Arrival at Yellowstone National Park

After a quick swim in the hot spring pool at Fairmont Hotel, a short walk through the fields, which was cut short due to an unexpected attack by swallows - hard to believe but oh so true - I had breakfast with Victor, from Russia. We talked about many things and a.o. about the longlasting correspondence he has kept with people he has never met and is about to meet for the first time here in the US. Fascinating!

Our bus was ready for us at 10 o'clock and we drove to the Stack. This is the remainder of a huge copper smelter which belonged to the Anaconda corporation. Its chimney stands alone in the wide landscape as a token of an industrial era that has forever disappeared.

The road took us to Livingstone, a typical western town where we had time for lunch. The group split up and Sandra and I found a nice bar and split a hamburger, whih is a wise thing to do for Europeans who are still not quite accustomed to American food standards.

From here, we drove to Gardiner and through the North Entrance we entered Yellowstone Park.

As if to welcome us, a pronghorn antilope was grazing nearby and we got excited about what was waiting for us.

We arrived at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and checked into our rooms. This hotel is quite basic, but with all the commodities needed. Dave drew our attention to the architecture of the buildings in the park, which he calls "Parkitecture". The architects followed the Arts and Craft movement and tried to let the buildings blend in with nature. They wanted to set the houses, hotels, etc. in the National Parks apart from the ones in the cities.

I simply couldn't wait to get my walking shoes on and set off to the Mammoth Hot Springs just next to the hotel. I remembered them from 9 years ago, when I was here with my husband and three daughters. Somehow I felt transported in time, it looked the same and different. Maybe because this place keeps moving: hot water spurts out off the ground and changes the surface continually. It was very windy and a steep climb to the top of the boardwalk, but very rewarding indeed.

For our evening meal, we could take the coach back to Gardiner, but some of us decided to walk the 8 km. We thought there was a trail all along the river. However, this wasn't quite the case.

First we took a short cut and went down the slope to the river bank. A beautiful trail followed the winding river. Suddenly, we saw a big yellow and brown snake crawling between the rocks.

Then, we came to hot springs in the river where lots of people were bathing. We continued our walk but had to follow the road because the trail had stopped. When the coach finally caught up with us, the driver saw a rainstorm coming and decided to give us a lift for the rest of the way.

I shared a bison steak with Beatrice and really enjoyed it. While we were eating, an enormous rainbow spanned the sky above Yellow Stone. It was an omen of good luck for the days to come.

Butte - is it a hill or is it a pit?

Ever heard of Butte? First of all, do you know how to pronounce it? Not the French way, though it is a French word, meaning hill. You must pretend there is only 1 'T' and let it rhyme with flute.

Anyway, Butte is mainly a big hole. In my native dialect, we would call it "'t hol van Plutol". It used to be, however, the richest hill on earth. In the belly of Butte, copper was found and it became one of the wealthiest mining towns of the nation. In 1955, open excavation started and this created the biggest pit, that can be seen from space.
Butte today is quite another story. A sad one, mainly. An example of many other mining towns in the country. Once the mine has run dry, the money dries up and the people leave. Driving into Butte, I was convinced this was a ghost town. But I was wrong. Some people actually live here. In rickety houses, along empty streets with closed down shops...

Then, you might wonder, what we were doing here? Well, the national folk festival takes place in Butte. It does so for three years in a row and then moves on to another state. Today was the last day of the festival. We left the hotel at 11 am, stopped at Wallmart for some phonecards and lost Alphonse - but then found him again! - and were dropped off in Butte just too late to see the line dancing and the rodeo. However, there were many other attractions to enjoy. Paola, Snjezana and I decided to stick to the typical Montana folk with traditional cowboy and Indian stories and songs. We listened to a cowboy hat maker and a cowboy boot maker. We watched a cowboy on a quarter horse cutting cattle, we saw beadwork, weaving baskets, found Norwegian Rosemahlen and a Croatian guitar builder. The rain gathered in heavy curtains around the valley and drifted towards us from the mountains. It poured down on us, we had to take shelter in the tents. Then, the sky broke open again and we could move on. We discovered a superb little terrace with a perfect view of the arena and listened to Acadian music coming from the main tent.
Finally, Dai suggested to walk to the 'Pit'. It was quite impressive, filled with copper-coloured water. More than 1 kilometer deep.
Thunder and lightning gave us a free show against the backdrop of the mountains and we hurried back to the bus.

In fact, the thunderstorm has got worse now and for tomorrow and the following days, they are predicting more rain. It's a shame really, although Dave promised that it wouldn't spoil the wonders we are about to see in Yellowstone and I've made up my mind that I won't let it spoil the fun.

Enjoy the cowboys song I've recorded, especially for you! Sorry to find it lying down ...

Flying to the West

On Saturday we were picked up at 8 a.m. and took a plane to Chicago. The flight took 2 1/2 hours. From Chicago we flew to Billings and that took us another 3 hours. The coach was waiting for us and so was David Stanley Professor of English Emeritus at Westminster University, our guide for this week. He also specialised as a teacher of American Studies and is a keen folkorist. On the coach, Dave gave us an interesting summary of the history of the West and then we could watch "Shane" a western of 1952 portraying the "good old values" of the stereotype cowboy. Busdriver Mike brought us to Fairmont, after a 4 hour drive, where we checked into our comfortable hotel rooms. A beautiful swimming pool with water from the hot water springs was waiting for us but most of us were too tired and went straight to bed.

We were pretty tired after such a long trip but also very excited about this part of our stay.

Our last night in Charles Drew or ITD House

Friday - again - the third one here. Quite incredible, really.

As usual, we debriefed the past week and told Julie and Bruce what we appreciated most and what could - perhaps - be improved.

We received some more dollars to spend during the Conquest of the West. Cheerful faces all around!

Beatrice, Paola and I went to Jones Library. On the top floor there is a special collection on Emily Dickinson. We watched an excellent video of a play portraying the poet's life. Emily came to life. She surprised us is many ways: we discovered a stubborn, funny, passionate, caring, gifted woman.

The sun was out today. It felt like summer for the first time. Paola and I bought a fruit pie and a coffee and had a picnic on a bench in the park. It was absolutely lovely.

Then I went shopping - again. This time for pure necessities, such as deep forest bug spray and tooth paste. When I arrived at the dorm, it was high time to finish my project.

I had a flash of inspiration and wrote two lessons: one for elementary and one for advanced students. Barbara Madeloni was pleased about the result and I can leave on our trip with a quiet conscience.

At three in the afternoon, I had to start packing. Most of us did. I absolutely hate it and usually wait till the very last moment. My room turned into a mess in no time. I couldn't decide what to take and what to leave behind. I think I bought too may books, I believe I brought too many clothes, or not the right ones. One consolation, all the women in the group struggled with the same dilemna.

Fortunately, we had something to look forward too: dinner at Judie's. I've told you about her before and if you haven't been there, you really should go. All the tables were taken, so we first had a drink at the bar and then we had a delicious meal and spent a very enjoyable evening.

Back at the dorm, I went straight to the computer room to finish this bit on the blog. Tomorrow we rise early... I'd better finish packing.

Hope to be with you the following days. It will depend on the computer facilities during our trip.

There was music in the air ...

We had to choose some articles from the Sunday papers for a discussion and today the topics were once more diverse. There was an article on the relationship between the US and Russia. It was extra interesting to hear the comments from our friends from Russia, the Ukraine, Ouzbekistan, and Kazakstan on this article and how the same item is covered in their respective countries. Another article was about how children of criminals often end up in criminality and how this is mainly connected to drug abuse. The number of prisoners is staggeringly high: half of the black male population is in jail, 1 in 25 white males, 1 in 4 black children's parents. With on top of this an unemployment rate of 60-70% in certain cities, the future looks grim.
Our third article touched upon the increased tourist taxes and Bruce explained the complicated - and unfair - taxing system. In Massassuchets there is the 2 1/2 tax law which prohibits cities to increase taxes by more than 2 1/2 % without referendum. With the present inflation rate, costs cannot be covered and yet if a referendum were to be held, noone would want more taxes. A vicious circle again.

Fortunately, after the break we could start off on a brighter note. The talented Steve Tracy, professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachussets gave us a most enjoyable lecture on "West-Africa, Jazz and the Blues". He brought his harmonica along and played a few tunes. Amazing grace in different versions with a full range of emotions that made me shiver. He told the story of how music from West-Africa crossed the ocean on the slave ships and started leading a new life, forging a new identity, faithful to its roots. The music may sound discordant and distorted at times, the melody may seem lost, it feels like your heart skips a beat, it allows countercurrents to be detected, it lets many players in at the same time.
It's what the essence of art is about, either a part of your life, or something you hang on your wall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKDTXpeYqA

In the afternoon, we had some time off, so I hurried to the Dickinson Homestead for more information for my project. I walked to Austin and Susan Dickinson's house "The Evergreens", to the bookstore and visited the Amherst Historical Museum.
Back at the dorm, I continued work on my lesson plan. It's starting to take shape and I hope to finish it tomorrow.

And then more music. Tonight we went to a Jazz in July All-Star Concert at the Bowker Auditorium at the University of Massachussets. It was a wonderful concert with very talented musicians: Bob Ferrier, Chip Jackson, Catherine Jensen-Hole, Steve Johns, Tiger Okoshi, to name but a few.
You can check out the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw1l2J6D1p4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ7BS_FF7N4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5hradQwTGo

It was hard to sit still. We felt like swinging along.
Our lecturer this morning said that for a musician, the instrument is like an extension of the voice, after enjoying tonight, I would say that the instrument is an extension of their body and soul.

A glimpse of the Wild

Jan Dizard, Professor of Sociology and American Studies at Amherst College, sharpened our appetite for next week's trip.

First of all, he sketched the background of the American land as it was found by the first Europeans, how they exploited it and moved west to conquer more, how they cut the forest, the land eroded, rivers flooded, dams were built, animals were hunted and consequently species disappeared. In the first week of our stay at Amherst, we visited Frost library and saw an example of a beautiful book by Audubon, with paintings and drawings of American natural history. Just as some other early environmentalists such as George Marsh and John Muir, he realised something needed to be done to stop the devastation and preserve nature for the future generations.
In 1872, J.D. Rockefeller bought the valley of Yellowstone and gave it to the American people. It became the first National Park of the USA. Thanks to this - often called the best American invention ever - most species, that were on the brink of extinction, rebounded. John Muir's efforts eventually led to the Wilderness Act, which in time, led to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, all signed into law by President Nixon. They can be called landmark pieces in legislation.
At the same time, environmentalism has become a "special interest" as opposed to a "common interest". This might be why it has been so ineffectual on matters such as global warming, where the USA are not taking on a leading role.
The debate was opened and many questions were launched at our lecturer, unfortunately a lot of them were left unanswered, for this is a matter of global scale and many interests are at stake.

After the break, we made a virtual trip to several National Parks, as we were offered a pre-screening of a documentary series "The National Parks - America's Best Ideas".
The overwhelming scenery of the wild, mountains, rivers, forests, bisons, and a handy bear catching a salmon flying upstream, simply took our breath away.
One of the interviewees put it in a nutshell: " A single moment in a site like Yellowstone can last forever".

In the afternoon, we drove to Springfield and visited the local newspaper "The Republican". This newspaper is published 7 days a week and has a distribution of 80.000 on weekdays and 120.000 at the weekend. We visited the site, saw the press, and talked to the staff.

The newspaper was established in 1824 by Samuel Bowles (II) and turned into a daily paper by Samuel Bowles (III) in 1844. Emily Dickinson was an acquaintance of the family and they published a few of her poems during her lifetime. Until today, the newspaper is still family-owned.

At present, all newspapers all over the world are struggling to survive due to the harsh competition with new media such as the internet and local TV stations. It isn't any different here in Springfield. Only last week, some of the staff were laid off.

Although they have very busy jobs and deadlines to respect, the staff were willing to give us some feedback on their jobs. We really appreciated this and found it most interesting : the bi-lingual local reporter, the business reporter, the editorial writer, the new media editor, the educational editor, the photographers told us what their average working day looks like.

A special mention should go to the fact that The Republican has a special Tuesday page for and by teenagers. These youngsters are invited to a roundtable meeting once a month and decide on the topics they will cover. These topics can vary from "The legacy of Michael Jackson" to "Should supreme court judges be elected or appointed". They also write book and film reviews and there is a Heritage section. The education editor reviews these articles and some must be re-written before they go into print. The students are paid for their articles. Schools use this newspaper section, called Unlisted Teens for projects and they can be used for ESL lessons.

And after this, for some of us, believe it or not: another visit to the Mall ... some last minute shopping before we head West: walking shoes, rain gear, a warm jumper, a telephone, a battery recharger, a bag to transport the lot, ... you name it, we (probably) bought it!

Eyes on the Prize

Today, we watched two episodes of a documentary film "Eyes on the Prize" about the Civil Rights movement.

We learned about the horribly shocking case of Emmet Till, a black teenager from the north, who was mutilated and murdered by two white men in the south, because he had been cheeky to a white woman in a shop. There was a (black) star witness and all the evidence pointed to the two local men, yet they were pronounced not guilty. Later, they sold their story to a newspaper for 4.000 dollars. The funeral attracted huge crowds and Emmet's mother wanted an open casket so that the whole world could see what had happened to her boy. Thus, he became an icon of the Civil Rights Movement.

Another name that we'll remember is Rosa Parks. She took the bus in Montgomery and refused to get up to give her place to a white man. She was taken to prison. The women's movement issued a flyer inviting people to boycott the buses. In four days time, 40.000 people were mobilised. The intention was to boycott the buses for a couple of days or a week, however, the movement grew stronger and wasn't ready to give in. The boycott held for over a year. Some bus companies had to close down, some people lost their job, the black population in the south continued to walk, even if it meant many miles a day. Finally, segregation on the bus was pronounced unconstitutional and for the first time, black people could sit wherever they wanted.

It was during this bus boycott that Martin Luther King emerged as a keynote speaker. It was in 1955 and he was 26 years old. M.L. King asked for dignity, he preached love, not hate. To hear him speak was inspiring for many people. And the national press became interested in this eloquent Rev. King. Unfortunately, the whites hardened their position and targeted anyone who would support the desegregation. Ku klux clan members would rally openly. They tried to frighten the black people, but nothing stopped them, they found strength in their regular meetings in the churches and felt that they had something worth struggling for: freedom.

In the second episode, we learned about the Freedom Summer of 1964. Students from all over the country who supported the movement came to the southern states to help convince people to register to vote. In order to do so, people had to fill in a long questionnaire and pay up to 1 week of salary, and yet they were motivated. During this particular summer, two young white students and one black students were picked up by the police, put into jail, released and then disappeared. This was worrying and it attracted major national media attention. Some weeks later their bodies were found. They had been shot in the back and the black man had suffered other severe injuries too.

This affair triggered more activism within the movement and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was opened to all people. Ms Fanny Lou Hamer speaks live on television - and was interrupted by a short speech of President Johnson. The Supreme Court looked for a compromise and MFDP were offered 2 seats. Although in the end they never seated, it opened up the Democratic party.

Professor Bill Strickland shared his personal reflections with us. He was born in Boston and went to Harvard, where he was one of only 11 black students in his class. Racial issues were something he had not been confronted with, until he got in touch with the Civil Rights Movement. He learned that all societies think well of themselves, but that they all have subterranean histories. He quoted a line from a poem by Worth Long: "We have found you out, four faced Americas, we have found you out. We have found you out, false faced farmers, we have found you out."

Professor Strickland pointed out that it is important to see the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the correct historical context; it was the age of the revolution. All over the world there were upstarts and strong student movements. For today, Strickland ends on a pessimistic note and says that today, there is no real movement. People are in limbo. The media don't play a fair role, Americans are fed trivial themes in huge portions and the huge themes that deserve their attention are often swept under the rug.

In the afternoon, Professor of History Dayo Gore gave a lecture about "Rethinking the Civil Rights Movement". She focused on the women who gave shape to the movement, and on the bottom-up evolution instead of focusing on the big names connected to the CRM. In 1946 already the first Women's Political Council was formed in Montgomery; in 1954, Joanne Robinson sent a letter to the Mayor asking for better treatment on the bus; in 1955 Claudette Colvin got arrested for not getting up; in the same year, Rosa Parks got arrested and that incident set off the boycott of the buses. A quotation from Rosa Parks: " I woke up this morning with my mind set on freedom". Ella Baker was a central activist, leader and theorist for the movement and said: " I never worked for an organization but for a cause". In 1964, Fanny Lou Hamer speaks at the national convention. These women, their names, their faces, their words and their deeds deserve to be remembered. The story should be told, again and again, from different perspectives, to allow us to get the full picture - as far as possible.

Not long ago, Rosa Parks passed away and received a state funeral. Today, the USA have a black president. Has change come at last? Is freedom for all finally in sight?