T'was the Night Before Departure

T'was the night before departure
and all though the apartment,
All creatures are restless
Because we haven't packed yet.

Our material possessions are reduced and stored
as boxes of trinkets, photos, and slide.
In hopes they contain what is important
of moments to remember and revive.

Good friends, acquaintances
have said their goodbye.
Each playing a role,
many wondering, why.

Our exchange students, Arnaud, Adriana, Sonya, Dilmurod, and Quentin,
know all about this eve.
The feelings and emotions
as one is about to leave.

Wonderful employees with whom a career
I share,
Take up the challenge,
to continue, to dare.

Of relatives, Mary has many,
I a few,
Each carry the same seed
of what we are about to do.

But, to our offspring, Nicholas, Kim, Teri, and grandson, Sammy
a special refrain,
To love one another
in sunshine and rain.

At a time like this,
one needs to remember,
The lasting effects of what
one puts on paper.

No tome can contain
all the events of one day.
No words truly express
what one wants to say.

I hope you stay logged on
As we are about to take flight.
Gives us comfort to know, you are there,
Albeit, out of sight.

Packing

Packing for any trip is really a combination of physics, imagination, economics, and the law. It is the art of reducing all that you own into parcels which your mode of transportation physically allows and which your mind deems to be needed. Your packing list is a compilation of suggestions from both official and unofficial sources. Packing is done with the full understanding that at least half of what you bring is never used and what you truly require is forgotten.

The Essentials:
Laptop computer, digital camera, cell phone, electrical converter, address book, pictures, credit cards, zip lock bags, battery operated lantern, toilet paper, and a return date.

Clothing:
Two year supply of underwear (one year sealed for future use), Chacos and other non-leather sandals, hats, ponchos, cargo shorts, light dresses, short shelve shirts, and swimming suits.

Personal care:
Two year supply of disposable razors, shaving mug with soap and brush, septic pencil, camp towel, waterproof cosmetics, and a comb.

Medical:
Enough bandages and antiseptics to handle a national disaster, enough Immodium to plug a New Orleans levee, fungicide for those nasty rashes, and itch creams, repellents, and sun screen to be constantly anointed for two years.

Did I forget anything?

D minus Seven Days, Memorial Day

There is a quiet calm in the air, a resolution, if you will, of the "Before Departure" segment of our life and this blog. The weather is perfect, the birds are singing, and the cars are sold. Our son and daughter are spending lots of time together. Mary and I watch meaningless movies, as we go through our habitual actions. Most of the goodbyes are behind us. This is not a sad time, just a quiet time.

For me, Memorial Day has a special meaning. It is a time to pause and pay tribute to those who precede and those around, not for valor or bravery in war, but for just being. They are incorporated in me as a memory. Their monuments are my thoughts. Who can question everlasting life as long as one's memory exists?

Mary Returns to College

Mary's A.A. degree graduation

from University of Minnesota

What's a husband to do after his wife cools from hot flashes then decides to join the Peace Corps and now has re-enrolled in college after a 40 year absence to complete her B.A. degree ? Isn't it enough to graduate the kids, sell the house, and say goodbyes? Is it hormonal or what? What do I know about life, except the latest sport poll rankings.

Fortunately, Metropolitan State University in Minnesota has a new pilot program whereby Peace Corps training can be applied towards an undergraduate degree. This makes sense since the first three months in Samoa consists of six hours per day for six days a week mostly of language, cultural and survival skills classes while living with a native family. According to my calculations, this is more classroom time than all the eight years I spent in college.

You might ask what is she going to do with the degree when she completes it? The answer is probably similar to the one about joining the Peace Corps.

D minus Fourteen Days

It is like we are on a multi-lane highway. The lives and experiences of our family and friends seem to be travelling with us in parallel, sharing life together, with an occasional person entering and leaving. Now we find ourselves approaching a turn off. The sign ahead reads "Samoa". You set your compass from Minneapolis at about 245 degrees; your GPS at 13.8S 171.8W; your time machine at Fourteen Days.

Since it is we, rather than they who are exiting, their goodbyes, farewells, and Godspeeds take on a new meaning for us and I imagine for them too. The expressions no longer seem rote or mechanical, with the confident assurance their sentiments are only temporary. Each farewell is different; from tears, to doing something, or simply being unable to say or express anything at all. There is doubt in the air. This Bon Voyage is different.

As I read the emails from the other Peace Corps people with whom we are departing, I sense their nervousness and excitement. Their youth and optimism are apparent. We hope their energy invigorates us. Who they are and their motives for joining the Peace Corps are to be discovered in the months ahead. How different to see their undertaking as a building block for the future, as compared to the capstone of one's life.

There are still some minor things to do, but the major events and actions on our check list are crossed off. We often feel exhausted. Even the questions to ourselves about what will it be like in Samoa are now rare. Our focus is turning to actually packing what we are to take.

Emigration

Advertisment for the German-American Steamship Line

Modern View of St. Pauli Landungsbrücken, Hamburg, Germany,

from where my grandparent's left Europe.

How does one describe that moment of thought when one decides to leave; to take that phantasmagorical step into the void? I often wonder about my grandparents with little children in hand leaving Mother Russia from the port city of Hamburg, Germany and the millions of others who make that decision, who take that step to leave the known for the unknown.

I certainly don't want to imply the decision to join the Peace Corps is analogous to permanently leaving your home for a dream, but it may be the closest I come to answering my questions about what went through their minds before departure.

And what is the answer? It is probably lost amongst their ashes, as mine are lost in the rambling of these blog pages.

The one thing I do know is that they "Just Did It".

The Graduate

Mary & Nicholas

One of the great milestones is the graduation of your child. Fortunately, society provides today's child with numerous graduation opportunities. There are pre-school, grade school, middle school, and high school ceremonies to mark educational passages. By the time one completes college, the rituals, speeches, and accolades are well known. Yet, there is something significant to a parent about college graduation. It marks your child's nervous entry into adulthood and your exit from their educational scene.

This past weekend our son, Nicholas, graduated from the University of Iowa with a double major in Accounting and Management Information Systems. His path started a little later than most, but once on it, he never wavered. His mother is beaming; his father thankful that a job in Minneapolis awaits him at the accounting firm of KPMG.

Thus, Mary and I have attended the last of our childrens' graduation exercises. We are proud of their achievements and know they are ready to stand on their own. Now they can watch as we go to Samoa to begin as Peace Corps Trainees and hopefully graduate as full-fledged Peace Corps Volunteers.

Excitement Grows

A few days ago we received our Peace Corps Staging Kit, made our airline reservations for departure on June 4th, and started to receive emails from others Peace Corps members who are joining us in Los Angles, bound for Samoa. The level of excitement is high as all anticipate meeting one another and the adventures which lie ahead.

It is hard to tell the backgrounds of our Samoan group, but from what little I can tell, they are an eclectic group of about 10-12 who are ready to sample their piece of the Peace Corps pie. They seem as anxious as we to find out who are their fellow volunteers.

Whatever may be, now is a wild emotional ride as the days dwindle down to a precious few (seems like I have heard that before).

The Family Photograph

Front: Nick and Mary Shuraleff, Kim (Shuraleff) Wolfe

Middle: Steve Christensen, Matt Wolfe, Sam Christensen

Rear: Teri (Shuraleff) Christensen, Nicholas Shuraleff III

There is no photograph more treasured or gratifying than that of your adult family. Contained within its frame is the distillation and transference of your life.

Just who is included in your family photograph is governed by the laws of biology, the laws of society, and by the laws of the heart. The characters are based more on chance than by design, yet mysteriously joined.

As I view the figures in all their imperfect shapes and poses, my mind inserts the missing and most important pixel, the love we have for them and most of all the love they have for each other. One hopes that this 1/60th of a second can be extended into the years ahead.

Ode to Nick and Mary

David Braden’s reading of “Ode to Nick and Mary” was one of the many highlights at our April 28th surprise party. David and Ann Braden are members of the Edina Book Club, a long-standing group of book and food lovers. With the poet’s permission, we have reprinted their ode. Like many great poems, there may be references unfamiliar to the reader or missed by the listener. There are explanations for some of these references at the end of the ode.

Ode to Nick and Mary
By Ann & David Braden

1) We’re glad to be among tonight’s guests,
With some thoughts on our honorees to express.
A poem, thought we two,
T’was the least we could do,
But you’ll find it was slightly less.

6) This evening we toast Nick and Mary,
Apologies to Nicholas, Kim, Jennifer and, Teri.
Among family and friends
Though this crowd size depends
On both supporters and adversaries.

11) This duo hits the storied South Pacific.
With fire and drive for some task, non-specific.
The Samoans that git ‘em
Won’t know quite what hit ‘em.
But we will, ’cause the blog is terrific.

16) We suspect Samoa’s sartorial norm
Means their attire’ll take the island by storm.
He’s a bug, she’s a frog
(That’s nowhere on the blog!)
Nick’s purple tights and his rowing uniform.

21) Nick’s global view covers quite an expanse.
He considers merengue and polka one dance.
He learns languages such
That he’ll speak Turkish to the Dutch,
And he’ll toast Russians, then wake up without pants.

26) On her mat, Mary’ll sleep through the night,
Never snoring, nor crying out in fright.
Alert all the while
She’ll not nap on that isle
For there’s neither a car nor a red light.

31) As a reader, we all know Nick’s voracious
Always highbrow and never salacious.
But, if they learn he’s been loosed
To teach them all Proust,
Their epitaph will say things like “courageous.”

36) Nick’ll pack up at any moment opportune.
He travels to his own special tune.
He up and drove to Nebraska,
And why not? He might ask ya.
Hell, I’ve been thrown out of Saskatoon!

41) Of animals they’ve enjoyed their full quota.
Every legal pet in Minnesota.
But Kim left with her zoo,
And then Bo bid adieu,
Now they’ll have centipedes the size of Toyotas.

46) For a lifetime their tastebuds they’ve honed.
They’ve served us rabbit, goat and dishes unknown.
In rare flavors we’ve basked,
What it is, we don’t ask,
But, they’re ready for poi bourguignon.

51) Now, Mary’s posse’ll be in a pickle,
Lifelong friends, so true blue, never fickle.
For when one understands she has actual fans,
She’ll leave more folks bereft than Nick’ll.

55) As they commit this magnanimous deed,
An adventure none here will exceed,
We sure hate to lose ’em, but till they’re back safe in our bosom,
We wish them both luck and Godspeed.


References by Line #:

7) Nicholas & Kim (Nick & Mary’s children), Jennifer (Mary’s niece), Teri (Nick’s child from previous marriage). All played an important role in organizing the surprise party.
12) The exact Peace Corps assignment is unknown.
18) Nick has a large bug head, from a failed marketing scheme, worn on Halloween and special occasions. Mary lost a cribbage game to Nick and had to walk the length of Nicollet Mall in a frog costume.
20) Nick wore purple capaline tights on a book club canoe trip, quite shocking many of the adults and all of the children. He is still referred to as “The Man in the Purple Tights”.
At an indoor rowing meet in Belgium, Nick’s Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, head band, and t-shirt were somewhat out of fashion with the spandex uniforms of Europeans.
22) A Latin dance teacher’s reference to Nick’s style of dancing.
24) At the Amsterdam airport where Nick tried out his halting Turkish on a dark skinned agent at the Turkish Airline counter. After several futile attempts, the puzzled agent said she was Dutch and didn’t understand a word of Turkish.
25) At a party given for Nick in Russia, where upon being introduced to the Russian way of drinking vodka, he found himself in his underwear the next morning and was told about his antics the previous night. Russians were impressed that not only did Nick survive the party, but felt fine the next day.
27) Mary has a habit of snoring and calling out in the night for help.
30) Mary feel asleep once in her car at a red traffic light.
34) Marcel Proust, considered by some the greatest writer of the 20th century, wrote a 3,500 page novel read by almost no one, except Nick.
38) See February 7, 2007 blog entry.
40) Unfortunate incident with Canadian authorities, who did not believe Nick flew to Saskatoon for 30 minutes just to get a t-shirt.

Surprise Party Kudos

Jennifer Fahey

The April 28th surprise party for Mary and me was concieved about three months ago by Jennifer Fahey, Mary's niece from Boston. Even though she broke her leg about two months before the party, Jennifer managed to coordinate the affair. She also was the prime mover for the audio-video show. Jennifer acted as Emcee.

Teri Christensen with Sam, Steve, and Henry

My daughter, Teri Christensen from State College, PA, handled much of the party details and invitations via http://www.evite.com/. Steve, her husband, helped with the music. The entire family came from PA. Henry stayed home.

Nicholas Shuraleff, III

My son, Nicholas, managed to get the many email addresses off our computer while still attending the University of Iowa. He had the difficult job of convincing Mary and me to go to Stella's Restaurant and to push me out the elevator door.

Kay Wangard, blond in the middle

Kay Wangard, Mary's friend from Edina, found and reserved the room at Stella's.

David Braden, rear with blue lei

David Braden, from our Edina Book Club, wrote and presented the "Ode to Nick & Mary"

Of course, this is just a partial list of all those who made our Surprise Party such a success and surprise. There is no way other way to express our gratitude, other than to say "Thank You"

Surprise Party

"SURPRISE"

"The essential is unsayable and the unsayable is the essential". This observation of life expresses the experience as the elevator doors opened at Stella's Restaurant in Minneapolis last night into a semi-darkened room and eighty voices yelled, "Surprise".

Mary and I entered into a room, a night filled with people with whom we hold dear. Each who has contributed to the richness of our life. Each who took the time to say, "Surprise".

More can be written and shall be written about the evening, but at this moment the essentials of last night remain unsayable.

Baffling Paradox

Life is still confusing to me. It seems to be filled with baffling paradoxes. One example, a the newspaper headline reads, is "A Labor of Love".

A local church planned an expansion. Where the new addition was to be built, stood a 150 year old oak tree. The decision to cut down the tree created somewhat of a moral dilemma for the congregation. Should they cut down this majestic living tree or forgo the expansion? They decided to gather around the tree and acknowledge it with a blessing ceremony afterwards cutting it down with chain saws. They then had the tree "relive" by making it into a church conference table and cutting boards for expansion donors.

This incident got me thinking about how we can rationalize our own self-interests and its resultant cruelty with token acts of kindness or humanity. How can we give a person the choice of foods before execution? How can we destroy at the same time professing to save? Why can we not recognize the beings we are, both kind and cruel? I do not reject our cruelties. It is the illusion that kindness absolves us from our damaging acts, which bothers me.

I am tired of those who think I am joining the Peace Corps to "save" or "improve" some distant land. What exists, the interests of the United States, humanity, my own quest for adventure, or all of the above? Maybe my simple presence causes consequences I can not imagine. I don't want to destroy, yet I might. If I do, please forgive me. I am a human being, a paradox all in itself.

Local Crime Report

Samoa may be an exotic place, but we have our share of the unbelievable too. Below are some crime reports published in our local Southwest Minneapolis newspaper.

April 4, 11;05 am
An unknown suspect allegedly robbed and assaulted a 33-year-old woman. The victim was walking home from a bar when the suspect punched her in the face five or six times, causing a bloody nose, and then stole her purse. Police checked the victim's probation status and found the woman to be in violation of her fourth degree assault probation by consuming alcohol. She was arrested and transported to Hennepin County Jail.

April 5, 4:55 am
Two unknown suspects allegedly robbed and assaulted a 35-year-old man. The victim had been walking along when the suspects kicked him in the knee, knocking him to the ground. The suspects then went through the victim's pockets and stole $120 in cash before kicking him in the back multiple times. The victim described the suspects as two white males, but stated that he would be unable to later identify them. Paramedics at the scene were unable to locate the alleged injury.

April 9, 12:17-12:45 am
A 57-year-old man picked up two women, a 28-year-old and a 22-year-old, to perform sex for money. After completing the sex act, the 28-year-old woman grabbed the man's wallet and car keys and ran out of the hotel room. The suspect then stole the man's vehicle. Police located her and the stolen vehicle and arrested her for auto theft. The 22-year-old was arrested for two felony narcotics warrants. The victim was charged with intent to commit prostitution.

Soft Boiled Eggs & the Quest for Perfection

For years I have tried to cook the perfect soft boiled egg, an egg where all the white albumin is firm and all of the yolk is runny. I have come close, but never perfect.

A soft boiled egg presents problems not encountered in preparing other foods. The shell can not be seen into nor can any instruments be inserted to test whether it is done or not. You can use a timer, although time is only one of hundreds of variables in the process. You can read books and listen to elders. As last resort, you can try the force, intuition, and faith. All these techniques may get you close, but never perfect.

Maybe I should give up my quest and simply let the water boil until there is no possibility of a runny yolk. I could crack the egg and prepare it in a thousand of other ways. I mean, after all, aren't they all just eggs?

Waiting

Waiting is that conscious period of time before an expected event. Almost everything we do, except a few moments of terror, can be classified as waiting. The word seems paltry in comparison to impact it has on life.

Here I sit at the computer waiting for the time to pass before our departure to Samoa while waiting for the right words to express my thoughts on waiting. Yet within this wait are hundreds of other waits just waiting to happen. If waiting wasn't so important, it could drive you crazy, or maybe it already has.

So I will make this incoherent blog entry short as you wait to read about our travails on Samoa and I wait for some better words about this "Before Departure" time in our lives.

Our New Neighborhood

Linden Hills is the name of our new neighborhood within the City of Minneapolis. Linden Hills can be described as a small city within the city, with its own characteristics and subculture.

Physically, Linden Hills is rather isolated from the madding crowd. There is no easy access to freeways, shopping malls, or gas station. To the east of our building is Lake Harriet, a magnet for walkers, bicyclists, perambulators, roller bladers, scooters, joggers, canoeists, etc. Somehow Linden Hills seems like a liveable place with a small town feel in the midst of the city.

Culturally, Linden Hills is a haven for the latest societal, environmental, and nutritional trends. The local grocery store (a co-op) doesn't even sell Coco Pops, Oscar Meyer Wieners, Tostita Corn Chips, or Purina Cat Chow. The only food you can buy is organic, range fed, or grown in the backyard of local Hmong immigrants. There is a butcher shop, bakery (whole grain only), and a Creative Kids Stuff store. Posters promote wellness, and longevity techniques. Dog walkers proudly carrying their plastic bags of scat. It is a world of REI, and LL Bean.

This is a good transitional place for us. There are the street sounds of cars, buses, people walking, and children playing. There is music coming from some distant apartment. There is no need to drive for a loaf of bread. There is an engagement here with people. We are the strangers, the new comers.

Faces of Samoa

You may be wondering, as I am, what the people of Samoa look like. Here are some photos I lifted from Monkfish's blog (a current Peace Corps Volunteer).

Walking the Dog

Bo, our dog, (deceased)

The great socializing activities I observe seem to be booze, work, children, weather, sports, death, and dogs. Just how dogs got into this mix is a mystery to me. Yet there is no greater source of instant camaraderie than the meeting of two people walking their dogs.

I have yet to see a picture of a Samoan dog that was not a Peace Corps volunteer's pet, let alone Samoans walking their dogs. I wonder how Samoans meet one another? Have they discovered that no love can be shared between a person with a dog and one without? Maybe a candle lit dinner of dog is more harmonious than feeding a dog?

My dog walking days are over for now. I can only watch dog lovers from my window as I try to pass the days before our departure.

The ASKO WCAM 1812 Washer/Dryer Machine

It is said that God created the Gnu (Wildebeest) from the best parts of other animals. For surely, the gnu is the product of the most noble features of noble creatures. The end result is the ugliest of all hoofed animals whose sole purpose seems to be the main food for lions and hyenas.

Likewise, the ASKO Model WCAM 1812 combination washer/dryer in our apartment is the byproduct of Scandinavian minds, designed by the brightest engineers to save space and energy. The concept of the WCAM 1812 is simple, a machine that in one load both washes and drys. The problem is it does them either poorly or not at all.

You may ask, what do gnus and WCAM 1812s have to do with the Peace Corps and Samoa? I really don't know, except to ponder the effects of mixing good ideas and intentions, or how to successfully do one load of laundry.