HODGEPODGE

1. What do you love most about your country?

I really don't know. My parents simply took me along to Belgium when I was 14 because my father started working for the European Union. I didn't choose it myself. What do I like best? Most of it, probably. 

2. Your favorite patriotic song? 

I don't know patriotic songs ! I would need to compose a song that concerns Germany, Italy, and Holland and, of course, Belgium.

3. Red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Something you own besides a US flag with some combination of those colors or decorations as part of its design?

We never had a flag at home except the one of Ferrari, as Rick was a Ferrari fan.  

 

To create a patriotic flag I should make this one :  Italy, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands

4. What's one thing you want more of this summer: fun, rest, adventure, connection, quiet, or confidence? Elaborate.

I would love to do a lot of things this summer, travel, lie on the beach, visit friends, but unfortunately, I likely won't be able to; my illness won't allow it. So, I will probably go  to Amsterdam to visit my son and his family, and take day trips whenever the weather is nice. After all, the sea isn't far away. 

5. What was your ultimate, go-to summer activity when you were a kid? Do you still do any version of that today? If you answered yes, does participating in this activity as an adult make you feel like a kid?

When I was a child, there were no summer activities. Germany was still in ruins, and the Rhineland, where I lived, was under American occupation. Having food and something to wear were the adults' main concerns. No one thought about vacations back then. We kids played in the ruins and rubble. I certainly wouldn't do this activity now as an adult. As a child it was fun to play in ruins, we had no idea why it was like this.

Bonn

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I think we have a very special retirement "castle" ! If you want to work here, you really have to be a jack-of-all-trades. Yesterday, I saw our cook sitting at the computer at the reception, welcoming guests. A little later, our physiotherapist was chopping up thick branches, brought down by the storm, into small logs. Amandine, our director, helped serve lunch along with the others. The head nurse made my bed. I think it’s great; at least no one gets bored, and we residents pitch in too, as much as we can.