservation, music and science in projects in Hawaii, Philippines, Stockholm, Costa Rica and Zanzibar and this year he will travel to Liberia to work with musicians there too http://www.coralguardians.org  

The strangest thing meet Anders was that we quickly found out that both of us had volunteered in the 1990s for the same UK NGO, Coral Cay Conservation, which had taken us both to dive for extended periods in Belize and also the Philippines off Negros on Danjugan Island. We obviously had not done it at exactly the same time and Anders’ experience has inspired him to found the Coral Guardians project and also to compose related music. My diving was curtailed by the arrival of my children but meeting Anders has reminded me of how important this part of my life once was so one I must revisit.

Anders Paulsson with me passing the light on in Wayne’s coffee at the Concert Hall

Anders was a Fulbright Scholar and went to NYC to further his music studies on the soprano saxophone through the study of Jazz at the Manhattan School of Music. Arriving in 1985 at the House, he was presented a booklet on how to be streetwise in New York City, the contents of which were somewhat alarming. So much so it was about a week before Anders ventured out of the House. Being a lover of nature, Anders had a room over looking the park, unlike Jussi, who said that he had one of the cheapest rooms in the House but did have a distant river view courtesy of the guy in the room across from him who never drew the curtains!

One of Anders’ precious memories is of tutoring a young man in English spelling as part of the Harlem Tuition Program and of taking his tutee and mum onto the roof of I-House to show them the view. His other vivid recollection was of being stopped in the hall by a fellow Swede and being told the news that the Prime Minster of Sweden, Olof Palme, had been assassinated whilst walking home from the cinema with his wife. (Feb 28th 1986).

Anders had the privilege of playing for Nelson Mandela and also to compose a CELEBRATION SUITE for South Africa Celebrating 20 years of Democracy. http://anderspaulsson.se/site/tag/south-africa/ He said to me that in South Africa they had taught him that we are all one race – human, just with different ethnic origins, so the concept of racism is therefore absurd. Harry would have liked that thought.

Postcard Postscript…

As some of you know I have been trying to send my children postcards from every destination which has almost been harder than finding alumni to meet with! Two Postcard related things from this stop, first once I had finally found a post office which was in itself a challenge, Sweden turns out to be my most expensive postcard sending yet. 21Kr for each stamp which is approximately $2. The young lady at the counter said it is because they upped the stamp cost to handle things up to 50gms?!? It is a very pretty stamp though, in fact I was offered the choice two either the Tulip or the Queen.

21Kr about $2 for a postcard stamp! It is a pretty stamp but still…

The other news is that the handprinted card of an elephant bought in Mumbai and posted in Beirut at AUB (see post about postcards) did actually arrive in the UK! It took 19 days but it got there.

Where we ate – Vete-Katte, a wonderful old pastry and coffee shop, has two distinct halves to it and in fact two counters. The front is shiny and new and the back is quaint and cosy – definitely go to the back http://vetekatten.se/en/

Berlin Freunde

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Saturday 23rd February 2019 – Berlin

Blue skies and sunshine blessed my Berlin stop along with wonderful hospitality from the whole Schomaker family but especially Katrin. She had been the mastermind behind our afternoon and evening gathering of the Freunde des International House and in keeping with the sociability of the German alumni had organised a great turnout.

Katrin Schomaker showing me the Brandenburg Gate

The first part of the day was a visit to Schloss Cecilienhof, Potsdam where the Potsdamer Konferenz was held between Stalin, Churchill and Truman in 1945 at the end of the war. We toured the restored rooms where the three leaders and their entourage negotiated and debated what the next steps were for Germany following the war. It is a building with amazing history and with lovely gardens and near by lake was a great choice especially as we ponder the future of Europe with Brexit looming.

The Potsdam visitors, (left to right) Klaus Mossele, Paul Gouras, Chan Gouras, Irina Mossele, Katrin Schomaker, Eckhardt Gouras, Charlotta Shomaker, Katrin Stenner, Gilbert Schomaker, Alice Lewthwaite & Morgan Randell (Julia Rehmet also joined us later)
Hans Husmann and Morgan Randell keeping sporting their I-House Berkeley T Shirts

Our reflections on the politics and history of the palace took place over lunch at the old dairy on the estate which is now a rather wonderful micro brewery. Obviously some of the party had to see whether the beer was any good! https://www.meierei-potsdam.de

After a short pause it was time to head out to dinner. The Freunde des International House are one of the most active I-House NYC chapters in the world and last autumn they managed three gatherings in different German cities to celebrate I-House Day.  

From the start of the I-Houses the alumni were encouraged by Harry and subsequent Directors to come together to celebrate the opening of I-House NYC in November 1924.  I am not as familiar with what happens at today at Berkeley and Chicago I-Houses but last autumn the alumni team at NYC I-House worked with alumni around the world to hold I-House Day meet ups in a long list of locations including Shanghai, New York, LA, London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Honolulu, Manila and several others. 

The Freunde group also work with the Friends of I-House UK chapter to mastermind a gathering of alumni weekend somewhere in Europe each year.  Last year it was Edinburgh with over 60 people attending and this year it will be in Essen the 3rdweekend of September, alumni from around the world welcome.  

The Freunde dinner group photo

Over the most enormous but delicious schnitzel I have ever eaten, I got to hear stories of time at the NYC and Berkeley Houses from the 20 attendees.  We also welcomed Pooja Merchant who is the current Chair of the Freunde group and her new husband who both came along despite being about to move to the US from Berlin. Some of the group had also travelled great distances to join us from Frankfurt & Munich which was very touching. 

Michael Haring & Thomas Schönenberg

For many of the German alumni who come together their time at I-House was relatively short as they were interns either for major banks or corporations.  It is always striking to me that after only 3 or 4 months living at I-House their experience was so compelling and the friends they made so significant that many years later they are still meeting with the group.  Harry would have been so pleased.  

Pooja Merchant, me and Katrin Schomaker
Klaus Mössle one of the founders of Freunde des International House saying a few words
Passing on the gold Paris candle to Katrin Schomaker who gave a beeswax candle for me to take to Stockholm

The blue skies and sunshine continued right through my stay as did the welcome and warmth from everyone I met.  

Story Snippets…

Portrait Project– Morgan Randall – Morgan came from Texas to live at I-House Berkeley and immediately was struck by the possibilities of a more international angle to his career and life.  Talking to him it is obvious that he really embraced every aspect and opportunity offered by time at the House in a purposeful way.  This included finding a novel way to get to meet all of the residents in each of his two years at the House.  He drew their portraits.  Outside each room at the House there is a small whiteboard on which the name of the resident is written.  Morgan started to draw a portrait of each person or people living in the room on the whiteboards.  During the few minutes he was doing this he would strike up conversations that often lasted longer than the time it took to do the drawing and in some cases led to friendships he still has.  He has continued his project ever since drawing people when he meets them using both hands at the same time.  Here is mine, number 8371.  To find out more about Morgan’s projects visit his website http://escher2hands.com Having enjoyed meeting Germans at the House Morgan decide to apply for a Data Scientist role in Munich which he got and has been living in Germany for the past two years.  He has visited over 18 countries while he has been there and arrived on the overnight train from Munich to Berlin to join us for the event.  Morgan later made this video as part of the I-House Berkeley Big Give in March 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51nJGhurr_A

My two handed pen portrait by Morgan Randall

Where we ate – Schnitzelei Mitte – https://schnitzelei.de/mitte/

Paris – Flam’s and Friends

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Thursday 21st February 2019 – Paris

The picture for this blog is the back of Quentin Dumont’s phone on which is a well worn I-House sticker, which I thought summed up the continual presence of time spent at I-House even if people are not totally aware of it.

Hello Our restaurant for our Paris meet up, Flam’s was a great choice as we got to work our way through unlimited Flam’s (french version of pizza done on very thin pastry) which we shared trying all the flavours on the menu. It also turned out to have an I-House connection as the daughter of the owner of the chain of restaurants is a current I-House resident. We did not know this when a helpful alumna found it but it seemed to confirm it as the place for us to meet when Quentin shared this with us.

It has been some 10 years since there was last a gathering of I-House alumni in Paris. Towards the end of our evening Virgine Pez Perard found the photos of that dinner and there was amusement from Isabelle and Claire Lauper as they looked at their younger selves.

Paris I-House dinner in 1998.

At the dinner we had I-House NYC represented from Quentin who left only last year to the Salomon sisters, Pat and Carole, who were there some 30 years ago.

Pat Salomon, Olivia Le Horovitz, me, Virginie Pez Perard, Makiko Shigemitsu, Quentin Dumont, Pierre Gottraux, Claire Lauper and Carole Salmon (just out of the picture)

We also had Pierre Gottraux who was flying the flag for ISH London and he had carefully bought along his GOAT (what ISH London alumni are called) reunion 50 years of ISH celebration bag to show us.

Pierre shows off his ISH London GOAT reunion bag from 2015

Isabelle was the donor of the Paris candle and being a gold star shaped one it was a great match for the silver one from my Roman friends. She had chosen the star shape to represent the stars and stripes of the USA.

Exchanging candles with Isabelle, with Piere Gottraux in the background

Story Snippets….

Admission by TELEX – Pat Salomon – The parents of Pat and Carole Salomon were not willing to let one of them go to study in NYC alone, so Pat and Carole went together. They started and finished living at I-House NYC together, however their road to living a the House was a bit last minute. The time for them to go to New York was rapidly approaching and still they had no accommodation sorted. With only a week or so until their departure to the US, there was no time to write and there being no internet or fax the only option was to use TELEX. Luckily their father’s secretary was willing to help and sent a TELEX to the head of their future program at Columbia. He said he would see what he could do but would need more information, which was duly dispatched bit by bit over the wire. Finally practically as they were leaving Paris for NYC they got the confirmation that they would be accepted to live at I-House. When Pat arrived in New York she decide that they should thank the helpful gentleman from Columbia and so took a bottle of Champagne to him. Arriving to give it to him she asked why he had bothered to help her and her sister, to which he replied that he had seen they were French and as he had been in the US Army in WWII and had been the first allied soldier to arrive to liberate Nancy he felt a strong bond with the French.

A series of fortunate mistakes – Isabelle – Isabelle came to New York with a desire to learn and find work. Her paperwork made that difficult but despite that she gave French lessons to kids and worked in a variety of jobs whilst sub letting a flat. Whilst politely declining a nannying job from 5am until late in the evening each day to the mum who had offered it to her, she was connected to the father of the same family who it turned out would be willing to have her as an unpaid intern for a number of months. At around the same time a friend who knew of Isabelle’s challenges with her immigration status told her about the Green Card Lottery and encouraged her to apply. One of the places to do so was on Riverside Drive, however Isabelle did not quite get the address right and ended up going into I-House by mistake. Noticing the keys all hung up she wondered if this was an accommodation option (as her flat had come to an end and she was in need of somewhere to live). The resident manning the desk was not French but was learning French and was keen to practice so they fell into conversation. She explained that Isabelle could live there if she was a post graduate student or an intern, and so everything fell into place and Isabelle spent 18 happy months as a resident. One of the things that she took up whilst at the House was Ballroom dancing, which gave her continued pleasure for the next 20 or so years.

Giving and receiving – Clair Lauper – Arriving home after the dinner Clair sent me these three photos with the following explanation “coming to my door and fetching my keys to unlock it I smiled… the key ring is a gift I received from PS 306 (a school in the Bronx) in 1996 when I visited them with a group of I-House students to tell the kids about the countries we were coming from. A very poor neighborhood and really emotional memories from this visit… still have the drawings of the kids!”

Where we ate – Flam’s https://www.flams.fr

Paris – Maison International

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Wednesday 20th February 2019 – Paris

It seems that Harry unlike parents was quite willing to declare a favourite, and it was France that won his favourite country vote. In some ways it is not surprising as it seems like the country after the US where Harry spent most time. In fact he lived in Paris from September 1935 to August 1936 whilst he helped realise the Maison International project.

Part of the draw was Monsieur Auguste Desclos, who was a key player in the starting of the Maison in Paris, and became a very close life long friend of Harry’s. Desclos had grown up in England and spoke perfect English and French and it seems was an engaging soul. He first met Harry in 1927 when he was in charge of all the universities and schools in France came to the US and visited International House in New York.

Harry aged 78 and Monsieur Desclos aged 84 c1961 by the statue of Monsieur Honnorat
Me by the same statue

The Cite Universitaire had been started after WWI by Andre Honnorat with the first ‘maison’ being funded by Emile Deutsch de la Meurthe. This was followed by individual ‘houses’ funded either by wealthy donors or countries including Argentina and Canada. Today the Cite houses around 12,000 post graduate and research students each year and is expanding to add a further 1800 beds through a number of new Houses. Similarly to the International House idea, the underlying philosophy is all about living and working together to create greater understanding. From the start the ‘country’ houses had to mix up students with other ‘countries’ houses so there was some diversity in each house and a huge diversity across the whole site. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cité_Internationale_Universitaire_de_Paris

The back of Maison International looking out over the large lawn – the Maison was modelled after the Chateau at Fontainebleau

When Desclos visited I-House NYC in 1927 they were looking at how to have a communal building and thought that modelling it along the lines of International House would be beneficial. They were also in need of a donor to fund it so the close relationship between Harry and J.D. Rockefeller would have been a consideration. In fact our tour guide had found the letter in the Rockefeller archives where Mr Desclos asks Harry to approach J.D. to fund the Maison.

The grand entrance hall

The House was finally opened in 1936, this was nearly decade after Rockefeller had originally agreed to fund it. There were a number of false starts and although Rockefeller did not want to get involved in the project, in the end he decided that he would have to and assigned a whole team to its completion, which then happened within two years. The land was given for the site, Rockefeller funded the building of the Maison and then handed it over to the Cite Universitaire Foundation to run it.

In the hallway

The Maison International was to be the central communal building amongst the individual ‘country’ residences and to provide the canteen, sports, arts, practical and library facilities.

The canteen could feed over 5000 students a day and was one of the first self service restaurants in Paris so considered very modern. The pool too included technology from the US so was one of the best in Paris when it opened.

Today the Maison is open to the public as well as students. There is a thriving Theatre, lovely cafe and sports facilities. The Biblioteque (Library) is free for students and open to other paying customers. We were lucky enough to meet Marie-Dominique Loustalot who has been Directrice du Biblioteque for some 30 years. She explained that the library is focused on the study of the French language and literature and they have every type of resource you could imagine along with also having recently acquired, thanks to a large capital donation, an extensive collection of French literature from the former French colonies in Africa and Middle-East.

The Biblioteque (library)
Avenue Rockefeller
The Maison Etas Uni (US House) on the Cite

We were given an excellent tour by Eglantine Pasquier, who is doing her PHD on the philanthropic work of J.D. Rockefeller in France (which includes restoration at Versaille and other key sites as well as funding Maison International). I was joined by Francois Rey who had lived at I-House NYC whilst doing his MBA at Columbia in the 90s and Pierre Gottreaux who has a long association with International Student House London.

If you live in Paris or visit Paris, it is well worth visiting the Cite, the history is fascinating and the park is open to the public all year round. The 40 + residences all have different architecture and many are by now famous architects such as Corbusier.

Pierre (ISH London) and Jany Gottreaux, me, my daughter Millie and Francois Rey (NYC IH)

Harry was also great friends with Jeane Thomas who started as assistant to Monsieur Honnerat when he was overloaded with work and was so capable expanded her role over the years. So when he came to Paris, as he seemed to do frequently, he stayed with either Desclos or Mme. Thomas. The Maison International was always a slight source of frustration to Harry as it was never quite as he had hoped. In his view they never maximised the possibility of interaction between nations and did not have the extensive cultural program of the I-Houses in the US.

Visiting the site I am not sure I agree with him, I think it is a wonderful place offering many opportunities to build international friendship and understanding, it is just being done in its own way.

Rome, Pancakes and Missing House

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Sunday 17th February 2019 – Rome

Blue sky welcomed me as I stepped out of the Metro at Conca d’Oro and shortly after I was picked up by International House, super fan and very wonderful host, Adriano Romano. First stop, obviously, was coffee, which had to be accompanied by a not very slimming but utterly delicious, Cornetti Nutella.

I am not sure there are words to really describe the loveliness of Rome, it is the constant surprise around each corner, the food and the colours. Harry loved Rome too and enjoyed spending time with his very great friend James Yu, the ambassador from Free China to Italy. Luckily for Harry whenever he went to Rome, he stayed with Mr Yu and he put his limousine and chauffeur at Harry’s disposal.

Harry must have been here on March 11th (slightly after me due to his 2 weeks in Bangkok) as he celebrated his 83rd Birthday here with a big party thrown by the Ambassador. Harry and I share the 11th of March as our Birthdays. I will be having mine in New York at the end of my trip and I will be being 50!

My Rome event was an American Breakfast as a trip down memory lane of breakfast in the dining hall. I was joined by I-House alumni Adriano Romano, Claudia Pelican and Prof. Gemma Corradi Fiumara and by my first Goodenough College alum Pierluigi Barbarisi. We were also joined by Pierluigi’s friend Ana Maria Fageat a fellow London law student.

Pier Luigi Barbarisi, Ana Maria Fageat, Adriano Romano, Claudia Pellicano and Prof. Gemma Corradi Fiumara – photoshop courtesy of Adri!

Of course the conversation focused around coffee with the challenge of finding a decent expresso in London or New York back in the day!

Very smart silver candle from Claudia as my Roman candle to take to Paris friends

We also talked about how Rome has potential as a location for an International House and I shared the story of the Roman I-House that never was.

Just after the war an I-House alum, who was professor of economics at the University of Rome, along with a number of others decided that the Palazzo Salivate had potential as an International House Rome.

Palazzo Salviati – on the edge of the river Vatican side – today it is part of the Defence College

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Salviati_(Rome)

They were hoping for it to be funded by the American Economic Commission who were pouring money into post war reconstruction projects. They were planning 100 rooms and whilst Harry felt that the Palazzo was little ‘overdone’ for an I-House, he was excited by the plans. Everything was drawn up and seemed in place to do the necessary work to turn it into a House, when Harry had to leave to go back to the US. However it seems that there was then some serious procrastination amongst the group in Rome and they missed getting the funding they were looking for as Congress stopped contributing to such projects.

Not one to give up it seems that Harry continued to hold out hope that the building would still be secured and converted as per the original plans and so he persuaded the American Ambassador, Mrs. Claire Booth Luce to throw a tea party for him with prominent Italians, in the hopes that one of them might put up the funds. Sadly although he says they had a nice party, no funds were forthcoming. The Ambassador was much frustrated by the lack of willingness from the rich Italians, but Harry was more sanguine, saying that ‘if the interest is there, the need is there, it has to be fulfilled’ and that he was willing to ‘keep on’. He was ever the optimist. Perhaps the time is now right…

The view that the I-House would have had!

Story Snippets….

Roman Sisters – Prof. Gemma Corradi Fiumara – In the 1960s Gemma wanted to go and study in the US but her parents were reluctant to be persuaded. So they said that she could on the condition that both her and her sister went together and that they won scholarships to pay for their studies. So they did. Gemma went to study Philosophy as an Undergrad and Sofia to study her Masters in Comparative Law in New York and both lived at I-House. As a result of their experience they have both gone on to do amazing things with Gemma writing a number of notable academic books, the most recent being Psychic Suffering; from Pain to Growth. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1782202692/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 Her very latest book is a historical novel The Pilgrim Kings: A Story of the Magi. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pilgrim-Kings-Story-Karnac-Library/dp/1782205586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550426501&sr=8-1&keywords=the+pilgrim+kings+a+story+of+the+magi

Sofia went on to found the Erasmus project of student exchanges in Europe. https://www.sofiacorradi.eu Sadly Sofia was not well enough to join us for the brunch, but talking to Gemma it was clear that both her and her sister never took no for an answer and found a way through to achieve their aims whether getting agreement between two countries for their students to travel between them or getting a book published.

The Infamous Pesto Party – Adriano Romano – When Adri was in the House he was often to be found cooking in one of the flats with a kitchen. One day he decided to give a simple Italian cookery lesson and teach some 15 friends to make Pesto. He assembled the ingredients, basil, pine nuts, olive oil and Argentinian Parmesan (apparently Italian was hard to come by and too expensive for student budgets) and a blender and they produced the pesto and cooked pasta for it to go on. The resulting dinner was considered so delicious that it seems that the recipe spread quickly through the House that evening and soon pesto was being enjoyed on all floors. Adri enjoyed his party and the next day was returning to Italy. When he arrived he found that he had a telephone message from a key member of the I-House staff that he must call her immediately. When he did he was reprimanded for his culinary lessons, as it had resulted in no one eating in the dining hall that evening, which in turn resulted in a loss of wages for the catering staff. Adri was obviously apologetic but it did not stop him continuing to share his Italian cooking with I-House friends during his remaining time there.

2nd Generation at Goodenough – Pierluigi Barbarisi – Pierluigi was recommended to stay at Goodenough College in London, a member of the International Houses World Wide group http://ihouseworldwide.org, by his Uncle who had lived there in the 1970s. Pierluigi told us about the garden, swimming pool and tennis court that they enjoyed in its very central London location. Like the I-House NYC, Goodenough residents are drawn from over 70 countries are post graduate students and can be from any institution in London giving them a wonderful international grounding and life long friends.

Pierluigi Barbarisi (right)

Making Movies – As Claudia Pellicano studied Journalism and Acting when in NYC, the conversation moved to the fact that I-House and the surrounds were used for filming whilst Adri and Claudia were at the House. Claudia remembered that an episode of Gossip Girls was filmed in the House and Adri that Law and Order was filmed in the surrounding streets. Sadly neither of them got to star in either production.

Lunch with Mario De Rosa, who will be a wonderful ambassador one day

Where we ate:

American Breakfast at – http://www.meccanismoroma.it

Coffee with Claudio – “I dolci di nonna vincenza” a pastry shop located in Via dell’arco del monte 98

Lunch with Mario De Rosa – Antica Trattoria Pallotta http://ristorantepizzeriapallotta.com/en/home-english-2/

All the A’s in Athens

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Thursday 14thFebruary 2019 – Athens

I am writing this today from Voulas, which is by the Mediterranean at the end of the Athens tram line.  Winding here through the Athens suburbs the bakeries and florists have embraced St Valentine with heart shaped cakes and bread abounding. 

Voulas near Athens

Once again, I have scant detail about Harry’s time here in Athens, but I do know from the letter he wrote at the end of his trip that “going with two Greek friends up the Acropolis, I saw the exact spot where the Apostle Paul made his famous speech to the ‘Men of Athens’ in which he said, ‘God hath made of one blood all nations to dwell on the face of the earth’.” Which he felt was akin to the I-House motto of ‘Let brotherhood prevail’.  So obviously as I set out early to climb up the Acropolis, I stopped at Aerophagus hill which where Harry is referring to.  

The Acropolis from Aerophagus Hill

It was a grey and blustery winter morning and no one else was about.  I climbed up the metal steps as the original marble ones cut into the rock, that Harry would have used, looked a bit slippery and treacherous and paused on the top imagining Harry there with his two friends looking out over the whole of Athens.  I expect there may have been less buildings and more countryside 53 years ago.  It was very peaceful and looking closely there were signs of spring in the surrounding archaeological site, with small yellow flowers and the rosemary bushes blooming. 

Plaque with Apostle Paul’s sermon to the ‘men of Athens’

I love visiting historical or ancient sites and imagining them bustling with people. The structures on the Acropolis have been adapted over the ages to be churches, mosques, temples and houses, so there is plenty to ponder.  That they are still standing at all today is remarkable.  

It was windy up the top…

Finding alumni in Athens had proved one of my more challenging destinations.  However luckily for me Alex Varelas, took a trip down memory lane last March and visited I-House NYC some 30 years after his time there.  Julie Pape from the alumni office showed him round and subsequently connect me to him.  Through a chance meeting Alex re-connected with Kosmas Michail who had also been in the NYC House at the same time.  Kosmas and his wife Leslie Jones are Sakura Sweethearts who met at the House.  Evangelia Avloniti who stayed at International Student House London completed our small but perfectly formed gathering.

Alex’s resident’s card from 1990, obviously he does not look any older…

Alex had chosen a very traditional Greek restaurant in a residential district of Athens.  One of the joys of my trip is that I have eaten in places that as a tourist I would never have visited.  I was instructed to go and inspect what dishes were on offer at the open kitchen viewing area, full of huge pans of delicious stews and vegetables.  

Alex Varelas, Kosmas Michail, Leslie Jones, Evangelia Avloniti & me at Fillipou restaurant

Around the table we had a mix of arts, with Leslie a cellist and Evangelia an art historian turned literary agent and science and business with both Kosmas and Alex originally training to be Electrical Engineers, but the common theme was the breadth and internationality of the time with others in the Houses.  

Istanbul candle went to Leslie who bought the Athens candle which I shall take to Rome

It was a delightful evening and I hope that it will be the start of alumni in Athens re-connecting.

Leslie, heads up the Music Department at DEREE, the American College of Greece and was taking a number of her students to a concert at the Athens Concert Hall and kindly invited me to come. The hall has amazing acoustics and we enjoyed – Nikos Skalkottas: Symphonic Suite No. 1 and Johannes Brahms: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83.

Story Snippets…

Missing match maker– Kosmas Michail and Leslie Jones – When Leslie Jones moved from Oregon to study the Cello in New York, she originally lived in another dorm, but realizing I-House was closer to her school she decided to re-locate.  She already had an established set of friends and was doing long hours of rehearsing for her recitals so she was not one to be found in the pub or socializing.  It was only with much persuasion that her friend Jan Fießig got Leslie to agree to come to his farewell breakfast as he was leaving the House to go back to Germany. He had mentioned to Leslie previously that she should meet Kosmas as he was a wonderful philosopher and Jan felt they would get along.  Jan was right and romance blossomed after his departure and Kosmas and Leslie became a Satura Sweetheart couple.  Sadly, Jan never knew that his matchmaking was successful.  Leslie has tried to trace him a number of times with no luck.  So, they and I are hoping that perhaps someone reading this might know him still and ask him to get in touch.  

Delights of London – Evangelia Avloniti – Evangelia left Greece to go and study Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London and was offered a place in some accommodation that was some way away from there.  Rather than accept it she enquired again about any other options and was pointed in the direction of International Student House London (ISH). She moved in and was captivated by the breadth of nationalities living alongside her counting friends from Ethiopia, Pakistan and India to name but a few.  When her sister came to London they managed to extend their association with ISH by moving into one of the apartments owned by ISH near Marylebone High Street, not a location where students can usually afford to live in London!  She loves being back in Athens, but misses the international dimension of entering a room at ISH and meeting new friends from new countries every day.  

I-House ‘magic’– Alex Varelas – We were reflecting on the difference between the I-House experience and other multicultural / international study experiences and Alex was comparing his time at I-House with his time at INSEAD business school near Paris, where he studied for his MBA.  ISEAD certainly is international environment with over 40 countries represented in his class. These classmates from all nationalities worked hard and played hard together, but still for Alex it could not compare it to the diversity and cultural understanding he experienced by living at the New York I-House.  Having 70-80 countries represented and sharing a ‘home’ together made it the most international and cross cultural experience for Alex.  Which is the ‘magic’ that Harry described often in his letters to others about living at any of the I-Houses.

Masterclass in Rhetoric – Leslie Jones – Leslie was recalling that Gerald Ford came to speak at the House whilst she was there.  She decided it was an opportunity not to be missed and went along. She recalled what an engaging and charismatic speaker he was but also how when he was done, reflecting on what she had heard, she found that he had not really said anything at all.  An enjoyable masterclass in political rhetoric indeed.  

Post office postscript…

Greece scored highly on the postcard quest.  Postcards are abundant at every tourist spot and stall.  I secured 4 for €1 and there is a handy post office opposite the entrance to the Acropolis.  The lady behind the counter was a bit tardy in opening up and as I waited the post man appeared to collect the cards from the box outside, but he waited for me to buy my stamps and took the cards, speeding off behind the trees in his blue van… 

Where we ate: Fillipou https://www.filippou.gr

Istanbul the Half Way Point

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Saturday 9th February – Istanbul

I have landed at Istanbul airport many times in transit to other places in Turkey but never actually visited, so I was keen to see what the city had to offer. Chris re-joined me for the weekend from the UK, which was lovely so I was all set for a wonderful time in country 9 out of 18.

Pinar Ozbek, had done all the hard work for the event and it was an all I-House NYC turnout. She suggested BUMED, which is the alumni club for Bogazici University, as our meeting place.

Chris and I arrived a bit early and as we went to the reserved table we were approached by a gentleman. Mehmet Atar, explained that he had never lived at I-House but his friend Professor Dr. Orhan Kural had, but was not able to attends, so had asked him to represent him. He then presented me with his card which said he was the Honorary Consul in Istanbul for the Republic of Vanuatu! A role he explained he had been offered after doing some mining engineering consultancy in Vanuatu.

Chris with the Honorary Consul for Vanuatu, Mehmet Atar

We had a very lovely meeting with a lively crowd. Nilgun Okay and her sister Nesrin, both residents, came with Nilgun’s daughter. They also bought their I-House memorabilia with them. Including a newspaper article from the Turkish press about their performance at I-House at Fall Fiesta. They told me that at least 5 other cousins or relatives of theirs have also lived at the House!

Nesrin & Nilgun Okay with the press article about Fall Fiesta

Brunch turned into afternoon coffee as the conversation continued and I hope that this was the start of many a Turkish alumni meet up.

Pinar had chosen BUMED for our meet up as the Bogazici University also has links to the Dodge family, who gave some of the land that I-House NYC is built on. So I was keen to see some of the buildings. Our first attempt to get onto campus had not gone well due to my lack of Turkish, but luckily Sinan Acikalin (who is hoping to live at I-House from September when he goes to Columbia to do his MBA), son of Tarik Acikalin who lived in the House around 1975, said he would give us a tour the next day. Which it turned out was wonderfully sunny.

The University is set high up above the Bosphorus at its narrowest point, where castles on either side allowed the Ottomans to control the seaway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the most amazing views. Originally Robert College it was started by two US philanthropists in 1871. The College was to open its doors to students of all races, nationalities and religions without prejudice or discrimination, which was unusual in those days. Over the next 100 years the campus was expanded until in 1971 it became Bogazici University. Today Bogazici is one of the most prestigious in Turkey.

In keeping with his support of the I-House philosophy, Cleveland H. Dodge’s donations to Bogazici were all about encouraging students to eat and socialise together and therefore learn about each other.

We visited the Dodge Gymnasium which is constructed of the blue limestone quarried on the campus. It was financed by Cleveland who was Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1909 until 1926, and his father, William E. Dodge. For many years it was the first modern gymnasium in Europe and had the only indoors running track in Turkey (sadly no longer in existence). The first basketball game in Turkey was played here in 1908. Today the original floor is still in place and the building has been lovingly maintained by its very charismatic caretaker, who was keen to show us around.

Cleveland funded the Henrietta Washburn Hall or the Social Hall, it is called today. It was completed in 1914 and named after Henrietta Loraine Washburn, daughter of Cyrus Hamlin and wife of George Washburn. It is used as a recreational hall by the students, it contains a theater, lounges, club rooms and a canteen. He also donated a famous organ which is in the auditorium.

Again I do not know if Harry visited the campus but with the connections to his friend Cleveland, he may well have done and I am sure he would have approved of the University’s philosophy of inclusion as well as admired the wonderful views over the Bosphorus.

Story Snippets…

Key Positions – Nilgun Okay – Nilgun stayed at I-House for 4 years, which even in the 1980s was over the usually permitted length of time. She worked out that if she was to stay she would need to get one of the ‘Key Positions’ whilst studying for her PHD in Earth & Environmental Sciences. So she got the position of Special Assistant Pub / Vending Machines. Apparently she also worked the till in the canteen and was able to quickly reduce a long line of hungry students by getting them through the checkout fast! Nilgun was the first woman in Turkey to get a PHD in that field.

Nilgun Okay pointing out her entry in the Key Positions book

Dying Swan – Pinar Ozbek – Before coming to I-House Pinar danced for the Istanbul State Ballet for 8 seasons. At the House she performed the Dying Swan solo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSl1_WwFk6Y  Today she still teaches ballet alongside her academic teaching.

Greyhound Touring – Tarik Acikalin – Tarik wanted to do an MBA and in the 1970s the Turkish government would sponsor students to go to the US to study. Tarik got places at 3 US MBA schools including Columbia and applied for the government scholarship. There were 10 scholarships up for grabs and Tarik just missed out by being 11th in the ranking. So he started to study for his MBA in Turkey. Some 9 months later he got a call from the government office that said they would award him the scholarship for the next academic year. Tarik was undecided but got in touch with the 3 schools where he had places, but only Columbia would still accept him and would give him some credit for his year of study in Turkey. He decided to take up the offer and had 2 happy years living at I-House. A huge classical music fan, one of the highlights was access to great concerts in NYC while he was there. At the end of his stay at the House he and a Turkish friend set off to tour the USA by Greyhound bus for a month. No one believed they would last more than to California and back, but they did. They often slept on the bus rather than getting a hotel, and visited many places in their four weeks on the road.

Tarik Acikalin

Where we ate: BUMED – http://www.bumed.org.tr/restaurant/

Humanity in Beirut

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Friday 8th February 2019 – Beirut

Beirut was one of the stops I was most looking forward to when I set off, not only because I had never been to Lebanon, but also because it was not so long ago that sadly the war prevented all tourism here and still when you tell people you are coming they ask if it is really safe.  

It, along with the other middle eastern countries were also important in the International House story as from the beginning of the Houses they have had Arabic, Jewish, Sunni, Shia and Christian residents from the region all living side by side.  This has often involved heated debates but at the end of the day they have shown each other respect and sought to understand and developed tolerance and friendship within the I-House context.  

For someone who has been lucky to live in relative peace in the UK, seeing the bombed out and bullet hole ridden properties around the city was disconcerting and sad.  My taxi driver told me about how he and his wife escaped to Saudi during the war, but when they had children they could not afford the schools in Saudi and his wife and 3 children returned to Lebanon in the midst of the War, I could not imagine the daily worry for him and his wife through that period. Thankfully they all survived and he now had 5 grandchildren. 

It is nearly 30 years since the fighting stopped and restoration and regeneration are also everywhere.  There is a focus on design and elegance, art and food and the long and fascinating history of the country.  More than this the people are charming, we were welcomed and helped by everyone we met. 

Sandy Edmonds, Harry’s granddaughter

This stop was also special as Sandy Edmonds, Harry’s granddaughter, joined me from her home in Vermont.  Sandy is my father’s first cousin, but family politics meant that they only met a very few times.  She is the most wonderful woman, a true lover of art and people, having been an art teacher for many years in US Public Schools.  So, it was a delight to explore Beirut together.  

Main gate AUB

I do not have any information about what Harry’s actually did on this stop, but with his close connection to the Dodge family I imagined that he would have visited AUB (American University Beirut) as Bayard Dodge, was president from 1923-48 and Dr. David Stuart Dodge held various positions from 1961-97. http://www.aub.edu.lb/President/Pages/history.aspx

Ada Dodge Hall named after Dr. D. Stuart Dodge’s deceased daughter

Harry may perhaps have met with Samuel B Kirkwood the president at the time.  Originally, we were going to have the honour of meeting Mr. Khouri, the current AUB president, but he was called away on business so we did a campus tour instead. 

AUB tour by Ali, in the pouring rain, they gave us some very smart AUB umbrellas!

Our guide Ali, a current AUB student in Finance was utterly charming and showed us around the beautiful campus. 

The re-built main College Hall at AUB

The University kept going as far as possible through the war and he showed us the tunnel that allowed the medical students to get to the hospital from the campus to go on duty without going up onto the street.  Parts of the campus were destroyed including the main hall, but have been re-constructed and they even have a very funky building by Zaha Hadid http://www.zaha-hadid.com.  

Zaha Hadid building at AUB

There is an cedar grove in the middle of the campus that were planted by the founder Dr Bliss and are still standing. I imagined Harry standing by the President’s House which has the most wonderful view out to sea, or perhaps he even got to go in! 

View from the President’s House at AUB

After our tour we met up with Chicago I-House Alum Rajab Ghazzaoui, who is currently working at the AUB business school.  Over coffee he was able to explain more about the complex politics of Lebanon and the region and also the challenges of daily life in Beirut. These include electricity being rationed to 3 hours a day for most householders, unless they have a generator, the traffic and lack of public transport.  The newly formed government is a welcome sign, but the continued corruption that is endemic makes it hard to keep hope of real change, good jobs and growth. The war forced many to experience living overseas either, mostly in Europe or Saudi Arabia so they have a broader perspective that you might find in other countries.  

Coffee with Rajab Ghazzaoui

My event at this stop was to be hosted by Dirk Kunze, I-House NYC alum and his team at FNST Lebanon & Syria in their very funky office space Garage 664.  FNST is a German not for profit focused on liberal principles and political education.  They operate in around 60 countries and focus on promoting freedom and dignity in all areas of society and hold events that encourage international dialogue, rights for minorities and democratic control.  

Dirk Kunze being interviewed by the media at my event

This event was to be very different to all the others on my trip as it was open to the wider public as part of FNST’s Alphabet Series of events.  We were letter ‘H’, fitting for Harry!  The title of our event was ‘Humanity in the times of populism, the value of international networks’.  So we could weave together my event and what FNST do in their work.  

Raya Haffer El Hassan, Minister for the Interior Lebanon

On my quest to find attendees at the Beirut event I had contacted an alumna of International Student House DC, which is part of the World Wide International Houses group, Raya Haffar El Haasan.  Raya had been Finance Minister of Lebanon and I though it would be wonderful if she could come.  To my delight she said she would.  

The panel for the discussions including 2nd from right Omar Chatah (IH NYC)

Last weekend Dirk emailed me to say that in the formation of the new and long awaited government Raya had been made the first woman Minister of the Interior.  He thought that this would probably mean that she would not be able to attend.  However, this proved not to be the case.  Raya amidst the whirlwind of her appointment, made time to come because she wanted to tell the audience how important her time at ISH DC had been in shaping her understanding of the other and how she applies this to her work.  She was totally delightful as we chatted before the event began and she and Dirk helped light the candles at the end. 

We had 50 people attend the event, I would love to say I was the draw but Raya in her new role, was that, but I got to share Harry’s idea, the I-House story and also welcome the other alumni in the audience, Omar Chatah and Naoki Takyo from I-House NYC and Rajab Ghazzaoui from I-House Chicago.  It was so lovely to have Sandy Edmonds there too to hear both from Raya but also others about how impactful their time at the House had been on their outlook and lives. 

Alumni, Raya El Haasan (ISH DC), Dirk Kunze (IH NYC), Rajab Raab Ghazzaoui (IH Chicago), Naoki Tokyo (IH NYC)

I will definitely be coming back to Lebanon, I want to see all the other things it has to offer outside of Beirut and truly hope that with continued dialogue and perseverance, the Lebanese people will feel they are living in a thriving and stable country. If you haven’t been do put it on your list. 

Story Snippets…. 

Surrogate Mothers of I-House Chicago – Rajab Ghazzaoui – Having been used to living at home whilst studying for his undergrad, when Rajab was accepted to UChicago for his Masters the thought of finding an apartment and all that entailed was daunting.  So he phoned the accommodation office and they gave him the options including the I-House.   He called them back to ask ‘one flat fee and everything is included?’, ‘Yes’ they said. He was instantly sold.  Arriving at the house he decided to take one of the student jobs and ended up working in the office of the Director Denise Jordan and her team.  They instantly took a shine to him and he ended up with not one but three surrogate mothers, who helped him navigate his time in the House. From explaining how the washing machines worked to ensuring he was eating properly or up to date with his admin, they were there to support him.  He says that he really grew up whilst he was there.  

Challenging stereotypes at Fall Fiesta– Naoki Takyo – Every year at I-House NYC they hold the Fall Fiesta, where the residents showcase culture and food from their countries.  Naoki, said that he had recently found the VHS tape of his Fall Fiesta at the House (I am impressed he still had something to play it on!) and that re-watching it he was reminded how he wanted to break the stereotype that all Japanese are very serious and have no sense of humour.  He and his fellow Japanese residents were dressed in Kimono and it seems that Takyo raised more than one laugh from the audience, achieving his goal. When I asked him and his wife about how he had done this it seems that “what happens at Fall Fiesta stays at Fall Fiesta”, but I think it involved some dance moves and showing more leg than you might normally under a Kimono! 

Appreciation of the ‘other’– Raya Haffar El Hassan – Excerpt from her speech at the event – “For us residents, ISH (International Student House DC) was a home away from home. It provided a safe shelter from the harsh realities we, as international students, had to confront in trying to adapt to new surroundings and environment. During my stay I was fortunate to have built strong and lasting friendships with many of my co-residents. Friendships, I am happy to say that I still have to this day. These are the kinds of bonds that survive the passage of time. My friends were from all over the world – Nigeria, Colombia, Peru, Morocco, Eritrea, US, Denmark, just to name just a few. What a wonderful place ISH was and I am sure it still is. The bonds I was able to form lessened the feeling of homesickness and were essential for my mental and emotional development and wellbeing. I cannot begin to explain how important and life changing living at ISH was for me. The House offers a crash course in the importance of cultural diversity and appreciation of the ‘other’. It makes one re-examine engrained political and religious views and allows for the better acceptance of one another. So when I received Alice’s invitation to attend this event I did not hesitate for a minute, it instantaneously unlocked all the cherished memories I had from my time at ISH and made me jump at the opportunity to re-live them again and to meet other residents in Lebanon who might have shared similar experiences…. I believe this prepares us to become international citizens better equipped for careers in the Global market and provided us residents with a much larger perspective on life.”

Post office PS – for those that are following the Postcard saga (see Postcard blog post) – Lebanon proved the most challenging to date. Every request for stamps was met with a blank look. Whilst I was at AUB, our guide Ali said and there is the Post Office on Campus. So I popped in full of hope that they would have stamps. Well I may as well have asked for transport to the moon as I showed the man behind the counter the postcards. He asked a colleague and they decided eventually that the franking machine could provide the postage and I handed over $3. He promptly put my postcards in his drawer. I protested and he took them out and put them on his counter nodding that he would do the franking and put them in the post. I had to leave then, so I did not see that done, and I very much doubt they will ever arrive in the UK! Leaving Lebanon, I spotted a post box in near my departure gate at the airport. The only one I had seen in my time there. I made enquiries at the newsstand nearby about stamps pointing at the box and once again a look of incredulity from the cashier. After a lengthy explanation about what a stamp was, he went ‘ahh stamp, NO only outside at Lebanon Post!’

Airside post box in Beirut airport

Pondering on Postcards

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Friday 5th February – Bahrain airport

Harry was an amazing correspondent, mainly typewritten, always thoughtful, the letters I have of his have given me joy, insight and inspiration.

Setting out I thought I would send my two children postcards from every destination. Who knew that would be such a challenge! I have just about succeeded barring Manila but it is definitely not a simple task. As email replaces letter so fridge magnet or bumper sticker bought back replaces the postcard. Even in the most touristy spots they are hard to find and then you have to find a stamp and a post box…

Thailand’s postal service is visible with smart red boxes regularly ranged down every main road. Hong Kong, after a protracted hunt for the cards the main PO was very efficient with stamps. Finding international stamps in the US was taxing unless you travelled to a main office and in Tokyo public holidays had closed the offices. So all in all each card has been a treasure hunt from start to finish.

At my Mumbai event we reflected on the loss of the arrival of a letter sent with love and care with news of a friend or loved one. For much of I-House history residents would only have had the option of letter to communicate with friends and family as phone calls were so expensive. I wonder what we miss in our now immediately connected world.

They even suggested I should match people I had met on my trip to write a letter to each other, perhaps I will. In the meantime why not write to someone you have not spoken to for a while and see what happens. Or if you have a letter written or received whilst at I-House perhaps you could share it.

Missing Goats in Mumbai

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Saturday 2nd February 2019 – Mumbai

I love Mumbai, probably partly because it is the Indian city I have spent the most time in so I have been looking forward to stopping here. Harry did not come to Mumbai, but as I do work with OSCAR Foundation and NGO based here if I was going to be in Delhi, I decided to hop across India to Mumbai. It also gave me an opportunity to meet with Mumbai based alumni.

So it was that I was looking forward to an evening with a mix of I-House NYC and ISH (International Student House London) alumni at a new bar down in South Mumbai.

It was a very wonderful evening but also saw my first logistical bump on my trip so far. I lost the GOATs! Goats is the name given to alumni from ISH. The name Goats Club came from a comment by an African student who said to Miss Mary Trevelyan founder of ISH “Oh, we thought you were dead! Without you we should all have been lost goats!

I was expecting some 8-10 Goats and as the NYC I-House alumni arrived and found me there was a distinct absence of the ISH alumni. Even allowing for Indian timekeeping norms and drop outs that always happens this was most odd. At the time of writing I am still waiting to find out if they found each other and not me and were still able to have an enjoyable evening.

Nidhi and her candle

Amongst the NYC I-House alumni was Nidhi Shah, who actually only lived at the House for 2 months, but even in that time had developed such a love for the place was willing to be in correspondence with me over the last 9 months about the event! Along with Sid Mehta, who is now the World Council Alumni member for India, Nidhi and I were due to meet back in July when I was over but that was scuppered by the engine on my BA flight breaking and spending 18 hours in Azerbaijan. So when I finally met Nidhi it was wonderful. She also bought the Mumbai candle a very lovely Vanilla scented one which will travel to Beirut.

Karan Bhosale, Manjeet Kripalani and Rohit Bijlani joined us to and covering various eras of the House shared their experiences and how they ended up living at I-House. The continued link with I-House friends around the world was again a common thread and the deep emotional attachment to the House and everything it stands for also resonated. So much so that much of the evening was spent in serious discussion about how an International House could be built in Mumbai and how right the time is for doing this. So watch this space, with the determination, breadth of skills, contacts and persuasive powers around the table, I think it might just happen!

Story Snippets….

Anna and Anna – Karan Bhosale – Karan was going to study at Columbia Law school and he needed somewhere to live. He met two Anna’s and they were looking for a 3rd person to join them in a flat share, so Karan agreed to take the spot. Almost as soon as he had done so, he saw I-House NYC mentioned on the Columbia paperwork and began to investigate. He saw the House had a canteen and that set him thinking. He had not really had to cook for himself thus far and he wondered how catering would pan out if he shared with Anna and Anna as he could not imagine they would cook for him. He looked into the House further and found out more about the facilities and programs and suffice to say that Anna and Anna were kindly given the news that he would be living at the House and enjoying his catered meals there.

A musical resume – Sid Metha – Sid described his arrival at I-House starting at a music concert. He went to watch Kinan Azmeh https://kinanazmeh.com and on Kinan’s bio it said that he had lived at International House whilst studying at the Juilliard School of Music. Sid had never heard of I-House and so wanted to find out more. At the same time the name came up not the paperwork for his Columbia Law school housing. On arriving in NYC he looked at the Columbia accommodation options and I-House and of course I-House won!

Harlem celebrates – Rohit Bijlani – Rohit was remembering the Obama election that happened whilst he was in the House. Nearly everyone was squeezed around the TVs to watch as the results came in. When it became apparent that Obama had won. Groups started to think about leaving the House to see what was going on. Rohit and his friends decided that rather than head to Times Square they would walk into Harlem. The scene was jubilant with people out on the streets, dancing on bus stop roofs, up trees and on cars. Certainly a night to remember.

Picture of the wonderful OSCAR Foundation girls at the World Goals World Cup that they were performing and playing at on February 2nd 2019 – they were runners up in the final http://www.oscar-foundation.org

Where we ate: Hammer & Song, World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade Mumbai