Rev Gail's Corner . . . . .

I have always loved traveling, and I have been fortunate to be able to get to many exciting places in our country and in the world over the years.

As I have gotten older and have to deal with certain physical problems that are exacerbated by travel and stress. Sometimes it is tempting to just stay home and sleep in my own bed and not have to worry about lost bags, uncertain ground transportation, uncomfortable beds and other people's schedules.

 However, I have been able to resist this tendency to give in to obstacles, and, this summer, I spent a wonderful eight days in Quebec City for UU General Assembly and a couple of extra vacation days. 

Quebec City, in the Province of Quebec, in eastern Canada, is sort of Paris-Lite with incredible food, darling little streets of outdoor cafes, shops and galleries and wonderful parks, cathedrals and battlements. It is relatively small and you can walk everywhere. It is kind of my idea of heaven.

I stayed in an old hotel that was built to resemble a castle, and it all had a fairy tale feel. I listened to everyone speak French and English with equal fluency and felt, as I always do when I travel in another country, that I should apologize for not being multi-lingual.

One of the French Canadians I spoke to said Americans are lazy about languages because we usually don't need a second language to survive. I was able to read some signs and bits and pieces of the paper, but I found it very hard to dredge up my high school and college French enough to do more than order food.

I resolved to try in my old age to learn to speak at least one other language well enough to have conversations with people in a totally different culture. I think it would change the way I think about things to actually live for a while in a country that speaks a different language.

Everyone I know who has done so has a broader and more open attitude about differences and the relativity of tastes and social mores. I spent some time in Egypt one summer, and I found that exposure to a Muslim society very helpful in having a clearer understanding of our current situation.

 If you have children or grandchildren, I encourage you to encourage them to learn another language well and to do a year abroad. I encourage all of you to think of traveling to a place that gets you out of your comfort zone. We are all going to need to be world citizens in the years ahead, I believe.

May we have a blessed year together and all broaden our horizons.

Rev. Gail, August, 2002

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