Almost Time to Go

Our time left in NYC is winding down rapidly, and our activity rate seems to be ramping up at the same time. It's not just having to pack suitcases once again. The month of June seems to be the time of the year when folks we know come to New York. But, for us that makes it a happy time.

While living here we were lucky enough to find a fully furnished studio apartment in the same building and on the same floor as our son and his family. The photo below is of our "landlord". When we first arrived Liz was a grad student at Columbia University in film. This past spring we attended a film presentation where Liz showed her final project. It is a relatively short documentary called "The Last Mermaids." She filmed it on Jeju island off the coast of Korea where the mermaids live. The mermaids are from a matriarchal society where women who for generations have supported their families by free diving to retrieve abalone and fish. The photo below shows her receiving an award from the Oscar committee. She also has won a Fulbright Scholarship to transform the work into a full length film. We are proud of her.
If you would like to know more, here is a link to a review of her film:
http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?film_id=16423


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 36th Annual Student Academy Awards® on Saturday, June 12, in Beverly Hills. Pictured here are presenter John Landis (left) and Liz Chae, winner of the Gold Medal in the Documentary Category for "The Last Mermaids."



This is Gerry. Gerry was our Volunteer Director when we worked at Rivington House. We met with Gerry for lunch this past week for our last visit with him. He will be missed.



We stayed with Derrick Patterson and his mate for a couple of days at their house in Phrae, Thailand for our "site visit" during our Peace Corps time. June got to visit Derrick while in one of his Thai classrooms. He is one bang-up teacher! The kids LOVED HIM. He came to New York to visit with friends in this area. We caught up with him in a bar and then went to eat. It was great to hear what he's got going on and to talk Peace Corps.



Derrick met up with us a second day; here he's sitting with us in our studio. Still doing a lot of catching up. Later, we went to lunch at the ThaiNY restaurant nearby. He did the ordering and all the talking with the staff in Thai - they loved it. After dinner we were given a comment card to fill out. Derrick wrote his comment in Thai. That is one talented fella!